Three Things to Know About the New Apple Pencil

[MultiMan]

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The qi charging standard says the charging coil needs to be 40 mm in diameter, that's not going to work on the side of a 5 mm iPad. A flat coil in the pencil wouldn't work to be charged via Qi. Apple is probably using some non coil type of charging method

I believe it's a coil, just smaller, watch at 9:07:

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What are the extra tips for - do they wear away with normal usage?

I'm just having a conversation with a member on a Swedish forum and he dropped the pen (slid of the magnetic holder) and the tip got destroyed hitting the floor. Thankfully he had the spare tip from his gen1 pen and that worked so he just switched.

 

[Ruggy]

No extra tip. Just how stingy can Tim get.

Does anyone know if you even need an extra tip?

Maybe they have found that people very rarely need them.
I don’t know the answer just asking.

 

[Bacillus]

Tim has banked $700 million in his years as CEO. He has authorized the buy-back of nearly $1 Trillion in stock -- that is a truly historic number. I'd guess most Apple C-level execs have similar amazing personal gains during Tim's reign. It is mind-boggling to think that Tim or any C-level exec cares about the long-term future of Apple. This is true of nearly every C-level exec in Merica. It really is hard for you or I to imagine the levels of compensation these guys get for managing next quarter's financials. Of course, they all sit on each others' boards, so who is going to be the one to deny this process vs. long-term shareholder value??

One day he will be sitting in front of Petrus, who will ask him: so you’re the guy who ripped off half of the planet for your own gain. What do you expect me to do with you ?

 

[uni]

If it is 25 cents per tip and they sell 5 million pencils, that is 1.25 million dollars. Even if they sell one pencil, it is 250k saved. I don't know why you think Tim Cook the financial wizard doesn't think of these things. For instance, stopping giving dongles for head phones, requiring the purchase of dongles for USB-C. These things all add up to millions of dollars for Apple.

Obviously they DO think about things like the tip. First it was there, now it's not. Someone made both decisions. This is precisely why you are not a CFO... You clearly don't think of the things that make companies more profitable.

This right here.

Tim Cook (and whoever else he has doing the financials) know exactly what they're doing. They had a clear goal of "get to a trillion dollar company". They're still making great products and hell I'm still buying them but these small removals add up both for them and us. Back during the great headphone jack removal war I had one beautiful defence against my hating friends "the adapter is right there in the box. Plug it in. Done." Now that's gone.
I didn't even realise until a Gruber podcast that the last couple of laptop generations no longer come with the power extension cord.
But I'm the one who fondly remembers my 2003 PowerBook coming with a full power cord, DVI-VGA adapter, S-Video to composite adapter and even blank DVDs.

 

[bryn0076]

Please.... it’s just the tip
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This right here.

Tim Cook (and whoever else he has doing the financials) know exactly what they're doing. They had a clear goal of "get to a trillion dollar company’.....

Unrelated... I’ve been on this website since 2010, and wondered what it took to stop being called a ‘newbie’... then I saw your join date !

 

[downpour]

This iPad is in desperate need of a protective case that still allows the Pencil to charge. That one side of the case needs to stick out just enough in the middle so the pencil can fit in the gap (and make contact with the charger), but also ensures the iPad's side is protected if something hits it.

With Apple's current covers, any slight drop or knock would smash your very expensive new toy.

 

[manu chao]

I can't imagine that the protocol is so different. That would mean each Pencil and iPad is running different software. Do we know if the Crayon is likewise incompatible?

As for the new Pencil running on the old iPad, again I see it as solely a desire not to support it. A simple charging/pairing dongle could be sold separately to support it. Even if it didn't function with the new features, unless the protocol is entirely different, the basic functions of the new Pencil would still work with the old iPad.

$100 is not nothing. Even if the new Lightning charging/pairing dongle cost $29, it would still be an inducement for someone to buy the new Pencil for future compatibility rather than spring for a new iPad Pro too.

An external inductive charging pad to charge the new Pencil without a new iPad Pro would be a rather odd product.

 

[Raist3001]

Not sure if there’s some limitation with the cable? I know people think Tim Cook is the devil on earth but if it was technically possible to pair via a usb-c to lighting cable I honestly don’t think upper management would tell engineers to disable it from working. I don’t know what percentage of the iPad customer base owns a pencil but I’m guessing it’s small and even smaller those Pencil users that would buy a new Pro and not get the much improved new Pencil. I don’t think Apple has to do trickery that forces people into buying the new Pencil.

So far, there is nothing to prove any limitation at all other than apple blocking compatibility. The apple pencil sold very well, so I would think the percentage of people who own a 1st gen pencil is substantial. And apple made the 1st gen pencil compatible with the entry level iPad.

I understand why the new pencil would not be compatible with the 2nd gen Pro since the new pencil pairs with the new Pro via the wireless connection. Apple could have had a USB-C to lightning in order for older pencils to pair with the new Pro. The new pencil does not offer anything more than wireless charging/pairing and touch features. The tips are the same, the pressure points are the same, the latency is the same. The pencil itself has not been improved. Its been repackaged with a few tricks and has had its price increased.

 

[Mac 128]

An external inductive charging pad to charge the new Pencil without a new iPad Pro would be a rather odd product.

