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basehead617

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 5, 2017
157
164
I’ve seen all the fancy promo videos but i’m curious out in the real world, what do you guys/girls use the apple pencil for?
 

GerritV

macrumors 68000
May 11, 2012
1,860
1,927
I used to use it for sketching, drawing and writing (most of the time in the wonderfull Paper-by-WeTransfer app).

To me, the Apple Pencil once was a big step forward from all the dumb stylus'es I had been using before, but in the end, at least for me, it just couldn't beat the real thing.

Drawing on the iPad felt more and more like activating a digital brush and generating a digital file.
Writing with the Apple Pencil on the iPad actually degenerated my own natural handwriting more and more.

This is why I gave up on the iPad/Pencil combo, and went back to analog.
Traveler's Notebook, Lamy 2000, Lamy Scribble...
I love every bit of it, rebuilt my sketching and writing skills, and probably won't go back to digital again.
 

JBGoode

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2018
1,342
1,894
Drawing, coloring, notes, signing/marking documents. I'm not a heavy user of the pencil, but it definitely comes in handy in certain situations.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,003
Notes. Class notes. Work notes. Thinking on paper. Sermon notes. Highlighting pdf. Signing pdf files. Marking up screenshots.
But mostly thinking out loud on paper.

Battery lasts forever.
 

ZivaD

macrumors regular
Oct 11, 2012
145
78
Note-taking. Original 9.7" Pro. Original Pencil.

Also use it to play Soduko ?
[automerge]1579551537[/automerge]


Did you not get it replaced? Sounds like you got a bad pencil.
I've not had it with me whenever I have visited a store since, I suppose they would laugh me out of the store if I tried to return it now.
 

jmgregory1

macrumors 68030
Although I do use the Pencil for note taking, which is super handy as I no longer need to figure out which journal I wrote a particular note in, what I use it most for is scrolling and selecting. I hate fingerprints on the screen, and the Pencil works better, and is more precise, than a mouse when working on my iPad Pro.

It’s one thing to have fingerprints on your iPhone, or any handheld device, as it’s easy enough to just wipe it on your pant leg or shirt to clean off the surface, but the larger screen of the iPad makes that nearly impossible.

I can’t imagine having a laptop or even larger desktop screen that was touch capable, because it’s enough of a pain to clean the iPad Pro, let alone adding inches or more to the size and the mess that fingerprints leave on the screen.
 
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Ungibbed

macrumors 6502a
Dec 13, 2010
765
198
USA
Got mine to use with Procreate and some basic note taking. I don't use it as much as I thought I would though.
 

Mainsail

macrumors 68020
Sep 19, 2010
2,135
2,769
I am no artist, so for me, the Apple Pencil is useful for:

  • Note Taking
  • Annotating/Marking up Documents and Photos
  • Drawing simple diagrams with dimensions etc..

Of course, I could find other ways to do this stuff on my Mac or iPhone or simple paper and notebook. However, the experience is better on an iPad. Now, is it worth $100 plus the hassle for keeping it charged and carrying it around? I am not entirely sure.
 

jonnyb098

macrumors 68040
Nov 16, 2010
3,883
5,055
Michigan
I use mine for note taking, for Affinity photo artwork and also when editing large amounts of photos. iPad pro and new pencil is an amazing combo.
 

MacDevil7334

Contributor
Oct 15, 2011
2,411
5,415
Austin TX
Note taking at work. I much prefer to hand write my notes and Good Notes still allows me to search through them as if I had typed them. I haven’t used a paper notebook in years.
 
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azt33

macrumors regular
Sep 29, 2006
120
58
Switzerland
Similar to everyone else, note taking, although I am going back and forth between digital and paper note taking. I also use it as my main input method, e.g. for selecting and playing games.

I just pre-ordered the reMarkable 2 and depending on how note taking is on that, I might remove the note taking on my iPad from my use cases.
 

GerritV

macrumors 68000
May 11, 2012
1,860
1,927
Similar to everyone else, note taking, although I am going back and forth between digital and paper note taking. I also use it as my main input method, e.g. for selecting and playing games.

I just pre-ordered the reMarkable 2 and depending on how note taking is on that, I might remove the note taking on my iPad from my use cases.
Very interested in hearing more about your experiences with the Remarkable 2!
 

Buran

macrumors 6502
Oct 22, 2007
428
256
image0.jpg
 

lyceumHQ

macrumors 65816
Aug 4, 2010
1,463
632
Just about to order the pencil 2 and realised it doesn’t work with my air 3.

Ah well, save myself some money!
 

Buran

macrumors 6502
Oct 22, 2007
428
256
The pencil 2 (the one in my picture; the black tip is dyed) only works with Pros. It's a shame, too. The magnetic charging and storage is a lot better than charging with the Lightning port.
 

V86

macrumors member
May 31, 2019
51
40
I use it for:
ID sketching in procreate
Vector graphics in affinity designer
3D CAD modeling in Shapr3d
Notes in Nebo
Mindmap / digital whiteboard in MIRO
Signing documents/pdf
Annotating PDFs
As a mouse sometimes.... and much much more.
 
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