The Apple Pencil was unveiled in 2015. Apple’s first stylus was designed to work with the original iPad Pro. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was famously against styluses. However, the Apple Pencil has proven to be a helpful tool thanks to the tablet’s form factor.
Today, all of Apple’s iPads work with either the first-generation or second-generation Apple Pencil. Using this article, you can figure out what other devices the Apple Pencil is compatible with.
What is the Apple Pencil?
As the name suggests, the Apple Pencil is an Apple-designed stylus that works with Apple’s iPads. A small plastic tip (that can be replaced) connects with the iPad’s display, a pencil-like body to hold onto, and a charging mechanism. The original Apple Pencil has a Lightning connector. However, the second-generation model charges inductively through the iPad Pro.
The Apple Pencil is useful for precision tasks, such as writing and sketching. It can also be used for navigating through the OS. The pencil’s excellent for drawing, art creation, note-taking, and similar tasks, thanks to its precision, palm rejection, pressure sensitivity, and tilt sensitivity.
You can put your hand right on the iPad while you write, which, for an extended period, was functionality other styluses could not replicate accurately.
What are the differences between Apple Pencil 1 and Pencil 2?
The first version was released in 2015, whereas the second version was released in 2018. The two do the same thing. However, they have different designs as well as charging mechanisms.
The significant difference between the two Apple Pencils is the device compatibility. The Apple Pencil 2 is compatible with newer iPads, while the original Apple Pencil works only with older iPads.
The Apple Pencil 2 is sleeker and smaller, as it has no Lightning port at the end. Instead, it is designed to charge inductively through the iPad Pro. To start charging, you just put it on the right side of the iPad in the flat area. The Apple Pencil will stick to the iPad using magnets.
The original Apple Pencil has a Lightning connector that can be plugged into the Lightning port of an iPad for charging purposes. Apple also includes an adapter with the Apple Pencil 1, so you can charge it with any Lightning cable.
The Apple Pencil compatibility list
The Apple Pencil (2nd generation)
- You can use the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) with the mentioned iPad models:
- 6th generation iPad mini
- The iPad Air (4th generation and later)
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation and later)
- 11-inch iPad Pro (1st generation and later)
Apple Pencil (1st Generation)
You can use the Apple Pencil (1st generation) with the following iPad models:
- The iPad mini (5th generation)
- The iPad (6th generation and later)
- The iPad Air (3rd generation)
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generation)
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro
So, to answer the question, the Apple Pencil cannot be used with other devices except iPads.
Where can you use the Apple Pencil?
There are several unique Apple Pencil features worth being aware of if you consider an Apple Pencil purchase.
- Screenshots: Take a screenshot on your iPad, then tap it when a preview appears in the corner. You can draw and write on it using the Apple Pencil through Markup.
- Markup: Markup is the Apple feature that allows you to write on screenshots. It also works across the operating system in various apps. For example, in Mail, you can edit photos or PDFs, which is excellent for signing documents. You can even draw on photos in the Photos app and much more.
The Apple Pencil can also work with many third-party apps for note-taking, drawing, sketching, etc. These apps can be searched in the App Store on the iPad. I have listed a few standouts below.
- Adobe Fresco – Adobe Fresco is a drawing, painting, and sketching app from Adobe that can be used with the Apple Pencil; it offers many Photoshop brushes, including live brushes and vector brushes. It is free. However, you can upgrade to premium. It costs $9.99 to unlock.
- Pigment (Free, has in-app purchases): If you like to color and find it relaxing, then Pigment is a good option.
- Give Pixelmator a try if you edit photos on your iPad.
- Procreate ($9.99) –Procreate is ideal for sketching, drawing, and artistic creation.
- Notability ($8.99): It has all kinds of features for writing, sketching, annotating PDFs, etc. On top of that, there are plenty of paper styles, and it can scan documents, record audio clips, etc.
What are the Apple Pencil’s features?
The Apple Pencil has a rich feature set, which makes it useful for any precision task or just navigating through iOS.
- Palm Rejection: When the Apple Pencil is connected to the iPad, it will only recognize the Apple Pencil tip and not your hand or your finger.
- Depending on how much pressure is placed on the iPad while writing or drawing, the line drawn is thicker or thinner. However, Apple doesn’t provide a specific pressure sensitivity level.
- Tilt Sensitivity: If you hold it at an angle and press the side of the tip alongside the iPad for something like shading, it will work.
- Low Latency: The Apple Pencil has super low latency, which means that when you write on the iPad, there is no delay between the movement of the pencil and what appears on display. Apple Pencil latency is as low as 9ms on iPad Pro models from 2017 and later with 120Hz displays.
- Precision: The Apple Pencil is precise, with no offset between where the pencil is placed and what is displayed on the screen.
- Simple Pairing — There is no Bluetooth entanglement when using an Apple Pencil; it connects automatically. You must plug in the first version or attach the second version to the iPad Pro.
- Touch Gestures (V2 exclusive): The second-generation version of the Apple Pencil supports touch gestures. If you double tap, the Apple Pencil 2 will swap between tools in apps. It is helpful because it allows for quick switching between, for example, a pen tool and an eraser tool.
- Inductive Charging (V2 exclusive): The Apple Pencil 2 charges through the iPad Pro, whereas the Apple Pencil 1 charges through a Lightning connector.
If you liked this article (or if it helped), leave a comment below or share it with friends so they can also know. Can you use the Apple Pencil with other devices or just the iPad Pro?
