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DaniJoy

macrumors 6502
Nov 19, 2015
394
333
California
You either haven't used the Apple pencil or the S-pen if you think those 2 are in the same league.

dunno man, i have and own both and I prefer the s pen. its wacom EMR. apple pencil is a close second. if it was battery-less. Wacom has slightly better feel and im more accurate with a coating cursor. plus wacom pens have better feel, i dislike the slick glass feel of the pencil. it would be almost as good.
 
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califfo1975

macrumors regular
May 21, 2010
124
6
Guys
But is the ipad battery draining when you use the pencil more or less continuously? The battery % decrease is quite high on ipad pro 10.5 namely in goodreader
Thanks for your help
 

DoubleFlyaway

macrumors 68000
Nov 16, 2017
1,620
2,526
I use my pencil pretty much all day and don’t really have battery issues. I mean— do I ever charge the pencil and the ipad? Of course. But I don’t notice anything so severe to bother me.
 

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
20,396
23,902
Singapore
Guys
But is the ipad battery draining when you use the pencil more or less continuously? The battery % decrease is quite high on ipad pro 10.5 namely in goodreader
Thanks for your help
In the past, I used to have to recharge my pencil only once every 2-3 days. I would keep my pencil in the original box and take it out only when needed.

Now when I carry it in my iPad case, I will need to recharge it every day.

The drain is definitely more significant.
 

JCapps

macrumors member
Dec 30, 2017
32
25
If I’m not going to use the pencil for awhile i do the “forget this device”. I charged it 4 days ago and just checked it and its still at 100%.

I carry my ipad around work all day, if i leave it connected its usually around 30% by the end even if I haven’t used it.
 

rmoliv

macrumors 68000
Dec 20, 2017
1,572
3,117
Fully charged and two days later only with no use it was down to 85%. I think it’s too much drain for a >100€ device... Very disappointing, paying for the Apple logo/brand.
 

sparksd

macrumors G4
Jun 7, 2015
10,019
34,408
Seattle WA
Fully charged and two days later only with no use it was down to 85%. I think it’s too much drain for a >100€ device... Very disappointing, paying for the Apple logo/brand.

Are you moving it around, activating its accelerometer or is it left stationary?
 

Aussi3

Suspended
Jun 3, 2012
389
665
Facesticks on the App store
Both, and a third where you simply have the pencil connected via bluetooth.

1. Pair your apple pencil with the ipad.
2. Scroll right to get to your "widget" screen (or whatever it's called; the furthest screen to the left)
3. Find the "edit" button at the very bottom
4. Add widget >> + batteries

Please turn off your bluetooth (or disconnect your pencil) when the apple pencil is not in use. When tethered to bluetooth constant movement will drain the apple pencil's battery.

Thank you very much lol been wondering that for awhile now!
 

rosyapple

macrumors regular
Mar 25, 2018
133
81
My brand new, less-than-2-weeks Apple Pencil (and iPad) needs to be charged *at least* once a day. Today, I have charged it twice. I write on it for 4 - 6 hours almost non-stop all the time though (at home).

I also carry both to school in my backpack (about 3 - 5 hrs lectures). Apple Pencil in Moko case, iPad in UAG case. There's no way I can keep my Apple Pencil away from my iPad, unfortunately.
 

Mskov

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2018
3
1
My pencil drains if I use a case with a pencil holder along the right side in a loop. I have another case where the pencil is stored on the pack of my iPad and it doesn’t drain at all.
 

Diane B

macrumors regular
Jun 20, 2010
140
40
Western NC foothills
That’s ineresting—I use my Pencil a lot and would like it at hand all the time—not 4-6 hrs as another poster but a lot— have been keeping mine in a separate case until using, then in hand or on table beside me. I have 2 cases with loops—both have them at top in landscape. Just thinking of getting case with slot on case at bottom (landscape)—until Fall when I get a new Ipad Pro 12.9 with more storage (if footprint is different, then new case)—mine is original 2015 with only 128 gigs. Assuming the slot would be more like yours on back of ipad—but then the loops at top seem more similar to that too‍♀️.
 

spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
My Apple Pencil drains a lot faster when I carry it around with me. It takes barely any movement at all for the Pencil to activate and connect to the iPad. Right now it’s in the holder attached to my iPad case, and the movement caused by my typing is turning it on. But I don’t worry about it too much. I have a stand-alone charger on my desk where I use it the most often, or if I’m out and about, I can always just stick it in the iPad lightning port. Just the nature of the beast unless they decide to put some kind of on/off switch on it.
 
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sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,405
13,290
where hip is spoken
My Apple Pencil drains a lot faster when I carry it around with me. It takes barely any movement at all for the Pencil to activate and connect to the iPad. Right now it’s in the holder attached to my iPad case, and the movement caused by my typing is turning it on. But I don’t worry about it too much. I have a stand-alone charger on my desk where I use it the most often, or if I’m out and about, I can always just stick it in the iPad lightning port. Just the nature of the beast unless they decide to put some kind of on/off switch on it.
I noticed that same behavior. I have a case for my 2018 iPad that has a molded slot in the silicone to store the Pencil. I liked it because it was a single all-encompassing case that made it easy to transport. But even just lounging on a couch tapping the screen to browse the web caused the Pencil to stay "awake". The thing drained like crazy.

