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I have the pencil, I purchased it mostly for my kids, and just because. I don't draw, so usefulness of it for me, is quite limited. I'll probably look to use it more for note taking but for now, I'm not using it much.
 
I have the pencil and its main purpose is for writing and drawing so if u are not a writing or a drawing person then it will be a total waste. So think abt it.
 
By all means get it - if you spend that much on a Pro, you should. Even if you don't have an immediate need, its great to explore the possiblities.
I'm more or less with you on that. When I got the 9.7" Pro, I just kind of felt like the Apple Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil were two of the big things that made it "Pro" and I just had to have both. I have never regretted the purchase. I did kind of hate having to re-buy the 10.5" keyboard, but it was pretty nice that there was no Pencil upgrade necessary to get the benefits on the new Pro models. (And I got good money for my 9.7" Pro and keyboard on Swappa.)

Again, I really didn't think I'd use the Pencil much and that it would be one of those things that's just "nice to have". I was wrong, as it's out on my desk daily, and I keep finding more and more ways in which it's useful.
 
The Pencil is a bad stylus. In fact, it may be the WORST stylus because it's the ONLY stylus that can't swipe from the edge of the screen, making it unable to bring out Notification Center or Control Center, nor open slide over (iOS 10), nor go backward in Safari.

This is because the Pencil was never designed to be a stylus for navigation. It was designed to be the best drawing and writing tool for the iPad, which it is, hands down. But as we know, the OP wants a stylus to extend his reach for navigation, not to draw or write. So why pay $100 for an accessory that is great at what he doesn't want to do, and poor at what he does want to do, when a $10 stylus would be MORE capable for his uses, PLUS save him $90 on his gift card which could go toward something useful?

I think the Pencil works well as a stylus in cases where using my fingers fail because of the lack of pointing granularity - using the pencil in these cases - like moving one object that is close to another in PowerPoint - works quite well in the place of a mouse.
 
I use the Apple Pencil for taking notes in office and the feeling on using it on 10.5" is much better compared to 9.7...it feels as if I am writing on paper.

Using pencil as a stylus does not make that much sense to me, infact to me its inconvenient. Navigating around with finger is faster and one does not need to have pencil around all the time.

I am excited about iOS 11 which will help me search my handwritten notes.
 
Considering BB is selling the iPad for $350, $100 for a pencil is a bit ridiculous now!
 
Considering BB is selling the iPad for $350, $100 for a pencil is a bit ridiculous now!
I'm sure you're probably referring to the discontinued 9.7" Pro--if that's a blowout price to clear shelves, it's not necessarily relevant to the price of the Apple Pencil. If you're referring to the 9.7" non-Pro, that one is not $350, it's actually $329 and is does not work with the Apple Pencil. Also, there are plenty of chances throughout the year, especially at the holidays, to pick up a Pencil for $80 or sometimes even less. And there is nobody holding a gun to anybody's head. If someone thinks they will find a $100 Apple Pencil useful, then it's worth $100 to that person. If not, then they don't buy it. Simple.
 
Outside of occasionally marking up a PDF, i really don’t have a need for the Apple Pencil, but i love it. Sometimes i just use it to navigate the UI. It’s fun to use.
 
I think the Pencil works well as a stylus in cases where using my fingers fail because of the lack of pointing granularity - using the pencil in these cases - like moving one object that is close to another in PowerPoint - works quite well in the place of a mouse.

There are other (often cheaper) fine tip styluses that can achieve granularity without sacrificing swipe from the screen edge functionality.

Again, the Pencil's advantage over other styluses is in drawing and writing only.
 
I would purchase for fun or if you are an artist its great. But it isn't necessary. I purchased and use a very little bit. Its a fun novelty.
 
I'm debating... leaning heavily in favor of getting it. Not the keyboard though.

Just my preference, but if I'm going to add the Apple smart keyboard, I likely would add the Apple Pencil as well. And if somebody has the larger 12.9 iPad Pro, I feel the Apple Pencil is a good tool to use also for reachability.
 
I use mine to take notes in meetings at the university. Before my iPad Pro, I took notes using a standard notepad. I absolutely love taking notes with my iPad.
 
I own a MacBook Air which I always use for taking notes and writing at university. I recently bought the new iPad which has pencil support. I don’t really draw so I’m not sure if I should get it or not... would like some opionions!

