The Apple Pencil officially has USB-C! Everything we know so far | Mashable.
Apple Pencil officially has USB-C — and it's in a weird position
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| Image: Apple |
Apple has launched a new version of its Apple Pencil with a USB-C charging port.
The new Apple Pencil showed up in Apple's online store early on Tuesday. It retails for $79, and is compatible with the 3rd - 6th generation models of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, all generations of the 11-inch iPad Pro, the 4th and 5th generation of iPad Air, the 6th generation of iPad mini, and the 10th generation iPad.
Do notice that last compatibility note. It's an important one. So far, the iPad only supported the first-generation Apple Pencil.
According to Apple, the new Pencil magnetically attaches to the side of the iPad for storage, but it pairs and charges with a USB-C cable.
Unlike the first generation Pencil, which has a Lightning port aligned with the length of the device, the USB-C port on the new Pencil, hidden under the cap on top, is positioned on the side of the device. This will look odd when you plug it in, though it was likely necessary due to the size of the USB-C port itself.
The price is also notable. At $79, the new Pencil is Apple's most affordable model. The first-generation Pencil costs $99, while the second-generation Pencil retails for $129. The USB-C Pencil lacks a few features, including wireless pairing and charging, pressure sensitivity, and double tap actions. Also, you cannot get it with a free engraving, which is only a feature on the 2nd gen Pencil.
The new USB-C Apple Pencil will be available "early November."
Why would I need it when it can charge snapped onto my iPad?
ReplyDeleteWas ‘Apple Pregnancy Test’ taken?
ReplyDelete😆
DeleteAnd it sucks
ReplyDeleteit’s not out yet Nostradamus…
DeleteBecause wireless charging such a low powered device is Soooo hard 😂
ReplyDeleteWacom, XP Pen and other digitizer can operate without battery or electricity
ReplyDeleteI’m gonna pass on this one. It makes absolutely no sense and every review I’ve seen of it says it does less than the Apple Pencil 2. I get it if they were trying to appeal to budget minded folks but the design of this just doesn’t make sense.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell are you gonna do with that. Don't they make normal pencils lol
ReplyDelete🐨🎊😜🌾wow!!yes
Deletehttps://tomorownewweb.vercel.app/
looks the same as chinese pencil knockoffs🤣
ReplyDelete🐕💼😄💧You have to keep it like this.
Deletehttps://tosmartweb.vercel.app/
But why?
ReplyDelete95 comments for a pencil? Apple really does have the tech industry in a chokehold.
ReplyDeleteCurrent r/Android online user count: 0
ReplyDeleteSo many comments, not a single one of these disappointed people says, or is recommended the competition that very much exists, has larger canvas sizes to choose from, has a better display for its tablets, has a better ability to function as a laptop or desktop replacement, and includes its better looking and better performing Wacom licensed stylus as part of the purchase, and not an ugly thing you have to purchase separately that charges weirdly.
ReplyDeleteThis is key to Apple's success. Not that its products are magically better.
Its consumers genjutsu themselves out of believing competition exists.
I bet with all the hints I just dropped there are people that don't know what product or what company I'm talking about.
Many of the people disappointed in this product will either still buy it, or act as though there is no alternative.
I assume you’re referencing Surface devices but who knows since you’re needlessly cryptic about it in an effort to prop up straw-men who are disappointed in Apple’s products but nevertheless buy them.
DeleteHere’s my rejoinder: Surface devices are utterly terrible at being tablets and would be better overall if they just focused on the one thing they’re pretty good at, which is being a laptop.
This seems like such a regressive product. The top of the line model is still 5 years old. Why has innovation stagnated so much in recent years?
ReplyDeleteAll of innovation?
DeleteOr just the innovation of companies who use their brand to phone it in and still make sales?
I've been pretty impressed by things like Body Composition and Blood Pressure monitoring on a Smart Watch, or a flagship tablet with waterproofing.
Perhaps it's time to start looking at tech elsewhere?
Steve Jobs would roll in his grave if he saw this Apple Pencil lineup
ReplyDeleteIf he then saw the margins on these products, he'd go back to resting.
DeleteAre we talking about the same Steve Jobs who presided over the hockey puck mouse?
DeleteHow much does a new display cost nowadays for an apple ipad with this new apple 6” nail sorry i mean apple pencil !
ReplyDeleteapple squeezed out more money with apple pencil 2nd generation for years and now it's cheap on stores they released a cheap one by themselves that's even cheap on features to squeeze out that little money that might go to stores!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a terrible product. If you are looking to spend $79 on a pencil, just save the extra $30.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't the iphone support apple pencil? Absurd.
