Apple Pencil 2 Not Compatible With Older iPads and Original Apple Pencil Won't Work With New Models

[sracer]

I’m not sure how you squared that circle. Suppose my iPad is not doing so well but I have an older pencil that’s doing great. Now I’m forced to buy two new products if I still want the pencil.

I think over the longer term this works out fine for people who either don’t have a pencil already, but it’s a bummer for those people who may have been wanting only one or the other in the near future. There’s also the spectre of additional products going down this path. The premise behind remaining in the Apple ecosystem is that products will retain cross-functionality for a long time and hence improve the life cycle of a purchase.

If it isn’t about bilking customers from their money, Apple should consider a trade-in for the pencils to show good faith.

Your feelings are your feelings. I don't want to try to convince you to change your feelings. Incompatible accessories are a way of life and not something that is unique to Apple. That is the downside of proprietary accessories. An ecosystem is NOT for the customer's benefit... it is primarily for the company's.

If compatibility is important, then open standards or quasi-standards are the way to go. Some of Apple's competitors use quasi-standards like a Wacom stylus that are interchangeable across brands.

 

[Niklas_nick]

I get that the new pencil isn’t compatible with the older iPads since it needs the connector for charging and pairing, as stupid as that is.

But if the old pencil won’t connect with the new Pro, that would just be total BS. Maybe they declare it “non compatible” because the pencil can’t be charged through the USB-C port but the connection should just be Bluetooth?

 

[djeeyore25]

Unless you have a very specific need, like art or photography work, the pencil is not a necessary expense. I have the first pencil but rarely use it. My $1 stylus works just as well for scrolling. The second version does have better features for charging, etc.

 

[CalBoy]

Your feelings are your feelings. I don't want to try to convince you to change your feelings. Incompatible accessories are a way of life and not something that is unique to Apple. That is the downside of proprietary accessories. An ecosystem is NOT for the customer's benefit... it is primarily for the company's.

If compatibility is important, then open standards or quasi-standards are the way to go. Some of Apple's competitors use quasi-standards like a Wacom stylus that are interchangeable across brands.

I disagree, partially, there. Closed systems can offer certain benefits (quality, convenience, etc) while coming with certain disadvantages (price, limited choice, etc). The issue I have with the pencils is that it seems to undermine convenience for those who already have some products and don’t need a whole set of new ones. The issue here isn’t about open vs closed so much as it is that Apple is behaving a lot more like a third party accessory maker (only supporting select models as tech changes-totally normal for accessory makers to do) while charging its ecosystem price.

I’m being cynical when I assume they’re doing this only because they can, and they know it. The pencil is a must for only a small pool of the customer base and isn’t as expensive as a phone, so most customers will be irritated, roll their eyes, and pay up. But, it portends a bad idea that Apple may try to take too far.

 

[NachoGrande]

So much fragmentation now... I don't even know what-is-what anymore...


home button/no home buttons, /r/s/xr/xs, pencil 1/ pencil 2. headphone/no head phone... pro/not pro, lightning port/usb c....

 

[iamgalt]

This is BS. I can understand the new pencil not working on older iPads, and I know wireless charging won't work on the first gen AP, but there is no reason why it shouldn't still be able to draw on the new iPad. I currently have a foam pad on pencil to make it more comfortable to use for long periods of time, and now I won't be able to do that because it'll interfere with both magnetic charging on the ipad, and capacitive touch controls. And now I find out I can't use my old pencil either. Total cash grab and BS.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Hmmm, okay... charging won't work. We agree on that. But why won't usage work? Let's say you have and use the previous and this new iPod Pro. Then this means you also need two pencils.

Seems more like a money grab.

I'm guessing that pairing wouldn't work either. The new iPads don't have lightning and the older iPads don't have wireless charging for the pencil. Since the new pencil pair via the same method as charging and the old one pairs via the lightning port, there is no way to make it backward compatible.

 

[Kobayagi]

I'm guessing that pairing wouldn't work either. The new iPads don't have lightning and the older iPads don't have wireless charging for the pencil. Since the new pencil pair via the same method as charging and the old one pairs via the lightning port, there is no way to make it backward compatible.

Hm, yeah that could be it. We'll see what's up when the reviews start rolling out.

 

[bilibug]

I'm really disappointed with today's event. I was planning to buy a new large iPad Pro and pencil, as well as maybe a Mac Mini. Now I don't think I will get any of them, and live with my older models until they die. For one, the price gouging is a major turnoff. But more so, the Apple Pencil incompatibility screams of a company which lacks a clear product development path. The products released the last few years seem rushed. I got burned once before with my iPad 3, which was obsoleted within 6 months. As many have said, the new fragmentation is overwhelming. If the new iPads were going to have USB C, then the new phones should have had them. Other than product development in a silo, there was no valid excuse to hold back on the change of technology. And all the hot wind about the notch on the iPhone X being iconic. If that is the case, why isn't there a notch on the new iPads. If the excuse is the availability of space due to the larger bezel, then why does the iPhone XR have a notch? All signs is of a company that lacks cohesion in their design team, something that violates everything the old Apple under Jobs stood for. I miss the simplicity and uniform design of those products.

