Installing the Apple Pencil and getting started with the stylus is easy!
The Apple Pencil makes the iPad Pro really pro. With it, you can write and draw quickly and smoothly, and the sensors accurately recognize the pressure and angle of inclination. All you need to do is install it and get started! Everything is incredibly simple, but if you want to study this issue before proceeding to the practical part, full speed ahead!
How to connect Apple Pencil toiPad Pro
To get started with the Apple Pencil, you need to connect it to your iPad Pro. Only one Apple Pencil can be connected to one iPad Pro at a time.
If you want to use a different Apple Pencil with the same iPad Pro, just repeat the same steps with the new stylus. Do the same if you want to use your Apple Pencil with another iPad Pro.
How to check the battery level on yourApple Pencil
The Apple Pencil doesn't have a battery indicator—like a light that goes from green to red to signal a low battery. Instead, you need to check the battery life of the stylus on your iPad Pro.
How to charge your Apple Pencil with iPad Pro
If your Apple Pencil needs to be charged, all you have to do is plug it back into iPad Pro.
You can also use the adapter that came with your Apple Pencil to plug it into any standard Lightning cable.
15 seconds of charging will allow you to work for 30 minutes, but it will be more expedient to charge the device when no one is using it.
How to useApple Pencil
Apple Pencil is similar to a real pencil, but at the same time there are differences.
- Press the tip of your Apple Pencil on icons, buttons, and other interface elements on your iPad Pro. (Please note: Unlike a finger, the stylus does not allow many movements and touches.)
- Touch the tip of your Apple Pencil to the iPad Pro screen and start writing a word or drawing a line.
- To get a darker and wider line, push the stylus harder.
- To create shadows, tilt the stylus in relation to the iPad Pro screen.
Since the Apple Pencil does not support multi-touch (multiple taps), you can use your fingers for familiar navigation. Sometimes you can use both the stylus and your fingers at the same time. For example, tapping Notes with two fingers can bring up a ruler that helps you draw straight lines with a pencil.
I think that Apple product owners are no strangers to the fact that compatible and fault-tolerant devices need to be bought by the same company)))) When the question arose of buying a stylus for the iPad, several options were considered, including the Apple Pencil, and the choice fell on it.
Of all the styluses reviewed, the Apple Pencil was the largest and most expensive.
I bought an Apple Pencil on the official Apple website.
At Apple, as always, everything is concise: everything you need fits in a small box, without surpluses.
The box contains the pencil itself, a description of warranty service, an instruction in English, an adapter for charging the pencil and a spare tip, as well as an illustrated instruction (probably for those who do not like to read a lot of letters).
Description of warranty service (given for 1 year from the date of purchase) ... or denial of it
Illustrated instructions for use.
A set of spare parts: an adapter for charging a pencil from the mains and a spare tip.
The adapter itself is different at both ends. On the one hand with a recess - this side will connect with a pencil.
On the other side without a recess - this side is connected to a wired charger.
It looks like a pencil with an adapter. On the box in which the adapter was located, it is shown which side where to connect it (photo above).
The charging adapter is very small and easy to lose, so I purchased an additional silicone holder for it. It is attached to the charging wire.
Also, when charging, it is easy to lose the cap, under which the lightning connector is hidden.
Therefore, a silicone holder was bought for him.
The cap itself is magnetized to the body of the pencil, thanks to which it will not be lost during use.
The pencil has 2 charging methods:
- from iPad Pro
- from the network (the plus is that 15 seconds of charging, according to the manufacturer, can be enough for half an hour of work, I checked it - it really works)
In order to start using the pencil, you need to turn on Bluetooth on the tablet, insert the pencil into the connector, after removing the cap from it. The first time you start, you will need to link the tablet and pencil.
In order to see the percentage of the charge of the pencil, on the tablet, you need to add the "batteries" item to the widgets. This will allow you to send the pencil for charging in time.
The pencil itself is very convenient to use, it is quite thick, lies comfortably in the hand. But without a cover or without a fish, like mine, you can’t do it, at least for me.
