iPhone Ultra: Pencil tested, but discarded
Samsung phones have been sold in the Note variant with a stylus for years. Apple is said to have at least internally considered a Pencil for its first foldable.
An Apple Pencil, here with USB-C charging option.
(Image: heise medien)
Apple and stylus operation, that has been a topic in itself for years. While Steve Jobs completely rejected the use of a stylus for the iPhone and presumably also for the iPad, Apple under Tim Cook changed its stance in 2015 and released the Apple Pencil solely for the iPad. The accessory, which costs over 100 euros depending on the version, is particularly popular with creatives, despite the fact that the number of different versions of the operating and drawing pen confuses even professionals.
If Apple now launches a foldable smartphone for the first time in September – called iPhone Ultra in the rumor mill – the question arises whether the topic of the iPhone pen might not come to the fore again after all. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who is usually well-informed, also dealt with this topic over the weekend.
Internal tests with negative results
In his newsletter, he writes that Apple has at least tested a Pencil accessory for the foldable, which will presumably have a 7.8-inch screen diagonal when unfolded. A prototype pen was more compact (i.e., shorter and possibly thicker) than the iPad version and was intended to attach magnetically to the side of the device, as is known from various iPad versions of the pen – for storage and charging.
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However, this reportedly caused practical difficulties in tests. The pencil could fall off when folded. And when used directly on the display, it led to unsightly smudges (i.e., scratches), as foldable screens are less stable than solid ones.
Samsung is no example for Apple
The prototype therefore did not make it into production at first. According to Gurman, a pencil version is not to be expected when the iPhone Ultra is introduced, and he also does not believe that Apple will abandon the old Jobs iPhone position (nobody wants a stylus).
While Samsung has been selling a smartphone with an integrated stylus in its Note series for years, Apple apparently sees little meaningfully addressable market here. Samsung’s foldables could also use the so-called S-Pen in the past, but support was dropped for the Z-Fold-8 series.
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