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spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
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7,499
I've been using the Apple Pencil 2 since the day they came out on multiple iPad models, and I've never had it put one blemish on the iPad. I will say though that I don't slam/throw it on to the side of the iPad or spin it around and do tricks with it while it's in place on the iPad. (I've seen many YouTubers doing those things and more.)

So it's hard to say just based on my own experience and some YouTube videos, but I would say it just depends on how you treat your stuff. If you're pretty careless about how you snap the Pencil on the side of the iPad, you can probably expect marks there. If you're semi careful and just let it click in place, you're probably fine. I'm sure it's widespread among people who aren't careful, but not among people who are careful.
 

ace98

macrumors newbie
Dec 9, 2020
28
14
I've been using the Apple Pencil 2 since the day they came out on multiple iPad models, and I've never had it put one blemish on the iPad. I will say though that I don't slam/throw it on to the side of the iPad or spin it around and do tricks with it while it's in place on the iPad. (I've seen many YouTubers doing those things and more.)

So it's hard to say just based on my own experience and some YouTube videos, but I would say it just depends on how you treat your stuff. If you're pretty careless about how you snap the Pencil on the side of the iPad, you can probably expect marks there. If you're semi careful and just let it click in place, you're probably fine. I'm sure it's widespread among people who aren't careful, but not among people who are careful.
I can say the same for myself. I treat my stuff very carefully and definitely don‘t do any tricks with the pen on the Ipad.
Like I mentioned my problem occured quite spontaneously over night with the iPad laying still.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,405
13,290
where hip is spoken
I sort of feel like the “Let’s come up with a new Apple-related ‘gate’ every year” era ended a few years ago. It’s silly and always has been.
I'm curious. How many times have people identified a problem with an Apple product that turned out to be overblown or not really a thing? How many times have there been legitimate concerns?

Obviously, there is a lot of subjectivity attached to terms like "overblown" and "legitimate".
 

spiderman0616

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Aug 1, 2010
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I'm curious. How many times have people identified a problem with an Apple product that turned out to be overblown or not really a thing? How many times have there been legitimate concerns?

Obviously, there is a lot of subjectivity attached to terms like "overblown" and "legitimate".
For me personally, I feel like there have only been a couple of things in recent memory that I thought were worth the complaints:

1) The iPhone 4 antenna. That was a real, reproducible issue on all iPhone 4 units. The fact that the engineer behind it got fired the next year and that the antenna bands were redesigned without that issue for the 4S tells me all I need to know about that particular situation.

2) The color plating on the iPhone 5 and its tendency to flake/chip/scuff. This was a real problem, and my iPhone 5 came with the color finish chipped off one of the edges right out of the box.

Other than that, I feel like all the other "gates" could probably be chalked up to things that shouldn't happen with normal use. Don't try to bend your iPhone/iPad, and you probably won't bend it. Don't try to scratch your screen on purpose, and you'll probably have minor or no scratching. Don't throw your iPhone or iPad on the ground or drop it from a ladder, and it probably won't shatter spontaneously on its own no matter how brittle the glass is. Don't stick the Apple logo up to your ear while your iPhone is under heavy workload, and you probably won't hear or ever even notice any hissing noises.

A lot of this stuff is just for clicks. And it works. But I was tired of it years ago and don't pay any attention to any of it anymore, nor do I give the tech rags any of my clicks or attention when they try to create a storm in a teacup out of thin air.
 
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sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,405
13,290
where hip is spoken
For me personally, I feel like there have only been a couple of things in recent memory that I thought were worth the complaints:

1) The iPhone 4 antenna. That was a real, reproducible issue on all iPhone 4 units. The fact that the engineer behind it got fired the next year and that the antenna bands were redesigned without that issue for the 4S tells me all I need to know about that particular situation.

2) The color plating on the iPhone 5 and its tendency to flake/chip/scuff. This was a real problem, and my iPhone 5 came with the color finish chipped off one of the edges right out of the box.

Other than that, I feel like all the other "gates" could probably be chalked up to things that shouldn't happen with normal use. Don't try to bend your iPhone/iPad, and you probably won't bend it. Don't try to scratch your screen on purpose, and you'll probably have minor or no scratching. Don't throw your iPhone or iPad on the ground or drop it from a ladder, and it probably won't shatter spontaneously on its own no matter how brittle the glass is. Don't stick the Apple logo up to your ear while your iPhone is under heavy workload, and you probably won't hear or ever even notice any hissing noises.

A lot of this stuff is just for clicks. And it works. But I was tired of it years ago and don't pay any attention to any of it anymore, nor do I give the tech rags any of my clicks or attention when they try to create a storm in a teacup out of thin air.
Thanks for the feedback... the examples you've given help to understand where you're coming from... which seems to be either first-hand experience or 100% reproducible.
 

spiderman0616

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Aug 1, 2010
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Thanks for the feedback... the examples you've given help to understand where you're coming from... which seems to be either first-hand experience or 100% reproducible.
Oddly enough--the iPhone 4 was still my favorite iPhone ever. It's just a classic design, and I will never forget the first time I saw a retina display in real life. Game changer. Used that phone for 2 full years--in a case, of course.
 
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BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
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Oddly enough--the iPhone 4 was still my favorite iPhone ever. It's just a classic design, and I will never forget the first time I saw a retina display in real life. Game changer. Used that phone for 2 full years--in a case, of course.
The 4s was my first iPhone. I'll never forget it. Opened my world to something other than Android and ... I was forever changed. Could actually browse the web, type on the screen, and enjoy using my phone!


