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

[C DM]

Just out of curiosity, do you think that Apple should extent the return period for Pencil? If I had bought the Pencil with the idea of using it to navigate and then they removed it months later I would be pissed.

That's certainly a fair question when it comes to something like this. On the one hand there's the part about Apple never really saying or documenting or advertising that the pencil could or should do those things, and basically focusing on its uses as a pencil equivalent and nothing else. On the other hand they themselves put it out there with that functionality being available (intended or not) and left it out like that for some time. I would say that if they are going to change it it would make sense for them to take on some responsibility for that action--I don't know if extended return policy is that necessarily, or if it's something else, but seems like something would be appropriate or at least fair.
[doublepost=1456243059][/doublepost]

Actually, it's often a case of what's easiest and least path or resistance vs being right. Not always - but often.

Sure, that certainly plays into it, sometimes more than others.

 

[WeagleWeagle]

I was planning on getting a pencil. I'll wait an see now.

 

[MacVsMic]

Over the course of the iOS 9.3 beta testing period, iPad Pro users running the update have noticed a disturbing feature removal that limits the functionality of the Apple Pencil. In the current version of iOS, iOS 9.2, the Apple Pencil can be used for navigational purposes, just like a finger. It's possible to tap on buttons, select text, scroll, swipe between apps, access menus, and access general editing controls in non-drawing apps.

With iOS 9.3, much of that functionality has been removed. The Apple Pencil is no longer able to be used for selecting and manipulating text or doing things like scrolling -- it's only available for selecting buttons and drawing, sketching, and writing within apps.

Early on, Apple Pencil users thought the feature removal was perhaps a bug, but full Apple Pencil functionality has not been restored in later betas and the release notes that accompany betas have never mentioned the Apple Pencil's inability to be used for navigational purposes as a known issue. In a recent podcast, Relay.fm co-founder Myke Hurley said he's heard that the decision isn't a bug, but an intentional design decision.Earlier today, iMore's Serenity Caldwell wrote an opinion piece outlining the issue and calling on Apple not to remove the Apple Pencil's existing capabilities. In her post, she points out the Apple Pencil can no longer be used for tasks like editing videos in iMovie for iOS.Many iPad Pro users have come to rely on the Apple Pencil as a finger replacement in some situations, and it is not entirely clear why Apple has opted to eliminate that functionality. iOS 9.3 is expected to be released in the spring, perhaps at Apple's March 15 event, which means the end of the beta testing period is fast approaching. As Caldwell points out, Apple still has time to re-add the Apple Pencil features back into the operating system ahead of that date.

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

This device is a useless!! Maybe apple will create a device the consumers actually want someday!!

 

[Beavix]

Fact: none of the graphics/drawing/notes apps I've tried allow scrolling with the Pencil. Obvious reason: you can either draw or scroll, but not both at the same time. Scrolling is done using the fingers, usually two of them at the same time.

So yeah there are people who can deal just fine with scrolling and drawing using the same hand. It's really not a problem to flip the Pencil for a second (no need to put it down) and scroll with a finger or two when needed.

What? The pencil isn't a stylus? Maybe in the alternate reality of Ive. By every definition of what it does, it's a stylus.

The Pencil is whatever Apple wants it to be, not what you or I want.

A stylus is most often a replacement for a mouse or a finger. The problem right now is that Apple doesn't seem to know exactly what they want the Pencil to be. It acts like a stylus but can't do everything a stylus does. For example the Pencil can't open the Notification Center, the Command Center and the Split Screen panel (and nobody seems to care about that). Only time will tell what they decide to do with it.

Me, I only care about the Pencil being a drawing/writing tool. I never felt the need to use a stylus for UI navigation on my iPads.

 

[The Game 161]

If they get enough bad press for this hopefully they decide to change it back..not holding my breath though.

JUst means I won't upgrade to the new software.

 

[Glitterkidd777]

But the fact remains that the Pencil's owners use those navigation options, and frankly, the idea that Apple would take away functionality that people have come to expect and depend on is a significant hit to usability and overall experience.

I DEPEND ON USING MY APPLE PENCIL TO NAVIGATE MY IPAD!
WITHOUT IT I AM REQUIRED TO NAVIGATE WITH MY FINGER! LIKE AN ANIMAL!
HOW DARE THEY! I NOW HAVE TO STICK MY FINGER OUT AND MANUALLY TOUCH THE FILTHY SCREEN!
MY BUSINESS IS RUINED! I'M SUING!!

*cough*

 

[samcraig]

Fact: none of the graphics/drawing/notes apps I've tried allow scrolling with the Pencil. Obvious reason: you can either draw or scroll, but not both at the same time. Scrolling is done using the fingers, usually two of them at the same time.

So yeah there are people who can deal just fine with scrolling and drawing using the same hand. It's really not a problem to flip the Pencil for a second (no need to put it down) and scroll with a finger or two when needed.