I draw on a tablet, the pencil has a very easy glide, unlike the pencil on paper, so every movement is important. In order for it not to slip in your hands, you can buy a silicone case for it, just like buying a fish from me. I like my version better, because. with it, the pencil does not rub my finger, plus my fingers wrap around the pencil in an anatomically correct form.
You can download coloring pages and color them with a pencil. You can also use the pencil in its most common form - as a control instead of fingers.
As I said above, this turned out to be a profitable investment for me. I mainly draw with a pencil, sometimes I use it as a control. The only negative, in my opinion, while the pencil is charging (if you do not use fast charging), then you cannot use the pencil (But they have already come up with fast charging for picky people like me.
Also, the pencil needs additional accessories. For example, a cover. On the official website, the price for such things is beyond good and evil, so I found alternative options that do not hit the pocket).
I have a pencil in a case along with a tablet, always at hand.
Thank you for reading the review to the end)))
The Apple Pencil is a drawing device for iPad tablets. Initially, the appearance of this gadget caused a mixed reaction among admirers of Apple technology. After all, the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, promoted purely manual control of the equipment produced by the legendary company, and the stylus, in his opinion, is a relic of the past. Therefore, Apple promised not to produce this, in their opinion, an unnecessary accessory.
In support of styluses, it’s still worth saying that this tool is very necessary for people of certain professions, so the Apple founder may have been deeply mistaken when making such statements. Since the time when Apple has lost a key figure - Steve Jobs in the leadership team, their views have clearly changed somewhat. They did see a certain category of people on the market who would be interested in the appearance of the Apple Pencil for the iPad Pro.
Specifications
Apple Pencil has the following options:
Contents of delivery
The standard set includes:
- Apple Pencil
- Lightning adapter
- Additional tip
Standard equipment, price and description of Apple Pencil
So, the company released a stylus as standard with which it comes with:
- Spare cap for Apple Pencil;
- Adapter for charging from the cable.
By and large, the Apple Pencil is just an optional accessory to the iPad Pro series tablets, which can be purchased separately. A stylus is not included with Apple tablets as standard. Of course, most people can quite successfully manage touch screens with their fingers, and, nevertheless, the novelty has found its buyer and has already gained popularity in certain circles, for example, designers, planners and people of other professions do not get tired of singing the praises of Apple Pencil for iPad Pro .
Some are confused by the cost of the Apple Pencil, in Russia its price tag is close to 8,000 rubles, but do not forget that, for example, styluses for Wacom tablets cost about 10,000 rubles, so the price issue is debatable.
In terms of appearance, like the other devices of the company, Pencil looks excellent. The design of the Apple “pencil” is designed in a laconic style, has a uniform smooth, glossy surface, only on the rim, under the magnetic cap, you can see the inscription (name of the manufacturer), under this cap, in fact, there is a connector that allows you to charge the stylus. The body of the Apple Pencil is made of durable white plastic.
The reliability of this product has been confirmed by numerous tests. The device has a fairly light weight, only 20 grams, which is important for people who constantly use it in their work.
Many people know that Apple releases high-quality equipment, where everything is thought out to the smallest detail, and the new gadget is no exception. Engineers designed it in such a way that even if the stylus rolls on the desk, and this will definitely happen, because it has a round shape and is absolutely smooth, the device will stop on its own, while the manufacturer's logo will always look up.
Interestingly, there is no battery indicator on the Apple Pencil, and you can’t track the charge level through the tablet either. Most likely, the developers of Delhi are counting on a high charging speed. So, after only 15 seconds of charging, the device is able to work for half an hour, and it will take about 10 minutes to fully charge the device. A full charge is enough for 12 hours of operation.
Describing the Apple Pencil, one cannot fail to mention the question of interest to many, with which devices does it interact? Apple engineers did not deviate from the company's policy and created a gadget that is suitable for use only in tandem with Apple technology. Apple Pencil is compatible with:
- iPad Pro,
- iPad Air,
- iPad Mini,
- iPhone.
