Inductive Apple Pencil charging tech reportedly too expensive for 2019 iPad Air & mini
Addressing questions as to why the 2019 iPad Air and mini don't support the second-generation Apple Pencil, a report on Tuesday claimed the required inductive technology was too costly to include in the builds.
The "inductive charging data port" for connecting a second-generation Pencil is "expensive enough to be prohibitive for the new Air and Mini," Daring Fireball's John Gruber said. While only indicating he was "reliably informed" on the matter, Gruber is known to have deep industry contacts.
The second-generation Pencil has a few advantages over the first, but the main one is typically considered the ability to magnetically attach to a 2018 iPad Pro, solving both charging and storage. It's not compatible with any other iPad.
Beyond inductive technology, the updated Air and mini would have also had to be redesigned with flat magnetic edges. Alternately, Apple could have added a Lightning port to the newer Pencil, but that would have left the problem of having a removable cap that's easily lost.
The latest iPads are largely performance upgrades with few major changes. Enhancements include a 10.5-inch display on the Air, A12 processors, True Tone displays, up to 256 gigabytes of storage, and first-gen Apple Pencil support.
19 Comments
Who cares. Love the mini size and love the long awaiting mini update. Thank you Apple.
It is annoying, but not all that big a surprise, the Apple Pencil was meant to be a Pro only feature, so now having it be a generation newer isn't bad. Keeping the Apple Pencil gen 1 around means they can add future iPhone support as well.
Also, there kinda needs to be some distinguishing features in the Pro line besides four speakers, USB-C and a bit more screen. The Apple Pencil gen1 is still an amazing tool that revolutionized the storyboard and tablet-sketching industry and is way more than adequate for people like me who don't use one for a living. So it's perfect for the non-Pro iPad line.
That said, I'd kind of like Apple to offer more first-party cases that include a place for the Pencil in the case. I've returned two lost Pencils to the coffeeshops where their owners left them behind, and I'll wager that's a common issue. One of my friends has managed to lose not one but TWO pairs of AirPods (HOW???). Heh.
I bought a rubber case for my Pro and pencil one. The pencils snaps into a pocket on the edge. The case protects the back and covers what the Smart Keyboard doesn’t.
All for like $12!
Im happy the new Mini supports Pencil 1. My wife can use mine after she upgrades the Mini 2 and we dont have to buy another!