Pencil
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Apple's second-generation Pencil is just $79 right now
Apple's second-generation Pencil aimed at artists and creators is on sale at close to the lowest price we've seen.
The latest Apple Pencil with USB-C charging falls to a new low
Apple's latest Pencil with a USB-C charging port, which has only been available since November, is currently on sale for the lowest price we've seen yet.
A brief first look at Apple's seventh-generation iPad
It didn't receive much lip service at today's keynote, but Apple has unveiled a new 10.2-inch iPad, the seventh generation in the company's long line of tablets. This also means Apple has axed the last 9.7-inch model, a size that once defined the iPad line. Like the device that it replaces, this new 10.2-inch tablet supports Apple Pencil input, though that writing implement continues to be sold separately. This time, though, the entry-level iPad also gets Apple's Smart Connector, allowing you to snap on Apple's $159 keyboard folio, also sold separately. In my brief demo, I was most struck by how bright the screen is. At 500 nits it doesn't compare to a new flagship iPhone (one device announced today tops out at 1,200 nits), but I'm old enough to remember when 500 nits was the spec on high-end notebooks. This is a $329 tablet, cheaper than even most low-end laptops. The new iPad is up for pre-order today, with shipments starting September 30th. As stated, it starts at $329, but if you want LTE too, then the base price goes up to $459. All told, built-in storage ranges from 32GB to 128GB.
Apple’s budget $329 iPad gets a 10.2-inch screen
Bloomberg's predictions proved accurate at Apple's September iPhone event held in Cupertino on Tuesday. The company announced on stage that the iPad's 9.7-inch base model will slightly increase in size, to 10.2 inches, for its 7th generation. This move follows April's revamping of the iPad Mini and iPad Air lines.
Apple's iPad and Mac event: By the numbers
For the second time in as many months, Apple's executive leadership took to the stage to reveal the company's latest luxury computing products. This time around we saw a new iPad Pro with a fancy magnetic stylus, a Retina-enabled MacBook Air (made entirely of recycled aluminum), a new Mac Mini, and $9 headphone dongles to make the tablet you just dropped a grand on minimally functional in polite society.
Apple's new Pencil charges wirelessly
At its Mac event on Tuesday, Apple revealed a redesigned Pencil. It attaches magnetically to the iPad Pro and can charge wirelessly, which is far better (at least aesthetically) than the old method of inserting it into the iPad's Lightning port. Tapping the screen with Pencil unlocks the iPad and launches the Notes app. Double tapping while you're in certain apps lets you switch to the tool or brush you need.
Apple iPad hands-on (2018): It's all about the apps
Apple's new iPad isn't actually that new: It was heavily leaked, for one, and, importantly, it's just about the same as the basic iPad it replaces. The company unveiled the device today at what was billed as an education-focused keynote. Indeed, it was held at a Chicago high school, with frequent cameos from teachers, the most important group this device is being marketed to. As you'd expect of Engadget at an Apple keynote, my colleague Chris Velazco and I had a brief chance afterward to handle the new tablet. Whereas Apple-product unveilings are typically showcases for shiny new hardware, this time the physical trappings are mostly an afterthought. What we have here is a revised version of Apple's existing 9.7-inch iPad, with the biggest change being support for the Apple Pencil. (It's still sold separately.) I could tell you about the aluminum enclosure, available in several colors; how light it is, at one pound; the 8-megapixel camera; and the A10 Fusion Chip borrowed from the iPhone 7. But that's all beside the point. What really matters is how teachers use it.
The new entry-level iPad works with the Apple Pencil
Apple's education-focused event is underway in Chicago and, as expected, the hardware star of the show is a new iPad. VP Greg Joswiak just announced the "new" iPad, an update on the model introduced just about one year ago. The rumor mills predicted a new iPad keeping the traditional 9.7-inch form factor intact, and that's what Apple is showing off this morning. Indeed, Apple said that last year's 9.7-inch model has been the most popular iPad in education "by far."