Now it’s worth returning to the issue of charging again, since the Apple Pencil only works in conjunction with Apple’s released tablets, then there should be no problems with a full battery charge. After all, you can connect a pencil to an existing device.
Apple's new product "understands" over 2,000 degrees of depression. Simply put, increasing or decreasing pressure on the Apple Pencil adjusts the thickness of the lines, while tilting the gadget produces shading. With these features, the Apple Pencil is very similar to a regular pencil, which certainly adds points to it. In addition, the high fidelity of the stylus is achieved due to the frequency of reading signals, namely 240 times per second.
Using Apple Pencil, you can easily work on devices from the Cupertino company. It easily reproduces the simplest commands, movements on the screen, moving icons, and so on, but if you need this gadget for creativity, then in order not to draw with your fingers, you will have to master programs that can work with the Apple Pencil. Fortunately, there are many such products on the market today, so no one should have any difficulties with this.
Principle of operation
Most often, this gadget is used for drawing. The nuances of its work can be seen on the example of a standard Notes application. There are three modes at once, in each of which Apple Pencil identifies pen tilt and pressure, simulating drawing on real paper. For example, by selecting the “pencil” mode, you can make a sketch, and then, by increasing the angle of inclination of the device, shade the necessary details of the drawing.
There is another interesting "chip" here - the ruler. With it, you can easily draw straight lines. Simply draw a line next to this makeshift ruler with your Apple Pencil and the app will display it on your screen. At the same time, at first, using this technique, a person usually waits for contact from the contact of a pencil with a ruler, and experiences some inconvenience when this does not happen, but after several attempts, users adapt to this.
There are other programs for your iPad that are better suited for drawing and drawing. They have "pens" that allow you to create lines of different thicknesses, "watercolor brushes", layers and transparency settings.
Comparison with analogues
The main competitor of this stylus is the Adonit Pixel from Adonit. Only professional designers can evaluate the convenience of each of the options, and the technical components are described in the table below.
Who needs an Apple Pencil?
Initially, Apple released a stylus for people of technical and creative professions, such as planners, designers, and artists. This tool greatly facilitates their work and saves time.
However, later, in addition to people of these professions, Apple Pencil for iPad Pro became a good solution for the management of companies. Now managers can easily and quickly make the required adjustments to layouts without writing down all the amendments point by point, working with documents, making comments in them, crossing out individual words or phrases. All this is much more convenient to do not with a keyboard and mouse, but with an interesting accessory - the Apple Pencil.
Personal experience after 48 hours of operation.
What we have been waiting for so long has come true. Apple released the iPad Pro, we wrote, and two weeks later the guys from Onlyphones.ru offered to plunge into the world of fine art and test all the possibilities of the Apple Pencil stylus.
What is iPencil capable of, is the game worth the candle, and how does the owner of the iPad Pro live, in whose hands the Apple Pencil fell into? Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the stylus.
Reason #1: no delays
For people who use the computer as a professional tool, the worst enemy of all time remains delay. The sound engineer struggles to minimize the time it takes to convert audio from analog to digital; designer - wins back precious milliseconds by drawing another stroke on a graphics tablet. Apple Pencil is devoid of such shortcomings.
As soon as you touch the iPad Pro's huge screen with the tip of the stylus, it instantly responds to your touch. The lines are clear and even, and the artist has the feeling that they are drawing on a slate board or a piece of parchment. Response speed this accessory has the highest praise, and the signal reading frequency reaches 240 times per second.
Reason #2: Very sensitive
Despite its small size, comparable to the size of a regular ballpoint pen, Apple Pencil is packed with all sorts of sensors to ensure its smooth and trouble-free operation. The stylus distinguishes not only pressing force(up to 2048 degrees), but also the tilt angle.
By setting a slight slope, you can quickly shade a section of the drawing, as if working with a regular pencil.
