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iPad Got apple pencil on a whim, what do you use it for?

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phillyman

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 17, 2008
180
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HI All,

I got a good deal on the apple pencil and it was late at night. I've only played around for five minutes with it. I'm not the target demographic since I'm not into drawing, I thought maybe if it did a decent job making my scribbles into text it could be useful.

So for those that own a pencil what do you like to use it for? Are there some surprising uses you didn't expect?
Not sure yet if I'll keep it but still intrigued. I'll also check if apple is adding anything interesting for the pencil in the new OS.

Thanks for any feedback,
Philly
 
phillyman said:
HI All,

I got a good deal on the apple pencil and it was late at night. I've only played around for five minutes with it. I'm not the target demographic since I'm not into drawing, I thought maybe if it did a decent job making my scribbles into text it could be useful.

So for those that own a pencil what do you like to use it for? Are there some surprising uses you didn't expect?
Not sure yet if I'll keep it but still intrigued. I'll also check if apple is adding anything interesting for the pencil in the new OS.

Thanks for any feedback,
Philly
Click to expand...
I heavily use my iPad Mini 5 (and 12.9 and 6th gen before that) daily as a digital notebook, journal, planner. I find that for some things it is easier to use the pencil than to type notes. By using an app like GoodNotes with a .pdf planner w/hyperlinks, it's easy to navigate to the different sections of the notebook and jot down notes and diagrams.
 
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sracer said:
I heavily use my iPad Mini 5 (and 12.9 and 6th gen before that) daily as a digital notebook, journal, planner. I find that for some things it is easier to use the pencil than to type notes. By using an app like GoodNotes with a .pdf planner w/hyperlinks, it's easy to navigate to the different sections of the notebook and jot down notes and diagrams.
Click to expand...
thank you for the suggestion. I'll download and try
 
I don’t know if you have a OneDrive account, but PDFs stored in OneDrive can be marked up easily if you need to access them from multiple devices. I grade my students’ homework that way.

Even if you don’t consider yourself artsy, you might download a drawing program or a coloring program and see if you find them in the least bit entertaining or relaxing.
 
I am also not the target audience, but I mainly use it for marking up pictures or editing documents. And I like it also for idea generation where I can draw things like on a board.

But obviously I am not who this Apple pencil was made for.
 
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Does anyone use their Apple Pencil and iPad as sort of a dry erase marker board to jot temporary notes and doodles?

I'm not the target audience either. I don't really draw, or edit photos (but maybe I would do those more if I had it?) I have been curious about getting the Apple Pencil anyway, but don't know if I can justify the cost.

My main thought of using it for would be as a "whiteboard" for temporary notes/drawings, and to put stuff in OneNote; but I'm not sure how well that'll work. When I worked in the office, our desks had glass on top so we could jot notes or draw with a dry erase marker. Now that I'm working from home, I'm doing this on paper, but it gets a little messy with all my scribbled out notes I don't need anymore, and can clutter up my desk. Wondering if the Apple Pencil would be good for something like this, or if I should just look for a glass top for my desk and deal with marker dust.
 
BigBlur said:
Does anyone use their Apple Pencil and iPad as sort of a dry erase marker board to jot temporary notes and doodles?

I'm not the target audience either. I don't really draw, or edit photos (but maybe I would do those more if I had it?) I have been curious about getting the Apple Pencil anyway, but don't know if I can justify the cost.

My main thought of using it for would be as a "whiteboard" for temporary notes/drawings, and to put stuff in OneNote; but I'm not sure how well that'll work. When I worked in the office, our desks had glass on top so we could jot notes or draw with a dry erase marker. Now that I'm working from home, I'm doing this on paper, but it gets a little messy with all my scribbled out notes I don't need anymore, and can clutter up my desk. Wondering if the Apple Pencil would be good for something like this, or if I should just look for a glass top for my desk and deal with marker dust.
Click to expand...
I have done that some, but not as much as I could. Thanks for the reminder.
 
Note taking and de-compiling what's in my head so I can relax and enjoy life after a stressful day!

I use my iPad 11' with an Apple Pencil for note taking - I find that handwriting notes helps me remember what is being said FAR better than typing. Now, I don't always take handwritten notes, but when I want to remember something I do.

I find writing down what's in my head to be a massive de-stressor - just the act of writing down what I'm worrying about helps me stress about it much less - and usually results in better decisions.

Apple Pencil is GREAT for highlighting screenshots, drawing quick ideas down for show, and gives my hand something to do when I'm bored.


Now... if I could just decide on Notability vs GoodNotes! I much prefer the feel of Notability but I like the stability and features of GoodNotes.
 
