Apple Pencil is a line of wireless

stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...

pen accessories designed and developed by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

for use with supported

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

tablets. The first-generation Apple Pencil was announced alongside the first iPad Pro on September 9, 2015. It communicates wirelessly via

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

and has a removable cap that conceals a

Lightning connector Lightning is a proprietary computer bus and power connector created and designed by Apple Inc. and introduced on , to replace its predecessor, the 30-pin dock connector. The Lightning connector is used to connect Apple mobile devices like iPh ...

used for charging. The Pencil is compatible with the first- and second-generation iPad Pro models, and all other iPads released in 2018 and later with a Lightning port, and the tenth-generation iPad. The second-generation Apple Pencil was announced on October 30, 2018 alongside the third-generation iPad Pro. It uses a magnetic connector on the side of the tablet for charging rather than a Lightning connector, and includes touch-sensitive areas that can be tapped to perform actions within supported apps. It is compatible with all iPads with a

USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conne ...

port, excluding the tenth-generation iPad.

Specifications with details

First generation

The Apple Pencil has pressure sensitivity and angle detection, and it was designed for low latency to enable smooth marking on the screen. The Pencil and the user's fingers can be used simultaneously while rejecting input from the user's palm. One end of the device has a magnetically-fastened removable cap which covers a Lightning connector which is used for charging from an iPad's Lightning port. The initial charge lasts about twelve hours, but fifteen seconds of charging provides sufficient power for 30 minutes of use. The Pencil ships with a female-to-female Lightning adapter which allows it to be used with charging cables, and starting with the announcement of the 10th-generation iPad on October 18, 2022, also ships with a Lightning-to-USB-C adapter to allow it to be used with that particular iPad model, which lacks support for the second-generation Pencil despite having a USB-C connector. It is compatible with iPad 6th generation, 7th generation etc. models. Apple has promoted the Pencil as being oriented towards creative work and productivity; during its unveiling, the Pencil's drawing capabilities were demonstrated using the mobile version of

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Microsoft Windows, Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas Knoll, Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the indu ...

, and its document-annotation capabilities were shown on several

Microsoft Office Microsoft Office, or simply Office, is the former name of a family of client software, server software, and services developed by Microsoft. It was first announced by Bill Gates on August 1, 1988, at COMDEX in Las Vegas. Initially a marketin ...

apps. The Apple Pencil uses an

STMicroelectronics STMicroelectronics N.V. commonly referred as ST or STMicro is a Dutch multinational corporation and technology company of French-Italian origin headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates near Geneva, Switzerland and listed on the French stock market. ST ...

STM32L151UCY6 Ultra-low-power

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32-bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculation ...

RISC In computer engineering, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer designed to simplify the individual instructions given to the computer to accomplish tasks. Compared to the instructions given to a complex instruction set comput ...

ARM-based Cortex-M3 MCU running at 32 MHz with 64 KB of flash memory, a Bosch Sensortech BMA280 3‐axis

accelerometer An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accele ...

and a

Cambridge Silicon Radio CSR plc (formerly Cambridge Silicon Radio) was a multinational fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Its main products were connectivity, audio, imaging and location chips. CSR was listed on the London Stoc ...

(

Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...

) CSR1012A05

Bluetooth Smart Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE, colloquially BLE, formerly marketed as Bluetooth Smart) is a wireless personal area network technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) aimed at novel applications i ...

IC for its Bluetooth connection to the iPad. It is powered by a rechargeable 3.82 V, 0.329 Wh

lithium-ion A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also sees ...

battery. The tenth-generation iPad only supports the first-generation Apple Pencil, despite lacking a Lightning port, and requires Apple's Lightning-to-

adapter to pair and charge it; SKUs of the first generation Apple Pencil shipped after October 2022 include the adapter.

Second generation

On October 30, 2018, Apple announced an updated Pencil alongside the third-generation iPad Pro. It is similar in design and specifications to the first model, but without the detachable connector, and part of the stylus is flattened to inhibit rolling. It contains tap-sensitive zones on its sides that can be mapped to functions within apps. Custom

laser engraving Laser engraving is the practice of using lasers to engrave an object. Laser marking, on the other hand, is a broader category of methods to leave marks on an object, which in some cases, also includes color change due to chemical/molecular alte ...

is available when purchased via the Apple Store online. Rather than a physical Lightning connector, the second-generation Pencil is paired and charged using a proprietary magnetic

wireless charging Inductive charging (also known as wireless charging or cordless charging) is a type of wireless power transfer. It uses electromagnetic induction to provide electricity to portable devices. Inductive charging is also used in vehicles, power tool ...

connector on the tablet instead. As such, it is only supported by the third-generation, fourth-generation, fifth-generation iPad Pro and sixth-generation iPad Pro, sixth-generation iPad Mini, the fourth-generation and the fifth-generation iPad Air. These iPads also have

ports in lieu of Lightning, making them incompatible with the first-generation Pencil. iPads released in 2018 or later with a Lightning port, including the third-generation iPad Air, fifth-generation iPad Mini, and the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

10.2-inch iPads, only support the first-generation Pencil. The tenth-generation iPad only supports the first-generation Pencil. An Apple Pencil Hover feature, allowing the display to detect the Apple Pencil up to 12mm in proximity to the screen, can be worked only on prior to the sixth-generation iPad Pro. File:Apple Pencil 1 2019-01-27 (cropped).jpg, The first generation Apple Pencil, with its Lightning connector exposed. The accompanying female-to-female Lightning adapter is below the Pencil

References

External links

* (official website) {{Apple Apple Inc. peripherals Apple Inc. hardware IPad styluses Products introduced in 2015

Specifications with details

First generation

Second generation

See also

References

External links