Reason #3: Long lasting
Inside the Apple Pencil is a miniature battery that has a capacity of only 80 mAh Despite such a small size, after a full charge, the stylus is ready to use. 12 o'clock continuous work.
What's more, the universal charger for Apple Pencil is always at hand. The gadget is equipped with a traditional Lightning-port, and a simple connection to the corresponding port of the iPad Pro for just 15 seconds will give the stylus 30 minutes of work. Full charge time is about 50 minutes.
For charging via a regular network, a miniature adapter is provided: an Apple Pencil is inserted on one side, and a Lightning cable on the other.
Reason #4: The palm is not the enemy
Even an experienced artist knows what is fraught with touching with a palm to a drawing that has just been drawn with a slate or charcoal pencil. This is the case when the hands that created the drawing can also spoil it. Apple has foreseen this as well.
Despite the fact that, according to all the "laws of the genre" of capacitive screen technology, it must respond to the touch of a human hand, working with the Apple Pencil you can touch the screen with the edge of your palm, leaning on the tablet screen as if on a regular sheet of paper. The tablet will not go berserk from this action, and the clarity of the stylus will not deteriorate at all.
Reason #5: Works through "obstacles"
Another curious feature of the Apple Pencil is the ability to work through a sheet of paper. Suppose that you want to draw as accurately as possible a fragment of the original drawing printed on paper.
To do this, just attach the sheet to the iPad Pro screen and circle all the required contours. The tablet counts all stylus touches despite the fact that there is an impromptu obstacle between the screen and the pen tip - a sheet of paper.
Reason #6: Instead of a finger
The main purpose of the Apple Pencil is drawing. However, the stylus is compatible with just about everything you would normally do when touching the tablet with your fingers.
Opening links, launching applications, scrolling, interacting with menu items, typing (support for third-party keyboards and keyboards that allow handwriting) - Apple Pencil can do it all. Among the limitations of the accessory is the inability to open the Notification Center, Control Center, switch to Slide Over or Split View. Most likely, this limitation is purely software in nature, but "Apple decided so."
Reason #7: App Support
To implement a really good product, the ingenuity of engineers and the bright look of a designer are not enough. Need software support. The number of apps compatible with the Apple Pencil is growing exponentially.
Today, Apple's stylus is compatible with: Pixelmator, Adobe Comp CC, Paper, Adobe Phoroshop Mix, Adobe Photoshop Fix, AutoCAD 360, Autodesk SketchBook, Evernote, Adobe Illustrator Draw, Canva and a number of other applications. The inclusion of stylus support by developers allows not only to optimize the interaction of the accessory with the interface, but also enable support for iOS features such as Split View.
A little sad
Ask any marketer and he will confidently answer that there is no “perfect product”. The Apple Pencil is no exception, and the list of disadvantages of the "Apple Pencil" looks something like this:
- The stylus is only and only compatible with the iPad Pro. It will not work with other devices, including Apple products.
- Unavailable multitasking. Apple Pencil does not allow you to switch to Split View and Slide Over modes - the main innovations of iOS 9. You can only do this with your finger.
- No eraser. Users familiar with alternative styluses that work with capacitive screens, one of the advantages of this category of products include the presence of an eraser. Touched the screen with the other end of the stylus - activated the eraser mode. The Apple Pencil does not have this feature.
- Apple Pencil does not support multi-touch gestures. However, no stylus can do this.
A skeptical user will surely classify the next Apple development as “expensive and unnecessary toys.” A professional designer or artist, being a creative person, will think about purchasing an Apple Pencil, because the desire to experiment is the main engine of creativity. The Apple aficionado and user who has been waiting for the "big iPad" will pick up the stylus without hesitation.
Where to buy an Apple Pencil? We suggest stopping at the Onlyphones.ru online store. First, it is in stock today; secondly, among the impressive assortment of accessories for Apple devices, you will definitely want to buy “something else”.
Steve Jobs once said that styluses are the last century. On our devices, the mastermind and creator of Apple claimed, there will never be styluses. But Steve is gone. And the new leaders decided not to listen to his opinion on this issue, based, by the way, on a unique flair, thanks to which, perhaps, the most successful brand in the world was born.
