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ivanwi11iams

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 30, 2014
4,507
3,066
Georgia, USA
I was gifted an Apple Pencil, to use with my iPad Air 5th gen. I also have a smart keyboard, that I use with the iPad.
My main use of the iPad, is to take notes during meetings and the likes.

It it 'worth it' to use the pencil? From my initial testing, it seemed more of a headache. But, I might simply need to use it more. Hence, this question...
 
It’s personal. I have never been able to comfortably takes notes using Pencil. Just writing is messy, maybe a good app would help though. If you are more visually minded and you are able to make drawings, the Pencil is a no-brainer. Pen and paper for writing sentences is quicker to me, keyboard input in some cases is also better to me.
 
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Using the Apple Pencil for note-taking can be a personal preference. It might feel a bit challenging at first, but with more practice, you might find it to be a valuable tool.

If you're more visually inclined and enjoy making drawings or diagrams, the Apple Pencil could be a game-changer for you. However, if you find that writing sentences is quicker with pen and paper or prefer keyboard input, those methods can work just as well.

To make the most of the Apple Pencil, you could explore different note-taking apps available in the App Store. Some apps offer a smoother writing experience and additional features that might enhance your note-taking process. Check out this helpful list of recommended note-taking apps.
Give it some time and experiment with different techniques and apps.
 
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I’ve moved my data from Apple Notes to OneNote (more features available).

I need to test using the Apple Pencil with OneNote…
 
I know a couple of people who do all their notes on OneNote using a pencil. They learn it properly of course but the results are amazing. Way faster than I will ever be typing. Also, they say, never to use a screen protector if you are going to write/draw on an iPad.
 
Why would anyone suggest not using a screen protector if you use the pencil? I can’t imagine not using a screen protector. I use matte tempered glass protectors on my iPads and love them.
 
I’ve never liked the Apple Pencil for note taking. I think it’s the feel on the iPads glass screen. I only use mine for colouring. If I want to take notes I use my kindle scribe.
 
Personally I always hated writing by hand and found the switch to typing a vast improvement. I would not want to go back to writing, just on a screen. But a stylus pencil can be fun for drawing and coloring and doodling and the like.
 
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