Original Apple Pencil vs. Apple Pencil 2

[GuruZac]

The new iPad Pros look incredible and of course I'd love to have a new one, but there's not much there to tempt me away from my 10.5. I actually don't mind the charging process for the AP1.
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What will happen with the next version? iPads and Pencils not compatible with anything, again, and more "New" compatible products to buy?

Also, the battery in the Pencil and AirPods - what happens when their end-of-life is reached?

That's the Apple tax.

 

[MacSince1985]

What do you think of Apple's new second-generation Apple Pencil? Is it worth the premium over the original? Let us know in the comments.

It's not like you can do a 1 to 1 comparison of the pencils alone. You have to compare the sets (iPad + Pencil). For example, I assume latency is lower simply because of a more powerful processor in the iPad.

My main problem with the old pencil is that you have either a small cap or a small lightning adaptor to keep track of. I'm amazed I have not lost either yet.

 

[bryn0076]

I’m mostly happy with the switch to USB-C on the new iPad - that means I’d probably be in the market for a new pencil anyway seeing as there is no longer a lightning port to charge the new pencil. And I genuinely do not want any more adaptors.

The price increase does sting...

I love the charging process for the new pencil... but I prefer the feel of the Apple Pencil 1.

What I’d REALLY love now is a non-glass, matte screen protector to create a paper-like texture while using the pencil.

 

[j_in_tx]

I love Apple products and have been using them since I was at college in '89 but I'm in a real bind! It's getting to the point where they are just pricing me out the market. I make a reasonably good salary, I don't have any kids so have no outgoings to consider from that respect and would say I have a pretty good disposable income compared to those with children.

I have spent a small fortune over the years on Apple products and probably owned a good 90% of the stuff they have bought out but I have concluded that I can no longer sustain at the current price levels. I understand that prices go up over the years but in the last few years, it's no longer about inflation just signifiant price increases by Apple themselves.

The MacBook Pro 15" for example, which is always my main machine, now costs £2700 (512GB is non negotiable, 256GB just doesn't cut it in this day and age)...we're knocking on the £3K mark and that's a huge amount of cash.

Sigh....I have to agree with many others that I think Apple is now getting greedy and I really do believe that it's going to come back and bite them hard in the next few years.

i feel exactly the same way. i try to keep telling myself. will this cost really make a difference when i hit retirement age

 

[sundog925]

does anyone else ever do videos for MR?

i mean this guy is great, i just want a different.....everything.

 

[wbeasley]

I bought a Surface Go with pen and was extremely happy with the size and portability. The magnetic is great. The keyboard good enough (and Alcantara makes you want to touch it for the warmth it brings to a cold metallic device). The built-in stand also great.

Downside? It's still Windows. It just isn't instant on like the iPad. It's fast to start but if you haven't used it for a bit, it sleep and waking up isnt instant. I didn't find the right note taking app either. Tried a few.

ALong comes the iPad Pro. Enjoy my 12.9" for reading magazines. Pencil was great for flicking through screens and general navigation. Tried carting it around at work. Too large for my needs though. Not a fan of the old keyboard either.

New model just improves enough to make it a different feel overall. The snap on pen means I won't lose it. The folio cover is simpler to open and snap into place. Do you need infinite positions? In reality, no. Folding over and using a notepad works well. Am using NoteShelf 2. Set it up for quick access on bottom icon region.

I can flip iPad open, pull the pen off and start up app quickly. Scribbling notes is no longer a chore and after a week, I'm no longer taking paper notebook to meetings. I'm still learning how to organise myself. Created a front page as a scratch pad to tasks that need immediate action. Other pages for detailed info. I find I go back and use different coloured pens to add notes and highlighter to cross them off.

Are there other functions I'd like? Yes. Apps that let you insert blanks lines would help but are probably too hard to implement. Handwriting to text still isnt the seemless process it needs to be but I can live with my hand written scratchings. No more lost pieces of paper, easy to re-order pages or add/delete them.

It's keeping me focused. Which is what I wanted.

And the size is perfect: the Surface Go is about the same size and weight. With an inch less screen. 🙁

I have used other notebook tablets and they too are larger with smaller screens.

The only thing which Apple needs to do is allow USB-C port to accept USB storage. It would undercut their cash cow of built-in memory and for many people, an iPad would be better than a MacBook. It won't happen. It would be a fantastic all-rounder if only they would allow it. I guess we wait for third party USB C devices (Lexar or SanDisk) to upgrade their existing SD card readers to allow access to files. 🙂

Yes this is expensive. But for work it is proving to be a great choice.

