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Apple Pencil to Ship With Adapter for Charging With Lightning Cable

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Apple's upcoming iPad Pro accessory, the Apple Pencil, will now ship with an adapter that will allow it to charge using a standard Lightning cable, reports 9to5Mac. The Apple Pencil, which has a Lightning connector on the end for charging, was originally designed to charge by plugging into the bottom of the iPad Pro.

applepencil
With the adapter, which will fit over the Apple Pencil's Lightning connector, it will also be able to charge using a regular Lightning cable. This will expand the number of ways the Apple Pencil can be charged and it will alleviate concerns about potential damage to the Apple Pencil from being knocked or bent while plugged into an iPad Pro.

applepenciladapter
The iPad Pro appears to be on track for a launch in the first weeks of November. AppleCare employees and retail staff are currently receiving training on the new larger-screened tablet, with the training completion deadline set for November 6.

Apple's iPad Pro is the company's new flagship 12.9-inch tablet. It includes an A9X processor, 4GB RAM, and according to Apple, is as fast as many desktop class machines. Pricing on the iPad Pro starts at $799 for a 32GB Wi-Fi only model and goes up to $1,079 for a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

The Apple Pencil, which allows for pressure-sensitive drawing on the iPad Pro, is a standalone purchase that will be available for $99. Apple is also selling a Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro, priced at $169.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tag: Apple Pencil Guide
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: iPad Accessories

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Top Rated Comments

T
theheadguy
140 months ago
What a poorly thought out solution. Who's bright idea was it to think the primary way we would desire to charge this is by plugging it into the lightning port of the iPad Pro? If Samsung or Microsoft included an "adapter" as a solution, MR members would be howling at their inept planning (or lack thereof).
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmgregory1 Avatar
jmgregory1
140 months ago
Why didn't Apple just make the Pencil's charging port be a female Lightning port? The idea of having the Pencil stick out the bottom of the iPad Pro, was ridiculous thinking on their part. It's not like it's so hard to use the charging cable from the iPad to charge the Pencil.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
ArtOfWarfare
140 months ago
Seriously?
Seriously. The process for charging the Apple Pencil this way is:

1. Remove cap from Pencil. Make sure not to lose your cap.
2. Attach adapter to Cable.
3. Connect adapter to Pencil.

Most other products, both from Apple and other companies, generally have a single step:

1. Plug charging cable into product.

A few products (not Apple's) have an additional step:

1. Remove charging cover. Don't worry about keeping track though - it's attached.
2. Plug charging cable into product.

So yes, this is a seriously poorly thought out solution, involving 3-4x as much effort as most other charging solutions, and at least 2x as much effort as even poorly thought out solutions.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
srminton Avatar
srminton
140 months ago
Despite the criticism here, I like this solution, because it provides two ways to charge the Pencil. The idea of plugging it into the bottom of the iPad is supposed to allow for 'emergency' rapid charging, when you're using the Pencil - remember it can get a decent amount of battery life from a short charge. And then when you plug it in for a full charge, e.g. at night, it uses a standard Lightning cable. I don't really see what's 'ugly' or 'stupid' about this. If you're in the middle of working, and your Pencil runs 'dry', you can just plug it directly into the iPad for a few minutes so you can get right back to work. That's much, much better than having to go find a cable and wall outlet, plug it into the wall etc. Imagine you're in the airport or on a plane, for example....
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobob Avatar
bobob
140 months ago
the Apple Pencil, will now ship with an adapter that will allow it to charge using a standard Lightning cable

How is it known that Apple didn't always plan to include an adapter in the box?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
srminton Avatar
srminton
140 months ago
A female lightning port, like so many other devices (iPhones, iPads, iPods, Keyboard, Trackpad, etc) would have made a lot of sense. I guess they really wanted the ability to give it a quick charge/topup using the iPad; enough so that they're even shipping it with that little female to female lightning adapter.

Anyway, plugging the pencil into the iPad isn't supposed to be the primary method of charging, it's purely to top it up if the battery is low/dead. 15 seconds of charge for 30 minutes of use.
Apparently this is too complicated for people to understand, and they have visions of being forced to walk around with the Pencil sticking out of their iPad.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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