Apple Pencil 3 leak claims changeable magnetic tips are on the way

AppleInsider

The third-generation Apple Pencil could use interchangeable tips, a leaker claims, with different magnetic tips used for a variety of different purposes.

An Apple Pencil nib

The first and second generations of Apple Pencil both use a nib that can be replaced as they wear over time. There's also a small market of third-party tip replacements for the stylus that can also tweak the way the Apple Pencil works on the iPad display.

According to a Saturday tweet by serial leaker "Majin Bu" on X, Apple's next iteration of stylus could offer consumers a similar ability to adjust how their Apple Pencil works. In the tweet, Bu's source claims the Apple Pencil 3 will ship "with interchangeable magnetic tips."

Based on what my source reported
the new Apple Pencil 3 will come with interchangeable magnetic tips

(for drawing, technical drawing and painting) pic.twitter.com/AXUdpbZFVh

-- Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial)

September 30, 2023

It is claimed that the tip changes are intended to make the Apple Pencil work better "for drawing, technical drawing, and painting." As an example of how this could be enacted, Bu offers images of three different sizes and thicknesses of tip in an image, though this could feasibly include differing materials used in producing the tip.

By using magnets, the tips should be easier to switch between compared to existing versions, which rely on a friction fit.

The leak's plausibility is somewhat assisted by previous patents and applications by Apple on the subject, including one where the functions of the stylus can change to match the nib. This could mean a nib can have sensors built in for various capabilities, such as measuring a color of a substance it touches.

While there are relatively few leaks about the third-generation Apple Pencil, it has been quite a while since Apple last updated its stylus. The original was released in November 2015, with the second-gen model out November 2018, three years later.

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MikeInTaiwan

How about a changeable battery instead? In just a year, my Pencil's battery stopped charging. I had to throw it away.

cia

I'm not dismissing your claim, as it can happen, but my parents and I have launch Apple Pencil 2's, and they continue to hold a charge just fine.

williamlondon

bob-tahoma said:

cia said:

I'm not dismissing your claim, as it can happen, but my parents and I have launch Apple Pencil 2's, and they continue to hold a charge just fine.

So what you’re saying is your experience is different to someone else’s?

No, but anecdotes aren't rules, ffs even in a complainer's paradise.

Ofer

Knowing the way Apple prices things, it’ll come with one standard tip, and then you’ll be able to purchase different ones for some outrageous amount.

draenar

Ofer said:

Knowing the way Apple prices things, it’ll come with one standard tip, and then you’ll be able to purchase different ones for some outrageous amount.

And there will be a third-party market for people who want a lower price, albeit with a possibility of lower quality.  Apple isn't gouging any more than any other company that does all the engineering and needs to recoup the cost of that.  Genuine car parts cost more as well, with third party manufacturers providing lower cost alternatives in many cases.  

iloveapplegear

MikeInTaiwan said:

How about a changeable battery instead? In just a year, my Pencil's battery stopped charging. I had to throw it away.

Yes have same problem, not thrown it away but annoyed can't change battery on it.

torb9h

Part of the convenience of the pencil is having one item that can serve as a number of inputs…brush, pencil, pen, watercolour. This feels like a step away from convenience and simplicty.

tht

Would have preferred a design where the touch layer has the precision of the display dpi. That is, there is a capacitive element along with the RGB subpixels, and the Pencil is just a "dumb" piece of equipment, only with a tip that can activate the capacitive elements in the screen. Then, you can just have a variety of Pencils with varying tips and brush designs.

My 5yo Pencil 1 still going strong. So, you win some, lose some in the battery lotto.

gerry g

My pencil one stopped working recently, thought the same, dead battery, then Remembered I had just put an OS update in and guessed it had corrupted the bluetooth settings, so I cycled bluetooth off and on again and the pencil paired just fine, no dead battery and this for a first ten iPad Pro so apple pencils diving after a year sounds like faulty device

fastasleep

tht said:

Would have preferred a design where the touch layer has the precision of the display dpi. That is, there is a capacitive element along with the RGB subpixels, and the Pencil is just a "dumb" piece of equipment, only with a tip that can activate the capacitive elements in the screen. Then, you can just have a variety of Pencils with varying tips and brush designs.

That sounds like a terrible user experience, and like you've never used a Pencil for art.