The Apple Pencil has some cool new features even for us non-artists

I’m not a very good artist, so consider this look at the new Apple Pencil Pro a sort of mini-review.

Unless you’re draw, paint, or “handwrite” on your iPad Pro, the US$129 stylus …. er, pencil … isn’t an impulse buy. I mainly use it for entering text and navigating on my iPad Pro, and it excels at both jobs.

The Apple Pencil Pro has a handy new squeeze gesture that makes it quicker to bring up menus and tools you freely use. It can sense when you squeeze it and brings up a new palette, so you can quickly switch tools, line weights, and colors.

The new Barrel role gyroscope feature lets you rotate the Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of shaped pen and brush tools. You can use double tap to quickly switch between tools such as a pen and an eraser. All these features come in handy in scribbling notes and handwritten messages. 

Another feature that’s not necessary, but is incredibly cool is the Apple Pencil hover feature that shows a virtual shadow of the tool you’re using. How cool is that?

Another really cool feature is the added Find My support. Can’t find your Apple Pencil Pro? You can locate it in the Find My app on your iPhone. 

However, I have one big complaint for Apple; why, oh why, is the Apple Pencil Pro (and non-Pro versions) only available in white?! Give us a black or space grey model.

Only you can determine if you NEED the Apple Pencil Pro. But if you have cash to spare, you will probably WANT one.

The Apple Pencil Pro attaches, pairs, and charges magnetically on the side of your iPad. It requires iPadOS 17.5 or later. 

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