Apple announces the Apple Pencil Pro, its best stylus ever with a new gesture and more

Apple has today announced a slew of new iPads as well as a couple of accessories to go with them and one of those accessories is an all-new stylus. Dubbed the Apple Pencil Pro, the new stylus is essentially a replacement for the Apple Pencil 2nd-generation but is exclusively compatible with the new M4 iPad Pro and revamped M2 iPad Air. That means that anyone who wants to be able to use one of these new Appel Pencil Pros will have to buy a new iPad to do it.

The updated Apple Pencil was heavily rumored before today's Let Loose event, but it was expected that it would be called the Apple Pencil 3 initially. Then, a leak on the Japanese Apple website appeared to suggest that the stylus could carry the Apple Pencil Pro name and that's now been confirmed. As for whether the new features that it offers justify the name, that's another matter entirely.

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That isn't to say that the new features aren't notable, because they are. The rumored squeeze gesture is present and correct and Apple says that it will allow people to quickly access the tool palette to switch tools, adjust line weights, and pick a new color without having to stop what they are doing. To go with the new squeeze gesture Apple says that it has also included a new haptic engine to allow the Apple Pencil to tap the user to provide confirmation when a squeeze has been registered.

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Another new feature for the Apple Pencil Pro is the addition of a gyroscope to allow the stylus to sense when it is being rotated, allowing artists more control over the orientation of shaped pen and brush tools within compatible apps.

The new Apple Pencil Pro also fixes one problem that people have long had with Apple styluses - they're easy to lose. To deal with that, Apple has added Find My support so locating a missing Apple Pencil will be easier than ever.

As for pricing, the new Apple Pencil Pro will sell for $129 and it's already available for preorder. Those who do get those orders in quickly can expect to have their new Apple Pencil Pro arrive on their doorsteps next week. However, as mentioned, the new Apple Pencil Pro will only work on Apple's latest tablets, including the speed M4 iPad Pro with its new OLED display and a refreshed iPad Air with an M2 chip and a whole new 13-inch model.