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Apple Pencil 3 leak claims changeable magnetic tips are on the way

An Apple Pencil nib


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The third-generation Apple Pencil could use interchangeable tips, a leaker claims, with different magnetic tips used for a variety of different purposes.

The first and second generations of Apple Pencil both use a nib that can be replaced as they wear over time. There's also a small market of third-party tip replacements for the stylus that can also tweak the way the Apple Pencil works on the iPad display.

According to a Saturday tweet by serial leaker "Majin Bu" on X, Apple's next iteration of stylus could offer consumers a similar ability to adjust how their Apple Pencil works. In the tweet, Bu's source claims the Apple Pencil 3 will ship "with interchangeable magnetic tips."

It is claimed that the tip changes are intended to make the Apple Pencil work better "for drawing, technical drawing, and painting." As an example of how this could be enacted, Bu offers images of three different sizes and thicknesses of tip in an image, though this could feasibly include differing materials used in producing the tip.

By using magnets, the tips should be easier to switch between compared to existing versions, which rely on a friction fit.

The leak's plausibility is somewhat assisted by previous patents and applications by Apple on the subject, including one where the functions of the stylus can change to match the nib. This could mean a nib can have sensors built in for various capabilities, such as measuring a color of a substance it touches.

While there are relatively few leaks about the third-generation Apple Pencil, it has been quite a while since Apple last updated its stylus. The original was released in November 2015, with the second-gen model out November 2018, three years later.



11 Comments

MikeInTaiwan 5 Years · 3 comments

How about a changeable battery instead? In just a year, my Pencil's battery stopped charging. I had to throw it away.

6 Likes · 0 Dislikes
cia 22 Years · 273 comments

I'm not dismissing your claim, as it can happen, but my parents and I have launch Apple Pencil 2's, and they continue to hold a charge just fine.

4 Likes · 0 Dislikes
williamlondon 15 Years · 1430 comments

cia said:
I'm not dismissing your claim, as it can happen, but my parents and I have launch Apple Pencil 2's, and they continue to hold a charge just fine.
So what you’re saying is your experience is different to someone else’s?

No, but anecdotes aren't rules, ffs even in a complainer's paradise.

2 Likes · 0 Dislikes
Ofer 9 Years · 272 comments

Knowing the way Apple prices things, it’ll come with one standard tip, and then you’ll be able to purchase different ones for some outrageous amount.

1 Like · 0 Dislikes
draenar 11 Years · 14 comments

Ofer said:
Knowing the way Apple prices things, it’ll come with one standard tip, and then you’ll be able to purchase different ones for some outrageous amount.

And there will be a third-party market for people who want a lower price, albeit with a possibility of lower quality.  Apple isn't gouging any more than any other company that does all the engineering and needs to recoup the cost of that.  Genuine car parts cost more as well, with third party manufacturers providing lower cost alternatives in many cases.  

4 Likes · 0 Dislikes