Apple Pencil: New scribbler is cheaper and has USB-C

Apple has taken the wraps off a cheaper version of the Apple Pencil that comes with USB-C charging.

The new stylus will cost £79 and looks a lot like the second-generation Apple Pencil, which was introduced alongside the third-generation iPad Pro back in 2018.

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Just like the second-generation stylus, the new model can be attached to the top edge of your iPad magnetically. However, it doesn’t charge wirelessly. Instead, you have to slide up the cap at the top to reveal a USB port, which you can then connect to any nearby charger.

Pairing takes place over USB-C as well, with the new pencil supporting any iPad with a USB-C port.

Alas, owners of older models with Lightning ports are going to miss out as it won’t pair with those devices.

But wireless charging and pairing aren’t the only features missing from the cheaper USB-C Apple Pencil. It also doesn’t support pressure sensitivity – a surprise given that even the first-generation Apple Pencil supports this – and you can’t double-tap the barrel to swap between tools, either. Oddly, it does support tilt detection, though, so shading should work fine.

Those are all disappointments, of course, but it appears Apple isn’t aiming the USB-C Apple Pencil at customers who would make use of pressure sensitivity – digital artists and so on – instead targeting occasional jotters, highlighters and annotators, for whom the rather large price cut of £70 will be far more significant.

The new Apple Pencil will be available from November.

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