With the first day of school about three weeks away, depending on where you live, parents are returning to thinking about school supplies. While students themselves are trying to squeeze out every last joyful moment of summer, parents know that the time is short lived and school bells will arrive at any moment. For many, this means picking up lined paper or a sturdier binder that didn’t have to face 2022. But, for others, it might include a Chromebook for students or something to make notetaking a little easier. For yet others, it might include these great deals on the Apple Pencil 1 and 2 that we’ve seen pop up this year, which make great companions for the Back-to-School iPad deals we’re also seeing.
Apple Pencil (1st Gen) — $79, was $99
The original Apple Pencil is a handy, precision-controlled device that translates your hand movements to a tablet, much like paper. With real pencils we can tilt our pencils sideways to create thicker lines. And so can we with the Apple Pencil 1, which uses tilt to determine line thickness and pressure to determine color density. It’s a great way to help your students keep up their hand-written note-taking skills while also being able to interact with today’s increasingly digital school materials.
It’s hardly worth going on about the Apple Pencil 1 without telling which iPads it works with, however. Your new Apple Pencil 1 will “only” work with the following models: The standard iPad (6th thru 10th gen), the iPad Pro 9.7-inch, the iPad Pro 10.5-inch, the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1 and 2 only), the iPad Mini 5, and the iPad Air 3. Please note that the 10th gen iPad requires a USB-C to Apple Pencil Adapter (look at the checkout options) to work.
Apple Pencil (2nd Gen) — $89, was $129
In many ways the Apple Pencil 2 acts similarly to the original. Though, the newer version is somewhat easier to grip, with its flat edge providing a pencil-holder like gripping edge. This flat edge also magnetically attaches to your iPad and you can pair it quickly to an iPad via magnet as well. The Apple Pencil 2 continues Apple’s quest to create a highly low-lag stylus, honing in on an imperceptible seam from the real to the digital world.
As before, perhaps the most critical details of the Apple Pencil 2 are what iPads it pairs with. This time around, enjoy your Apple Pencil with the iPad Pro 11-inch models, the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd thru 6th gen models), the iPad Air (4 and 5), and the iPad Mini 6.
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