Apple Patents Apple Pencil That Can Sample Colors From Real-World Surfaces

Apple has patented a possible next-generation Apple Pencil that can sample colors from the real world and then input that same color onto an iPad, as well as other features, including the ability to sample textures.

apple pencil hover mode
The patent, reported by Patently Apple, describes an ‌Apple Pencil‌ with color sensors built into the tip of the pencil that can sample the surface of real-world objects and detect their color. Images in the patent show the ‌Apple Pencil‌ may come with a built-in light ambient sensor, light emitter, and a light detector that can detect the color and texture of a surface.

Like with all patents, it doesn't reveal when such a feature or product will launch, if ever. Apple filed a patent for a similar feature in June 2020, and three years later, no such update to the ‌Apple Pencil‌ has been made. The second-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ was announced in 2018, with no clear indication of when a third-generation model could debut.

Apple has added new capabilities to the ‌Apple Pencil‌ with improved ‌iPad‌ hardware and new iPadOS features. For example, the new M2 iPad Pro has a feature called Apple Pencil hover, allowing users to hover the pencil over the ‌iPad‌ to know where exactly the ‌Apple Pencil‌ will touch the display.

Related Forum: iPad Accessories

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1

Monday September 22, 2025 10:05 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with the first betas of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The new betas are the first updates to the iOS, iPadOS, macOS 26, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS releases that came out last week. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going...

Top Rated Comments

MayaUser Avatar
36 months ago

There have been several products released in the last decade that had this functionality. For example: https://www.nixsensor.com/nix-mini/
that is not a pencil , just a digital colour sensor , here we would have an all in one masterpiece of a accessory
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CB1234 Avatar
36 months ago
It would be amazing if this feature was to come to Apple Pencil... Specially for people in graphic design...
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
munpip214 Avatar
36 months ago

Scribble did this in 2014, hope they patented it.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/aug/13/scribble-pen-that-lets-you-draw-in-16-million-colours
I’m sure if Apple would do it it would support billions of colors and only cost $399
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FloatingBones Avatar
36 months ago

Scribble did this in 2014, hope they patented it.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/aug/13/scribble-pen-that-lets-you-draw-in-16-million-colours
What exactly do you think they did in 2014? The Kickstarter got $366k — 3.6x its funding goal — but they cancelled it. ('https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/230659454/scribble-a-revolutionary-pen-that-draws-in-any-col/posts/969503') If you click on the link, you'll go to a page where you can ORDER NOW with ONLY 1 DAY LEFT ('https://scribblepen.com/#'). Do you really think the "offer" will not be available tomorrow? Why do you think this is real?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kalsta Avatar
36 months ago
Call it the Apple Pencil Ultra and only make it compatible with the next gen iPad Pro Ultra Maxi. The current product line is too simple.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rp2011 Avatar
36 months ago
Amazing. It will be a must have for many artists
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)