I hope Microsoft port full Office to iPad - tablet Office is good but not perfect and misses a few functions desktop users at work insist on using...

If Adobe can do it for Photoshop, then surely it is possible.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Has no one spotted the white elephant in the room ?

White sure maybe 10 years back but now 🙄

 

[tromboneaholic]

That was originally for the 1st gen. In Jerry Rig's video he mentions 2nd gen tip can't be replaced. Anyone actually tried replacing the tip in the 2nd gen pencil and not assuming?

He must be lying. It can be replaced with the same tip.

 

[csjcsj]

They will they accept trade-ins on old iPads but not on the Pencil. Having 2 pencils because they are too easy to misplace, it means an even bigger expense for me. Also, while the pencils have the same tip, using 2 on the 11" feels rubbery. It isn’t as slick as the 1 on the 10.5. While in the Apple store, I tried the 2 on the 10.5 where it felt normal.

 

[bripirie]

how does it feel in hand? i love the weight of pencil 1.

Feels very much like a wooden pencil, in weight and surface feel.

 

[groadyho]

Boggles my mind people find it so easy to drop $1200 on a tablet. Tbh I've only ever seen 1 iPad in the wild, our waste disposal company uses an older model for payments. At the hospital, DA office and news rooms here all surfaces.

 

[bripirie]

I would love if it had more of a pencil or felt pen like feel and resistance when moved across the page. it would give more control for fine strokes. Still my experience with Apple Pencil to date is that it’s the best drawing and sketching tool I’ve used, better experience than my Wacom tablet or the MS Surface Pro I used for a year.

 

[tridley68]

I love Apple products and have been using them since I was at college in '89 but I'm in a real bind! It's getting to the point where they are just pricing me out the market. I make a reasonably good salary, I don't have any kids so have no outgoings to consider from that respect and would say I have a pretty good disposable income compared to those with children.

I have spent a small fortune over the years on Apple products and probably owned a good 90% of the stuff they have bought out but I have concluded that I can no longer sustain at the current price levels. I understand that prices go up over the years but in the last few years, it's no longer about inflation just significant price increases by Apple themselves.

The MacBook Pro 15" for example, which is always my main machine, now costs £2700 (512GB is non negotiable, 256GB just doesn't cut it in this day and age)...we're knocking on the £3K mark and that's a huge amount of cash.

Sigh....I have to agree with many others that I think Apple is now getting greedy and I really do believe that it's going to come back and bite them hard in the next few years.

You are not alone my friend their are many of us in the same situation as you myself included I have 3 girls in college all using Apple Mac books I'm beginning to think tuition is cheaper than continuing with Apple products for their studies.
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What will happen with the next version? iPads and Pencils not compatible with anything, again, and more "New" compatible products to buy?

Also, the battery in the Pencil and AirPods - what happens when their end-of-life is reached?

eBay is flooded with 1st gen Apple pencils and a good number of I pad pro's due to apples crappy buy back program

 

[MLMcMillion]

In Jerry Rig's video he mentions 2nd gen tip can't be replaced. Anyone actually tried replacing the tip in the 2nd gen pencil and not assuming?

He's wrong, they definitely can be replaced.
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While the first Apple Pencil was round and prone to rolling off of flat surfaces, the new Apple Pencil has a flat side for connecting to the iPad, and that flat bit also prevents it from rolling as much.

The 1st gen pencil was weighted on one side and didn't not roll off flat surfaces. It would at most roll once or twice.

The 2nd gen pencil is not as weighted and rolls pretty easily, as the flat part is smaller and smooth. It rolls off my desk all the time.

 

[tjleonard]

how does it feel in hand? i love the weight of pencil 1.

I love the size and weight of the new one. The matte finish was crucial.

 

[The Game 161]

Loving 2nd gen pencil. Feels better in the hand and double tap is very useful for note taking.

 

[Mlbkiwi]

Biggest atrocity is Apple Pencil 1st gen. being incompatible with 2018 iPad Pros. It almost is a parody of Apple's recent marketing strategy.

I came to comment the same thing. If loyalty is important this is a bad move. Backward compatibility for what is basically a new product is unforgivable. If I upgrade I won’t be getting a pencil on principle and I won’t be upgrading this year because of this. Until I found this out I was planning to upgrade for Christmas. #AppleArrogance

 

[koa]

Apple killed the desire to upgrade with a pencil. With a ****ING PENCIL!