The promos for Apple Pencil on apples website looks very cool and useful but I’m not sure if I would really use it or if it would be like a gimmick for me.
 
I own a MacBook Air which I always use for taking notes and writing at university. I recently bought the new iPad which has pencil support. I don’t really draw so I’m not sure if I should get it or not... would like some opionions!

The promos for Apple Pencil on apples website looks very cool and useful but I’m not sure if I would really use it or if it would be like a gimmick for me.
I just love having all my OneNote and Notability notebooks on a device that is as thin and light as an actual paper notebook.
 
Can one try out the pencil in the store? I’ve never really seen one lying around next to the ipads...
 
Can one try out the pencil in the store? I’ve never really seen one lying around next to the ipads...

All the Apple stores near me have at least several pencils available to try out. I've used them several times in the stores. They're usually right next to the iPad Pros.
 
Checkout the apps made by MyScript. A couple work without the pencil and then there is Nebu that requires the pencil. It is really sweet. You can draw diagrams and when you double tap with finger the items they convert from rough shapes to smooth objects that can be moved around with the finger. You can also write text and after double-tab with finger will convert to printed text. They also have an app for drawing complex mathematical formula that then smooth into printed text that can be copied and pasted into other apps. Their apps really show the power of using the pencil beyond the drawing and painting apps.
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Just my preference, but if I'm going to add the Apple smart keyboard, I likely would add the Apple Pencil as well.
Save money and get a third-party bluetooth keyboard. There are many that sell for less than 40 dollars on Amazon.
 
Save money and get a third-party bluetooth keyboard. There are many that sell for less than 40 dollars on Amazon.

Why do I need to “save money” if I prefer the Apple keyboard ? I would rather take advantage of the smart connector with the iPad, which is fairly seamless. Not to mention, I think the smart keyboard is well-crafted and is a very nice accessory to the iPad as it is. I don’t care for some of the Bluetooth options that are available, although Logitech makes a decent one.
 
Why do I need to “save money” if I prefer the Apple keyboard ? I would rather take advantage of the smart connector with the iPad, which is fairly seamless. Not to mention, I think the smart keyboard is well-crafted and is a very nice accessory to the iPad as it is. I don’t care for some of the Bluetooth options that are available, although Logitech makes a decent one.
I've never had a third party Bluetooth keyboard I liked, and I've tried several with various iPads. I know they've gotten better now, but I WAY prefer the Apple Smart Keyboard over anything else. My thing lately has been I don't know how much I even need a keyboard at all anymore with my iPad Pro. I'm getting better at typing on the screen and I often don't need to do long form typing. But I do love having the ASK as an option when I need it.
 
Can I just add my experience here (iPad Pro, 10.5")

I too, debated whether the Pencil was a useful addition, or - frankly - an overpriced gimmick. But for me, I have found a use-case that has opened my eyes to what the combination can do, and I with an (almost) epiphany-like "where have you been all my life" and am loving the setup.

I work as a Security Consultant for a large corporate IT department. This often entails project-based workshops to flesh-out requirements on a whiteboard, where customer-departments sketch out their needs, and then I somehow have to make that work within the guidelines of IT security.

This - usually - used to involve collaborating over a whiteboard, drawing something up, then taking that drawing away and transcribing it by hand in to Visio, then going back to the customer with an "will this work for you?" answer (often: "no, because XXXX"), so, rinse and repeat.

My solution - absurdly simple. Draw up requirement on Whiteboard. Photograph Whiteboard with iPad Pro camera. Go away, review and come up with speculative design, having loaded photograph into "Paper" app (other apps may well be available) and annotated photograph with Apple Pencil, including any notes, questions, "blocking" issues. Send annotated picture via email to customer. Get feedback, review and repeat. Quick, easy, simple.

Once changes are agreed, I then draw up a "formal" Visio diagram.

Using the iPad is frankly saving me about two hours per project-request. And that's brilliant.

(just my use case, and I'm sure someone will pop up and say "ah, but, why didn't you do .. XXXX" but this workflow works for me, it is portable and most of all it is fast. And customers like fast).
[doublepost=1558381607][/doublepost]Thanks very much for the only response it was the least bit helpful. Just like moving into a cell phone from a 6 tongue, at first I couldn't see the practicality. Not using this at all I can't imagine is it something I actually will use. You gave me some idea of a practical application. Thank you
 
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