Wacom and others use inductive pens and they have very good pressure sensitivity without the need for a battery.
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Apple Pencil Offers High Precision and Low Latency, Gains 30 Minutes of Use From 15-Second Charge
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Wacom and others use inductive pens and they have very good pressure sensitivity without the need for a battery.
You've nailed the exact reason they're calling it a Pencil instead of Pen.
Marketing.
That's because the pressure sensitivity exists in the pad/screen. ThePencil is a different animal, and it showed in the film that was in the presentation. Wacom and Microsoft, I'm sure, will have something similar soon.
Just an FYI: Microsoft only used Wacom stylus with this type of Operation for the Surface Pro 1 and Pro 2.
For the Surface Pro 3, they already switched to a similar technology Apple is probably using and is no longer using Wacom. They're now using N-Trigs technology that DOES require a battery in the pen(cil) as well.
And yet, the Note tablets and phones from Samsung - or Microsoft's surface - were ridiculed beyond belief when they launched because they included a stylus as an optional input mechanism. The mantra (even on this forum) was more often than not 'Because Steve said so', of course omitting the now popular claim that the was talking about tiny phone screens.
Now when Apple launches their own stylus, that (just like in the case of Note tablets/phones and Surface) is not needed for the everyday use of the device but an added feature that some will like it is suddenly important and useful.
It is the hypocrisy of it all that makes people have a lot of fun with this now, because it fits like a glove into the traditional reaction pattern: Features and functions that competing manufacturers have are always looked down upon and called useless. As soon as Apple adopts those same - or quite similar - features it is incredibly important and praised like the second coming.
This happens time and time and time again and proves that the reality distortion field works and that the cult of Apple has no problem with changing their minds radically over night solely based on if an Apple device has a feature or not:
- Screen resolution on a phone? Not important as long as Apple have one of the lowest on the market like they did the first years of the iPhone. Suddenly very important and a key feature as soon as retina is introduced and they for a short while surpassed other phones.
- Larger screens on cell phones? Not important and very stupid since Steve has decided the optimal phone size. Then Apple introduces larger screens and to everyone's surprise it is actually nice to have a screen you can do more with.
- Smart watches? Stupid toys, and laughable battery capacity - most only last 2 days before the need to be charged. Apple Watch is introduced with even worse battery capacity - and even that is not even considered a problem anymore.
NFC and the possibility to pay/unlock your door/use phone as a travelcard on the subway/bus/train and so on? Incredibly stupid stuff - you always have your wallet with you anyways. Who would pay with their phone? ApplePay arrives and guess what - this was quite useful and even a bit cool after all.
Well, you see where I am going with this - the constant quoting of Steve's comments about the stylus is largely a reaction to the way both Apple and the community treats features based solely on if they are available on the iPad/iPhone or not.
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Steve jobs is out of the picture, so it makes sense now ? only for a bigger screen
i still like the idea of a Apple pencil sharpener
The only good thing bout it was the audience laughed at the thought too ...
Things make more sense for larger displays, not smaller ones, and its probably needed too with that much resolution... pixel perfect...
I would have liked a pencil which lasted all day, but the the idea of it being cabled while u'r using it to achieve the same effect, just doesn't sit well.
i still like the idea of a Apple pencil sharpener
The only good thing bout it was the audience laughed at the thought too ...
Things make more sense for larger displays, not smaller ones, and its probably needed too with that much resolution... pixel perfect...
I would have liked a pencil which lasted all day, but the the idea of it being cabled while u'r using it to achieve the same effect, just doesn't sit well.
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The iPad Pro (whats so "pro" about his bigger tablet?) looks nice. I love it as on digital painter / illustrator, that the stylus is here with iPad. But, i still think the Surface Pro is a better device if you are serious with content creating. With basically a desktop computer in a tablet, you can start and finish work. Ready for print and acces to Adobe suite. Sure, this is a Apple news site / forum. But it could help for some here to be a little bit more skeptic. Apple has lost his focus on graphic designers for a long time now. (you know, the ones that use the brand before the iPhone) . So if i spent 1000+ euro on a tablet with pencil, i will be the surface pro 4! I wish they had released an iPad Pro with OSX + pencil. Than it would be the killer tablet.
My iPhone lighnting chargers frequently need to be replaced due to the connector simply wearing down after about a year's use. I don't think I would like to have to keep replacing the pencil just because of poor lifespan of the connector.
Apart from that it seems like it could be a very useful product.
Apart from that it seems like it could be a very useful product.
Insert statement about how Apple is never first, but often best. :lol:
This is the most on point statement on this page, and I fear far too few people are going to read it.
The more I look at the drawing aspect, the more I'm tempted by this.
Although I'll wait until I actually try one, part of me suspects that one of the first things I'll do if I buy an Apple Pencil is stick some white heat-shrink tubing onto it. The glossy plastic looks a bit too slick for comfortable drawing to me.
Although I'll wait until I actually try one, part of me suspects that one of the first things I'll do if I buy an Apple Pencil is stick some white heat-shrink tubing onto it. The glossy plastic looks a bit too slick for comfortable drawing to me.
In addition to just the pressure on the screen, the Pencil communicates with the iPad via bluetooth, which requires power.
"Who wants a stylus? You have to get them, and put them away, and you lose them. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus. So let's not use a stylus."
Pretty sure he was talking about the thin plastic styluses of the time one needed to press ridiculously small buttons on your phone that were next to impossible to accurately hit with your finger. I always hate it when writers pull things out of context.
Pretty sure he was talking about the thin plastic styluses of the time one needed to press ridiculously small buttons on your phone that were next to impossible to accurately hit with your finger. I always hate it when writers pull things out of context.
