Apple Pencil Adapter for New iPad Facing Up to One-Month Shipping Delay

[darngooddesign]

This is the entry level iPad and we're talking about what is basically legacy support for the original pencil that never had a great charging experience in the first place.

This iPad is a very inexpensive device and you should expect some compromises. You can literally spend a few dollars more on the Air or the mini and have Pencil 2 support.

So what you're saying is that something is better than the less expensive thing, but not as good as the more expensive thing???????

 

[klasma]

So moronic if true. They obviously could have made room for the magnetic charger if that’s all that keeps it from being second gen pencil compatible. I suspect there may be more to it than that though.

It seems to be difficult, or else the new iPad Pros should have gotten a landscape camera as well.

 

[thebeans]

Getting these vibes.

Indeed. It continues to astound me that a company that can come up with such brilliant designs most of the time, can actually make something like this.

 

[NightFox]

 

[Hurda]

This is the entry level iPad and we're talking about what is basically legacy support for the original pencil ...

... for which they had to introduce a new SKU to include the USBC-to-Lightning adapter.

 

[4look4rd]

The Apple Pencil 2 might be the dumbest design mistake Apple has ever made because it screwed up their entire iPad product line up.

iPad pros and Air can’t have the cameras in the right place because of the magnets required to charge the Apple Pencil 2, regular iPads can’t charge the pencil 2 because it doesn‘t have magnets and can’t charge the pencil 1 because it has a different port.

They could have easily solved that problem by providing either an external charging cradle with the pencil out of the box, or a backup cable charging solution. But instead they insisted on a technically complex solution to create the sense of a simple solution.

They are going to have to completely redesign their entire iPad line up because of this mistake.

 

[The Phazer]

I'm not trying to defend Apple for not going with the gen 2 pencil on this one. HOWEVER: it is funny that when the original pencil was first released, people complained about having to stick it in the iPad directly, because it looked silly, was awkward to handle, and would be prone to breakage. Almost everyone suggested that using a cable instead would have been a better move. Now that a cable is involved (adapter notwithstanding), everyone still complains about it looking silly 😆. In short, I think the silliness is not the adapter (since it gets included with new pencils and is tiny) or the cable, but the fact that they're still using the original pencil at all.

Literally nobody said a separate cable was a good idea.

Everyone said the adaptor needed to be sideways, inductive, or have built in flex. A standalone cable? No. If for no other reason that lightning extension cables already existed, so if that was an issue people could have just bought one then.

 

[MayaUser]

We wont know for sure until the Pencil 2 iPads get the landscape camera, which is simply a matter of when not if.

we will see, but by then maybe Apple will make the ipad pro thicker and then ok

 

[ctg7w6]

I'm not trying to defend Apple for not going with the gen 2 pencil on this one. HOWEVER: it is funny that when the original pencil was first released, people complained about having to stick it in the iPad directly, because it looked silly, was awkward to handle, and would be prone to breakage. Almost everyone suggested that using a cable instead would have been a better move. Now that a cable is involved (adapter notwithstanding), everyone still complains about it looking silly 😆. In short, I think the silliness is not the adapter (since it gets included with new pencils and is tiny) or the cable, but the fact that they're still using the original pencil at all.

I actually came here to say this. I had the original pencil and I was here when it came out. I complained about it along with everyone else. It was the most ridiculous design that was likely to result in breaking. We lambasted apple, appropriately, because any small acccident would result in it breaking inside the iPad.

I would have LOVED to just have a cable.

But the real idiocy here is that apple is still using the original pencil on a brand new device. It was an ok pencil for the time but the new one is way way better.

Apple, figure out wtf you are doing with iPads and do it and simplify this crap. The iPad is my favorite device ever but you are flubbing the entire thing with your directionless management.

 

[darngooddesign]

This is how thick the Pencil 2 magnet/charger and bracket is. No space for that above the camera and sensor bracket without making the bezels thicker. And Apple knows how much ya'll hate thick bezels.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

... for which they had to introduce a new SKU to include the USBC-to-Lightning adapter.

It's a product in a transitional phase. I'm much happier that it has transitioned to USB-C than I am sad that the near-obsolete Pencil 1 is less convenient for some people to charge.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

So what you're saying is that something is better than the less expensive thing, but not as good as the more expensive thing???????

I'm saying that when you're shopping in the value segment, expect compromises and be happy that sensible workarounds exist.

Honestly, they probably could have dropped Pencil support entirely from this revision and hardly anyone would have noticed (except on MR).

 

[mystery hill]

This is how thick the Pencil 2 magnet/charger and bracket is. No space for that above the camera and sensor bracket without making the bezels thicker. And Apple knows how much ya'll hate thick bezels.
View attachment 2099085

So the landscape camera won’t be available when they refresh the iPad Pro and iPad Air design?

 

[darngooddesign]

So the landscape camera won’t be available when they refresh the iPad Pro and iPad Air design?