ReplyDeleteIt requires additional hardware in the display.
DeleteWho is this for? Schools maybe? Someone remind the exec team of Job's product matrix.
ReplyDeleteJobs' product matrix didn't make as much money as their current product tesseract, though.
DeleteYes an apple entry-level pencil for a apple entry-level ipad pro !
ReplyDeleteWhy not just borrow your nans knitting needle and tie a usb-c cable to it ?
They should all be the Pencil 2, this is such an insane, pointless piece of plastic. Having your stylus charge wirelessly on the side means you'll never forget to plug it in, but if you forget about charging this for too long the batteries will literally just die because they're so small. Since they're non-replaceable, now you just have trash, or a pencil that lasts about 45 minutes before you have to plug it in again. This kind of absurd obsolescence is why I'll never believe Apple is really committed to climate change in any meaningful way.
ReplyDeleteIt's a weird middle product. The only thing missing on it is the pressure sensitivity, otherwise it would be a clear upgrade over the 1st gen pencil and slot nicely below the 2nd gen.
ReplyDeleteThis is essentially just Apple deciding to save a few bucks.
No, this is Apple deciding to make ever more bucks. The 2nd gen pencil is a terrific device, and this is a glorified dumb stylus if it doesn't support pressure. Maybe I'm missing something, but the appeal of the Apple pencil was in large part its pressure sensitivity.
DeleteI barely notice pressure sensitivity, I've even gone toward using the new 'Fine Line' pen in the Mark Up which turns it off completely. 'Highlight' in Mark Up relies on angle (gyro) of the pencil, which I'd be curious if this supports.
DeleteThis is a necessary replacement for the Pencil 1 w/ the iPad 10 and likely means iPad 9 will be killed sometime soon + iPad 10 would drop in price mildly. For most students they couldn't care less about the pressure sensitivity, really all they want is something to take notes/annotate. I've gone to personally only annotating slides within the File app via Mark Up rather than using a 3rd party, those 3rd party apps definitely take more advantage of pressure sensitivity but a lot of people turn it off (Notability added a way to dial it down as well recently).
Gotta love it how Apple (a company with a market cap of $2.7 trillion) refuses to license Wacom's pen tech, meaning that in the year 2023 they are selling a pen with a battery that needs to be charged. Such an avoidable own-goal.
ReplyDeleteWhy? I’m no Apple apologist but I have never once had an issue with the battery or charging on Pencil 2. When not in use it stays attached to the iPad and charging.
DeleteThat's the pencil 2, this one, like the original, has such small battery capacity that if you don't charge it regularly the batteries lose their ability to hold a charge. Since they're non-replaceable, if you don't charge your pencil, it becomes trash. It's an insane oversight for a company that pretends to care about the environment.
DeleteOh yeah I’ve ran into the dead battery problem on a Pencil 1 before. That’s inexcusable and I completely agree with you there.
DeleteThe only issue I've had with Pencil 2 is losing it.
DeleteBatteries eventually die and then you're stuck with a useless lump of plastic. The Apple pencil I bought two years back is eventually going to bite the dust. Meanwhile I'm coming up on 10 years with my Wacom stylus. It's just a better product.
DeleteMany digital artists find the Apple Pencil tracking to be better than Wacom, so it’s not really cut and dry. The charging is such a non issue especially on the model that charges wirelessly.
DeleteAs an artist who owns both I much prefer the Wacom stylus. A battery that has to be charged is a component that will eventually fail. I love being able to flip my stylus over and use it to erase, just like a real pencil.
DeleteThe iPad is a beautiful product and every time a new Pro is released I'm tempted but as far as value for the dollar I've gotten far more mileage out of my Cintiq than the iPad.
I used to have a surface and I miss the eraser but there's nothing saying Apple couldn't add that if they wanted to. Hopefully they do next gen!
DeleteNo pressure sensitivity?!
ReplyDeleteThe product line becomes murkier with every release. Can you imagine your non-techie, everyday parent or grandparent walking into an Apple Store trying to buy an iPad and a pencil as a gift?
ReplyDeleteThis is insane.
It’s certainly going to replace the Apple Pencil Gen 1 upon the next iPad release. I don’t think grandma would appreciate the lighting to usb c adapter Gen 1 situation currently going on either.
DeleteYeah. I imagine the first-gen Apple Pencil will get the boot when Apple discontinues the 9th-gen iPad, especially as Apple transitions all of their accessories to USB-C and discontinues the remaining Lightning products.
