Apple just announced a new Apple Pencil Pro, and it’s so much better than I expected
Apple just announced a new iPad Air and iPad Pro, with more powerful tablets and OLED screens for the Pro models. I’m more excited about the accessories though; specifically the new Apple Pencil Pro.
The Apple Pencil Pro offers a whole new set of features and upgrades that have me super excited to get back into digital art. The Pencil now offers a new cylinder sensor, meaning you can lightly squeeze the pen to open a new tools panel (similar to how you squeeze your AirPods to pause and play music).
No longer will you be holding a static plastic stick; the Apple Pencil Pro is incredibly responsive thanks to the addition of haptics. In addition, you can now use the new Apple Pencil to control the selected brush or editing tool, opening the doors to greater depth for art or 3D modeling and giving you full control over your work.
Pro-creation
At the announcement, James Cuda, the CEO of the popular art tool Procreate, presented all the cool new things that Apple Pencil Pro makes possible.
My favorite as a novice Procreate user is the ability to hover and pinch the pencil to switch between layers, which is an absolute lifesaver when you’re creating art and get lost among the dozens of layers you end up needing. The roller feature also debuts along with new brushes in Procreate that you can take advantage of.
As for the Procreate Dreams animators, don’t worry, you’re not left out: you can pick up and swipe elements of your drawing in Procreate and swipe them straight into Dream with the Apple Pencil Pro. And if you just want to animate a single element in the frame, you can use the Pencil to manipulate the object to add a more realistic ‘freehand’ look.
Perhaps my favorite new feature of the Apple Pencil Pro is its support for the Find My tracking system, which could be an absolute lifesaver for users who lose Apple products. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost my Apple Pencil just to tear the whole house apart looking for it because it’s not supported like my Airpods or iPhone.
A pricey professional pencil
Price-wise, the Apple Pencil Pro retails for $129 / £129 / AU$219 on the Apple Store, making it the most expensive Apple Pencil on the site. The price seems a bit high, especially since the older versions aren’t nearly as expensive. But it’s a ‘Pro’ device (something that’s consistently associated with higher prices across Apple’s product range) and has a whole host of new features, so I can’t be too upset about it.
Naturally, the Apple Pencil Pro is charged magnetically and stored on the side of your iPad. However, according to Apple’s website, the Apple Pencil Pro is only compatible with the new M2 iPad Air and M4 iPad Pro. As someone with a very dusty A14 iPad Air, I’m slightly disappointed, although there’s always a chance this could change in the future. And the new iPads are so impressive that many existing users are tempted to upgrade.