Apple today announced its third-generation Apple Pencil during its iPad “Let Loose” event, adding Find My support and new features to adapt the stylus to different creative tasks. Available to pre-order today for $129, the Apple Pencil Pro features features closer to what you’d find in dedicated drawing tablet pens — like a “Barrel Roll” gyroscope feature and a pinch gesture to switch between software functions.
This is the first real update to the Apple Pencil series since the second-generation model was announced in 2018. While the more affordable USB-C Apple Pencil released last year supported a wider range of iPad models than the Apple Pencil 2 is also ditched advanced second-generation features like pressure sensitivity and double-tap tool switching — making it less useful for tasks like graphic design and 3D sculpting.
The Apple Pencil Pro brings these advanced features from its predecessor, along with new ones like haptic feedback, which reacts depending on how the stylus is being used, and a pinch gesture similar to the stem of the Apple AirPods Pro 2.