What it is: Apple recently filed patents hinting that the Apple Pencil will soon work on the iPhone.
When Apple introduced the Apple Pencil, it only worked on the iPad Pro. Part of the reason for this was because Apple Pencil support required the latest hardware but if the Apple Pencil could work on an iPad Pro running iOS, why couldn’t it also work on the latest iPhone?
Now Apple’s latest patent filings suggest that the Apple Pencil is coming to the iPhone as well. That should be an easy transition since iOS already supports the Apple Pencil. Initially the Apple Pencil was designed for drawing and handwriting, so it makes sense to port those features over to the iPhone as well.
Expect the latest version of iOS to allow writing and drawing on the iPhone with the Apple Pencil. Also expect more iPad and iPhone cases to include a holder for the Apple Pencil as well. For many people, the Apple Pencil is unnecessary because they don’t need to draw and they don’t care to write text directly on the screen. However, for a small minority, the Apple Pencil is crucial for drawing and handy for note taking.
What makes the Apple Pencil different from the stylus used in Windows Mobile devices is that the Apple Pencil is an optional accessory while the stylus in Windows Mobile was necessary for manipulating the user interface. Lose your stylus with a Windows Mobile device and you couldn’t easily use Windows Mobile because the stylus made it easy to poke tiny buttons on the screen. With iOS, you don’t need an Apple Pencil because you can easily use the touch screen interface to do everything including drawing or handwriting text.
The Apple Pencil simply makes drawing and handwriting easier. That’s why the Apple Pencil is and will always be an optional accessory.
The touch screen interface of iOS represents a simple user interface and that’s why it’s been so influential in spawning similar operating systems like Android, which was initially modeled after BlackberryOS. Chances are good you’ll never need an Apple Pencil in the same way that you don’t really need a car since you can get around by bus if you wish. However, once you experience the convenience of a car, you’ll likely never want to take a bus again. Similarly, once you get used to relying on the Apple Pencil for specific tasks like drawing or handwriting, you’ll probably never want to go back to relying on your fingers again.
Artists and heavy note takers will depend on the Apple Pencil. For everyone else, the Apple Pencil isn’t necessary. That’s the definition of an accessory, unlike the external keyboard that’s required to get the most out of a Microsoft Surface tablet.