The next Apple Pencil could be the biggest upgrade we’ve seen yet for Apple’s stylus line, as a number of improvements have been rumored, including haptic feedback.
This comes from Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, and while he doesn’t go into details it’s likely that the feedback would provide a sensation closer to drawing or writing on paper (rather than a glass screen). We’d guess that the vibrations may also change depending on the type of pen, pencil, or brush that the Apple Pencil is imitating.
If the haptic feedback works well, that could make the process of creating digital art on the iPad much more satisfying, and might even make this stylus easier to use, particularly for those who are more used to working with real brushes on paper or canvas.
As ever, we’d take this information with a pinch of salt, but Gurman has a good track record of accurate predictions about upcoming Apple products.
Squeeze gestures and changeable tips
This isn’t the only thing we’ve heard about the upcoming Apple Pencil though. Previously we’d heard that the Apple Pencil 3 (as we’d expect it to be called) could offer ‘squeeze’ gestures, which could let you add shapes, signatures, stickers, or a text field simply by squeezing the stylus.
We’ve also heard that the next Apple Pencil might work with the Vision Pro for spatial sketching, and another leak points to the new Apple Pencil having interchangeable tips, so that you can use the appropriate tip for “drawing, technical drawing and painting.”
If this all pans out then the next Apple Pencil could be a considerably more advanced stylus than the current model.
None of this is confirmed just yet, but it’s likely that we’ll find out everything about the next Apple Pencil soon, as Gurman also claims that it will be announced at the next Apple event on May 7, at which we’re also expecting to see the iPad Pro 2024 and the iPad Air 6.
