Apple Introduces Extra Inexpensive Apple Pencil With USB-C

As a substitute of presenting new iPads this year, Apple has launched the Apple Pencil USB-C, a extra reasonably priced digital stylus that leverages the USB-C know-how, marking a big shift of their product lineup. This growth comes as Apple goals to advertise digital sketching and note-taking on their iPads.

The first gen Apple Pencil relied on a proprietary Lightning connector for charging, necessitating both an adapter or a clumsy insertion into an iPad, which many discovered unwieldy — Its successor, the 2nd gen Apple Pencil, charged wirelessly by way of a magnetized zone on iPads; And each iterations introduced strain sensitivity, an important characteristic for artists and artistic professionals.

The brand new Apple Pencil USB-C, because the identify implies, sports activities a USB-C port hid beneath a cap on the finish, much like an eraser on a conventional wood pencil. This USB-C port serves a twin function, each for charging the Pencil and for pairing it with an iPad, though it operates wirelessly afterward.

Notably, the absence of strain sensitivity is a trade-off, resulting in a diminished worth level. The Apple Pencil USB-C is ready to retail for $79, extra budget-friendly than the $99 value of the first-generation Pencil and the $129 price ticket of the second-generation stylus.

Apple Pencil USB-C’s sliding cap reveals the hidden port.

The Least expensive iPad shouldn’t be suitable with the Apple Pencil USB-C Out of the field

A notable inconvenience is that Apple’s least expensive iPad, the $329 Ninth-generation mannequin, nonetheless incorporates a Lightning port, making it incompatible with the brand new Pencil out of the field. Apple gives a $9 Lightning-to-USB-C adapter as a workaround for customers of this iPad, though this provides a further expense.

The Apple Pencil USB-C can magnetically connect to the aspect of the iPad tenth Gen., nevertheless it is not going to cost wirelessly.

Apple’s adoption of USB-C know-how for the Pencil highlights the corporate’s evolving strategy to connectivity and requirements. Whereas Apple had lengthy used proprietary ports and connectors, they’ve step by step built-in USB-C into varied merchandise. This transition is partly pushed by exterior elements, such because the European Union’s push for standardized USB-C connectors throughout shopper electronics.

Filed in Apple. Learn extra about Apple and Apple Pencil.