Apple's second-generation Pencil Review thelectric1
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| Apples Second Generation Pencile |
| Buy from :(Amazon $129) |
Apple's second-generation Pencil is so much better than the first-generation model that it's one of the reasons the iPad Air is based on the base-model iPad in 2020, which can only use the original Pencil.
While $129 is a steep price for a stylus, serious artists and design professionals should spare no expense for high-quality equipment, and the new Pencil's convenient magnetic charging, clever design, and impressive functionality make it our Editors' Choice.
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The evolution of the pencil
There's a big world of stylus-compatible devices and tablets outside of the iPad, but Apple's tablets are the first choice for many artists and educators because of their ease of use (better than Surface tablets) and deep tablet-centric software libraries (better than Samsung tablets). The capacitively stylish iPad has captivated artists since the first model was released in 2010, and Apple's 2015 Pencil launch brought the company's effortless setup and tight integration into the picture with its OS.
But the design of that first generation pencil was flawed. It syncs and charges using a Lightning port under a removable, easily lost cap. When charging, it sticks out of an iPad at a nasty 90-degree angle.
The real magic, though, is in the second-generation Pencil's magnetic charging and attachment scheme. The Pencil simply clips onto the edge of the latest high-end iPad, syncing and charging while it's there.
This means you don't have to stop what you're doing to charge it; It's always ready to go, and in two years of using one, I've never completely drained its battery.
Magnets and their ability to charge are not actually magic. (How do they work? Induction.) I'd compare their stickiness level to a post-it note. The magnetic pencil sits right out most of the time, which means it can fall off the edge of the iPad if you push it.
If you're used to throwing your iPad in a bag, the Pencil can easily become disconnected and disappear into the depths. But it's still a much better charging and attachment process than any competing iPad stylus can claim.
Like the first generation Pencil, the new Pencil is a Bluetooth stylus with pressure and tilt detection. It doesn't have a mode-switching button, but you can double-tap your finger near the end of the pencil to switch between writing and erasing.
Accuracy is basically perfect, and responsiveness is excellent. The new Pencil has 9ms latency compared to the older model's 20ms. Since 20ms is still faster than a 60Hz screen's refresh rate, you'll only notice the difference on iPad Pro models with 120Hz displays, but even on other iPads you'll see subtle improvements.
The default tip has a great matte feel against the iPad's screen, and of course there's a whole ecosystem of replacements and third-party tips in different materials that you can play with. Tips are relatively inexpensive; The official four-pack costs $19, and many third-party tips on Amazon are under $10, so you can play around.
We've had several iPads here that have all been used with the Pencil over the years, and we've yet to wear out a tip, although they do occasionally fall out and have to be re-screwed.
High cost, high quality
The only problem with the pencil is that it costs $129. That's a lot for one pen!
There are much less expensive styles out there. Some of them look like straight-up clones of pencils. We haven't taken any tests recently, so we can only speak in general. Less expensive replacement styli, which do not use Bluetooth, are usually capacitive touch styli.
They're often still good, but they're not as precise or reliable as pencils, they don't have pressure sensitivity, and they require you to be more deliberate with your taps and strokes.
A viable alternative is Logitech's Crayon, which we rated higher than the original Pencil. The crayon is a bit shorter (6.42 inches) and has a nice flat oval shape; It's half the price of the pencil, at $69.
We still think it's great. However, the Crayon lacks pressure sensitivity and needs to be charged separately via the Lightning port, so it's a little less magical than the Pencil. Crayon is the perfect solution for a school that buys 50 styluses and charges them at the end of the day. But nothing beats that new magnetic charging system.
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