Apple Pencil is a digital stylus pen designed by Apple Inc.

to work as an input device for the

iPad Pro tablet computer.[3] This product was announced on September 9, 2015, and will be
released in conjunction with the iPad Pro in November 2015.[4]

Apple Pencil features pressure sensitivity and angle detection.[5][6] Apple Pencil is a Bluetooth
device that can communicate simultaneously with the screen and the system underneath it.[7]
Apple Pencil detects force, allowing, for example, darker or lighter strokes in a drawing app
depending on how hard the user presses. The Apple Pencil was designed for low latency to
enable smooth inking on the screen.[5] iPad Pro also allows simultaneous use of Apple Pencil and
one's fingers, while rejecting input from the user's palm.[8][9] One end of the Apple Pencil has a
removable cap. Underneath this cap is a male Lightning connector, which allows the Pencil's
battery to be recharged.[10]

Purpose
Apple Pencil is designed for the creative work done by professional artists. It makes electronic
drawing on iPad Pro more feasible. However, multitouch finger input is still the primary input
mechanism for iPad Pro.[11] During the September 2015 Apple Event, Apple demonstrated
drawing in the Adobe Creative Suite of mobile apps[12] and document annotation in Microsoft
Office apps with Apple Pencil.[13][14]

Steve Jobs' opposition to styluses

Since Steve Jobs became Apple's CEO in 1997, he has made several comments about styluses on
resistive touchscreens. When Steve Jobs discontinued Apple Newton, which used a stylus, he
said:[15]

"God gave us 10 styluses. Let's not invent another."

Steve Jobs stated his opposition to a stylus as a primary input mechanism for the iPhone at the
2007 MacWorld Conference keynote presentation preferring multitouch finger input instead.[16]

"Who wants a stylus? You have to get 'em, put 'em away, you lose 'em yech! Nobody wants a
stylus. So let's not use a stylus."

In 2010, he further explained his stance on styluses as "if you see a stylus, they blew it."[17] The
following year, Apple's competitor Samsung launched the first of their Galaxy Note series of
tablets, all of which include a stylus featuring pressure-sensitivity and other functions, which can
be stored in the device; this range proved very successful.[5][18]

The iPad Pro has a capacitive touchscreen and Apple's position on styluses has now significantly
changed from Steve Jobs' comments in the past.[5]

Third-party iPad styluses

A number of third-party accessory makers have produced styluses for iPad in the past. However,
there has not been a consistent technology for pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, or angle
detection leading to delayed reaction times and inaccurate strokes. Each third-party manufacturer
has implemented their own hardware and software approaches resulting in a fragmented market
with styluses and apps with differing functionalities. For instance, a particular stylus may be
designed to offer pressure sensitivity, but any given app must implement such functionality for it
to work. All have been limited by previous iPad hardware, which had higher latency than iPad
Pro. FiftyThree, Inc. produces an unrelated stylus, also known as Pencil, for use with its Paper
drawing app for iPad.[19] Other popular styluses include products made by Wacom and Adonit.