DeleteNo pressure sensitivity, no double-tap. Might as well get a cheap passive stylus. This is e-waste.
ReplyDeleteNote takers who don’t draw? Seems like an obvious product for college students or people who only use them to sign documents.
DeleteFor 80 dollars? For college students?
DeleteCollege books cost hundreds of dollars. You think there is no college student who can afford a $80 stylus that will last them the entire undergrad degree? Plus, many colleges now have programs where you get an iPad for “free” your freshman year. Mine started that the year after I started so I didn’t get one. 🫠
DeleteThat do not have ipads in education now its chromebooks !
DeleteNobody uses Chromebooks in college. That is for high school and below. Depending on your degree you literally couldn’t do your work on a Chromebook even if you wanted to.
DeleteFudandbs alert !
DeleteMany schools are moving away from Chromebooks because of the quality and longevity issues. Some people refuse to believe it, but iPads are far more dependable than horribly cheap Chromebooks that are already obsolete by the time schools get them. My adult children had such bad experiences with Chromebooks that they (and their school districts) will never consider buying another one. Although… I’m sure the schools miss the old, repairable white MacBooks they were still re-repairing and using ten years ago. Locally they even trained students to be Apple-certified techs and employed them part-time to do the maintenance. Perhaps the glass slab of a locked-down iPad is far simpler to manage.
DeleteA person using "fud" about Chromebooks, the cheap pieces of garbage they sell almost entirely to education markets. Now I've truly seen everything.
DeleteIf there's no pressure sensitivity then just get a passive stylus for way less.
DeleteCapacitive doesn’t have the accuracy. Not even close.
DeleteI didn't interview at a medical program that didn't "gift" you an iPad and have it built into the curriculum (anatomy exams, ultrasound labs, etc.). When 3rd party resources are dummy expensive (Question bank $600/yr + Sketchy Micro/Pharm $400/yr + Pathoma $100/yr + etc.) it's relatively not much.
DeleteDon't think they made it for those 30k new students each year, but that sentiment definitely exists across a lot of other undergrad/grad programs.
Actually it’s $70 with Apple’s education pricing.
DeleteA $5 passive stylus will work great for taking notes or signing documents.
DeleteHave you ever used one of those for more than 10 minutes? I was part of a pilot iPad program in high school prior to the Apple Pencil existing, we all got a capacitive stylus with our borrowed iPad. They are practically unusable for writing unless you’re writing more for the aesthetic of writing vs actually wanting to read them back later. I gave up and just typed.
DeleteI used one extensively before the Apple Pencil came out. It did the trick. Not to mention, they have come a long way.
DeleteI lasted 2 weeks in undergrad trying to do this and I was only using my iPad to take notes for PChem. Apple Pencil is absolutely worth it for notes if you even use it a couple hours a week. At the very least Logitech Crayon is ~$50. This is coming from someone who used the Pencil FiftyThree RELIGIOUSLY when it came out.
DeleteiPad's supporting pencil have also become remarkably a better value in the past 5 years, When I was in PChem the only thing that existed was a $800 refurb iPad Pro, now you can get away with an iPad 10 or iPad Air for much cheaper.
I bought every single stylus out there before the Apple pencil came out, and hated every one of them. Even the 1st-gen Pencil was far easier to keep charged and far better to use. Apple will eventually get these Pencils sorted, but they can’t leave schools without a cheaper option.
DeleteWhat's the point of paying $79 for something with no pressure sensitivity? Might as well just use a "dumb" stylus.
ReplyDeleteEven the cheap S-Pen for my cheap tablet has pressure sensitivity. This is unacceptable for $79.
ReplyDeletebought the 1st generation pencil a year ago because I have an old iPad, and it was good until it lasted but it's not working anymore; it turns out if you don't charge it for a long time it just dies, $129 to the trash can -- thanks Apple!
ReplyDeletenever again
Still way overpriced.
ReplyDeleteI wish Apple would give their products actual names instead of calling every version the Apple Pencil.
ReplyDeleteComplete speculation but I feel they’re going to call the “Gen 3” Apple Pencil the Apple Pencil Pro.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe wacky iPad products continue.
ReplyDelete- No pressure unlike Pencil 1 and 2
- No ability to charge on the go from the iPad, unlike pencil 1 and 2, unless you carry a USB-C cable with you.
Bizarre.
Well, seeing as how people will likely be using USB C cables to charge their iPads, I don't think charging this is that big of a deal. Plug the cable directly into the iPad to charge the Pencil, it's fine. There are also male-to-male USB C dongles that will work. It's a whole lot better than the abomination of charging a Pencil 1 with a 10th gen iPad.
