Astropad Studio Gains Apple Pencil Hover Integration on M2 iPad Pro

[MacRumors]

Astropad today announced an update to the Astropad Studio app, which adds support for the Apple Pencil hover feature that Apple introduced with the new M2 iPad Pro models. Astropad Studio is designed to allow you to draw on your Mac using your iPad, so the hover gesture can be used with the macOS software on the iPad.

Astropad says that users have been asking for Apple Pencil hover support for years, and it is one of the last features that Wacom tablets offered that the iPad did not. With the hover option, the iPad serves as a more feature rich Wacom alternative for digital artists.

The update adds 3D gestures for panning, zooming, and rotating the 3D canvas, along with support for new default shortcuts. There are also a range of new Magic Gestures that use combinations of tap, touch, and the Apple Pencil to trigger actions. Per-app custom gestures are available, so users can set up different gesture sets for apps like Photoshop and Blender, and there is a new one-finger tap gesture.

Astropad Studio is currently offering a 30 percent discount off annual subscriptions with the promo code FESTIVE. Subscriptions are priced at $70/year. Astropad's Luna Display software has also been updated with Apple Pencil hover for the M2 iPad Pro models.

Article Link: Astropad Studio Gains Apple Pencil Hover Integration on M2 iPad Pro

 

[DrJR]

What are peoples opinions of the hover feature? I haven’t tried/seen it yet.

 

[nwcs]

Maybe I’m too old school but I like the textural feel and resistance of actually pressing against a screen rather than just hovering over it like a hologram.

 

[BlueandSilver]

I guess "3D Touch" is back ha

 

[anthogag]

What are peoples opinions of the hover feature? I haven’t tried/seen it yet.

It is a good feature on my new 12.9" iPad Pro. The Pencil feels like a wand.

Is Apple working on 'continuity trackpad' for iPad where I can easily-quickly use my iPad as a large trackpad for my Mac when I need it.

 

[j-a-x]

Maybe I’m too old school but I like the textural feel and resistance of actually pressing against a screen rather than just hovering over it like a hologram.

You still need to press the screen even with hover. Hover just gives you feedback on the position of the pencil before it touches the screen.

 

[airbatross]

I love it on my M2 iPad.. It's like mouse hover on websites - the ability to preview a brush on a drawing app or navigating menus without pressing is awesome.. Also makes it easier to touch the exact position you want..

 

[nwcs]

You still need to press the screen even with hover. Hover just gives you feedback on the position of the pencil before it touches the screen.

I remember that from the days when I used to have something similar. I guess it just isn’t how I like working with things. Not that my way needs to be everyone else’s but I’d like to keep it simple

 

[szw-mapple fan]

You still need to press the screen even with hover. Hover just gives you feedback on the position of the pencil before it touches the screen.

Sounds like a feature like this would work great with a haptic engine in the pencil.

 

[DrJR]

It is a good feature on my new 12.9" iPad Pro. The Pencil feels like a wand.

Is Apple working on 'continuity trackpad' for iPad where I can easily-quickly use my iPad as a large trackpad for my Mac when I need it.

That would be cool!

 

[meboy]

How on earth is this not backwards compatible with older iPads?

People seem to be letting them get away with this one.

Also Samsung has had this for what 10 years or something..

 

[subjonas]

Glad hover works with third party apps. I guess why wouldn’t it. Anyway, I’m glad. Hover is huge for Pencil users!

 

[JippaLippa]

How on earth is this not backwards compatible with older iPads?

People seem to be letting them get away with this one.

Also Samsung has had this for what 10 years or something..

Probably to give you a reason to get the newer iPad rather than the 2021 model.
I'll be shopping for a 12.9'' this December and I'd love to get a decent deal on a new 2021 model, but I'm having a hard time finding one.
Lots of 2020 Pros on the refurbished store, but the mini-LED display is one of the features I'm mostly interested in.

 

[svish]

Good to see more apps supporting hover feature. Unfortunately it is available only on the newest iPad Pro.

 

[subjonas]

How on earth is this not backwards compatible with older iPads?

People seem to be letting them get away with this one.

Also Samsung has had this for what 10 years or something..

I’ve seen hover work on an M1 iPad, but it doesn’t work that well, so I assume it’d be even worse on older iPads.

Samsung licensed Wacom’s pen/screen technology which is very different from Apple’s Pencil setup. Wacom screens actually sense the proximity of the pen tip so a hovering cursor is only natural from the hardware alone. Apple Pencil just uses Bluetooth so I don’t think the hardware is set up for proximity sensing. I’m thinking Apple had to do something clever with software to create the hover feature.

 

[meboy]

I’ve seen hover work on an M1 iPad, but it doesn’t work that well, so I assume it’d be even worse on older iPads.

Samsung licensed Wacom’s pen/screen technology which is very different from Apple’s Pencil setup. Wacom screens actually sense the proximity of the pen tip so a hovering cursor is only natural from the hardware alone. Apple Pencil just uses Bluetooth so I don’t think the hardware is set up for proximity sensing. I’m thinking Apple had to do something clever with software to create the hover feature.

Yeah but it's very likely just software as you said.
Highly doubt they made any hardware changes to get hover working. (Anyone heard otherwise?)
Thus it should be available on older models.

 

[subjonas]

Yeah but it's very likely just software as you said.
Highly doubt they made any hardware changes to get hover working. (Anyone heard otherwise?)
Thus it should be available on older models.

Not any software can run on any old hardware. If it’s demanding software, then a better more powerful chip would likely be a requirement. And seeing hover run poorly on M1 suggests that that might be the case here—that hover would run even more poorly, or not at all, on older iPads.

 

[cppguy]

Maybe I’m too old school but I like the textural feel and resistance of actually pressing against a screen rather than just hovering over it like a hologram.

Hover is not for drawing or painting, it's for previewing an effect before touching the screen. For example, it's imperative for clone stamping, where you frequently need to preview the precise alignment before starting to paint, especially when you're cloning along sharp edges. For inking you're not going to benefit from the hover feature.