 

[tommyminahan]

Every time Apple releases a new product:
“***** Apple and their damn dongles for everything!!”

This iPad:
“***** Apple! Why won’t they release a dongle for the original pencil?”

can’t please anyone.

 

[one more]

A pity.

 

[VictorTango777]

The new pencils are cool, but this almost feels like an intentional move to punish people who bought either product before today.

There’s a lot about Apple’s recent decisions that honestly come across as taking customers for granted.

Maybe Apple realized the lollipop charging method in the original Pencil was such an embarrassment that they wanted to completely forget it ever existed.

 

[Anarchy99]

got a iPad 6th gen for "free" a few weeks ago, waited on buying an apple pencil hoping the number 2 pencil would work.
too bad, totally would have bought it & a wireless charging dongle if they offered one.

so i could get a more functional/(more futureproof?) pencil so in the future if i decide to go pro it would be cheaper.

 

[Kobayagi]

I'm really disappointed with today's event. I was planning to buy a new large iPad Pro and pencil, as well as maybe a Mac Mini. Now I don't think I will get any of them, and live with my older models until they die. For one, the price gouging is a major turnoff. But more so, the Apple Pencil incompatibility screams of a company which lacks a clear product development path. The products released the last few years seem rushed. I got burned once before with my iPad 3, which was obsoleted within 6 months. As many have said, the new fragmentation is overwhelming. If the new iPads were going to have USB C, then the new phones should have had them. Other than product development in a silo, there was no valid excuse to hold back on the change of technology. And all the hot wind about the notch on the iPhone X being iconic. If that is the case, why isn't there a notch on the new iPads. If the excuse is the availability of space due to the larger bezel, then why does the iPhone XR have a notch? All signs is of a company that lacks cohesion in their design team, something that violates everything the old Apple under Jobs stood for. I miss the simplicity and uniform design of those products.

I hear you about the prices. I kinda wanted a new iPad Pro to replace my Air 2. But I use it very casually. Youtube, email and browsing, that sort of stuff. And no matter how many times Apple says it could do pro things, stuff I actually do everyday, like photo and video editing. It just won't cut it when you need folders, quick navigation and the precision of a mouse. It will never do those things because of iOS. So paying €1000+ for a casual albeit pretty device is not happening.

But the XR still having a notch is probably something that has to do with its' LCD. The bezels are thicker because of that. And even if they could put all the sensors and camera's in the bezels, they probably didn't want to do it, because it would look different (and better) than the XS and that would create even more confusion.

 

[Karma*Police]

Makes sense. Older iPad owners wouldn't be able to charge the new Pencil 2 as they don't have inductive charging. And new iPads don't have Lightning to charge the older Pencil.

Great releases all around but they could’ve at least made the new iPads compatible with the original Apple Pencils. You don’t need an iPad to charge them

 

[Richdmoore]

Great releases all around but they could’ve at least made the new iPads compatible with the original Apple Pencils. You don’t need an iPad to charge them

You plug the pencil into the iPad to initially pair them to each other (you can recharge with a lightning cable adapter but not pair them).

I am sure someone will try pairing a usb-c to lightning cable, then use the small lightning female adapter (included in the box with the pencil) to plug it in and try, but I have my doubts it will work (Apple would have probably mentioned it.)

I wonder if there are more technical issues than just the port changeover that precludes a dongle to adapt the old pencil to the new iPad.

At least with all the returns from people that inevitably buy the wrong version, apple’s refurb store should be pretty well stocked for the forceable future with discounted pencils.

 

[subjonas]

The Apple website is very clear for the old and new Pencils. The new only only supports the new iPads, and the old one only supports the old iPads. Yes easily tested once someone gets a new iPad Pro to test it with.

Ok thanks. I’m thinking though it might just be Apple not officially supporting the older pencil, but it might still work. Hoping anyway. I’ll be very curious to find out as I have two pencils that I’d love to be able to keep as extra at my work and at home. Though having to plug all that in to pair it every time may be more trouble than it’s worth.

 

[goobot]

No.

It would be possible with an adapter but not a normal lighting cable by itself. The pencil has a plug not a socket.

The og pencil came with an adapter to charge with a lighting cable right in the box.

 

[spazzcat]

Can you not use a lightning cable to charge Apple Pencil 1.0? If you are on-the-go, are you not carrying a lightning cable? Is inductive charging different from wireless charging that iPhones use?

