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Inability to Use Apple Pencil for Navigation in iOS 9.3 Appears to be Intentional

Thanks for the link to the apple product feedback! Used it.

If this is true I will be returning Pro to Costco that I just purchased last week. Great return policy (90 days).
Apple pencil will be going back to apple tomorrow. 2 week return policy.
Will not be stuck with a $100 product that looses functionality. Wrong direction guys. If this is not true then I'll just repurchase the pencil.
Hopefully Apple will clear this up in the next 90 days :)
 
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I don't own a iPad Pro or plan to buy one but this is silly Apple. Gimping the pencil on purpose is just dumb. Apple needs to be adding features not taking away for a product line that is vulnerable.
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Blarney Mac said:
Thanks for the link to the apple product feedback! Used it.

If this is true I will be returning Pro to Costco that I just purchased last week. Great return policy (90 days).
Apple pencil will be going back to apple tomorrow. 2 week return policy.
Will not be stuck with a $100 product that looses functionality. Wrong direction guys. If this is not true then I'll just repurchase the pencil.
Hopefully Apple will clear this up in the next 90 days :)
Click to expand...


This is the only way Apple listens; returns and keeping your money in your wallet.
 
Awful.

I never really intended to get the iPad Pro, but I did hold out hope that the regular iPad would some day have Pencil support. The one thing I did like the most about the Pencil (from testing it out on an iPad Pro) was the ability to select with it, as selecting is something I find difficult to do with my fingers. For them to remove this function is absurd. Apple is known to not include features that other manufacturers have on their products (such as expandable storage in a tablet), but to remove something they used to have, and that people considered useful, is reprehensible.

Hope this isn't the case, but it does seem like it is.
 
garylapointe said:
So I've got the pencil in my hand and it's near something I need to "click" and I can't use the pencil?
I'd have to change my grip or let go?

Very weird, removing that basic functionality could result in some (a lot) return attempts even after the return date.

Gary
Click to expand...

You can still tap "click" on things.

I don't know of the articles need to be more clear or people need to read them more thoroughly. Time and time again people keep assuming all function of the pencil is gone.

An example of what's "gone". Scrolling down a webpage in safari. (You can still tap on links and any button.)
 
Inability to Use Apple Pencil for Navigation in iOS 9.3 Appears to be Intentional

Apple states it would set a dangerous precedent, fears more new features would be expected moving forward. Wants to defend consumers from potential future disappointment, self-harm.

Tim Cook defended the rights of the little people, assures Apple will protect them from themselves (and the FBI).
 
Apple: We say to you, You don't need it at all! Trust us. :apple:
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joueboy said:
Once again Apple making decisions for us. That is why we love their products, because we know that they know what's best for us. I love it...!
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Siri-ously bruh?
 
bobbie424242 said:
You have been using the pencil in a non Apple approved way. You should praise Apple for putting you on right track instead of complaining. Remember that every decision Apple makes is for your own good, even if you don't know it.
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Why, yes indeedy, they've been right ever since 1984.
 
Just another sign that it's apples way or the highway.

Apple will tell you how to use your stuff and you just ***** deal with it.
 
spinedoc77 said:
That's not the windows tablet experience at all. I have a surface pro 4 and I can happily navigate every single aspect of it with one finger. That's because Microsoft is forward thinking in how they let you adjust the scaling, not only that but they have worked to make the entire windows UI touch friendly even on the desktop. This is how they took an existing problem and reworked it and made it palatable to touch. Versus Apple who invented an entirely new OS with very limited functionality and basically threw away their computer experience for a watered down one.

Now with that said I completely agree, an interface should not be stylus driven. Certainly the windows tablets of 10 years ago were tough to use because the UI was so small you had to use a stylus. I'm extremely grateful for Apple in showing us a different and clearly superior way on smartphones, and to a much lesser extent tablets. But at the same time the stylus IS valuable in navigating a UI. A stylus can be much more precise than a finger, and there may be certain tasks which benefit from this. Just because a desktop program has been dumbed down into an "app" doesn't mean the full program wouldn't have worked well on a tablet instead of the app. While I know we are talking about tablets I can interject with how awesome it is to occasionally use my stylus on my Note 5 to navigate and do things. Things like clipping webpages, annotation, editing pictures, etc are elevated to a different level using the stylus. No it doesn't make sense to cut off your nose to spite your face.

In this particular example it's just Apple dumbing down their consumers once again. Why do you guys let them do that? Is it really that difficult for the consumer to figure out when and when to not use the stylus? Will it truly break the consumers mind if Apple allowed the stylus UI functions to remain? I say no, my mind hasn't gone insane because my surface pro 4 can be driven with a stylus. I just use common sense. It just seems that with all the talk of "simplicity" on Apple products at times there is this distinct lack of common sense.
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What you see as "dumbing down" I see as "having focus". Apple is intent, and focused on creating a touch based app ecosystem. That is their mission. They also decided that within that ecosystem they wanted to have a Pencil for drawing and writing. But that is to play a smaller role inside their touch-based vision.

Some people (myself included) enjoy using devices with a razor sharp focus and purposeful design intent. I would rather have a device that is an absolute master at a few key tasks rather than a "general purpose" device that just does some stuff ok with many tradeoffs.