DeleteBeing able to charge without a cable is quite convenient.
DeleteI honestly don't understand the point of this product. Even if you assume it's solely to have a lower cost Apple Pencil on the market, the Pencil 2 goes on sale to $80-90 often enough that only the most cost conscious buyer would take this over waiting for a sale. Truly a baffling SKU.
DeleteIs there any likelihood that it exists solely to satisfy a USB-C charging requirement from the EU?
DeleteIPads other than the newest Pros and Airs do not support the Pencil 2, so this replace the lightning Pencil 1 as their only option. It is $20 cheaper (although at the cost of losing pressure sensitivity).
DeleteIt has also the advantage that, if you have basic and Pro/Air iPads in your household (or if you upgrade down the line) this will work with both.
It is also a $50 cheaper alternative for high end iPad users who do not mind losing wireless charging, pressure sensitivity, double tap, hover…
This will be on sale too
Not true. You plug in a USB-C cable into the iPad and the other end into the pencil. Boom, on-the-go charging.
DeleteDid you prefer the Pencil 1 way of charging where you had to plug the pencil itself into the lighting port of the iPad? Now that was wacky.
Uh... that is exactly what OP said...
DeleteYeah, but they contradicted themselves. The USB-C cable is technically a form of on-the-go charging.
DeleteAlso, I can't think of any other solution to charge the thing on-the-go beyond magnetic wireless charging, which Apple omitted to make it $50 cheaper.
And you’d already have the usb c cable there to charge the iPad anyway. It makes sense, usb c iPad and usb c Pencil to eventually replace the lightning iPad and lightning Pencil.
DeleteIt may sound wacky in theory but it worked out great in practice. You never had to worry about your pencil being discharged when out and about. Basically you never had to worry about charging it since the 'charger' was always with you.
DeleteNow you're gonna have to remember to charge this new pencil before you go to class. Or always carry a USB C cable with you.
This isn't really more elegant is all I'm saying.
Huh, neat. I'm not the market, since most of my use case for an Apple Pencil is art so I kinda need pressure sensitivity, but neat to have an option for those who just want to do note taking and such. As a sidenote, why is the first thing to go in entry-level styluses always pressure sensitivity? I know a lot of people that use an Apple Pencil for art, but are there just that many more of the aforementioned people who only take notes and don't need any pressure sensitivity?
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to accept '$79' as 'entry-level' price...
DeleteIt is down from the old $99 entry level price. So not only they absorbed the inflation but they actually lowered the price. But you know, hates gonna hate.
Delete$99 was not entry level price, since newer iPad pros/airs/mini can't use 1st gen pencil. It's just previous-gen price.
DeleteI can understand your confusion, if you check Apple compatibility website you might come to that conclusion. But the Apple Pencil 1st generation is compatible with ALL iPads Pro. Source: I have a "newer iPad Pro" and an Apple Pencil 1st generation and it works. I can confirm as well that it works with the iPad Air 5. I don't know if it works with the Mini 6 though.
DeleteLogitech's USB C crayon starts at $10 less and is missing some features. $79 isn't too bad and Apple Pencils are constantly at reduced prices. I wouldn't be surprised if this hits $49-$59 for Black Friday on Amazon or at Best Buy.
Delete3rd party styluses on iPad aren’t allowed to access pressure sensitivity or tilt as far as I am aware. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. Even so it’s probably for note takers. Don’t really need pressure sensitivity to write notes in science class.
Deletetilt works, it's just pressure sensitivity
DeleteAh, it’s October, so it’s time for Apple to continue it’s new annual tradition of releasing a slightly baffling product into the iPad category.
ReplyDeleteIt felt like Apple used to equal simplicity, am I getting old or are there product lines getting more confusing?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think they’re all that confusing but wouldn’t complain if they culled a couple products within each line, either.
DeleteMore options for consumers are better. I've never understood people wanting 2 products for each category with one being out of reach for most people. It's laid out clearly on their website and I don't think it's difficult to wrap your head around. Most people speak with their wallets and will buy whatever is in their price range. I doubt grandma is going to not buy a 10th Gen iPad because she doesn't understand where it falls in line compared to the 9th gen iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Air, or iPad Pros. She's going to buy whatever is in her budget and it's nice that Apple offers products across a series of budgets.
DeleteI was specifically talking about the 3 Apple Pencils that have 3 different specs which seems like…too many for granny? This new pencil feels like the right move as a budget option but that last year’s iPad and Pencil now feel really outside the rest of the lineup.
