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Second-Generation Apple Pencil Rumored for March of 2017

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My hope :

Bluetooth 5,
W1 for pairing like airpods + NFC so no button needed to pair,
Magnet + charge by induction like Apple watch,
--> get rid of the now unnecessary lightning port
--> put an eraser where the lightning port was.
 
Beerstalker said:
I always thought putting magnets in it and allowing it to attach to the smart connector and pair/charge that way made more sense than using the lightning port.

Also possibly adding the W1 chip or Bluetooth 5?
Click to expand...

THIS! Literally what I was going to say. I imagine it's because smart connector is power constrained so no fast charge. But if that was where you docked the pencil it would draw charge just from storage.


Separately, I love tablets and think they will be the future of computing, but I do agree we need an equivalent to cursor input for a lot of tasks to be fluid, i.e. So I don't move my hands up to touch the screen. This pertains to a lot of my work being design based so left hand on keyboard and right on mouse. I could easily see Apple allowing the Pencil 2 to be exactly that input device if they are opening this up to developers. So use case would be iPad in front of me, Smart Keyboard attached, left hand on it. Right hand operating Pencil 2, on my desk/work surface. Need to do brush work on an image? Reorient myself and the device put the Pencil to the screen and it rengages as if it was a Pencil

Adding an on screen cursor would be a simple matter of detecting and activating if Pencil was in use and not on the iPads screen. Apps that don't rely on complex multi-touch beyond swipes and taps would ready to go without any extra effort beyond enabling support.
 
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let's be honest, the pencil only makes sense if it charges wirelessly from the ipad when magnetically attached and not in use.
everything else is just a compromise/immature product.
 
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gugy said:
Cool, I like the Apple Pencil, if they can make it better, props.

Maybe if the could make charging port female, that could be great. The fact the port is male, every time I charge on my iPad I have the fear it can break easily on an accident. They have to figure out a more elegant way there.
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That's the only way I ever charge my Apple Pencil - by plugging it directly into my iPad. It's straightforward and convenient and requires no additional cables or adaptors.

And I can't say I have ever felt like the Apple Pencil was ever going to break off this way.

I honestly can't think of a more elegant method.

Beerstalker said:
I always thought putting magnets in it and allowing it to attach to the smart connector and pair/charge that way made more sense than using the lightning port.

Also possibly adding the W1 chip or Bluetooth 5?
Click to expand...

So how do you propose it works through a case blocking the smart connector?
 
Love or hate the Apple pencil design, the real wonder of it comes through when actually used.

Try to draw a straight line, very slowly on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil and do the same with Surface pen on a Surface Tablet...It's night and day. I was in love with the Surface Studio, until I spent a good hour with it in the Microsoft store, drawing. Messy, ugly, lines with noticeable lag.

I've never used a stylus that could draw better fine lines with as clear resolution than the Apple pencil...Wacom, Huion, and all. That's what truly matters in day to day.

I'm genuinely excited to see how they improve the Apple Pencil's functions.
 
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Wish list:

1- Wireless charging by snapping to the side of the iPad.

2- W1 chip for better connectivity and battery life.

3- Compatible with the new Macbook Pro big trackpad (makes sense with the new size) and Magic Trackpad.

4- Eraser on the other end.

5- Dock for desk that also charges (could be similar to what they have in Apple stores).

:)
 
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They might implement inductive charging of the pencil (similar to the way the Apple Watch charges). That makes sense. Having the pencil sticking out of the Lightning port is not ideal for a number of reasons. First, it's simply asking to be damaged; and secondly, for a company that prides itself on creating aesthetically pleasing experiences, having a pencil sticking out of a Lightning port is anything but that.
 
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gugy said:
Maybe if the could make charging port female, that could be great. The fact the port is male, every time I charge on my iPad I have the fear it can break easily on an accident.
Click to expand...
Sigmund Freud would have had a field day analyzing this fear.



supertomtom said:
Wonder if it'll have a W1-like chip for easy pairing/device switching
Click to expand...
Plus, if you use the Apple Pencil to scratch the inside of your ear, you can hear your iTunes playing.
 
KPOM said:
Interesting. This isn't the type of accessory I expected to get major updates, though I do think they may expand support for it, perhaps to a special iMac if the Surface Studio takes off.
Click to expand...

If :apple: can make a profit, bet your ass they'll "update" it...We'll be seeing Jet Black, Rose Gold and Gold Pencil's soon enough.
 
I only wish there was a place to store the pencil in the iPad kind of like the Samsung Note phablets. But it's not possible at its current thickness.
 
No need for an eraser IMO, it's a digital tool and it doesn't need to emulate certain pencils that have erasers on the back. And I don't want Apple making it $198 because it can do the same thing from both ends.

When I need to erase I just press the eraser button with my empty hand and continue to use the precision tip on the pointy end. Great if they improve the Pencil in other ways, but it's one of the products as of late that Apple got pretty "right" on the first try...
 
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Asianpork said:
Love or hate the Apple pencil design, the real wonder of it comes through when actually used.

Try to draw a straight line, very slowly on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil and do the same with Surface pen on a Surface Tablet...It's night and day. I was in love with the Surface Studio, until I spent a good hour with it in the Microsoft store, drawing. Messy, ugly, lines with noticeable lag.

I've never used a stylus that could draw better fine lines with as clear resolution than the Apple pencil...Wacom, Huion, and all. That's what truly matters in day to day.

I'm genuinely excited to see how they improve the Apple Pencil's functions.
Click to expand...

This was my impression, and any time I waver in my opinion I go and spend more time with the surface and come away with a renewed impression that it simply isn't as good as I want it to be.

Put a ruler on the screen and draw a diagonal line slowly. That's the real test for most of these screens.

The latest gen Wacom Cintiq Pro and mobile studio pro are fantastic devices and do compete with the performance of Apple Pencil/iPad Pro combo. Absolutely superb parallax and lag (which varies from app to app - looking at you, photoshop).... BUT!

The Wacom mobile studio pro (even the cheaper 13 inch model) is really, REALLY expensive.
 
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I'm quite happy with the pencil as it is, but stuff I wouldn't mind seeing updated:

It's not that they need to change the pencil to attach to the iPad, they need to change the smart cover have a slot for the pencil. A magnet just means it's going to get scraped off in my backpack or wherever.

+1 on the eraser-- I still instinctually flip the thing around when I want to undo something and have to remind myself that it doesn't work that way.

I'm not too bothered by the current charging, but I wouldn't mind finding a better way. Maybe make the current male connector a male-to-male adapter that seats in a female socket-- so that I can plug it into my iPad to charge, or remove the adapter to charge from a lightning cable. Right now the female-female adapter is a separate piece that I never carry around.

Wouldn't mind if it were just a bit shorter, and if the tip were a bit less slick and quieter when it touches the glass.
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Abazigal said:
So how do you propose it works through a case blocking the smart connector?
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I suppose the case could pass-through the smart connector. If the hinge were concave the pencil would sit there nicely.

Something needs to align the contacts though (not just laterally, but rotationally as well).
 
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The Apple Pencil with energous wireless charging makes way more sense than energous wireless charging in a phone or tablet. Energous could support the low power requirements in the pencil.
 
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I bet they'll release an Apple Dial too, in light of the Surface Dial.

Can't see how you'd improve on the Apple Pencil though, not because it's amazing but because it is what it is.
 
Apple first needs to enhance iOs to support handwriting and sketching everywhere. Just like the Surface where you can annotate webpages and send it to someone.
 
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