MacRumors Giveaway: Win an iPad Air and Rock Paper Pencil Kit From Astropad

Friday January 17, 2025 10:53 am PST by Juli Clover

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Astropad to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an M2 iPad Air, an Apple Pencil Pro, and Astropad's best iPad accessory, the Rock Paper Pencil.

astropad rock paper pencil 1
Rock Paper Pencil is an all-in-one kit that features a textured screen protector and ‌Apple Pencil‌ tip. The two components of the kit make writing and drawing on the ‌iPad‌ feel like you're writing on a piece of paper instead of on a glossy display.

Writing or drawing on an ‌iPad‌ feels distinctly different from writing or drawing with a paper and a pen, and Rock Paper Pencil does a great job at making you forget you're using a tablet. It feels like writing on paper, and it also sounds like writing on paper.

The screen protector uses NanoCling technology so it adheres to an ‌iPad‌ using static cling, and it can be taken off and put back on as needed with no residue left on the ‌iPad‌'s screen. With NanoCling, the screen protector fits right up to the display of the ‌iPad‌ to provide a flat surface with no gaps or ridges. Because of the slight friction from the texture of the screen protector, there's much more control over stroke output.

Rock Paper Pencil's pencil tip fits on the ‌Apple Pencil‌ Pro (and other ‌Apple Pencil‌ models) and it can hold up to heavy daily use. The tip features a wear-resistant copper alloy core with a palladium exterior coating, and it is equivalent to an 0.7mm ballpoint pen for precision writing and sketching. Astropad includes two pencil tips with the kit, along with a protective storage sleeve so you can tuck away the screen protector when you're not using it.

Priced at $45, the Rock Paper Pencil kit works with all of Apple's modern iPads, including the ‌iPad Air‌, both iPad Pro models, the sixth-generation iPad mini, and the 7th-generation and later ‌iPad‌.

We have an ‌iPad Air‌ 2, Rock Paper Pencil, and ‌Apple Pencil‌ Pro for one lucky MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner(s) and send the prize(s). You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, following us on Threads, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older, UK residents who are 18 years or older, and Canadian residents who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. All federal, state, provincial, and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (January 17) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on January 24. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after January 24 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.

Tag: Giveaway

Top Rated Comments

lazyrighteye

23 months ago

Background:
• From note-taking to sketching concepts, my iPad mini 6 and Pencil 2 combo are invaluable components of my professional creative workflow.
• I've never owned a screen protector for any devices I have ever owned, dating back to that '07 iPhone and several iPads along the way (side note: also not a case guy for my devices).

I use my iPad mini 6 & Pencil 2, daily. Without hesitation, it's my favorite iPad I've used/owned to date. The slightest of nuisances - the sound of the constant plastic tapping of the Pencil tip-on-glass and the smooth sensation of said plastic tip gliding across the glass - were, on some levels, uncomfortable. Unnerving. Added more of a synthetic layer between me and the act of writing/sketching than anticipated. It was noticeable enough, apparently, that I eventually found myself looking into potential solutions. And you know how that goes: once I put that into the universe, my algorithms started bombarding me a relentless slew of options ready to take my money. So, this past August, I caved and placed an order for Rock Paper Pencil - fully expecting to send it back.

I don't use the term game-changer lightly. But this has made the act of using my Pencil + iPad something I still - some 6 months later - find myself noticing how much I enjoy this enhancement. The sound of the plastic tip-on-glass has been muffled (the pitch not as high) and the drag offers just enough friction that I forget I'm writing/sketching on glass. That subtle yet tangible difference has been a game-changer. Another unexpected aspect of adding this screen protector to my iPad is the device feels a tinge less precious - which, on some level, makes it more enjoyable (for me) to use. I also like how easy the screen protector is to remove and reinstall (something I have only done maybe twice). I did run into one issue: I was recently taking some notes when the metal replacement tip that ships with Rock Paper Pencil placed a small, 1/4" nick in the screen protector. Shocked, I immediately inspected the tip of the Pencil, expecting to find that I [somehow] developed a sharp edge (or something) on the Pencil tip. Nope. This nick introduced a slight divet I now noticed whenever my Pencil passed that spot. Bummed, I reached out to Rock Paper Pencil's customer service to see if I had any options and they were quick to ship a replacement. So on top of a great product, their customer service was/is refreshingly competent. In short - if you're on the fence about this product, I can't recommend it more. If you have the means, treat yourself.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

ronntaylor

23 months ago

An iPad Air 2 ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad_Air_2')? The one that was discontinued in 2017 and isn't supported after iPadOS 15?

I applaud MacRumors' change (a year or two ago?) so that companies wanting to have contests here, need to include the related Apple product (e.g. a watch band and the corresponding Apple Watch). But if this contest really does include a museum piece, that's a substantial step backwards.

Looks like a mistake. The first sentence mentions a M2 iPad Air

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Astropad ('https://astropad.com') to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an M2 iPad Air, an Apple Pencil Pro, and Astropad's best iPad accessory, the Rock Paper Pencil ('https://astropad.com/product/rock-paper-pencil').

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)