DeleteI doubt grandma is buying an Apple Pencil but, if she is, it's still easy. Getting a 9th gen iPad? Get the Pencil 1. Getting a 10th gen iPad? Get this. Anything else will work with this or the Pencil 2.
DeleteThe 9th gen iPad and Pencil 1 are the only ones that feel dated at this point. They don't use the newer iPad design language, same with the pencil feeling dated. I understand why Apple keeps it in their lineup, it's an inexpensive entry to their ecosystem and it does most things that people want to do on their iPads.
Maybe I missed it, but how can it magnetically attach the 10th gen iPad if that one doesn’t have magnets, due to the repositioned front facing camera?
ReplyDeletehas magnets, just not a wireless charging pad
DeleteWho would've thought USB C was the only solution to make that thing cheaper
ReplyDeleteI mean...they could've used this exact solution with a lightning port years ago, or just released this pencil years ago period. But yeah, better late then never.
DeleteRelease week, iPad drops later in the week?
ReplyDeleteOdd one-off if not
It would be very weird for Apple to launch the pencil all by itself unless that was really the only new thing we're getting. I think this is it.
DeleteApple releases products on Tuesdays, that's almost always the case. So if nothing else happens today, that would be it.
DeleteThey've done release drop weeks before
Delete$79 Stylus even without pressure sensitivity?
ReplyDeleteTotally nonsense.
At that point, just get a cheap one off Amazon. It would literally have the exact same feature set.
DeleteThose cheap ones aren't the best experience. I've tried a few and they always require powering on before use and, even then, it's a mixed bag whether my iPad would see them, or I would need to re-pair them to my device. I have one that supports magnetic and USB-C charging, but it lacks pressure and hover, the latter of which this pencil has. I was using it for a few months until I got the Pencil 2. My main issue was constantly needing to turn it on, having the battery drain because I forgot to turn it off after use (even though it was attached to my iPad), and it not reconnecting to my iPad. I briefly tried another cheap 3rd party pencil and had comparable results.
DeleteI'd rather spend the extra $40-$50 and get something that works and feels better, even if it is missing pressure sensitivity. It will have tilt and hover along with a more solid connection to iPads.
I noticed you corrected yourself, but it doesn't have pressure. I have a 9th gen iPad that I bought recently for college and hover would be useless for me (and almost everyone else) either way.
DeleteThe battery isn't a major issue on every one and at least the one I have can magnetically attach to the side. For that extra $40-50, you can literally get multiple of the off-brands. I actually got mine during Prime Big Deals for $16 from ESR. Works incredibly well.
i'm confused, why does it have a battery then?
DeleteProbably precision. Passive styluses basically emulate a fingertip to interact with the capacitive touch sensors, which is not very accurate. In fact, they can be pretty bad writing experiences.
DeleteMost precise/powered styluses have an additional sensing layer in the screen specifically for the device that allow them to achieve finer control and detail.
Precision and what is for my the most important reason, there is a huge different in palm rejection. Of course there is some sort of palm rejection implementations for passive styluses (stylussi?) but the one from the Apple Pencil is incredible superior.
Delete"Styli" if you want to sound especially erudite :)
Delete"better precision sensing" and "palm rejection" are interesting answers, thank for sharing.
Stylussy
DeleteBecause it uses tech that requires a battery for the screen to detect it. Pressure sensitivity itself doesn’t necessarily require a battery (Wacom styluses are every bit as advanced as Apple’s and don’t have a battery), but it all depends on what kind of tech is powering the thing.
Deletei always assumed that on wacom's devices the pressure sensitivity was handled by the device/screen alone. your reply made me search for more info and i just found out that, while the basic assumption was correct, it's much more complicated.
DeleteBuying an Apple Pencil definitely isn't the most needlessly complicated process possible. Definitely not.
ReplyDeleteThe most? Nah that honor goes to shopping for USB C cables that don't suck lol. But it's up there.
DeleteIt’ll probably become a lot simpler once they discontinue the 9th-gen iPad (AKA the last iPad with a Lightning port).
DeleteYet Pencil 1 supports pressure, can be charged from the iPad in the field without carrying anything else, has a headphone output and is significantly cheaper.
DeleteUSB-C iPads support headphone output too.
DeleteI think they meant a headphone jack, which USB-C iPads do not have.
DeleteCan be charged from the iPad... with a big asterisk. And requires a dongle if you don't want to charge it in the dumbest way imaginable.
Delete