These are -terrible- reasons to make the pencils not compatible with each other. Naked money grab.

You plug the pencil into the iPad to charge it.

 

[Flabasha]

Kind of odd decision, actually. I'm not going to upgrade my 12.9", but I would've bought the new Pencil and a charging station if it was compatible.

That's $200 they're not gonna get from older iPad Pro owners now. Ah well, the old Pencil is great.

 

[uwdude]

I'm really disappointed with today's event. I was planning to buy a new large iPad Pro and pencil, as well as maybe a Mac Mini. Now I don't think I will get any of them, and live with my older models until they die. For one, the price gouging is a major turnoff. But more so, the Apple Pencil incompatibility screams of a company which lacks a clear product development path. The products released the last few years seem rushed. I got burned once before with my iPad 3, which was obsoleted within 6 months. As many have said, the new fragmentation is overwhelming. If the new iPads were going to have USB C, then the new phones should have had them. Other than product development in a silo, there was no valid excuse to hold back on the change of technology. And all the hot wind about the notch on the iPhone X being iconic. If that is the case, why isn't there a notch on the new iPads. If the excuse is the availability of space due to the larger bezel, then why does the iPhone XR have a notch? All signs is of a company that lacks cohesion in their design team, something that violates everything the old Apple under Jobs stood for. I miss the simplicity and uniform design of those products.

Exactly, the quicker that people realize that Apple is now a fashion electronics company, not the Apple with a certain product vision that we knew 10-15 years ago, the better off we will be.

The clues have been there- hiring Ahrendts to head up the stores from Burberry, the margins (what other sectors usually have a 30-40% margin, that's right apparel and accessories), having events at places like this opera house today, focusing mainly on having stores in fashion malls....it has all been there. We didn't see it because they were selling electronics, but Apple operates on a fashion store business model.

Once we understand this, a lot of the other policies and development decisions about the products become understood. It's not the direction I would have taken the company, but it is what they are doing, and it has allowed them to cash in on the previous successes in a big way, although i think that will start to fade now.

 

[Mac 128]

Every time Apple releases a new product:
“***** Apple and their damn dongles for everything!!”

This iPad:
“***** Apple! Why won’t they release a dongle for the original pencil?”

can’t please anyone.

Except this time they displeased everyone. Not only are new dongles required, but new accessories as I can't imagine they'll make an adapter to use old Lightning accessories with USC-C. And, there's no way to use the Pencil, for any other apparent reason than Apple is intentionally not supporting it.

You plug the pencil into the iPad to initially pair them to each other (you can recharge with a lightning cable adapter but not pair them).

I am sure someone will try pairing a usb-c to lightning cable, then use the small lightning female adapter (included in the box with the pencil) to plug it in and try, but I have my doubts it will work (Apple would have probably mentioned it.)

I wonder if there are more technical issues than just the port changeover that precludes a dongle to adapt the old pencil to the new iPad.

At least with all the returns from people that inevitably buy the wrong version, apple’s refurb store should be pretty well stocked for the forceable future with discounted pencils.

I can't imagine that Apple changed the entire way the Apple Pencil works with the new iPad Pro. Anything is possible, and if that's the case, then so be it. But if the wireless protocol is the same, there's only one reason why it won't pair, and that's Apple chose to intentionally not support Lighting pairing and charging over USB-C.

 

[Liminal75]

Its ******** for many reasons. First of all, pencils are full of plastic and cannot be fix as the battery is not reachable. Wacoms pens doesnt need batteries, can last forever. Samsung, IBM, pens with same technology can be use between devices (my galaxy note pens worked on my Thinkpad) Surfaces pens are compatibles between them and use AAAA battery, easily changeable. So all those pencils can last for a very long time, Apple pencils will die more fast. Micro fast charges are bad for lithium. Prices are going up again, no usb-c - lightning in the box, no usb-c - headphone jack in the box. And still no infos about pressure sensitivity etc so maybe its the same technology, with just touch buttons and magnetic charge.

 

[44267547]

Not surprised. No reverse or forward compatibility, and bump the price up 30%.
Apple pushing the price boundaries as usual.

Although they make the best hardware with their products, the prices are slowly rising across-the-board with the iPhone, Apple Watch and the iPad, now including the Apple Pencil. I understand Apple is out to make money and they’re successful at doing it, but at some point, consumers are _not_ glong to be able to justify the price point depending their usage. For us tech related individuals, we might be more passionate about Apple products and how we justify the upgrades, but there are those who are not willing to pay some of the these inflated prices.

 

[BorderingOn]

No.

It would be possible with an adapter but not a normal lighting cable by itself. The pencil has a plug not a socket.

The pencil did come with an adapter. I charge mine with a lightning cable all the time.