I have gone back to using only a smart cover and the MoKo Pencil sling. Transports well, and easy to remove to allow the Pencil to sleep properly.
 

BB1970

macrumors 6502
May 19, 2009
449
1,209
i know, I know... not another “poor battery” life thread, except this one I think is legitimately a problem. I just got a new iPad Pro 10.5 (absolutely love) and of course the keyboard and the Apple Pencil. The thing is that the Pencil drains very quickly. It’s brand new. Yet, it seems to really plunge pretty quickly. Charges increasingly quickly too, but still.

About two hours ago it was charged to 100% and placed back in the case. Now it’s down to 86%. I have not used the Pencil once since it was charged. It’s simply sitting there next to the iPad. I realize the are constantly connected via Bluetooth, but still... the drain seems excessive.

Do I have a defective Pencil and should exchange it or is this normal?

It will drain if the pencil is moved even if not being used.
The drain is from the Bluetooth connection.
To stop battery drain, unpair the pencil when not using.
Settings. Bluetooth. Apple Pencil. Forget Device.
 
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spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
It will drain if the pencil is moved even if not being used.
The drain is from the Bluetooth connection.
To stop battery drain, unpair the pencil when not using.
Settings. Bluetooth. Apple Pencil. Forget Device.
That's a good tip--I may utilize that while traveling next week.
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
In this day and age I can’t imagine a Bluetooth connection that’s not actively streaming content, eg. Audio, will drain battery so quickly. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 

spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
In this day and age I can’t imagine a Bluetooth connection that’s not actively streaming content, eg. Audio, will drain battery so quickly. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Pencil is designed to be instantly on when it's moved so that the iPad immediately knows to expect input from it, and since that bluetooth connection is transmitting angle and pressure data, there is a constant stream of information while the two things are connected. It may not be audio or video data, but it is information streaming over bluetooth nonetheless, and it's to be expected that it will drain the battery.
 

Diane B

macrumors regular
Jun 20, 2010
140
40
Western NC foothills
Its a continuing problem—someone had suggested there needs to be a way to turn the Pencil OFF. I tried for awhile to do the turn off BT thing—but I use the Pencil a lot and not having it right there is a pain-and having to repair each time thwarts the immediate use of it. I decided to compromise—I bought a magnetic sleeve for the Pencil and can pull it off the Ipad at night or if there are long periods I know I won’t use it. I also bought a short cable so that I can charge the Pencil while ‘on’ the Ipad from the lightning port—which is very quick (and I don’t have to have the Pencil sticking out the side of the Ipad 12.9–very unwieldy) and I can continue to go on with what I was doing. I pull it off and put in case at night. Maybe not the best solution but it works for me for now.
 
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Adrian639

macrumors newbie
Sep 20, 2018
1
0
Like to just add something I found that works for me with this issue,not sure if it’s been covered before but I had the same problem as everyone else and I tried all sorts but what works for me is when you finished using the pencil go into settings/general/Bluetooth/switch off and then straight on again.thats it,so it disconnect from the pencil and battery life is saved.if you go on the page where the battery percentage is you will see the pencil battery has gone.then when you want to use again just plug the pencil back into iPad/iPad Pro again.done.i charge my pencil on Monday and it’s thursday today,plugged it in and it says 100 percent still.
 
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charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
I’m Might have to go bug apple for a replacement.

Geez what kind of ******s work at your local store that you feel like you have to ‘bug’ for anything. If i went to any of the 3 stores in my area and just told them what was going on they would swap it without any fuss. Especially if I had bought it within the return period.
 
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Batt4Christ

macrumors regular
Oct 14, 2014
112
30
Arkansas
My pencil drains if I use a case with a pencil holder along the right side in a loop. I have another case where the pencil is stored on the pack of my iPad and it doesn’t drain at all.
Strange. I keep my Apple Pencil in a small case attached to the smart cover - and it drains pretty much from full to nearly dead in a day's time. iPad sits still on my desk most of the day (with pencil unused), Stays in my briefcase a lot of the time when not at work. On night stand plugged in at night. The only "movement" of significance is when I'n walking down the hallway from office to another office or meeting room.

When new - battery would last (under exact same conditions) for about 2 days- maybe three before the low battery notice would just pop up. Now it shows up pretty much each evening.

Apparently Apple now has a battery program for the Pencil - $29...
 

spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
Geez what kind of ******s work at your local store that you feel like you have to ‘bug’ for anything. If i went to any of the 3 stores in my area and just told them what was going on they would swap it without any fuss. Especially if I had bought it within the return period.
I wouldn't bother replacing the Pencil. The Apple Store replaced mine no questions asked and gave me a brand new unopened one in exchange. Replacement unit has the same issue. It's not a hardware thing, it's a software thing. As far as I'm aware, Apple has not acknowledged it as an issue yet, and may never.
 
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