Apple’s next special event is on Tuesday, May 7 (full details here) and we now have a report that tells us lots more about a new accessory: an Apple Pencil. The new report gives lots more details about the Pencil that fit with previous leaks.
The invite for the next Apple Special Event.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, the new Apple Pencil will have a feature no Apple stylus has had before: haptic feedback.
As you’ll know, haptic feedback is that clever vibration effect which can make a device feel more intimate to use. Haptic feedback in the trackpad on a MacBook makes it feel like the pad is moving as you press on it, while it’s staying more or less still. But the feedback confirms your touch.
Something similar on an Apple Pencil could be very effective, especially as it seems to gel with a previous report that the next Pencil would have a new “squeeze function”.
According to 9to5Mac, software clues gave multiple pieces of evidence that “point to a new gesture called “squeeze” for Apple Pencil. “The gesture can be used for quick interactions such as adding shapes, signatures, stickers, or a text field. Presumably, the gesture will be triggered by pressing the Apple Pencil surface.”
Since there are no pressure sensors known in current Apple Pencils, the software point to a new Pencil. And if we needed more confirmation, the logo for the invite to watch the keynote on May 7 has a hand holding a Pencil (pictured at the top of this post). So, that’s pretty clear.
The same software hints say that the new device will have Find My capabilities, which is again something that no Apple Pencil currently has.
Gurman doesn’t say anything else about the new Pencil, modestly describing the new feature as a “tidbit”, but it adds to the excitement many are feeling about the upcoming keynote.
If anything else leaks between now and next week, I’ll be covering it here.