This is pretty awesome. I have been severely disappointed in Wacom in the past few years with the Intuos 5, Pro and Cintique products which are simply made of cheap plastic and have become noticeably less accurate and increasingly laggy compared to the Intuos 4 which was a true quality device. The Cintique in particular has a huge gap between the screen and the drawing surface, which means that depending on where your head is, you may have no clue where the hell you're drawing. The iPad has a fused glass screen so this won't be an issue. I've always wondered what Apple would come up with, and it looks like this may be quite good.
The question for me is: how could you use this in Photoshop on your computer, for example? It really looks like an iPad with a pencil could entirely replace a Cintique and actually be much better, too. I wonder if there's going to be a way to connect it like those apps that allow the iPad to be a second computer monitor without lag. If you could have full desktop Photoshop running under that huge retina iPad screen that would be insane.
The question for me is: how could you use this in Photoshop on your computer, for example? It really looks like an iPad with a pencil could entirely replace a Cintique and actually be much better, too. I wonder if there's going to be a way to connect it like those apps that allow the iPad to be a second computer monitor without lag. If you could have full desktop Photoshop running under that huge retina iPad screen that would be insane.
A stylus is a inert plastic nib... This is infinitely different.
And this was talking about phones.
I am really hoping they release either a connection to OSX and/or a new magic trackpad that can use it.
Well of course the apple pencil isn't as advanced as the surface 3 pen as the surface 3 is about 2 years old.
But the point is; would it be included if it was. It's not like the surface pro is cheap.
The interesting thing is this can hopefully be used with a future Magic Trackpad for OSX making it multi use.
i still like the idea of a Apple pencil sharpener
That's quite brilliant in fact.
They could have made a small charger connecting to the iPad pro with a female lightning connector to which you plug in your Apple Pencil, thus effectively sharpening it...
My biggest disappointment was the lack of eraser sensor and the fact that there isn't a clever way to store/charge the pencil integrated into the iPad Pro itself. I feel like Apple is capable of something mind-blowing, and they came up short on the creativity/design end here.
From a technical perspective, it looks to function really well. I'm planning on getting one. Nailing the latency will be a very big deal.
From a technical perspective, it looks to function really well. I'm planning on getting one. Nailing the latency will be a very big deal.
Great idea but very badly implemented.
Why, in 2015, do you need a battery in the pencil? It makes the pen heavier, it makes the pen bigger, it needs recharging, the battery will be bad over time and so on.
Even my old Wacom doesn't have battery in the pens, mouses and so on, and the same on my Samsung Note - no battery in the pen.
And yes, both Wacom and Samsung have pressure sensitive pen that even works at a distance from the screen (about 1-2 cm), and it has an angle sensor (i.e. for airbrush painting), and without any Bluetooth (that I'm not allowed to have on in certain places at work).
As so often nowadays it seems that apple is a couple of years, at least, behind.
The pen, NFC, camera ability, using Bluetooth for all kind of stuff (like sending files), remember in the iPhone beginning were there were no MMS? e.t.c.
This pen thing might be a big news and a huge Wow for all Apple fans, but in reality - it's been there for years already, in other platforms, and better implemented.
Why, in 2015, do you need a battery in the pencil? It makes the pen heavier, it makes the pen bigger, it needs recharging, the battery will be bad over time and so on.
Even my old Wacom doesn't have battery in the pens, mouses and so on, and the same on my Samsung Note - no battery in the pen.
And yes, both Wacom and Samsung have pressure sensitive pen that even works at a distance from the screen (about 1-2 cm), and it has an angle sensor (i.e. for airbrush painting), and without any Bluetooth (that I'm not allowed to have on in certain places at work).
As so often nowadays it seems that apple is a couple of years, at least, behind.
The pen, NFC, camera ability, using Bluetooth for all kind of stuff (like sending files), remember in the iPhone beginning were there were no MMS? e.t.c.
This pen thing might be a big news and a huge Wow for all Apple fans, but in reality - it's been there for years already, in other platforms, and better implemented.
Fortunately, you don't actually need the Pencil to use an iPad Pro. It's only for those applications that require high-precision input.
If you listen to the line just before that quote, Jobs was going off on Windows-based tablets which, for the prior 10 years, required you to use a stylus as an input device, because it was emulating a mouse. I tried to use some of these tablets with my fingers and most apps couldn't be used because the UI was an unmodified Windows desktop UI.
That's what Jobs was complaining about. Big difference from an iPad and a pencil for those apps that require precision input.
But that's not what he said. Maybe you should look at the video "apolloa" posted.
Yes. And he was talking about it in the context of trying to run a full desktop operating system with a desktop UI, on a tablet. A mouse-based UI requires far more precision than fingers can provide, hence the need (not just occasional desire) for a stylus. And that's where the failure comes from.
Absolutely true. And I'm sure Apple R&D experimented with such a device. They probably found a reason why it was inappropriate for an iPad. Off the top of my head, I'd guess that the need to maintain the field that powers the pen significantly reduced battery life.
He quit clearly stated a stylus on a tablet is a failure. You can spin it anyway you want, at the end of the day, the iPad Pro is a giant tablet with a optional stylus. Steve Jobs ergo Apple stated you have failed if you have a stylus on a tablet.
And you have repeatedly proven that you are only willing to listen to half a sentence and are ignoring the context of the rest of the interview.
But maybe you're right. I'm just a stupid jerk who doesn't realize the absolute truth that Apple's iPad is a total and complete failure because someone dared to make a stylus available for it. Nothing else matters. The rest of the design, the apps, the extreme popularity is meaningless. It's a complete and total failure because that's the way you interpreted a Steve Jobs interview from 10 years ago.
Congratulations. You win. I hope it makes you feel better, because nobody else cares.