Unless Apple decides its fine with the Pencil being off-center, not with the current Pencil 2 that uses a single centered magnet; there are alternatives like a Pencil 3 with smaller chargers on either side of the Face ID.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

The Apple Pencil 2 might be the dumbest design mistake Apple has ever made because it screwed up their entire iPad product line up.

iPad pros and Air can’t have the cameras in the right place because of the magnets required to charge the Apple Pencil 2, regular iPads can’t charge the pencil 2 because it doesn‘t have magnets and can’t charge the pencil 1 because it has a different port.

They could have easily solved that problem by providing either an external charging cradle with the pencil out of the box, or a backup cable charging solution. But instead they insisted on a technically complex solution to create the sense of a simple solution.

They are going to have to completely redesign their entire iPad line up because of this mistake.

The Apple Pencil 2 is a fantastic design. It works perfectly with the iPads it is intended to work with. I wouldn't want an external charger or a cable. It would make it less, not more.

Really what Apple should do is kill off the cheap iPad entirely.

 

[TigerNike23]

Where are the simps and Apple apologists from the other day?

That picture included in the article is peak Tim Cook Apple. Supply-line savings over form and function.

 

[lazyrighteye]

Pencil 1 support only, is one thing.
Requiring an adaptor to charge, is another thing.
Seeing a 1-month delay on the adaptor just a few days after updating iPads is just next level dumb. How bizarre.*



*By bizarre, I mean annoying. And I'm not even in the market for the combo that is iPad + Pencil 1.

 

[Crow_Servo]

They should’ve just included the adapter with the new iPad. But I guess that’s wasteful if a lot of people never end up using the Pencil with it.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Good point, tbh.

I think i would prefer the cable instead of having it stick out. Especially while using the device.

I'm more upset at the awful user experience this creates. Hey, want to charge a pencil? You used to be able to just plug the pencil in, but because of some idiotic reason we dont care to tell you we didn't go with the inductive charging stuff but came up with this abortion!

Great job Apple, this is the apple mouse 2.0, at least users dont have to flip it over.

In case this is new to you, this charging method was also available for the original Pencil 1. It came with a lightning to lightning adapter in the box along with the tips, and this just switches one end to USB-C. It's not the best way to charge (obviously they should just have standardized everything to Pencil 2), but it's also not some new whacky thing that Apple just concocted for this generation.

 

[Return Zero]

Literally nobody said a separate cable was a good idea.

Everyone said the adaptor needed to be sideways, inductive, or have built in flex. A standalone cable? No. If for no other reason that lightning extension cables already existed, so if that was an issue people could have just bought one then.

Right, and many people did buy extension cables for it, proving my point. I didn't say people thought a separate cable was the best idea, or even a good one, just a better move than plugging straight in (under the condition that we weren't offered an ideal solution like induction at that time).

 

[anthogag]

Landscape camera people all use the keyboard folio, they don't need a Pencil. 🤪

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Can't use the production-slots of the iPhone 14 Plus? 😬


Does that also work with data-connections for pairing?

I don't have one, but it does say it works for charging and data, so chances are it will.

 

[GuruZac]

If I had to guess the cost of adding the magnets for Gen 2 Pencil would made the vanilla iPad redundant and cost almost as much as the iPad Air (which if that doesn't show how redundant the iPad Air is I don't know what does.)

The entire iPad lineup is a mess and iPadOS makes it even worse. Honestly just stick with the 9th Gen. There's no reason to buy new iPads anymore.

It is redundant, and the iPad Air is as well. Simplify the line:

iPad: iPad 10 with current specs but add Apple Pencil 2 support.
iPad Pro: iPad Pro 11 and 12.9, with landscape cameras.

Everyone would be much happier. Luckily for Apple, most of their customers are not geeks who care about such details like this dongle, but at a certain point, their bloated lines will catch up.

 

[IamTimCook]

I'm not trying to defend Apple for not going with the gen 2 pencil on this one. HOWEVER: it is funny that when the original pencil was first released, people complained about having to stick it in the iPad directly, because it looked silly, was awkward to handle, and would be prone to breakage. Almost everyone suggested that using a cable instead would have been a better move. Now that a cable is involved (adapter notwithstanding), everyone still complains about it looking silly 😆. In short, I think the silliness is not the adapter (since it gets included with new pencils and is tiny) or the cable, but the fact that they're still using the original pencil at all.

This ^
Was going to say the same. If Apple is sticking with the first Gen for cost savings then adding a cable to to charge solves soooooooooo many issues. I also love that you can charge and use the pencil at the same time, brilliant! And guess what Apple includes the adapter in the box. Like you said would have been nice for Gen 2 though.

 

[JoshNori]

This is beyond pathetic. And at $9. Yet the lack of chargers save the “environment” while this dongle is perfectly cool? They disgust me sometimes.