Alongside its launch of the new iPad Pro and iPad Air, Apple has introduced the Apple Pencil Pro, the first significant addition to the lineup in six years.
Apple Pencil Pro
As previously expected, and heavily hinted at by Apple's "Let Loose" event logos, a new Apple Pencil has been launched. The Apple Pencil Pro now takes the place of the 2018 second-generation model as the top of the range.
In addition to all of the features of that second generation model such as hover mode, the Apple Pencil Pro adds squeeze gestures. Squeezing the sides of the Apple Pencil Pro can bring up a menu, so users don't have to keep moving around the screen.
A gyroscope can help change the orientation of a brush, or to change tools in a drawing app, simply by rolling it around. Haptic feedback provides real-time touch-based responses, so users can tell when they have selected or positioned an item, for example.
There's also now Find My support, so you can never truly lose your stylus when you need it most.
Apple Pencil Pro was announced alongside the new iPads and it requires iPad Pro or iPad Air, running iPadOS 17.5.
With this new Apple Pencil, the lineup now consists of:
- Apple Pencil Pro
- Apple Pencil (second generation)
- Apple Pencil (USB-C)
- Apple Pencil (first generation)
The original Apple Pencil from 2015 is still required for older iPads such as the first and second generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.
Apple introduced the lower-cost Apple Pencil (USB-C) in 2023. It resembles the second-generation model, but has no pressure sensitivity, and charges via USB-C instead of wirelessly.
Apple Pencil Pro costs $129 and will be available to pre-order later on Tuesday, with availability next week.