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It's not called the Pencil 3, it's referred to the as Gen 3 Pencil. Doesn't need to be an upgrade to be a Gen 3 product ... it's literally the 3rd generation/version of the Pencil.

So referring to it as such isn't a big deal or shock really.
I disagree. “Generation” is used when the newer version is a replacement for the older version. The USB-C Pencil is not a replacement for the Pencil 2.
 
Lol. You're phrasing this as if Apple came up with some high tech solution for a legitimate problem facing iPad users and not that all of this is created to rake in exorbitant profit margins from old, outdated parts, disguised as an iPad Air and 2nd Gen. Pencil.

The faux iPad Air (iPad 10th Gen) could easily be compatible with the 2nd Gen. Pencil.

All this is just more of the terrible product segmentation that gives us overpriced, regressive tech that consumers only buy in ignorance, thinking the iPad Air and real 2nd Gen Pencil got discounted, or because they don't have the money to get an Air or better.

Even the USB-C in iPad 10 is the outdated USB 2.0 kind.

Considering the value/$ of a 256GB iPad 9th Gen. with the 1st Gen. Pencil or all the high-end features you do get with a real iPad Air or Pro, the iPad 10th Gen. and the new $79 Pencil are indeed useless!
Sure, that 10th gen iPad Air is an odd duck with a weird combination of old and new features that never quite come together. I’m not sure why they felt compelled to halfway redesign the case for landscape but not put in the effort to be compatible with the Pencil 2. Something seems top have gone sideways in that project.

However, with that as your starting point, the USB-C Pencil is a small improvement to the Pencil 1 for that iPad, if you don’t already have a Pencil 1. It’s not useless just very narrowly useful.

the USB on that iPad is USB PD (Power Delivery) which does the charging that its customer need but does not give fast data transfers that 0.1% of the customer might want. C’est la vie. It’s just not a big deal on that device.

I hope, when they do an 11th gen iPad in 2024, they finish the job and give it full Pencil 2 compatibility along with the Air and Pro. The 10th will probably stick around at the lowest price point for a while, still but that will probably be the end of Lightning iPads.
 
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