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I teach mathematics at a community college. Formerly I used an iPad together with a projector, and with the pandemic I've been connecting the iPad to Zoom. In both cases I use the iPad as a virtual whiteboard, writing on it with a pencil.

I also use it for writing up exam or homework answers, and for filling in forms.
 
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I wasn’t planning to buy an Apple Pencil, but was able to get one for $60 so I figured what the heck. When you first connect the pencil in settings, it brings up a dialog to try scribble: written text gets immediately converted to text! Great, just what I was expecting. Flash forward to Notes: oops, written text not being converted. Per Apple, you first write your text, unselect the pencil, highlight your text, copy as text then open a new note and past, phew, that was absolutely not what i expected! Are you there any apps where text gets immediately converted? Will it work in MS Word or Excel?
 
Pierre535 said:
I wasn’t planning to buy an Apple Pencil, but was able to get one for $60 so I figured what the heck. When you first connect the pencil in settings, it brings up a dialog to try scribble: written text gets immediately converted to text! Great, just what I was expecting. Flash forward to Notes: oops, written text not being converted. Per Apple, you first write your text, unselect the pencil, highlight your text, copy as text then open a new note and past, phew, that was absolutely not what i expected! Are you there any apps where text gets immediately converted? Will it work in MS Word or Excel?
Click to expand...
In the toolbar in Notes, there should be a tool that looks like a pen with an “A” on it. That’s basically the “scribble” tool you were hoping for. However, you first need to make sure Scribble is turned on in the settings app in the Apple Pencil section.
 
iOSpecialist said:
In the toolbar in Notes, there should be a tool that looks like a pen with an “A” on it. That’s basically the “scribble” tool you were hoping for. However, you first need to make sure Scribble is turned on in the settings app in the Apple Pencil section.
Click to expand...
Yes, i am able to scribble, but i was expecting conversion to text automatically, just like when you try it in settings.
 
What can be done:

Never ha done myself, but you can 100% use it to get your creative side going.
 
Basically nothing, maybe the odd sketch here and there but nothing replaces the tactility and effortlessness of a real pencil, pen, paper, and whiteboard for me.
 
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Yes, it works here, but not in Notes. You have to use the select tool to select your text, then turn off the pencil, highlight the text and select “copy as text” then paste.
CORRECTION: I was using the wrong pencil tip. Got it now.
 
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zakarhino said:
Basically nothing, maybe the odd sketch here and there but nothing replaces the tactility and effortlessness of a real pencil, pen, paper, and whiteboard for me.
Click to expand...
It took me a considerable amount of time and apps, but in the end - I couldn't agree more. Pen and paper work best for me too.

Chiming in on @BigMcGuire 's comment: going from typing to handwriting with the Apple Pencil can indeed be a big step towards more focus and involvement. But going from handwriting with the Apple Pencil towards a real pen and paper can be the next step towards even more focus and involvement. I can definitely testify it was like that for me.

Going through life without the Undo function is liberating 😆
 
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zakarhino said:
Basically nothing, maybe the odd sketch here and there but nothing replaces the tactility and effortlessness of a real pencil, pen, paper, and whiteboard for me.
Click to expand...
I mean, a lot of artists in the digital sphere would absolutely disagree to that point. Also, smudging with a real pencil is an absolute pain.
 
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GerritV said:
It took me a considerable amount of time and apps, but in the end - I couldn't agree more. Pen and paper work best for me too.

Chiming in on @BigMcGuire 's comment: going from typing to handwriting with the Apple Pencil can indeed be a big step towards more focus and involvement. But going from handwriting with the Apple Pencil towards a real pen and paper can be the next step towards even more focus and involvement. I can definitely testify it was like that for me.

Going through life without the Undo function is liberating 😆
Click to expand...
Definitely agree. A nice Japanese gel .38 or even .5 if I'm feeling like it - beats the Apple Pencil any day in terms of handwriting clarity and amount of information I can get on a page. I prefer pen and paper by far.

What makes me use the iPad is - ability to digitize my notes and have it accessible on my Mac/iPhone/iPad, able to search for what I write days, months, years later and send it to other people who need it. So I use it most of the time now just for convenience factor. I've gotten used to it but I definitely prefer pen and paper - but I almost never use ink/paper these days. Still, every now and then I'll get out a notepad, take out my Jotter (with Uniball Jetstream .38 refill) or Uniball Signo and really go to town. :) I still got a drawer full of them from JetPens. lol.
 
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I have years of both personal and work notes. I prefer to do most of my notetaking by hand, and have actually come to prefer the Apple Pencil over physical media. I simply have two separate notebooks - one personal, one work - and everything goes in those which allows me to search, add media and links, etc. For both writing and artistic pursuits either medium - digital or physical have their own charms and benefits. Choose what makes you happy.
 
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