Regardless of sporadic rumors of recent iPads on the horizon for this month, plainly all Apple really has to point out us for the iPad this fall is a brand new Apple Pencil with a USB-C port.
Nevertheless, opposite to a few of the different rumors we’ve heard through the years, what Apple introduced right now isn’t a lot an upgraded third-generation Apple Pencil that does greater than what got here earlier than. As an alternative, it’s a extra reasonably priced model for individuals who simply desire a fundamental stylus for his or her iPad and don’t want all of the bells and whistles of the second-generation Apple Pencil or the pressure-sensitivity of the unique first-generation mannequin.
As an alternative, the brand new “Apple Pencil (USB-C)” helps solely essentially the most fundamental options of Apple’s stylus. Tilt sensitivity for shading and different results is its most superior functionality. It additionally helps the brand new “hover” characteristic launched on the M2 iPad Professional fashions, though it’s onerous to think about somebody who has already invested in one in every of Apple’s flagship iPad Professional fashions choosing this stylus as an alternative of the rather more full-featured second-generation Apple Pencil.
The brand new Apple Pencil expenses over USB-C fairly than Lightning, however the catch is that it solely expenses over USB-C. Additional, Apple has deserted the unique male Lightning connector that plugged into the underside of conventional iPad fashions in favor of a male USB-C port that’s hidden underneath the cap. This implies you’ll want to make use of a cable to cost it up. Granted, having an Apple Pencil protruding from the underside of your iPad was at all times a bit unusual, however it provided a pleasant technique to get a fast top-up if you happen to didn’t have a cable readily available.
The brand new Apple Pencil will connect magnetically to the facet of Apple’s flat-edged iPads — the entire USB-C fashions it at the moment sells. Nevertheless, it gained’t pair or cost in that place; the magnetic attachment is just there for comfort.
The most important upside to all that is that the brand new Apple Pencil will retail for less than $79, or $69 for instructional clients. That’s $20 lower than the first-generation Apple Pencil and $50 lower than the second-generation Apple Pencil.
Which Apple Pencil Do I Want For My iPad?
Nevertheless, the brand new Apple Pencil (USB-C) provides one other layer of confusion to the query of which Apple Pencil you can purchase in your explicit iPad mannequin.
Till final fall, there was a reasonably simple rule of thumb for Apple’s styluses: In case your iPad had a House Button, you needed to go for the first-generation Apple Pencil. For those who had a full-screen iPad with side-button Contact ID or Face ID and a USB-C port, you wanted to go for the second-generation Apple Pencil, which might additionally dock and cost wirelessly with all these iPad fashions.
Then, Apple threw a monkey wrench into the combo with the Tenth-generation iPad. An upgraded model of its entry-level iPad that adopted the design of the iPad Air, leaving the House Button and Lightning port behind and eventually making the change to USB-C.
The issue is the Tenth-generation iPad turned an outlier in a number of methods. It was costlier, priced awkwardly between the standard $329 price ticket of the unique base iPad (which Apple continued promoting) and the rather more full-featured iPad Air. Extra considerably, regardless of its new design and USB-C port, it lacked help for the second-generation Apple Pencil. As an alternative, clients who needed a stylus for his or her iPad had to make use of the first-generation model and cope with a Lightning to USB-C adapter to cost it.
It’s this drawback that Apple’s new Apple Pencil appears meant to resolve. The tenth-generation iPad is the one one in every of Apple’s tablets suitable with the brand new Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the first-generation Apple Pencil. Past that, the traces are nonetheless fairly clear: In case your iPad has a House Button, the first-gen stylus continues to be the one possibility for you. You probably have a contemporary iPad mini, iPad Air, or iPad Professional, you should utilize the second-generation Apple Pencil or go for the extra reasonably priced USB-C model, which is able to dock however not cost on these fashions.
Nevertheless, if you happen to’re utilizing Apple’s tenth-generation iPad — and certain the eleventh-generation iPad that can comply with it — then Apple’s new $79 USB-C Apple Pencil might be the higher possibility except you really want the stress sensitivity capabilities of the first-generation Apple Pencil and are prepared to stay with its Lightning connector.
The brand new Apple Pencil (USB-C) can be out there in Apple Shops beginning in November as a 3rd possibility in Apple’s stylus lineup alongside the first-generation and second-generation Apple Pencils.