Home Featured ,,,,, There is nothing to say or do: the new Apple Pencil 2 convinces right from the unpacking even before our in-depth review. Apple has accustomed us to a disruptive innovation on new products but which is not left to itself. Instead, it is made to improve step by step day by day. So much so that the second generation of Apple products is often clearly superior to the already excellent debut generation; it happened, to stay on the subject, with the iPad and it also happens with the Apple Pencil
Here in this case, since our unpacking and first contact with the new Apple Pencil, it is clear that this is the pen that Apple should have made from the beginning.
Simple box, pen inside wrapped in plastic protection, there is nothing to say, it moves more minimal than that. The first contact, however, has a completely different tactile effect; in fact, the pen looks like a single body, slightly shorter (perhaps a centimeter) than the previous one, even better balanced, without the moving cap and the metal band that identified its “end”. Plus, a blunt side and a (for us) questionable “Appple Pencil” script. The nib is apparently the same. There does not appear to be a spare in the box.
But the magic happens when you start using it. For this reason, as will be evident in a moment, the pen is not backwards compatible with the old iPad Pro or iPad 2018 (nor those of the previous generation are with this one). The point is, the pen doesn't use Lightning to charge, so it couldn't work with older models, nor do the new iPad Pros have a Lightning port so they couldn't charge old pens.
The change in technology also becomes understandable in light of the fact that the pen now has a sensor, hidden in the beveled side, which allows you to double tap and activate various functions. These are of two types: those that Apple provides for the entire iOS operating system (by default the double tap activates the “eraser” mode in drawing apps and notepads), and those that developers can create for own app.
From this point of view the solutions are many and the limit is really only their imagination. Procreate uses a system that allows you to have various other functions available, from “Undo” to a contextual menu mode that appears when you double tap. But in theory you can make any other choice.
However, we wait to see that “obvious” solutions are also developed by Apple: in a very first survey, just to enjoy the new tool while we were configuring the new iPad Pro 2018, we saw that Keynote does not support the change of slides with the double tap on the pen, which in itself would be very logical. (While the pen can be used to write on the fly on the slides or to activate the red point that allows you to simulate the use of a pointer).
Pairing with the iPad takes place with great simplicity the first time the pen is placed near the tablet: with a slight clack the magnet snaps it firmly into position and presents a very large image of the pencil, with the request to proceed with the pairing. Once done, the pen recharges each time it is docked. The strength of the magnetic field suggests that it will be possible to keep it in that position without problems. Whenever it hooks up, regardless of which app we are using, a small balloon appears showing the charge level.
In this way, Apple has solved a double problem that limited the use of the pen for many: where to put it and above all how to maintain a good level of charge. For the rest, the operation is always via Bluetooth even if now the new double tap function is the other side of disruptive innovation.
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A final note: the cut side of the pen allowed Apple to avoid creating a product with a center of gravity that was eccentric to the circumference of the object. In fact, Apple had previously tried to mitigate the risk of the pen rolling away from any surface that was not perfectly flat (that is, all of them, trust me) if it was not blocked, using an offset center of gravity system that kept it more or less still. Now, the “cut” side allows you to stop it naturally.
Too bad for the writing “Apple Pencil”, probably necessary to visually balance an otherwise all white rear design (before there was the physical separation of the cap with attached metal band) which is “dextroverted”. In the sense that left-handed users will find it upside down, and the thing is quite annoying, comparable to say the cups of coffee with a direction for the handle, which unpleasantly distorts the symmetry in the act of taking it from the left. Little what you will say, but it must be counted that the artists, those who draw, are often left-handed. The problem is on the table. Small but biting.
Apple Pencil 2 can be purchased in Apple stores or online at 135 Euro VAT included. An article with all the technical specifications of Apple Pencil 2 can be found on this Cyber Layman page.
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