In the fall of 2015, the Apple giant introduced an accessory called the Apple Pencil along with the new iPad Pro tablet. At the presentation, however, they assured that this was by no means a stylus, but a convenient tool for drawing and working, a niche product for our most creative fans. Well, let's figure out whatis an Apple Pencil in fact, and it is not in vain that the successors of the Jobs case disobeyed him.
The Apple Pencil was introduced with the iPad Pro for a reason. This device became the pioneer of a new line of "tablets" Apple. Positioned Pro as a tablet that can replace a work laptop. The gadget received a powerful processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM unprecedented for Apple devices, an almost 13-inch screen, and a special connector into which a removable keyboard could be connected. Thus, Pro has become at least just an ideal tool for demonstrating presentations and other materials to partners, while connecting a keyboard, you can quickly make changes to the document.
But on the other hand, it was even more convenient, easier and faster to make changes using ... Apple Pencil! Well, if you think in this vein (and let's be honest - the above reasoning can hardly be called illogical), the release of an accessory suspiciously resembling a stylus can be considered quite justified. And, perhaps, given the circumstances that led to the appearance of this product, even Steve Jobs would not be against its “birth”.
A true exclusive: Apple Pencil for iPad Pro
iOS gadgets have eternal compatibility problems, and this is no secret to anyone. However, the Apple Pencil for iPad Pro really crossed the line. The company was not afraid to present an accessory that at the time of the presentation was compatible with only one device in the line!
In fairness, however, it’s worth saying that the reason for the “limited” Apple Pencil was quite respectful - in order for the stylus to be convenient, fast and functional, the iPad Pro screen had to be equipped with a number of new technologies. Well, you understand that it was not possible to add them to already released devices, thus making the field of application of the accessory wider. However, the second Pro has already been released and it is promised that the third one will be released soon, so little by little the field of application of Pencil will expand ...
The agony of creativity is unfamiliar to Apple Pencil owners
... as well as the functionality of the accessory, which at the time of release was hardly impressive. However, during the time that the functionality was expanding, skeptics managed to write a bunch of negative reviews on the new device from the “apple” giant and talk about a lot of its much cooler counterparts. However, today, when Pencil has found its niche and become more functional, it is definitely not necessary to speak negatively about its abilities.
The accessory is most loved by users who often have to deal with the task of drawing something - in other words - for designers, and in various fields. You can make the first sketches of, say, a logo directly at a meeting with the customer, make changes, such as “is it possible to make black blacker?”
There are quite a few applications for drawing today, the most advanced of which at the moment is probably Procreate - both designers and artists appreciate its capabilities. However, you can make a simple sketch even in the native Notes application, which with the Apple Pencil turns into a kind of Paint - different colors and tools are available - a marker, ruler, eraser, etc. The thickness and type of the line can also be selected in the program, but (!) The same thickness can also be changed and, as they say, with a slight movement of the hand - press the i-pencil lighter, the line will become thinner, show a little more diligence - the thickness will increase.
Another cool feature is drawing through paper. What does it mean? And the fact that if you want to quickly redraw something from a sheet, you can put it on the display and quickly circle it with an i-pencil - and voila - the drawing is already on the tablet screen! Of course, in this case, the sheet should not be too thick, but, for example, classic printing paper is quite suitable.
Or maybe a stylus?
Apple Pencil, however, is good not only as a drawing tool - it is appropriate everywhere, as Apple itself assures, additional precision may be required. To be honest, it is very convenient and if you use it as ... yes, the ill-fated stylus. The last century is the last century, but on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the stylus can, however, quite often be more convenient than a finger. For example, your hand is tired of being in the air, and you still have a lot of work to do - you need to look through your mail - take an i-pencil and start working with it, and you can put your hand on the screen - a special technology will allow the display not to respond to pressing your palm if you use an Apple Pencil .