Other people are generalists and want machines to do a variety of tasks... there are plenty of platforms out there for those people. From your signature and your post I gather that you are one of them... I'm glad you were able to make the decision to switch to something that better meets your needs. However, I do question why you're still here...
 
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macfacts said:
Probably not. Sony did this before too with early ps3 consoles. Took away the ability to run Linux with an update. If you don't update, can't play newest games.
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Sony did this due to a security risk I don't see the Apple pencil being a security risk. This needs to be fixed
 
Zwhaler said:
A $1,000 tablet can't use the stylus to navigate? Even worse is that it obviously can and the feature is being held back. Let's hope they enable it as they ought to.
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Inflating the price of a product doesn't prove your point any further. It's a 799 tablet.
 
xmichaelp said:
Inflating the price of a product doesn't prove your point any further. It's a 799 tablet.
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Uh... It's a dollar shy of $800 for 32GB and no cellular, plus a ~$100 accessory that this discussion is about, plus tax makes the price about $10 from a thousand on the base model. For many users the tablet is well over a thousand dollars. I think some users are suggesting that they are disabling the pencil navigation feature because it might cause a poor user experience in many apps, especially third party. I say that's a bad excuse and there's no good way to defend Apple here, sorry.
 
GoCubsGo said:
This is a very intelligent way of thinking. Initially I was thinking about how asinine it is to remove the function to navigate with the pencil. You brought this up and I like it. If you remove the ability to rely on precision pointing with the pencil then developers won't rely on it and thus create apps that nearly require it. Pin point the ability to use a finger, as always, and leave the pencil to do what it is intended to do, draw/write.

Very good.
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Intelligent way of thinking?o_O Uh, okay... maybe if I'm concussed. You were right to think it makes no sense to remove functionality that works. The central premise of your agreement falls apart pretty quickly when you realize developers aren't changing the way they create apps. They are still developing for touch inputs. It just happens that the pencil can mimic some of those inputs. No developers have made apps that require the pencil, nor nearly require it. The pencil's purpose is not just to draw/write. Users will find tons of uses for the pencil. It's not up to Apple to say you can only use the pencil for things they want you to do. That is an asinine idea.
 
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This is an interesting change in usage options for the pencil.

I have not yet purchased an iPad Pro. I am still assessing its functionality for me. I like using the pencil for drawing and potentially photo editing more than anything else. In playing with it in the store, I did not like using the pencil in places where a finger seems more natural (less cumbersome), so while I understand people's view that something is being taken away, (and I agree Apple should at least offer a toggle to switch usage options), I have to say I would be completely happy using the pencil in a limited sense.

This mirrors my mac usage, which I use the mouse for most of my work, and my Wacom tablet for drawing and photo editing, but nothing else.

We tend to be creatures of habit though. Perhaps my Mac habits make me amicable to the limited usage, where current pad owners who have adopted more general pencil uses are more amicable to said broad usage.
 
Lots of comments on something that isn't even released yet! Apple breaks lots of things during development. That sort of defines Alpha and Beta.
 
69Mustang said:
Intelligent way of thinking?o_O Uh, okay... maybe if I'm concussed. You were right to think it makes no sense to remove functionality that works. The central premise of your agreement falls apart pretty quickly when you realize developers aren't changing the way they create apps. They are still developing for touch inputs. It just happens that the pencil can mimic some of those inputs. No developers have made apps that require the pencil, nor nearly require it. The pencil's purpose is not just to draw/write. Users will find tons of uses for the pencil. It's not up to Apple to say you can only use the pencil for things they want you to do. That is an asinine idea.
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Apple created the device so they can certainly make it work the way they intend(ed) for it to work: https://www.macrumors.com/2015/11/17/apple-pencil-jony-ive/
 
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Blarney Mac said:
Thanks for the link to the apple product feedback! Used it.

If this is true I will be returning Pro to Costco that I just purchased last week. Great return policy (90 days).
Apple pencil will be going back to apple tomorrow. 2 week return policy.
Will not be stuck with a $100 product that looses functionality. Wrong direction guys. If this is not true then I'll just repurchase the pencil.
Hopefully Apple will clear this up in the next 90 days :)
Click to expand...
well if you stay on 9.2.1 it will work fine it's only if you want to upgrade to 9.3. Could always stay on 9.2
 
69Mustang said:
Intelligent way of thinking?o_O Uh, okay... maybe if I'm concussed. You were right to think it makes no sense to remove functionality that works. The central premise of your agreement falls apart pretty quickly when you realize developers aren't changing the way they create apps. They are still developing for touch inputs. It just happens that the pencil can mimic some of those inputs. No developers have made apps that require the pencil, nor nearly require it. The pencil's purpose is not just to draw/write. Users will find tons of uses for the pencil. It's not up to Apple to say you can only use the pencil for things they want you to do. That is an asinine idea.
Click to expand...

The pencil's purpose is not to just draw/write? ...What?

I'm pretty sure that is the main and only purpose for it. No where in the keynote when they announced it did they highlight UI scrolling. No where in any of their documents on the Apple Pencil do they mention UI scrolling. The keynote when they announced it was all about drawing/writing and nothing else (besides the tech involved.) In their documents about the Apple Pencil is all about drawing/writing and nothing else (besides the tech involved.)

If drawing/writing is all they've ever mention for the purpose of the pencil, then I would safely assume it's purpose is only drawing/writing.
 
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