Oliver Haslam on October 17, 2023, 5:50 pm

Apple’s New Apple Pencil Adds USB-C And Magnets But It Won’t Charge Wirelessly

Apple’s new Apple Pencil has been announced and as expected it has a new USB-C charging solution, but it isn’t something you’d plug into a USB-C port. Instead, the Apple Pencil has a USB-C port of its own to plug a cable into. But that isn’t even the strangest thing about it.

Set to go on sale next month for $70, this is the cheapest Apple Pencil yet. It has a flat edge and magnets to attach to the side of an iPad but unlike the Apple Pencil 2, it doesn’t support wireless charging.

You’ll have to plug a cable into the new Apple Pencil for it to charge. Thankfully, that port is hidden when not being used.

A sliding cap reveals a USB-C port, enabling customers to use a USB-C cable to connect to the new Apple Pencil for pairing and charging. When magnetically attached to iPad for storage, the new Apple Pencil enters into a sleep state to preserve battery life.

The new Apple Pencil supports the iPad Pro’s Hover feature, like the Apple Pencil 2, but doesn’t have the double-tap feature for changing tools nor does it feature pressure sensitivity, a feature that even the Apple Pencil 1 has.

That all makes this a strange product for Apple to release, especially considering the fact it’s been added to the lineup as an additional rather than replacing one of the older models. Apple says that it’ll work with all USB-C iPads when it arrives in November.