Apple Pencil: New model next year
Apple plans to overhaul its complex Pencil offering again. This apparently also has to do with the European Union.
Apple Pencil in use.
(Image: Screenshot Apple.com via 9to5Mac)
A new model of the Apple Pencil is expected at the latest next year – or even several. The well-known Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman learned this from insider circles. As he writes in his latest newsletter on Sunday, the pens are to be introduced together with new iPad Pro models, presumably in the first half of 2027.
Apple last changed its stylus in May 2024, when the Apple Pencil Pro was released. The innovations next year apparently concern two variants of the pen. Apple is apparently also bowing to pressure from the European Commission, which is demanding the installation of replaceable batteries in electronic devices.
Two variants: Low-end and high-end
So far, products like the Apple Pencil or Apple's AirPods earbuds are considered disposable products – at least if one does not go to great effort. Gurman estimates that the new Apple Pencils will contain less adhesive and come with a new battery system. Two code names are circulating internally at Apple: B582 and B632. These are a new low-end variant of the Apple Pencil with USB-C charging function and a revised version of the Pencil Pro. The pens are usually delivered together with new iPads.
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It remains unclear exactly how Apple intends to implement replaceable batteries – especially if the form factor is not to grow. The company is working intensively on the topic internally. The EU requirements mean that end customers must also be able to access the respective battery to replace it. For headphones like the new Sennheiser Momentum 5, this means, for example, that they must be able to be unscrewed to replace the orderable batteries. For new Pencil models, Apple could rely on a screw mechanism, but it is not yet clear whether this will happen.
Current range of Apple pens
Apple currently sells a total of four different pens. These are the Pencil Pro for 149 euros, the budget Pencil with USB-C (89 euros), and an Apple Pencil of the 1st and 2nd generation, also for 149 euros each. You can find an overview of which Pencil belongs to which device in a separate article.
Apple is reportedly planning MacBooks with touchscreens (“MacBook Ultra”) for the first time in the fall. Whether these will also be pencil-compatible has not yet been revealed. Gurman does not mention the function in his report.
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