Apple may announce the latest Apple Pencil 3 soon. Here’s everything you need to know about the stylus, including speculation of its price, specs, and compatibility with iPads.
Apple has a hardware launch event coming up on May 7. The OLED iPad Pro and iPad Air 6 are rumored to be the stars of the show, but there might be a surprise in the form of a new Apple Pencil. Leaks and rumors suggest Apple is getting ready to announce the third generation of its stylus.
The Apple Pencil 3 is said to come with a bunch of new features, giving iPad users more ways to interact with iPadOS and switch between different tools. Details about the stylus are slim right now, but we’ve gathered everything we know so far in this roundup.
Apple Pencil 3: Rumored release window
Apple Pencil 3 should launch on May 7at the company’s Let Loose event. While Apple hasn’t specifically confirmed the stylus’ launch date, the company’s CEO Tim Cook posted the artwork for the event on X with the caption “Pencil us in for May 7th!” He also added a pencil emoji, making it obvious that we’ll the Apple Pencil 3.
Pencil us in for May 7! ✏️ #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/1tvyB7h450
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 23, 2024
Apple Pencil 3: Expected price
The next Apple Pencil might cost $129— the same price as the Apple Pencil 2. This is based on previous pricing trends, however, we’ll not know for sure until the stylus is officially unveiled.
Apple Pencil 3: Specs and features speculation
Apple might be making big changes to the Apple Pencil 3. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claimed in his Power On newsletter that the Apple Pencil 3 will have a haptic feedback feature. Gurman claims haptic feedback could be one of the biggest features to watch out for.
Similar to the vibration on your iPhone, this haptic feedback would come from a tiny motor inside the Pencil. It could alert you to notifications and even provide a little pulse when you interact with things on the iPad screen, like pressing a button or drawing a line. Apple has already patented the tech behind this, as reported by Apple Insider.
Another handy feature we’re looking forward to is Find My support. Like with other Apple devices, the Apple Pencil 3 might be able to connect to Find My, so you can track it down if you lose it. 9to5Mac found references to this in a beta version of iPadOS. It’s not yet clear if the new Apple Pencil will have Ultra-Wideband tech for accurate location finding, or if it’ll just show you where it was last connected to your iPad.
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iPadOS code has also suggested that the Apple Pencil 3 will support a new “squeeze” gesture. The stylus could have the ability to detect hand pressure and trigger some functions when you squeeze it. There’s widespread speculation that squeezing the Apple Pencil 3 could open a “contextual menu” that would allow users to perform certain actions, such as adding shapes, stickers, and text to a canvas. If this is true, it could give the Apple Pencil a significant competitive edge over other styluses on the market, like Samsung’s.
Tipster Majin Bu claims the upcoming Apple pencil will bring “interchangeable magnetic tips” for different tasks including “drawing, technical drawing, and painting”. Apple has also tested Apple Pencil’s integration with visionOS so that it could work with Vision Pro. It could be used on VR headset drawing apps like Freeform and Pixelmator.
Apple Pencil 3: Compatibility expectations
The Apple Pencil might not work with every iPad. Apple could limit which iPads work with the new Pencil, making it compatible only with newer models. However, we expect the Apple Pencil 3 to work with all the same iPads that work with the Apple Pencil 2.
You can use Apple Pencil 2 with these iPad models:
Apple Pencil 3 could be a handy accessory
Based on leaks and rumors, the Apple Pencil 3 sounds like a neat accessory, especially for creative folks. It could streamline creating designs and artwork, and the rumored haptic feedback might even keep you on top of notifications.
