Ondrej Holzman In a few weeks, months at the most, we should see the arrival of the Apple Watch on the market. According to the latest speculations, this might not be the last brand new product that Apple is planning this year. It is to start shipping a special smart pen with iPads. And we cannot say that there is no place for such a product.
Information about the Apple stylus was released to the world by the well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities. He has already hit on exactly what Apple is up to several times, but this time he does not refer to his sources inside the supply chain, but draws mainly from registered patents and his own research. So the question is how accurate he will be this time.
However, Apple has applied for several patents with various smart pens, styluses and pencils for tablets in recent years, so it is not appropriate to ask whether Apple would even be willing to produce a similar product, but whether a smart pen for the iPad will go through the famous decision process, when Tim Cook and co. they will say a thousand times ne and in one selected product year.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts the creation of a stylus for the needs of the brand new so-called iPad Pro, as the 12,9-inch iPad is called in the media. "Being more precise than a human finger, the stylus can be more practical than a keyboard and mouse in some cases," Kuo wrote in his report.
There are still far more questions than answers surrounding a possible Apple stylus, but the idea isn't as far-fetched as it might seem at first glance. It is not yet clear whether such a stylus would be an exclusive accessory to the iPad Pro (for example, to boost sales of the new iPad) and what functions it would actually come with, but it would be especially important that Apple would not have to create just an ordinary stylus.
Neil Cybart on his blog writes:
A quick look at the patents for what I'm calling the "Apple Pen" suggests that such a device wouldn't just be a simple iPad drawing stylus, but an advanced solution that would revolutionize the writing tool we normally use. Apple would reinvent the pen.
We usually can't guess future products from the published patents, because Apple can hide the most important ones from the public, but still more than 30 registered patents related to the stylus since the introduction of the iPad, there is a decent number so that we can state that the Cupertino workshops are intensively dealing with this accessory.
It also makes sense for Cybart's claim that if Apple were to develop a smart pen, it would be reinventing such a product, as it has done so many times elsewhere. Many solutions from other manufacturers are already able to produce a stylus with their own brand, which could only be used to draw on the display.
Analyst Kuo assumes that, if not immediately in the first generation, then at least in the next ones, if we use Cybart's term, the Apple Pen should get components such as an accelerometer and a gyroscope, which would allow the user to write not only on the display, but also on other hard surfaces and even in the air.
In the end, however, the average user would not even need to use the advanced functions. While there was often a chuckle from the Apple fanbase when a competing device came out with a stylus, perhaps much like the arrival of the big iPhones, they'll have to rethink their views. It is the trend of large and even larger displays that gives styluses a justification.
Tablets are becoming more and more powerful tools on which we not only consume content, but also create it to an ever greater extent, and in some activities, simply, a finger is no better than a classic pencil. Samsung bundles a stylus with its Galaxy Note 4, and many customers praise it. And we're not even talking about half the display than the iPad Pro should have.
Just stick to the most basic thing a pencil can do: write. While taking notes at school or in meetings can be convenient on an iPad, pencil and paper is often more efficient. It's enough if you need to draw a smaller diagram or a picture for clarity and you can already have a little problem with your finger. If not, it will certainly happen at school during biology or physics classes, or at work, whether you are drawing, brainstorming or just want to take notes in a freer form.
It is precisely on education and the corporate sphere that Apple is focusing significantly with iPads, and if it releases a large iPad Pro, it will again be these two sectors that the large display should fundamentally appeal to. A smart pen could bring many teachers, students, employers and employees added value and completely new ways of using an apple tablet.
Steve Jobs once upon a time he said, that "when you see the stylus, they screwed up". But what if Apple could not screw it up? After all, the year 2007, when Jobs looked at the stylus as evil at the introduction of the first iPhone, is long gone and time has moved on. Larger displays and new ways of using and controlling tablets are giving smart pencils a boost.
If it will be something like the S PEN on the NOTE10.1 and the small NOTES at Samsung, then that is a huge step forward and in my opinion in the right direction. Hopefully it will also be applicable to the MINI iPAD. I don't want a big iPad anymore.
