I Shouldn’t Have Hesitated on the Apple Pencil By Alex Johnson amjohnson@lc.edu I’ve had an iPad Pro for a few years now. I purchased it with the hopes of recording music using Garageband; while that is a surprisingly powerful tool on the iPad, I found it too limiting and ended up picking up a Macbook Pro so I could get some higher quality recordings and have more control. The iPad was reduced to playing videos while I cooked or browsing the internet when my phone died. I had been told, as a creative type, I needed a Pencil, but after spending the money on the iPad and not getting any real use out of it, I was hesitant to spend another $100 on the device. Unfortunately, for the past few months Instagram has been advertising Procreate (an iOS drawing app) and different brush packs. The beautiful drawings drew me in, and I bought a used Apple Pencil. Do you need a Pencil? Let me just get this out of the way: if you have an iPad that is compatible with the Apple Pencil or Pencil 2 and you like art, get a Pencil. If you’re not sure which Pencil you would need or if you can even use a Pencil on your iPad, you can check the chart below.
Is the 2nd generation better? Functionally, the first and second generation Pencils are the same. The pressure sensitivity and low-latency drawing performance aren’t lost getting the first gen Pencil. The second gen does offer some upgrades; better charging options, a matte finish and a physical button are among them. The second gen is also square, like a drafting pencil, while the first gen is round; that’s a personal preference as many love the new square design but I like the traditional “pencil” feel of the first gen. How much? This is where things hurt. The first generation Pencil is $99, the second generation is $129 (and that’s on top of the cost of an iPad.) Of course, you can buy used; I was able to snag a first gen for $70. Keep in mind, though, buying used comes with no warranty, Apple Care, or confirmation that it’s never been anywhere gross. Regardless of which way you go, you’ll also probably want to get Procreate, the goto iOS art app. That comes at another $9.99. Alternatively, if you have an Adobe Creative Cloud account, you could try out Illustrator or Photoshop for iOS. Is it worth it? If you are an artist, YES! (I already told you that.) I’ve used my iPad more in the past few months than I had in the first few years of ownership. The iPad went from being an accessory to an indispensable tool. That being said, if you just want a simple stylus to poke around with while browsing the web, the Pencil is beyond overkill and far too expensive; you’d be much better off just getting an inexpensive, passive stylus. The Pencil does offer some unique navigation options, but nothing worth $99+ unless you’ll also be using it for art purposes.
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