Mike Wuerthele
Tuesday's Apple Pencil release has generated a lot of unnecessary internet drama about a complicated lineup, but you won't have to wait long for it to simplify greatly.
In case you missed the news, after a weekend of will-they won't-they rumor drama about new iPads, Apple almost unceremoniously rolled out a new Apple Pencil on Tuesday. Other than USB-C, the new Apple Pencil wasn't an improvement technologically speaking over what's available, but it nonetheless filled a gap in the lineup.
After five years of folks asking for a cheaper Apple Pencil, and a year decrying the ludicrous syncing and charging solution for the 10th generation iPad, Apple fixed the problem.
And, almost immediately, the internet screaming about a too-confusing lineup began.
First of all, it's not that confusing. It's only confusing if you squint at it a little, perhaps tilt your head, and try to make it confusing.
And secondly, if you consider that the original Apple Pencil is about to be consigned to the hall of retired Apple products in less than a year, it makes the point of it a lot more clear.
New Apple Pencil has a clear spot in the lineup
For starters, the "Apple Pencil (USB-C)," which we will henceforth in this piece call the "new Apple Pencil," is more universal than the second-generation Apple Pencil. It works on any iPad with USB-C going back to the third-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
On the down side, it doesn't have magnetic charging, nor pressure sensitivity. It's also $79 for everybody, and $69 for education. This puts it at nearly the same price for consumers as the Logitech Crayon, which uses similar technology and also lacks pressure sensitivity.
As a reminder, the Logitech Crayon is widely considered a good product, not a bad one. Now Apple has essentially the same thing.
Apple Pencils and Logitech CrayonAnyways, the second-generation Apple Pencil has that pressure sensitivity, and magnetic charging. It's still in the lineup, at $129.
Here comes the source of the drama — the first generation Apple Pencil with pressure sensitivity is also still in the line, for $99. It has that still-insane iPad-lollypop Lightning connector, unless you use the smallest adapter ever that's inside the packaging to use a Lightning cable to charge it.
And, it's doomed.
Without question, in the next year, Apple is going to kill off the ninth generation iPad. It's not because the EU is mandating USB-C, as it was designed and shipped well before the deadline.
It's on the way out because that A12 is showing its age. And, it's going away sooner rather than later because it's clear where Apple is going with the iPad design ethos it started at this point many years ago with that third-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro that I mentioned earlier.
That ninth generation iPad was first released more than two years ago. We don't expect it to remain on sale for nearly five years, like the 2012 MacBook Pro pre-Retina Display was.
And when that iPad goes, the first generation Apple Pencil will probably be removed from sale, with the remaining inventory held for educational contracts who have them by the hundreds of thousands just across the United States.
And even if it's not, and remains on Apple's accessory page, it will be limited in quantity. When it's gone, it'll be gone.
New Apple Pencil drama for drama's sake
The lineup is clear. Get the new Apple Pencil if you have a tenth-generation iPad. And, when and if you upgrade to an iPad Pro, you're still good to go.
If you're an artist and need that pressure sensitivity, then get the second-generation Apple Pencil for your iPad Pro or iPad Air.
If you have a ninth-generation iPad or one with a Lightning port, get the first generation Apple Pencil. While you can, that is.
Done, that's it. It isn't any more complicated than that. There won't be mass confusion from Apple Store employees like social media posts decry, nor is this indicative of any brain rot at Apple.
It's much clearer why it exists when you consider that the Lightning Apple Pencil was released very nearly eight years ago. It probably won't live to see nine.
And when it's gone, the Apple Pencil lineup will be very clear. The "confusion" is only because Apple has released a replacement for the doomed product early, rather than waiting until it's gone to do so.
From this chair, it's just another case of X and YouTube drama for no real reason. If you really want something Apple-related to be confused about, there's always the identical branding of the two different models of AirPods Pro second generation.
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Charles Martin
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11 Comments
The faux outrage over a product that very few people own was entertaining to watch, though. “The second-generation Apple Pencil” is a mouthful to say…#2 is right there for the taking.
I have to agree with Mike on this. I’ve been seething after watching a lot of really dumb videos on YouTube from people who should really know better. Even on the last Tuesday MacBreakWeekly there was apparent misunderstanding about this.
there have been complaints from the very beginning about the price of the Pencil. As a result, many competitors have sprung up. None are as good. They are cheaper, which is their main selling point. The original charging method was wonky. It’s true. I ve it and had no real problem with it, but Apple would have been better off to have placed a female lightning port on it instead of the male. Then a simple lightning cable would have worked, though it’s true that we would have needed a cable and that would have engendered complaints as well.
the Pencil 2 solved a lot of problems but cost even more. I’m sure the price complaints became even louder. Apple being Apple, they will try to build something less expensively, but not more cheaply, if you get the difference. But you can get copies of the Pencil 2 on Amazon from unknown Chinese vendors for a fraction of the price. I haven’t used any so I don’t know how accurate they really are, or how long they last.
but I use my Pencil for a lot of things. The only ones I need pressure sensitivity is for painting and artistic drawing, to distinguish it from the technical drawing I do. Those two things are the only ones in which pressure makes a real difference. And really, how many people really draw or paint, other than the scribbles most of us do? No many. So eliminating a fairly expensive feature makes sense. So does magnetic charging, also expensive. It’s $50 less. That’s a big percentage. If people want something cheaper they have that option of buying something else, which is why this is such a silly argument for those who are angry about this release.
Yes, convoluted. Why didn’t they just clean up in one step?
The kind of people who argue about this kind of stuff are the ones with an empty spot in their lives. It makes no matter to anyone, those who need what they need will get what they need and not spend a minute thinking about the faux-intellectual debates about product line up strategy. Nor will Apple.
The things people will argue about.
It to be fair the only reason I was confused was because I rely on Apple insider for my Apple News. And NOWHERE in the original article did they suggest anything other than this was essentially the Apple Pencil 3.
So the way I see it - first Apple insider publishes a severely misleading article and then publish a follow taking the piss out of those who were confused,