Apple's latest patent teases a Pencil that can draw in mid-air
Apple's next Pencil could eschew the iPad Pro entirely. The Cupertino company has filed a patent for a stylus that can be used on any flat surface, and maybe even in the air, as spotted by Dutch site TechTastic. The patent title being "Content Creation Using Electronic Input Device on Non-electronic Surfaces" gives us a few ideas of how Apple might pitch this. Which is great considering how light on details the rest of the patent, filed last July and made public in January, is.
Apple patents stylus that doubles as a joystick, air mouse
A simple, high-quality pressure-sensitive stylus is all well and good for tablets, but can such a device really meet the needs of a desktop user? That seems to be the question Apple's asking with its latest patent. The company's latest technology patent dreams up a do-everything stylus capable of being a drawing device, air mouse and even a joystick.
Apple made a one-of-a-kind iPad Pro for a charity auction
Don't think the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is ostentatious enough? You'll want to book a trip to London, then. In support of a Design Museum charity auction on April 28th, Apple's Jony Ive and his team have built a unique version of the larger iPad that's nothing like the models you can find in stores. The audacious-looking yellow aluminum shell is just the start of it. The one-off tablet also comes with accessories that you might wish Apple made for everyone, including a Smart Cover in French leather and an orange Pencil case in Italian leather.
Use your Apple Pencil to draw all over Microsoft Office apps
Microsoft has rolled out support for the Apple Pencil in its iOS version of Office, allowing iPad Pro users to scribble to their heart's content across spreadsheets, documents and presentations. This month's Office updates include a new "Draw" tab in the top ribbon, instant inking capabilities, and a new function that automatically converts sketches to shapes and diagrams. Plus, Microsoft's preview program, Office Insider, is now available for Mac users.
Apple's Pencil looks great, but...
Apple's big iPad Pro came with a big surprise -- an optional stylus. It's easy to dismiss the accessory -- named Apple Pencil -- as a reaction to Microsoft's Surface and Samsung's Galaxy Note series. Whatever the motive, though, the Pencil pushes the iPad and iOS in a new direction, away from regular consumers and toward Apple's bread and butter: designers and creatives. We spoke with over a dozen professional artists, illustrators and designers to gauge the reaction to the accessory. Many use styli in their everyday workflows through options including dedicated Wacom graphic tablets, all-in-one solutions like the Surface series or capacitive options like FiftyThree's Pencil for iPad -- and they've got a lot to say about Apple's entry into the market.
Paper drops in-app purchases to encourage you to buy a Pencil
Paper, the sketching app that was born from the ashes of Microsoft's Courier project, has become a must-have for all would-be artists. If there was one annoyance, however, it's that you could only use one brush and a limited color set, which you could expand only with paid upgrades. If, however, you bought one of the company's $49.95 Pencil styluses, the tools would become available to you for free. From today, however, Pencil is abandoning the in-app purchase model, enabling every user to sketch, watercolor and write with the software.
FiftyThree's new Mix service invites Paper users to collaborate
Some artists find inspiration in their peers' artworks and even think it boring to draw alone. If you feel that way and you use FiftyThree's Paper app (and maybe its Pencil stylus, as well) religiously, you can take advantage of the startup's new service to collaborate with anyone you want. This new product is called Mix, and it's an open platform where all users can share their work by uploading it straight from the Paper app. The latest version of Paper comes loaded with the Mix sharing option, as you can see in the video below -- after you've uploaded your work, other members can finish it or put their own spin on it.
