The next Apple Pencil could work on the Vision Pro for spatial sketching
A rumor claims that the Apple Vision Pro headset will one day support a future model of the Apple Pencil. This news comes from MacRumors, who got their information from an anonymous “source familiar with the matter,” so we’ll take it with a grain of salt. Details about the update are scarce as you can imagine, but if it is indeed real, it could literally turn the world into your personal canvas.
The report states that the upcoming Apple Pencil can be used on flat surfaces, such as a desk, “complete with pressure and tilt sensitivity” to accurately display your artistic vision on one of the headset’s illustration apps. Stylus support would require a software upgrade, “but it’s unclear which version” of visionOS will see the patch. MacRumors points out that the first beta for visionOS 1.2 could arrive this week with support for Apple Pencil. However, nothing can be said with complete confidence. We can only assume that internal testing is currently underway.
No word on when the update will roll out, if at all, and it’s entirely possible that it will never see the light of day. However, MacRumors seems to believe we could see something during the expected unveiling of visionOS 2 at WWDC 2024 in June.
It’s worth noting that an Apple Pencil refresh will soon arrive alongside the new iPad models. Whether this innovation and a Vision Pro update are one and the same remains to be seen.
Analysis: Picking up the digital pen
Assuming all of this is true (and fingers crossed that it is), an Apple Pencil on the Vision Pro would do wonders for getting precise control. The hands-free control scheme is one of the main selling points for the headset. You don’t need any special controllers to navigate the user interface. An array of cameras and sensors allow owners to easily use their eyes and hands to operate the software. This navigation method is fine for most things, but when it comes to drawing, it becomes a nightmare.
Ny Breaking’s editor at Large, Lance Ulanoff, dealt with this firsthand when he tried illustrating on the Vision Pro. Ultimately, he called the whole experience “insanely frustrating and difficult.” The biggest problem is that the gaze controls clash with the hand gestures. As your eyes move between a reference image and the digital canvas, the artwork falls apart as the headset prioritizes what you’re looking at. Then there are other issues, such as the numerous bugs affecting the current crop of art apps.
The hope with the future Apple Pencil is that it will help keep the canvas stable. That way there isn’t that weird back and forth between the two control methods.
If you’re looking to take up illustration as a hobby, check out Ny Breaking’s list of the best free drawing software for 2024.