The Pencil is whatever Apple wants it to be, not what you or I want.

Actually, it's my belief that once they released it into the wild with certain functionality, it's entirely legitimate for people to use it or call it whatever they want. Apple's "mistake" was taking away functionality that users have come to use or expect. Now they technically haven't done it yet to the public. But many signs point to it being released this way in the GM.

 

[69Mustang]

Fact: none of the graphics/drawing/notes apps I've tried allow scrolling with the Pencil. Obvious reason: you can either draw or scroll, but not both at the same time. Scrolling is done using the fingers, usually two of them at the same time.

So yeah there are people who can deal just fine with scrolling and drawing using the same hand. It's really not a problem to flip the Pencil for a second (no need to put it down) and scroll with a finger or two when needed.



The Pencil is whatever Apple wants it to be, not what you or I want.

A stylus is most often a replacement for a mouse or a finger. The problem right now is that Apple doesn't seem to know exactly what they want the Pencil to be. It acts like a stylus but can't do everything a stylus does. For example the Pencil can't open the Notification Center, the Command Center and the Split Screen panel (and nobody seems to care about that). Only time will tell what they decide to do with it.

Me, I only care about the Pencil being a drawing/writing tool. I never felt the need to use a stylus for UI navigation on my iPads.

Apologies but I'm not sure what you're trying to convey. What's the relevance of drawing/scrolling at the same time? That was never a point of discussion, claimed as a possibility, or listed as part of the feature deprecation mentioned in the article.

Not sure where you get your narrow definition of a stylus. It can be a replacement for a mouse or finger and it can be used in addition to, and in conjunction with a mouse or finger. Again, I'm not sure of the point you're trying to make. It acts like a stylus because it is a stylus. Ive just decided to call it a pencil, cuz Ive. Everything a stylus does? Not all styli perform the same functions but that doesn't make them something other than a stylus. There's no ubiquity.

 

[jtrenda33]

Navigating with the pencil was a positive experience for me .

Then go get an android or Windows device. This is what I've been saying all along ... the Apple Pencil isn't a stylus!

Edit: that sounded rude, but that wasn't my intent.

 

[Foremastjack]

As I was considering a iPad Pro and stylus specifically for portable audio editing, this is a decision maker for me. And that decision is now "No."

 

[samcraig]

Then go get an android or Windows device. This is what I've been saying all along ... the Apple Pencil isn't a stylus!

Edit: that sounded rude, but that wasn't my intent.

It sure is. And suggesting someone go elsewhere is a weak argument or instruction. If Apple called their device an iWand or iThing - it would still be a stylus. A rose by any other name...

 

[Beavix]

Apologies but I'm not sure what you're trying to convey. What's the relevance of drawing/scrolling at the same time? That was never a point of discussion, claimed as a possibility, or listed as part of the feature deprecation mentioned in the article.

Not sure where you get your narrow definition of a stylus. It can be a replacement for a mouse or finger and it can be used in addition to, and in conjunction with a mouse or finger. Again, I'm not sure of the point you're trying to make. It acts like a stylus because it is a stylus. Ive just decided to call it a pencil, cuz Ive. Everything a stylus does? Not all styli perform the same functions but that doesn't make them something other than a stylus. There's no ubiquity.

If Apple decides to allow only drawing and writing with the Pencil and no UI navigation, then the Pencil will be just a drawing tool. You could still call it a "stylus" if you want, but then the hundreds of capacitive styli out there, able to do everything a finger does on an iPad, will get mad at you.

 

[samcraig]

If Apple decides to allow only drawing and writing with the Pencil and no UI navigation, then the Pencil will be just a drawing tool. You could still call it a "stylus" if you want, but then the hundreds of capacitive styli out there, able to do everything a finger does on an iPad, will get mad at you.

So it will be a gimped (pardon the expression) stylus. Further - you're missing the issue. Apple didn't decide this before they launched the device. They - apparently - are deciding "now" to take away functionality. That's an entirely difference scenario.

 

[C DM]

So it will be a gimped (pardon the expression) stylus. Further - you're missing the issue. Apple didn't decide this before they launched the device. They - apparently - are deciding "now" to take away functionality. That's an entirely difference scenario.

Well things seem to point to the idea that they did decide it all originally just for some reason overlooked or simply didn't notice (as in a mistake) that it didn't stick to their intended design originally.

 

[samcraig]

Well things seem to point to the idea that they did decide it all originally just for some reason overlooked or simply didn't notice (as in a mistake) that it didn't stick to their intended design originally.

And you think that wasn't tested/determined in testing/QA?

 

[C DM]

And you think that wasn't tested/determined in testing/QA?

I think what happened with that isn't clear and can certainly involve different possibilities, including that it wasn't noticed or wasn't really raised as an issue if it was noticed.

