Apple Pencil Offers High Precision and Low Latency, Gains 30 Minutes of Use From 15-Second Charge

[ChrisCW11]

This is the first sign in a very long time there is still innovation left at Apple.

By shucking the "Jobism" that styluses suck and always will suck and realizing that one of the most natural things people do is grasp a pencil to write and draw on paper, I think this is the first good and original decision Tim Cook has made since taking over Apple. Poking at a solid surface is not natural regardless of Steve Jobs belief, but drawing on a surface is one of the first things we learn as an infant and people today still grab a pen and paper to jot down ideas more quickly than any other input method. I still have paper scattered around me at work and home and I have been waiting a long time for a good device that can replace all that.

I wasn't overly impressed with the idea of just a large iPad added to the model line, but this Pencil feature, along with the fact that it seems to be very low latency and precise might be the first true digital replacement of pen and paper and is worth further investigation. Hopefully real-life use is as close to the ecstatic marketing hyperbolism that surrounds this feature right now.

The only thing silly is having the pen stick out of the iPad's Lightning port like some phallic wang. Certainly Jony Ive's could have figured out a little more elegant charging solution.

Not sure I will buy the Pro, it's too large, but I am sure the iPad Air 3 will have this new technology built into it next year.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

I think it's because if you make a mistake with a pencil you can simply erase it. Just going by Logic. With a pen, not so much or even at all.

Logic is a totally different product.

 

[rowspaxe]

What are the chances of this working with Air 2?

none. the pencil addresses a digitizing grid in the pro the air 2 does not have

 

[Analog Kid]

Why not call it Apple Pen? Sounds better to me.

Any ideas?

I'm not an artist by any stretch, but I think a pencil is more expressive. It can be made to do more things depending on how it's held and used unlike, say, a ballpoint. Calligraphy pens are different, of course, but I don't think that's what people think of when they think of a pen.

The tip looks more pencil-like as well.

 

[jbyun04]

Why are people complaining so much about the price of the stylus? It's clearly targeted at a certain audience. If you don't need the specific functionality of it, get the cheaper alternative. What's the problem??

Apple does something for its pro users and people complain. Obviously...

 

[chukronos]

Why not call it Apple Pen? Sounds better to me.

Any ideas?

I think they called a pencil just to be different. Every other graphic tablet calls it a pen.

Apple's looks better. However, I m not sure how many levels of sensitivity it has.

 

[Locoboof]

I'll be incrementally getting them...
iPadPro 128GB, then
Keyboard, then
Pencil, then
iPadPro 2

Lol! The keyboard is awesome! (So is the pencil)

 

[Nausicaa]

profit margins

yes the pen SHOULD come with the device, this is the equivalent of Samsung charging for the pen separately with the Note or Tab devices

I agree it should come with, but the encouraging thing (if you want to take a less cynical view) is that selling it separately could imply Apple intends to expand Pencil compatibility with other iOS devices and maybe even Macs themselves. Ultimately I hope that's the plan and that Apple is really committed to this product for the long haul.

 

[iPhil]

I love this! Can't wait to try it myself. But $100,- is a lot! I just hope I'll never lose it, like Jobs said. Or break it when it's chargcng on the iPad.

Apple or some 3rd party needs to design a female version of the lightening plug either on USB cable or charger cube so you don't kill the iPadPro charge plug..

 

[Monique1]

That is an often misrepresented Steve Jobs quote. He was larger than life, after all.

Now Apple did not reverse course here. The issue is that back then you required the stylus for many devices.

You guys can defend this till the cows come home (and you may be 100% correct) but it's all about perception. Jobs was wrong about many things. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[lazard]

I agree it should come with, but the encouraging thing (if you want to take a less cynical view) is that selling it separately could imply Apple intends to expand Pencil compatibility with other iOS devices and maybe even Macs themselves. Ultimately I hope that's the plan and that Apple is really committed to this product for the long haul.

or they're just being Apple and boosting their profit margins.

