Apple Ditched Plan for $50 Apple Pencil With iPhone Support at the Last Minute, Claims Sketchy Rumor - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Ditched Plan for $50 Apple Pencil With iPhone Support at the Last Minute, Claims Sketchy Rumor

Apple planned to introduce a new $49 Apple Pencil this year that was compatible with iPhones, but scrapped the plans at the last minute, claims a sketchy new rumor coming out of Asia.

apple pencil red
According to a Weibo post, shared on Twitter by DuanRui, Apple allegedly intended to release the new ‌Apple Pencil‌, codenamed "Maker" (or, more likely, "Marker") at its September 2022 event, and even went so far as to mass produce over one million units of the accessory, only to can its launch at the eleventh hour for unspecified reasons.

To cut costs, the device allegedly lacked pressure sensing technology or a rechargeable battery, and instead utilized an onboard chip to power the stylus through the iPad or iPhone screen, similar to how Samsung's S-Pen stylus works.

At $49, the unreleased ‌Apple Pencil‌ would have been significantly cheaper than the first-generation and second-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ models, which are priced at $99 and $129, respectively.

Unfortunately, the source of the ‌Apple Pencil‌ rumor has no track record, so the claims need to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Furthermore, this isn't the first time we've heard rumors of an Apple Pencil being developed to work with iPhones, none of which have come to fruition.


Still, a battery-less ‌Apple Pencil‌ would pair well with the latest tenth-generation ‌iPad‌, which comes with a USB-C port and requires an ungainly $9 Lightning dongle to work with the first-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌. Again though, why Apple would kill plans for an accessory that had entered mass production is unclear.

If it really was a thing, and so many units were manufactured by Apple, then past history would suggest some units will eventually be leaked. Would you welcome an ‌Apple Pencil‌ for iPhone? Let us know in the comments.

Related Forum: iPad Accessories

Popular Stories

macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

macOS 27 Will Mark the End of an Era

Saturday April 18, 2026 6:45 am PDT by
During its Platforms State of the Union segment at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe is the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. The upcoming macOS 27 release will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. macOS 27 should be available...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Saturday April 18, 2026 5:59 am PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. CarPlay Ultra...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple CEO Tim Cook Stepping Down, John Ternus Taking Over

Monday April 20, 2026 1:33 pm PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple's chief executive officer, and hardware engineering chief John Ternus is set to take over, Apple announced today. Cook will continue on as Apple CEO through the summer, with Ternus set to join Apple's Board of Directors and take over as CEO on September 1, 2026. Cook is going to transition to executive chairman, and he will "assist with certain...

Top Rated Comments

45 months ago
$50 was the intended price for the case that holds the pencil.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JamonBull Avatar
45 months ago
A “sketchy” rumour indeed…
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
akbarali.ch Avatar
45 months ago
Yes, there are times during conversation/discussion with peers I feel like if I had a pencil or something I would've drawn things to explain them better. I use my finger which is very bad for writing/drawing on such a small area.

And yes, Samsung made the write decision to include one with their phone. Its neat.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bmac89 Avatar
45 months ago
$50 Apple accessory… LOL yeah right! 🤣
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
45 months ago
Sorry, don't believe this for a second.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HeavenDynamic Avatar
45 months ago

Again though, why Apple would kill plans for an accessory that had entered mass production is unclear.


Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)