Developer Apple Inc. Type Digital stylus | Manufacturer Foxconn Introductory price US$99 | |
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Release date November 11, 2015 (2015-11-11) System-on-chip used 32-bit RISC ARM-based Cortex-M3 | ||
The Apple Pencil is a digital stylus pen that works as an input device for the iPad Pro tablet computer and was designed by Apple Inc. It was announced on September 9, 2015, alongside the iPad Pro and released in conjunction with it on November 11, 2015.
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Description
The Apple Pencil features pressure sensitivity and angle detection. Encased in a plastic housing is a Bluetooth device that can communicate simultaneously with the screen and the system underneath it. The Pencil can detect force, allowing, for example, darker or lighter strokes in a drawing app depending on how hard the user presses.
The Apple Pencil was designed for low latency to enable smooth inking on the screen. The iPad Pro also allows simultaneous use of an Apple Pencil and one's fingers, while rejecting input from the user's palm.
One end of the Apple Pencil has a magnetic removable cap. Underneath this cap is a Lightning connector, which allows the Pencil's battery to be recharged via the iPad Pro's Lightning port itself. The initial charge lasts about 12 hours, but 15 seconds plugged into the Lightning connector of the iPad Pro provides sufficient power for 30 minutes of use. The user can also use the included Lightning female-to-Lightning female adapter to charge via a standard Lightning cable instead.
The Apple Pencil utilizes an ST Microelectronics STM32L151UCY6 Ultra-low-power 32-bit RISC ARM-based Cortex-M3 MCU running at 32 MHz with 64 KB of flash memory, a Bosch Sensortech BMA280 3‐Axis Accelerometer and a Cambridge Silicon Radio (Qualcomm) CSR1012A05 Bluetooth Smart IC for its Bluetooth connection to the iPad Pro. It is powered by a recyclable rechargeable 3.82 V, 0.329 Wh lithium-ion battery. There is also the antenna and pressure and angle sensors near the tip, which is replaceable and sold in packs of four.
Purpose
The Apple Pencil is designed to work with the iPad Pro for creative work. It makes drawing on the iPad Pro more feasible. However, multitouch finger input is still the primary input mechanism for the iPad Pro. During the September 2015 Apple Event, Apple demonstrated the Pencil's drawing capabilities on the mobile version of the Adobe Creative Cloud and its document annotation capabilities on several Microsoft Office apps.
Third-party iPad styluses
A number of third-parties have produced stylus accessories for the iPad in the past. However, there has not been a consistent technology for pressure sensitivity, palm rejection or angle detection, leading to delayed reaction times and inaccurate strokes. Each third-party manufacturer has implemented its own hardware and software approaches, resulting in a fragmented market with styli and apps having differing functionalities. For instance, a particular stylus may be designed to offer pressure sensitivity, but any given app must implement such functionality for it to work. All have been limited by previous iPad hardware, which had higher latency than the iPad Pro. FiftyThree, Inc. produces an unrelated stylus, also known as Pencil, for use with its Paper drawing app for iPad. Other popular styluses include products made by Wacom and Adonit.