No more odd than the adapter to charge the old Pencil via a normal Lightning cable. It could also be built into a Qi charging pad so it could charge all of your Apple devices and accessories.

So far, there is nothing to prove any limitation at all other than apple blocking compatibility. The apple pencil sold very well, so I would think the percentage of people who own a 1st gen pencil is substantial. And apple made the 1st gen pencil compatible with the entry level iPad.

I understand why the new pencil would not be compatible with the 2nd gen Pro since the new pencil pairs with the new Pro via the wireless connection. Apple could have had a USB-C to lightning in order for older pencils to pair with the new Pro. The new pencil does not offer anything more than wireless charging/pairing and touch features. The tips are the same, the pressure points are the same, the latency is the same. The pencil itself has not been improved. Its been repackaged with a few tricks and has had its price increased.

It’s been proven that the old pencil can charge off the new iPad using a USB-C to Lightning adapter and the Pencil charging adapter. So Apple intentionally prevents the old Pencil from pairing via hardware, port or wireless.

No one has shown that the old Pencil is otherwise incompatible with new iPad protocols, so this is clearly an effort by Apple to push customers toward upgrades.

And While I would also understand and accept why the new Pencil wouldn’t be backward compatible, I’m not sure why they couldn’t have offered a manual software pairing routine, with a Pencil that’s already using a wireless connection. A firmware update would likely enable it. Given that they’ve obviously intro finally prevented the old Pencil from being used by the new iPad, I’m even more suspect that a backward compatible fix wasn’t also possible. And while they’re at it, a magnetic charging/holder that plugs into the Lightning port, which not only charges but provides an attachment point for the Pencil while it’s not being used.

 

[koa]

Environmentally, I would think Apple should have made the old pencil compatible with new iPad. Will Apple recycle your old pencil? You either include the old pencil when you sell your old iPad Pro, which the buyer may or mat not care about. Or take the old tip off in case you need a spare and eventually throw it away.

 

[tridley68]

Environmentally, I would think Apple should have made the old pencil compatible with new iPad. Will Apple recycle your old pencil? You either include the old pencil when you sell your old iPad Pro, which the buyer may or mat not care about. Or take the old tip off in case you need a spare and eventually throw it away.

i used the buy back program to purchase my new i pad pro there was no mention of a trade in for the pencil and i was not just going to give it to them for nothing so it is going on ebay to offset the cost of my new apple pencil.

 

[gaximus]

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I believe it's a coil, just smaller, watch at 9:07:

Yep, I should have been more clear. I meant a non-circular type of coil, that would be too small to work with Qi. Also, holy crap that is bendable, looks like they beat Samsung to the market with a foldable screen.

 

[lubeak]

I can see a high likelihood of the Apple Pencil being dislodged from the side of the iPad Pro, such as when sliding the device into a bag. If I owned one I would want to keep it in a pen slot or something similar in whatever bag/sleeve I'm using.

I lost mine yesterday after having for one day. While it seems that it attaches solidly it is very easy to knock off. $130 down the drain. Lost at an auto dealership and hope that someone will turn in as I had it engraved. I would recommend anyone getting this to get the personalized engraving and/or contact phone number that Apple does.

 

[The Game 161]

Love mine

Double tap feature is very useful

 

[boswald]

Probably excluded the extra tip to keep the cost down. We can't complain too much, can we?


(EDIT: Yes, we can. )

 

[mikethemartian]

Does anyone know if you even need an extra tip?

Maybe they have found that people very rarely need them.
I don’t know the answer just asking.

Well they sell them in packs of 4 so I would surmise they expect users to use them up. Otherwise I would expect they would sell them individually.

 

[DotCom2]

Got the Pencil 2 yesterday and supposedly, there was a firmware update but I saw no notification that it was doing anything. So I don't know if mine got the update or not. It's working fine but just wondering if I got the update. What is the version number of the Firmware and Hardware version of those who do indeed know they got the update?
Mine says:
Firmware version: 0128.0084.0444.0052
Hardware version:1100

Is that the latest??

 

[Baymowe335]

How else do you expect Cook and the boyz to retire with their options in the money?

There are a lot of shareholders they have to think about too. Welcome to being a public company.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I got mine yesterday and tested it out with some drawing. Its a nice improvement. I'm still getting used to the double tap which is slightly odd but I think with time it will feel more natural.

One weird thing is that if you sit the pen on the glass, it will gravitate to areas that have magnets (there are magnets all over the body to hold the folio). Just an odd behavior to stick to random places on the iPad.

The magnets isn’t placed randomly. Although they should’ve been outwardly facing or the folio should’ve had the magnets on it to stick to the iPad.

The Pencil double tap takes a not from original dip in ink calligraphy quills which you’d tap off excess ink.

 

[tillsbury]

Environmentally, I would think Apple should have made the old pencil compatible with new iPad. Will Apple recycle your old pencil? You either include the old pencil when you sell your old iPad Pro, which the buyer may or mat not care about. Or take the old tip off in case you need a spare and eventually throw it away.

So just sell the pencil separately, and only people who want one will buy it. This week I sold my day 1 iPad Pro and Apple Pencil online, both almost exactly three years old, for a total of 47% of their original price. That's pretty good for three-year-old tech.