Previewed at WWDC, launching in the fall.
Apple Pencil Offers High Precision and Low Latency, Gains 30 Minutes of Use From 15-Second Charge
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs famously dismissed the need for a stylus when introducing Multi-Touch on the original iPhone over eight years ago, touting the finger as the best pointing device in the world."Who wants a stylus? You have to get them, and put them away, and you lose them. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus."Macworld 2007 was quite awhile ago, however, and Apple on Wednesday ultimately reversed course and introduced the Apple Pencil for iPad Pro, which it refers to as a creative tool for scribbling, sketching, annotating and editing.
Apple Pencil features a pointed tip with highly responsive sensors that allow for precise input down to a single pixel. To achieve this, Apple engineered the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro display to work together to detect position, force and tilt.
For example, as seen in the video below, you can press lightly for a thinner stroke, or press harder for a darker, bolder stroke. Likewise, you can draw with the Apple Pencil on an angle to produce broad, shaded strokes.
The iPad Pro's subsystem scans the Apple Pencil's signal 240 times per second, providing the tablet with twice the data points it would normally collect for a finger. This results in the Apple Pencil being very responsive, with almost indistinguishable latency, as seen in TechCrunch's hands-on video below.
Apple Pencil has a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge, but more interesting is its ability to gain 30 minutes of battery life from just 15 seconds of charging. A magnetic cap hides a male Lightning connector that allows the Apple Pencil to be plugged into the iPad Pro to charge.
Apple Pencil will be available in November for $99 alongside the new Smart Keyboard. While the Apple Pencil is officially compatible with the iPad Pro, it remains to be seen if the tool will work with older iPads as a traditional stylus.
Tag: Apple Pencil
[ 252 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
38 months ago
They never reversed course.
As much as I love to point out Apple's hypocrisies and slacking and whatever else they do wrong, they didn't reverse course.
2007 they presented the iPhone, not the iPad.
The Apple Pencil is for specific applications, not for the general use of the OS.
Glassed Silver:mac
As much as I love to point out Apple's hypocrisies and slacking and whatever else they do wrong, they didn't reverse course.
2007 they presented the iPhone, not the iPad.
The Apple Pencil is for specific applications, not for the general use of the OS.
Glassed Silver:mac
38 months ago
That is an often misrepresented Steve Jobs quote. He was larger than life, after all.
Now Apple did not reverse course here. The issue is that back then you required the stylus for many devices.
With the Pencil, Apple is introducing an additional form of input primarily suited for specific tasks, like drawing.
But the stylus is NOT required for the operation of the device.
Finally, a lot of folks here are getting what they asked for.
I know my daughter will want the (iPad Pro + Pencil) set, for sure.
Is there anything equivalent in the market for other platforms,like the Surface?
Now Apple did not reverse course here. The issue is that back then you required the stylus for many devices.
With the Pencil, Apple is introducing an additional form of input primarily suited for specific tasks, like drawing.
But the stylus is NOT required for the operation of the device.
Finally, a lot of folks here are getting what they asked for.
I know my daughter will want the (iPad Pro + Pencil) set, for sure.
Is there anything equivalent in the market for other platforms,like the Surface?
38 months ago
Apple on Wednesday ultimately reversed course and introduced the Apple Pencil ('http://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/') for iPad Pro, which it refers to as a creative tool for scribbling, sketching, annotating and editing.
How is it reversing course when the stylus is not the main input mechanism by which you navigate the interface?
Which your finger still is? Speaking to that fact, the stylus is not even included, it's an accessory.
The Jobs reference is totally inaccurate seeing as for both the iPhone and iPad your finger is still the main way for navigating the device (that includes iPad Pro).
38 months ago
Gotta give them nothing but respect if you really can get 30 mins out of 15 seconds from flat. If it works on more than the Pro, I’m in!!
38 months ago
Android fanboys can shut the hell up about the stylus.
Because there's not a single crappy Android tablet that has a pen that's pressure sensitive AND precise (that tip radius) AND tilt sensitive.
Not one single option out there, for any price, from any manufacturer.
And when they come to imitate Apple, it will be typical Android quality: spec sheet marvels that don't work as intended.
LOL.
$100 bucks for a pressure sensitive, small radius, and tilt sensitive stylus is what?
It's the cheapest option on the market.
And it's not from a junky manufacturer.
Because there's not a single crappy Android tablet that has a pen that's pressure sensitive AND precise (that tip radius) AND tilt sensitive.
Not one single option out there, for any price, from any manufacturer.
And when they come to imitate Apple, it will be typical Android quality: spec sheet marvels that don't work as intended.
The pencil should be included with the iPad pro. 100 bucks for a stylus is outrages. The replacement pen for the surface isn't even that much.
LOL.
$100 bucks for a pressure sensitive, small radius, and tilt sensitive stylus is what?
It's the cheapest option on the market.
And it's not from a junky manufacturer.
38 months ago
What are the chances of this working with Air 2?
About as equal a chance of Steve Jobs crawling out of his grave to give you his autograph on your iPad screen using the Apple Pencil.
38 months ago
So a $100 pen and all you can really do with it is draw? How many people draw on their ipad on a regular basis?
Wow way to misunderstand a product and market. Or watch the keynote.
A fair few million will buy this 'just to draw'
38 months ago
I don't understand why this stylus needs a battery at all. Plus, you are sacrificing the iPad Pro's battery in order to charge it
In 5 years I think this is the most obscenely ignorant post I've ever read
38 months ago
Funny thing is,I remember everyone ready to burn apple to the ground for switching to the lighting connector.
And now look,a few short years and not a peep. Can you imagine a Apple pencil with a 30 pin connector at the top of it? LOL!
Clearly these guys know what they're doing.
And now look,a few short years and not a peep. Can you imagine a Apple pencil with a 30 pin connector at the top of it? LOL!
Clearly these guys know what they're doing.
38 months ago
I agree that the "no stylus" quote has been used in the wrong context. He was talking about phones that need a stylus as an input device to navigate around. Making one as an option to write/draw/paint on an iPad makes perfect sense and was long over due.
I'm hoping that in the future we'll be able to tether it to the Mac like a Cintiq
I'm hoping that in the future we'll be able to tether it to the Mac like a Cintiq
[ Read All Comments ]
Dutch media is reporting that an Apple Store at Leidseplein in Amsterdam was briefly evacuated today, likely after an iPad battery overheated.
Image Credit: AS Media
At 2:20 p.m. local time on...
Facebook is contesting a demand from the U.S. government that it break the encryption of its popular Messenger app so that law enforcement can listen in to a suspect's conversations as part of an...
Child actress Brooklynn Prince has been cast in the lead role of Apple's upcoming drama series that's based on the life of young journalist Hilde Lysiak, reports Deadline.
Eight-year-old...
Netflix is testing a new feature that adds video promos in between episodes of TV shows, Netflix confirmed to TechCrunch this afternoon.
The promos Netflix is showing to some users include...
Logitech often works with Apple to introduce new accessories for Apple devices, and in early August, Logitech announced its latest product designed in collaboration with Apple, the new POWERED...
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Choetech to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a 7.5W Wireless Car Charging Mount that can be used to charge an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or...
The developers of the Transit app this week announced the expansion of real-time crowdsourced data for buses, trains, streetcars, ferries, and so forth to 175 cities across the United States, Canada,...
In a new interview today with The Los Angeles Times, Beats 1 host Zane Lowe discussed a few topics related to Apple Music's daily streaming radio show, including the company's rivals. Without...