SDK brings new apps to FiftyThree's Pencil stylus
FiftyThree introduced the Pencil a while back. It's an advanced stylus for iOS devices with a pressure-sensitive rubber tip, an eraser on the end, a USB charging port and a direct bluetooth connection that adds amazing features to connected apps. Up until now, the only app that the Pencil really worked with was FiftyThree's Paper. The SDK that came out today allows any app to harness the power of this unique stylus. The SDK also means that apps can be created to do things other than drawing and painting. Touch classifiers open up interaction possibilities beyond simple multi-touch, adding the pencil and eraser tips to the available touch types. Apps can also take advantage of the Kiss-to-Pair feature found in Paper, allowing instant bluetooth connections just by holding the tip to a point on the screen. Palm rejection is improved, and with iOS8, additional input is available from the Pencil. You can determine whether the Pencil is using the tip or the broad edge, and vary the response based on pressure as well. Some of the new apps being released in conjunction with the new SDK are impressive. Procreate, a sketching and painting app for iPad, will have Pencil integration with its three key features: paint, smudge and erase, combining them into one easy-to-use tool. Noteshelf, a note-taking app for iPad, will allow use of the Pencil for note taking, taking advantage of its superior palm rejection technology for easy handwriting and erasing of notes. Squiggle, a very clever music app for iPhone and iPad, will add a new dimension using the Pencil that allows you to quickly draw strings and pluck them with your finger, and quickly cut them using the eraser. I own the Pencil and really enjoy using it with Paper. I'm anxious to see it incorporated into more of my favorite apps, and curious to see what applications that aren't necessarily drawing-based find innovative uses for it. If you're a developer interested in incorporating the SDK, head to the SDK page and click "Request Access" for more info!
FiftyThree's Pencil stylus now on sale in UK, France and Germany
FiftyThree, makers of the amazing Paper app for iPad as well as the accompanying, Bleutooth-enabled Pencil stylus, is now shipping Pencil in the UK, Germany and France. Pencil costs £50 for the Graphite version and £65 for the Walnut variety and are available to order from Amazon UK. Both models are steeper in price compared to purchase within the US (US$59.95 and $74.95 respectively). Pencil was released in the US last year to much hype and anticipation and is largely considered one of the best styli on the market for iPad. Besides its chunky, but attractive design, Pencil has a host of features for designers and artists to take advantage of in conjunction with the Paper app: With a simple press of Pencil to iPad, Bluetooth pairing is complete. Intelligent palm recognition technology prevents any unintended input, and Surface Pressure brings a new level of detail to input strokes this fall with the arrival of iOS 8. Take a look at the video below to see Pencil in action. Pencil / Think With Your Hands from FiftyThree on Vimeo.
FiftyThree's Pencil stylus set to level up with pressure sensitivity on iOS 8
Even though FiftyThree's Pencil stylus can't completely replace a proper digital pen and tablet, it's at least getting better over time. For instance, the arrival of iOS 8 will finally give it pressure sensitivity -- bad news is, you'd have to wait for the mobile OS before you can take advantage of the new feature. Once you get the update for Apple's latest platform, you'd have greater control over your lines: you can draw thin, mechanical pencil-like sketches by using only the very tip of the device, or shade objects using its thicker side. Depending on how much you've been using Pencil, these lines might not be as precise as anything you draw using a Wacom tablet. But you might be able to get pretty close, so long as you maneuver the stylus with expertise. It's a shame you'd have to wait till fall to try it out, but note that a new iOS 8 beta's rumored to come out soon. We don't know whether this beta update will enable Pencil's new capability, but keep an eye out if you absolutely can't wait.
FiftyThree's Paper app updated to play nice with its Pencil stylus
FiftyThree's shipping out its first Pencil styli early this December, but before you can work its sketching magic, the firm's Paper app will need the appropriate updates. Good thing the company's released those changes today, because waiting on a software upgrade to use new hardware breeds a special kind of frustration. As you'd expect, the refreshed app comes with the features FiftyThree promised when it announced the $50 tool, including palm rejection to avoid accidental hand marks on sketches. There's also the erase function that activates the device's built-in eraser, and the blend feature that lets you use fingers to blend colors and edges. Based on the firm's Twitter posts, it's sending out emails to people slated to get their Pencils soon, but those who've only just ordered one have an excruciating three-to-four week wait ahead of them.
Daily Update for November 19, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
