Transform Your MacBook Touchpad Into a Scale with This Free App

Key Takeaways

1. The MacBook Pro and MacBook Air feature a haptic trackpad that detects click force for advanced gestures.
2. Developer Krish Shah created an app called TrackWeight, allowing users to weigh lighter objects using the trackpad.
3. Users must keep a finger on the trackpad and ensure items fit entirely on it for accurate weighing.
4. The app requires downloading source code, compiling it, and running it in Xcode, with necessary adjustments to app sandbox settings.
5. TrackWeight provides approximate weight measurements and should be used cautiously, with a maximum tested weight of 3.5 kilograms to avoid damaging the trackpad.

The Apple MacBook Pro and MacBook Air feature a haptic trackpad that senses not only when a click happens but also the force behind it. Apple uses this ability for gestures, like looking up words with a strong click. Recently, Canadian developer Krish Shah has managed to turn the trackpad into a scale by analyzing the data collected and calculating the pressure, which translates to the weight of items placed on the touchpad.

Introducing TrackWeight

The outcome of his work is an application called TrackWeight, which is available for download at no cost from GitHub. This app enables users to weigh lighter objects, but there are several constraints. Firstly, a finger must be on the trackpad while weighing an object. Secondly, the items must be small enough to completely fit on the trackpad. Lastly, weighing electrically conductive objects requires preventing electrical contact, which can be done with a piece of fabric.

Setup Challenges

Another drawback is that users need to download the TrackWeight source code, compile it, and run it in Xcode after turning off the app sandbox in the project settings. Krish Shah mentions that TrackWeight can measure weights with reasonable accuracy, but he cautions that the app is still in an experimental stage, and results should be treated as approximations. Placing objects that are too heavy risks damaging the trackpad; testing has been done with a maximum weight of 3.5 kilograms.

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