 

[samcraig]

I think what happened with that isn't clear and can certainly involve different possibilities, including that it wasn't noticed or wasn't really raised as an issue if it was noticed.

Sorry - but I don't buy it. Don't take that as criticism of you in any way. I just don't buy that Apple let something like that go unnoticed.

 

[69Mustang]

If Apple decides to allow only drawing and writing with the Pencil and no UI navigation, then the Pencil will be just a drawing tool. You could still call it a "stylus" if you want, but then the hundreds of capacitive styli out there, able to do everything a finger does on an iPad, will get mad at you.

But the thousands of styli out there that can't do everything (pencil included) won't be mad at me.

I think the key here is I may be tied too semantically to the use of the word "allow". If the Pencil has additional functionality that Apple didn't account for in their pencil use case, people can take advantage of it, regardless of what Apple allows.

Also, I've called the pencil a pencil throughout my dialogue. I'll still call it a pencil. Calling it a pencil doesn't change the fact that it's a stylus. Pencil is a name, just like Ray Ban. They're still sunglasses.

 

[C DM]

Sorry - but I don't buy it. Don't take that as criticism of you in any way. I just don't buy that Apple let something like that go unnoticed.

Everyone is certainly welcome to think what makes sense to them. Having worked for a number of companies, with some rather big ones, I can certainly say that there are all kinds of things that occasionally slip through the cracks for one reason or another (or basically no reason at all), so it's all quite within the realm of possibilities if not even probabilities. It's not to say it's really likely to be this or that, but that it can certainly be this or that, at least based on what (little) we know so far.

 

[samcraig]

But the thousands of styli out there that can't do everything (pencil included) won't be mad at me.

I think the key here is I may be tied too semantically to the use of the word "allow". If the Pencil has additional functionality that Apple didn't account for in their pencil use case, people can take advantage of it, regardless of what Apple allows.

Also, I've called the pencil a pencil throughout my dialogue. I'll still call it a pencil. Calling it a pencil doesn't change the fact that it's a stylus. Pencil is a name, just like Ray Ban. They're still sunglasses.

But a hotpocket is a MEAL!

 

[ham_sandwich]

I like the move. I have some experience with the Surface and one thing that infuriates me about it is the overlapping, but sometimes different, responses to input by the stylus, finger, and mouse. On a screen smaller than the Pro, it is not hard to imagine erroneously bumping into navigational items when you're just trying to take notes. It's less error-prone to have distinct responses to the finger and pencil. This may not be a problem on the Pro, but the Air is a much larger market and the behavior should be catered for that device.

 

[69Mustang]

But a hotpocket is a MEAL!

Blasphemer, I rebuke you! The hotpocket is a hotpocket is a hot pocket. It never has been, nor will it ever be anything but a hotpocket. Meal? MEAL?!? How dare you!! Using such a pedestrian word as a descriptor of hotpockets is damn near criminal. If you can't be respectful, just don't be... ANYTHING. Keep the word hotpocket out of your dirty little mouth.

Sweet Jeebus Sam. Meal? Have you no shame? The only acceptable synonyms are manna, ambrosia, or bacon's hot cousin. What the hell's wrong with you man? meal

/breathes heavily
/wipes brow sweat
/blocks samcraig

 

[flux73]

The anger about this is puzzling. Is the reasonable logical conclusion really that Apple did this just because they want to oppress its users?

I'm going to give Apple the benefit of the doubt here. I think their goal was to make a stylus a supplementary tool, not a necessary one. I suspect that they became worried that apps would come out with interfaces designed to be used with a Pencil, but making it less than optimal for use with a finger. In fact, I'll bet they were seeing this in some apps being submitted.

Thus, perhaps for now, they decided to remove it completely even for themselves, so that app developers wouldn't be able to do this. My guess is that they will implement it later when they can find a way that prevents compromising the experience of users without a stylus.

 

[subjonas]

I only read the first two pages of comments here, but I haven't seen anyone talk about Apple's possible reasoning for this action. Maybe because it's fairly obvious and no one needs to say it? Well I'll say it: they want to ensure the pencil always remains an optional peripheral and never encroaches on becoming a better tool than a finger for General UI navigation in iOS. And what better way to do this than to restrict the pencil's functions to drawing and basic button presses only.
I understand they want to ensure the iPad stays a touch device first, but necessarily switching between pencil and finger makes for a poorer experience. Looks like they're in a bit of a quandary.

 

[WordMasterRice]

I'm going to give Apple the benefit of the doubt here. I think their goal was to make a stylus a supplementary tool, not a necessary one. I suspect that they became worried that apps would come out with interfaces designed to be used with a Pencil, but making it less than optimal for use with a finger. In fact, I'll bet they were seeing this in some apps being submitted.

Thus, perhaps for now, they decided to remove it completely even for themselves, so that app developers wouldn't be able to do this. My guess is that they will implement it later.

It seems to me that that would be a better job for app review or just general app store reviews.