 

[Analog Kid]

I'll be incrementally getting them...
iPadPro 128GB, then
Keyboard, then
Pencil, then
iPadPro 2

I'm thinking reverse order, except item 1...

 

[laurim]

I'm kind of surprised they are able to call it "Pencil". The Apple store was already selling a 3rd-party stylus called "Pencil":

http://www.fiftythree.com/pencil

I guess since "pencil" is a generic word, like "watch" it can happen with  tacked on. The keynote never mentioned whether their pencil has an eraser end like this one does

 

[j-a-x]

I might be wrong but I am pretty sure the Jobs quote was in the context of using a stylus to control a device's user interface, not for fine arts applications.

Jobs would have never advocated that using a finger to draw/paint was better than using a specialized input device (Remember job's love of calligraphy, which requires a very specialized input device), but he DID argue that using your finger to control the UI was better than using a stylus.

 

[Glideslope]

I don't understand why this stylus needs a battery at all. Plus, you are sacrificing the iPad Pro's battery in order to charge it

Seriously? A 15 second charge on the go for 30min?

 

[Nausicaa]

or they're just being Apple and boosting their profit margins.

And that would be the cynical view . You're probably right, but I've been down on Apple for a while and the iPad Pro and Pencil announcement have me feeling charitable.

 

[KazuSnow]

Can anyone that has had the pleasure to try this at the event see if your hand's interfere with the Pencil when using it. When writting in Onenote for instance I would want to rest my hand on the screen, would this confuse the multi touch?

 

[rowspaxe]

don't get why you wouldn't slide it into the device. At the very least have some way to slide it to lock it onto the side and charge, anything but frigging having to carry it around separate. Just weird how you have to plug it in and have it sticking out just waiting for it to be snapped off.....

They could have the adaptor female and chargable by any male lightning adaptor. choices...

 

[Coarseman]

Not even mentioning the Steve Jobs quote, as it is completely irrelevant for the tablets, and I see no change in course for Apple whatsoever, I really hope the Apple pencil will work at least as well as Samsung's SPen for taking notes, writing stuff etc. I personally do not care for it's use as drawing tool for graphics or other art stuff but I badly need it as a pen and paper replacement for business use-something no iPad so far had been good at.

Please Apple, do some thinking about the business users as well.

 

[Gooberton]

It responds like an artist's pencil, not a ball point pen. And I doubt the average customer remembers artist fountain pens.

Everyone on earth knows what a fountain pen is. Lol . You've lost it

 

[840quadra]

Can anyone that has had the pleasure to try this at the event see if your hand's interfere with the Pencil when using it. When writting in Onenote for instance I would want to rest my hand on the screen, would this confuse the multi touch?

It was covered in the keynote that it would separate hand movement with the pencil. People have tested and confirmed that the iPad will not take spurious inputs from your hand while using the pencil. Good discussion of this on the recent episode of MakBreak Weekly (TWIT network)

 

[the8thark]

Apple Watch, Apple Pay, Apple Music and now Apple Pencil. Has Apple lost its "i" ?

You forgot the Apple TV.

 

[Glideslope]

About as equal a chance of Steve Jobs crawling out of his grave to give you his autograph on your iPad screen using the Apple Pencil.

Impossible. He has been laying Face Down since the AW intro.

This seems to me a stop-gap technology. 3D Touch should cover everything this Apple Pencil does, but without the need for an expensive proprietary stylus.

All that's needed in a higher scan speed sensor in 3D Touch screens.

Interesting to see the effect of the AP on a 6s+?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Why not call it Apple Pen? Sounds better to me.

Any ideas?

Probably because a pencil, colored pencils especially are an artist's tool. Pens can be too but are also something everyone uses to write with. Apple Pencil is primarily an art accessory, not a writing device and its name implies as much.

 

[KazuSnow]

It was covered in the keynote that it would separate hand movement with the pencil. People have tested and confirmed that the iPad will not take spurious inputs from your hand while using the pencil. Good discussion of this on the recent episode of MakBreak Weekly (TWIT network)

Cheers mate