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Apple Announces Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil for New iPad Pro
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Best money ever spent on a computer in my life.
I think you're misunderstanding the purpose of the device. This is an input device, not a "smart pen" storage device.
Yeah, I'm surprised Apple didn't use the brand-new magnetic connector on the side of the iPad pro to charge the pencil. It would be more compact and safer (nothing to snap off)
Yep, looked like it does to me. I bought a stylus a while back for my iPad Air, and that's my one complaint when using it with Bamboo paper, that there's no palm rejection. I had to wear a thin glove in order to keep it from happening. Not the best look if you're in public
For a "pro" product, shouldn't key accessories like the stylus be included? Especially at those price points?
I have a feeling people would've felt better had apple just charged an extra $200 across the board and included the keyboard and pencil.
I should probably assume that these comments (and others like them) are just jokes, but just in case people are serious about these kinds of comments, please note that the Apple Pencil is both pressure- and angle-sensitive and has pixel-level resolution.
This is not the cheap $1 stylus people have been using with their smartphones for the past 10 years but a precision input device comparable to those used by professional graphics tablets. If it works as advertised, it will be well worth $100.
I would love it as well, but I don't think it's going to happen. The new keyboard requires a proprietary connector that only the iPad Pro has.
The pencil seems to work in conjunction with sensors in the iPad. The presentation pointed out that the digitizer works at a much higher resolution than normal, and it can track fingers at the same time as the pencil point. This sounds to me like there's some tech in the iPad Pro needed to facilitate the pencil.
I will expect, however, that these features will be ported to lower-end devices in the future.
I think the keyboard would be awkward with other devices (mini keys aren't comfortable, and if the keyboard is bigger than the device, what's the advantage over just transporting a BT keyboard?
I think it would make a lot of sense to port the pencil's tech to smaller devices in the future. I think it would be great for next-genreation iPad Airs and Minis, and even iPhones and iPod Touches. I don't know when this will ship, but I assume it will, eventually, at least for the iPads.
We'll have to see the actual product when it ships, but I would hope that there is some other way to charge the pencil than hanging off of the iPad's lightening connector. A cable with a USB connector at one end and a lightening recepaicle on the other would be ideal - so you could use a computer or a generic charging brick.
But I agree, it would not be very user-friendly if direct connection to the iPad's lightening connector is the only way to charge it.
Some people would, but others definitely would not.
I think it's safe to assume that there will be bundles like this. If not from Apple, then from other stores like Best Buy and Amazon.
You should read up on the technology inside the Pencil. It's pretty amazing. It may not be what you need and the price might be more than what you want to pay, but calling it a "metal cylinder" is a bit like dismissing the iPad as a serving platter.
Joking inside, the technology is awesome. But its not pixel accurate. If you have 5 mil pixels on a 12.9" screen, there's no way you are picking out a single pixel. None. Never. Ever. It's false marketing to justify the cost of the device. I could see $59 or $69 for this, but $99 is a rip.
Apple Pencil
~ Rechargeable battery
+ Pressure, tilt, and angle sensors
Surface Pro 3 Pen
~ 1 AAAA + 2 cell batteries (the former powers the N-Trig stuff, while the latter powers the bluetooth LE functions)
- Pressure sensor
+ Additional buttons for erasing, right-clicking, and opening OneNote
- Has some tracking issues when moved slowly across the screen. (you get glittery lines)
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I saw absolutely no mention of tilt detection in any of the literature or reviews I went through. Heck, N-Trig, which is what the Pro 3 uses (not Wacom like its predecessors), seems to have only patented a means of detecting tilt a few months ago.
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The Pencil and keyboard cover are priced okay but the primary problem is that there is no way to connect an external drive and there are no pro level apps like Photoshop and Lightroom. With either application you can end up with files larger than a gigabyte. Multiply that times 20-30 plus the pro apps and you'll quickly run or of room with no way to expand it.
I'm not saying it should run OS X but it should run some kind of mix of iOS and OS X to give it the ability to run pro level applications. Otherwise it's nothing more than a large iPad with a pen and keyboard. I'm a bit it disappointed with what they did with it.
I'm not saying it should run OS X but it should run some kind of mix of iOS and OS X to give it the ability to run pro level applications. Otherwise it's nothing more than a large iPad with a pen and keyboard. I'm a bit it disappointed with what they did with it.
But that would mean people who only want the iPad would pay a premium for stuff they don't want. I'd like Apple to have a bundle discount but that ain't happening.
I'm really interested to see how it works with the APencil and PowerPoint. If I can draw and project on screen it would be great for executive workshops I facilitate. If Office would migrate file linking to iOS it could replace my mac pro on many trips.
Now if Apple builds in HWR at some point it would be killer.
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