Now let's imagine that you need to not just look at the mail - let's say you work as an editor and received texts for editing. You don’t have to turn on the computer, open Word and use the special Review tool, it’s much faster and more convenient to take notes from the iPad, and you don’t even need to be at the table, you can, for example, lie on the couch. In general, there may not be as few scenarios for using the Apple Pencil as it seems at first glance.
Fast and long lasting
As we said above, everyone is aware of the compatibility problems of iOS devices, but it's also not a secret to anyone that all Apple technology is very fast and responsive, and it also has no problems with autonomy. All these "compliments" are relevant for the i-pencil - the speed of its response is amazing. It is also simple and quick to create a Bluetiich pair between the iPad and Apple Pencil - you need to connect the device to the connector and, when prompted, tap "Pair".
You can charge the Apple Pencil both through the tablet itself and through the outlet, a full charge takes about half an hour, after which the accessory can exist autonomously for up to 12 hours. In general, very well. In addition, it's nice that the charge level can be monitored through the notification center, and when the level is low, a corresponding notification appears.
A few but...
However, no matter how fast and autonomous the Apple Pencil is, and no matter how many features it offers, its obvious shortcomings cannot be avoided. Firstly, the engineers of the "apple" company came up with a wildly strange charging mechanism - you need to remove the "cap" from the accessory and insert it into the tablet's Lightning connector. It’s conveniently conceived - they say, you can charge directly from the iPad, but in reality the design turns out to be somehow wildly awkward and fragile - a very long “stick” sticks out of the tablet - one awkward movement and the connector will break.
Apparently, realizing the whole horror of the situation, when it was already too late to fix something, it was decided to report a special adapter to the i-pencil kit - it is put on the accessory and a charging cable is already attached to the adapter, which is inserted into the socket. Of course, you’re not afraid to break the connector here, but, you see, the “garden” turns out to be noble, it’s downright tempting to say that this would not have happened under Jobs.
Another obvious design disadvantage is the lack of a mechanism for attaching the Apple Pencil to the tablet - yes, it seems to be magnetized to the body, but it’s very flimsy, that is, it’s possible to magnetize it so that it doesn’t get lost on the desktop among the papers, but it’s unlikely to be transferred somewhere in this form if anyone decides - that and look will fall.
And, finally, it should be noted that when working with an i-pencil, the iPad discharges very quickly - 10 percent of the charge is lost in half an hour of work.
A matter of taste
Also, the disadvantages of the Apple Pencil, many include the fact that this accessory does not look at all like Apple, they say, there is no grace and soul in it. However, this, of course, is a matter of taste - one might say - boring, but you can - organically. Besides, the artist shouldn't be distracted, should he?
Issue price
Stop. You didn’t think until now that the i-pencil comes with the iPad Pro for free, right? No. Apple would then not be Apple. Of course, you have to pay for the accessory and not a little - its official cost is $ 100. As before, the course didn’t seem to go anywhere, but at the current price it doesn’t bite slightly and it immediately seems that you can draw with your finger, which is already there. The average cost of Apple Pencil (MK0C2ZM/A) is now about 7500 rubles.
Who needs him?
The question - “Who needs it for that kind of money?”, Of course, spins on the tongue, but here you need to remember that the product is niche, whatever one may say, Apple does not hide this and does not say that it is absolutely necessary for any user. But, nevertheless, in this world there are quite a few people to whom this tool will seem a very successful acquisition. All these people can be divided into two groups: creative natures - designers, artists, etc., and people on whose opinion a lot depends - the editor, director - quickly making changes to the current project is worth a lot. As you can see, the niche is not so narrow.
Another question, why don't all these people buy a similar tool from another brand? Yes, we will not hide that the Apple Pencil has quite a few competitors - some of them are cheaper, some are more expensive, some have more features, some less. But, you need to understand that no stylus will work with the iPad Pro as smoothly and quickly as the Apple Pencil. Moreover, do not think that good styluses, which can be called worthy competitors of the product of the "apple" giant, will be much cheaper.