 

[Firelock]

I came to comment the same thing. If loyalty is important this is a bad move. Backward compatibility for what is basically a new product is unforgivable. If I upgrade I won’t be getting a pencil on principle and I won’t be upgrading this year because of this. Until I found this out I was planning to upgrade for Christmas. #AppleArrogance

I’ll bet this has more to do with Apple wanting to provide a consistent user experience for the new iPads rather than any technical limitation. With no lightning port you can’t charge the old Pencil without an adapter and pairing would have to work completely differently. Those items, along with a lack of a double-tap ability to switch tools means that Apple and developers would have to have to amend any instructions regarding the Pencil with “if using a first generation Pencil do X, Y, and Z instead of just X.” So I can understand why they wanted to avoid that.

 

[MattMJB0188]

Nobody really uses the Apple pencil anyway... so why write an article on it?

 

[Mac 128]

Biggest atrocity is Apple Pencil 1st gen. being incompatible with 2018 iPad Pros. It almost is a parody of Apple's recent marketing strategy.

Exactly, there's no reason to prevent the old Pencil from working with the new iPads.

I’ll bet this has more to do with Apple wanting to provide a consistent user experience for the new iPads rather than any technical limitation. With no lightning port you can’t charge the old Pencil without an adapter and pairing would have to work completely differently. Those items, along with a lack of a double-tap ability to switch tools means that Apple and developers would have to have to amend any instructions regarding the Pencil with “if using a first generation Pencil do X, Y, and Z instead of just X.” So I can understand why they wanted to avoid that.

Yeah, but Apple has offered backward compatible adapters for plenty of other transitions. Indeed, the Gen 1 Pencil came with an adapter to charge the pencil on regular Lightning cable. So the adapter is not a problem for anyone already using an old Pencil. And there's no reason why Pairing has to work any differently over the Port. The software was already in place to permit it on the old iPad, so just leave it in place as an alternate means of pairing. And there's no need to provide instructions of what to do if software doesn't receive an instruction like a double tap. It's not like the double-tap is the only way to activate something -- if anything the double tap is an addition to supporting the original base behavior. And it wouldn't be the first time Apple had to address deficiencies in older hardware with their operating system. iOS literally has to deal with that on every single device it runs on.

Seriously, the only reason to limit compatibility is to sell new Pencils.

Likewise, there's really no reason why the New Pencil couldn't be backward compatible as well, though it's understandable why they wouldn't want to support that considering the changes.

 

[KPandian1]

.

That's the Apple tax.

I understand your point.

Apple Tax is paying twice or thrice the Windows equivalent for a product - laptops, smartphones, pads, desktops, etc., and then own them forever, if you please.

I don't recall a single Apple product that became incompatible in one generation like this iPad 10.5" and Pencil 1. Yes, the iPad will last for maybe 7 years, but the any of the Pencils' lifespan is definitely not 7+ years.

Same with the AirPods.

Still using the 2008 iPod minis.

 

[Bone Ranger]

Biggest atrocity is Apple Pencil 1st gen. being incompatible with 2018 iPad Pros. It almost is a parody of Apple's recent marketing strategy.

Apple began the downhill slide when they jettisoned the floppy disc....

 

[MobiusStrip]

The Pencil has been another pathetic indictment of Apple's design "elegance" since day one. First there was the idiotic idea of having to jam it into a Lightning port and have it sit there to charge.

Then then was the lack of any place to PUT IT. The big selling point of the iPad Pro was supposed to be the pencil, but... it didn't have a place for it.

Then there was no handwriting recognition. As a workaround, every app was supposed to implement (and re-implement) it separately. Seriously? Why was there no handwriting area or tab added to the standard iOS keyboard, giving EVERY app Pencil capability without even a re-write? Palm OS nailed this what, 25 years ago?

Then there's the baffling failure to make the Pencil work on the trackpad of Apple's laptops. Instead of the embarrassing and useless emoji bar on the so-called MacBook "Pro," why didn't Apple make the bigger-than-ever trackpad support the Pencil? Now THAT would be useful.

 

[inhalexhale1]

how does it feel in hand? i love the weight of pencil 1.

I use the original daily for many hours per day. I stopped in to try the new one at the Apple Store and it's definitely different. Not in a bad way, but it's definitely a different feel. It's much lighter.

Probably something people will notice less/more depending on how much you use the pencil. I'm probably at the higher end of usage, and if I grab the new one it will be an adjustment. They offer 14 days, so I'll probably give it a try.