As far as my wife's and my 2018 iPad Pro 11' --- we have no marks on our iPads from our pencil usage after almost a year now (going on 11 months of heavy daily usage for my wife). We have sleeves for our iPads when they are transported - I think that helps a lot with the potential for marking / wearing the sides.
 
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kristalsoldier

macrumors 6502a
Aug 10, 2013
818
523
The 4s was my first iPhone. I'll never forget it. Opened my world to something other than Android and ... I was forever changed. Could actually browse the web, type on the screen, and enjoy using my phone!
That’s an interesting observation! I use an Android phone, and I use it hard, and I can browse the web, type on the screen, and do a lot more with it too.
 
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BigMcGuire

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Jan 10, 2012
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That’s an interesting observation! I use an Android phone, and I use it hard, and I can browse the web, type on the screen, and do a lot more with it too.
I don't mean to fire shots. Was talking about going from the OG Droid to a 4s -- back in the day. Don't get me wrong, I was a huge droid fan - I rooted, ran Pete's Bugless Beast and had a Note 3 - put a ton of $ into cracking the boot loader, etc. lol

Going from an OG Droid to an HTC Thunderbolt (horrible phone for me) to a 4s was huge for me. Using an iPhone back then was a pretty big usability increase imo. :p Back in the days of Ice cream Sandwich.
 
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kristalsoldier

macrumors 6502a
Aug 10, 2013
818
523
I don't mean to fire shots. Was talking about going from the OG Droid to a 4s -- back in the day. Don't get me wrong, I was a huge droid fan - I rooted, ran Pete's Bugless Beast and had a Note 3 - put a ton of $ into cracking the boot loader, etc. lol

Going from an OG Droid to an HTC Thunderbolt (horrible phone for me) to a 4s was huge for me. Using an iPhone back then was a pretty big usability increase imo. :p Back in the days of Ice cream Sandwich.
No offence taken. No harm done. I was just curious. And yes, initial Android versions were a bit traumatic to use. I can relate to that.
 
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ace98

macrumors newbie
Dec 9, 2020
28
14
I have the same problem on my Ipad Pro 2020 12.9 inch. When I noticed this my pencil was covered in black color, which I could wipe off. Except one dot remained, just as in the other cases described here. But apparently that color was my space grey covering of the ipad. The way my pencil was covered in black, this could have never been from "scratching". Plus, it happened over night so it was just laying on my desk without any movement. I don't know if it was caused by heat or magnets, but this shouldn't be considered a cosmetic damage caused by the user. Something is definitely fishy, as this appears to be a widespread problem and most cases I read here say it happened directly after purchase.
UPDATE: after several chats, calls with the apple support and going to a different service provider I was told by the apple support employee that was responsible for my case that the engineers at apple said that this is caused by dust particles and therefore will not be covered by them.

So according to them dust particles get stuck between pencil and iPad and that causes the scratching.

I still don't understand how that could cause the magnet to stick out of the apple pencil. The apple pencil should be of a quality that is resistant to that kind of micro particles. And how on earth am I responsible for dust particles, which are naturally occurring around me. How is not every single apple pencil having the same problem then, since dust particles are everywhere. Are they implying I have more dust particles around me than everyone else? That's ridiculous! What was I supposed to do to prevent this. Wipe my freaking pen every time I use it?

This is so frustrating honestly. Having to experience this with a brand new iPad.
Another UPDATE:
I was called today and was told that ONLY my apple pencil will be replaced to prevent further damage.

I am not really satisfied, because they basically agree that the pencil is defect and causes the scratching but won't replace my iPad... hmmm
 

konstantnn

macrumors newbie
Jun 16, 2020
13
10
Republic of Serbia
"It gives the iPad character ?"
IMG_0787.jpg


IMG_0789.jpg
 

ace98

macrumors newbie
Dec 9, 2020
28
14
My iPad and pencil were replaced at the apple store.

If you have this problem don't waste your time on phone calls, chat bots or authenticated repair centers.
Go directly to the Apple Store and let them know how disappointed you are by the quality. They will act like they never heard of this problem and offer you to repair the pencil only. This is a good thing because they are basically admitting that the pencil is at fault. You can use this as an argument and say that a faulty pencil has caused this scratching. Don't accept the pencil only and ask for a new iPad too.

In the end they exchanged it for me. Don't give up. I've seen on many posts that they also got their iPads replaced because they made an "exception". That is an excuse because they are not allowed to admit technical problems like this.
 

seatton

macrumors 6502a
Nov 7, 2013
793
1,222
Seattle, WA
I have an M1 iPad Pro with this problem. Can anybody confirm if this still happens with the new M4? That will be one of my decisions to upgrade this.
 

aevan

macrumors 601
Feb 5, 2015
4,537
7,235
Serbia
I have an M1 iPad Pro with this problem. Can anybody confirm if this still happens with the new M4? That will be one of my decisions to upgrade this.

I mean, it is probably too early to tell. I never had this problem on my Space Gray M1 and I used it - and the Pencil - daily for 3 years. I don’t have it on my Space Black M4 currently.

If you’re concerned about this, my guess would be that potential scratches would be harder to see on Silver.

Or, if you’re really really worried, you can order one of these Pencil silicone covers that also work with magnetic charging.

Personally - while I didn’t have an issue (no marks whatsoever) I wouldn’t worry about it too much. These devices are meant to be used :)
 
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