No, I don't see any step forward there, let alone a huge one. Certainly not here. You don't even need a stylus for that, do you? This would just be a step backwards for us.
it lacks a stylus, especially with retina, not everyone is a pig who has to do everything. various gis or other things need density information higher than 3 cm inch
Why is the stylus missing? I do not understand. Today, there are tons of styluses for everything, including iPads, from low-end to professional pieces, you just have to choose.
because no stylus can do what a quality digitizer with SW support - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-XbeTlcLt0
It is not a stylus as you know it, I recommend at least YouTube videos about the Note10.1, or personal experience. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised
It's just that I'm over it. ;-)
if you do not work on a tablet, then it is of no use to you
If Apple made a stylus that can be used to write on a tabletop (for example) and the pen/iPad transfers the movements to the text/sketch on the iPad, that would be a great addition.. When "scribbling" on the screen, I always find the palm the most annoying, which a regular stylus/ the display just scans too ;))
Such a solution would only be practical if it would also work as a classic pen, i.e. there would really be a writing pad... Because making invisible notes on paper would be quite impractical... You never know where exactly you ended up etc...
preventing palm scanning is not a problem. NOTE10.1 has had this solved for many years now and it works 100%…but I like this idea too, although it's probably a bit SCIFI- if there wasn't another pad.
Don't get too excited - this has also been solved on iPads for years. Many applications take this into account and can work with it. ;-)
I don't understand, please describe your thinking. And why do I like it?
The way I look at it, probably in everything too. You probably have no experience with iPads, you have no idea that you can write on them even with your hand resting on the screen, that you can write on them with a stylus with a tip like a ballpoint pen, etc., etc. I don't know why you are explaining to us what iPads they should know :D
I've had iPad(s) for 4 years, now we have a total of 3 at home, so start teaching and convincing me, I love it
it is not me who claims that there is a problem with distinguishing the placed palm, that is what René Becker claimed.
Hurrah. iPad will finally be creative, and not for content consumption :)
Every photographer, graphic designer, designer, illustrator etc. will confirm that tablets from Wacom increase productivity, precision and speed of work. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple's "Cintiq companion" coming. It's a shame that Jobs rejected it... Drawing on an iPad with the current "bubbles" is harakiri.
You're a fool, I've been using a Wacom professional pen for some time now. It's just that jablíčkář.cz or another slice didn't notice it. And unfortunately neither do you!
If the pen was intended not only for the iPad, but also for other hardware such as MacBook, iMac, etc. and would work on a principle similar to graphics tablets from Wacom, with the fact that it would not be necessary to use a "black cake" as a sensor, it would be for Wacom et al. a very big competitor. I wonder what Apple will come up with.
I'm going to screw up again... but I'm more looking forward to the defending sheep... now is the right time for a stylus :D
And you already clearly see what the device is supposed to be used for, and of course this information is officially confirmed, right? Go back to lagroid ;)
A lot of things have already been thought up and are useless, you know, Mr. Anton. Only Apple will come and give them meaning. What was NFC for devices? 2 years of knicking and still going!! Only when it made sense did Apple add it with support. The same can happen with this stylus.
in particular, you need to learn to respond to contributions, is there still no point? just like the pen at the note board makes no sense? but yes, suddenly apple will come and say we reinvented the pen and that's enough for you...because you are limited to one brand...ah, clearly the ecosystem.
I find someone who goes around attacking people on the Apple website for being Apple fans to be more restrictive...
and how does NFC in the iP6 make sense to you?
I will not use it in CR
You can pay at any portal with NFC as far as I know ;)
In Czechia? and where specifically?
no Czech (European) bank supports ApplePay yet
The fact that you in CR don't use it doesn't mean that millions of users in the US and China won't use it, right? Those are their main markets, not CR :)
this is probably as stupid an argument as saying that Google Wallet and Google Now or Microsoft Bing are great, because it works great in the USA, but not in the Czech Republic.
Be fair people. What good is a working ApplePay in the US if I'm not going to use it. In the Czech Republic, it is simply better to have Android/WP with working NFC banking, or even better a contactless payment card. That's the reality.
An iPad with a stylus would be a blast, unfortunately for artists. Yes, Wacom has such tablets, but they are heavy, they have to be connected to a computer, the response is not ideal. If a pressure- and direction-sensitive pen were combined with the elegance and lightness of the iPad Air and apple applications, it would be an absolute blast for artists! Something like that is really missing here!