Is yours an iPad Pro? How do you add a grip and a clip? I'm trying to find a casing with a pencil holder for iPad 2018, but because it's so new, I have not found anything suitable. I'm hoping that I can fashion something from current cases so I'm looking for some ideas.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro Non-Artists: Any other real world uses of the apple pencil? [MERGED]
- Thread starter farqueue
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Is yours an iPad Pro? How do you add a grip and a clip? I'm trying to find a casing with a pencil holder for iPad 2018, but because it's so new, I have not found anything suitable. I'm hoping that I can fashion something from current cases so I'm looking for some ideas.
Grip was just from a G2 pen that I destroyed.
Clip was from a Secura Pigma Micron pen.
I have scars of G2’s around. The special pen was $4.50 on Amazon, so $4.50 was my total cost for both.
Do you find you take notes as effectively as you would if you just used pen and paper?
I miss the friction of pen/paper for sure, but the practicality of digital notes: ability to manipulate notes, add images, incorporate various colors and sizes, catalogue, search, share across devices or with friends/colleagues, etc. really makes it worth it for me. YMMV.
Also, I was worried about palm rejection and mis-strokes, but that has been virtually non-existant.
Last edited:
I can sort of draw/sketch, but it's seldom that I get motivated to do that either with regular pencil and paper or my Apple Pencil. Maybe once a year or so I go on a tear and create some art. Where I find most use with Apple Pencil is note taking. For work we use OneNote, so I keep all my meeting and project notes in OneNote notebooks. For personal stuff, I use Notability or stock Notes.
I remember things better when I write them down as opposed to typing them, so I like taking handwritten notes. It's also far easier to customize my notes with colors and other types of content if I use my iPad instead of pen and paper. But the BIGGEST benefit to all of it is simply that all my notebooks are on my iPad rather than random legal pads or whatever laying around my office.
For me, it just adds to the value of the iPad as my one stop shop for 99% of the stuff I do throughout the day.
I remember things better when I write them down as opposed to typing them, so I like taking handwritten notes. It's also far easier to customize my notes with colors and other types of content if I use my iPad instead of pen and paper. But the BIGGEST benefit to all of it is simply that all my notebooks are on my iPad rather than random legal pads or whatever laying around my office.
For me, it just adds to the value of the iPad as my one stop shop for 99% of the stuff I do throughout the day.
I use mine every day at work, can't be without it. I bought it together with the IPP 9.7 at launch day and ditched my Moleskine notebooks at the same time. I did find it a bit ”unusual” to write on glass the first few days, but since then I don't think about it anymore. Best app's for note taking is either GoodNotes or Notability. Both render the ”ink” instantly without any lag. Digital note taking is a bliss! All my notes are acessible on my PC, I can search, add tags and insert PDF's and images. The notes are automatically synced to the cloud and encryptet and secured. All is good 
Yep--that's one big thing I forgot--if my iPad is not near me or on the charger or something, I can still access my handwritten notes from my iPhone or Mac.I use mine every day at work, can't be without it. I bought it together with the IPP 9.7 at launch day and ditched my Moleskine notebooks at the same time. I did find it a bit ”unusual” to write on glass the first few days, but since then I don't think about it anymore. Best app's for note taking is either GoodNotes or Notability. Both render the ”ink” instantly without any lag. Digital note taking is a bliss! All my notes are acessible on my PC, I can search, add tags and insert PDF's and images. The notes are automatically synced to the cloud and encryptet and secured. All is good
I think the problem of having to write larger than normal is mostly due to the lack of friction between the pencil and the screen. (To a lesser degree it might also be due to the not so sharp tip of the pencil.) The same issue exists for drawing. Because there’s less friction, there’s less control, and therefore an inability to get small detail, and therefore a need to zoom in and out, which puts a big damper on workflow. There are some screen films that are supposed to improve friction, but I believe the better they do so the more they compromise screen clarity, and I have yet to find a screen film that provides friction as good as real pencil and paper. I’m really hoping Apple provides a solution in a future iteration of the iPad and pencil that gets it close to pencil/paper feel while retaining screen clarity.
I haven't noticed having to write larger than normal, but maybe it's because I have big handwriting all the time.
I use mine every day at work, can't be without it. I bought it together with the IPP 9.7 at launch day and ditched my Moleskine notebooks at the same time. I did find it a bit ”unusual” to write on glass the first few days, but since then I don't think about it anymore. Best app's for note taking is either GoodNotes or Notability. Both render the ”ink” instantly without any lag. Digital note taking is a bliss! All my notes are acessible on my PC, I can search, add tags and insert PDF's and images. The notes are automatically synced to the cloud and encryptet and secured. All is good
If by PC you mean Windows machine, how do achieve this?
I thought GoodNotes and Notability were both iOS & Mac only
This. Exactly this. I use it now for credit card signatures when clients pay. Sad use of a nice device.
I think it depends a lot on use.
I have one, and do not use it so often, but when I do, it is really very helpful. My uses
- annotate documents (usually pdfs);
- make short scientific notes, with diagrams and math formulas (typing would be much slower).
I am sure there are many other specific uses.
So, the pencil is not just about art, but not everyone will have a use for it.
I have one, and do not use it so often, but when I do, it is really very helpful. My uses
- annotate documents (usually pdfs);
- make short scientific notes, with diagrams and math formulas (typing would be much slower).
I am sure there are many other specific uses.
So, the pencil is not just about art, but not everyone will have a use for it.
I use mine a good bit. I love that I can get a document emailed to me, sign it, and send it back right from my iPad.
I also write on my pad a good bit; mainly lists and stuff, but I can write almost exactly as if I were writing on paper. The pen works wonderfully!
I also write on my pad a good bit; mainly lists and stuff, but I can write almost exactly as if I were writing on paper. The pen works wonderfully!
One of the things I love most about using the pencil on the iPad is the lack of friction. It’s significantly more comfortable as opposed to feeling the roughness of paper against pen (or especially pencil). That feeling of friction could be irritating.
I doodle word art every once in awhile on my Pro 10.5 but mostly I use the pencil for everyday navigation of the interface and a little bit of note taking... I switch between finger and pencil input for navigation about 50/50% of the time... for reading ebooks I use finger but for web browsing I sometimes use pencil etc...
To each their own for sure. Personally, I love the feeling of lead on paper and even the sound it makes. But most of all I love it because of the control that (consistent) friction provides and the level of detail I’m able to achieve because of it.
I like using the pencil for navigation too. It’s less arm movement, and it keeps fingerprint oils off the screen, which interfere with my drawing. Unfortunately, the pencil doesn’t work for screen edge gestures.
Yeah it's unfortunate that it doesn't work with the edge gestures but not a deal breaker... and I agree, keeping the screen nice and shiny and fingerprint-clean is a big plus for me!
I don't have one yet but was considering getting it for something like Notability so I can use my iPad as a whiteboard at work. I figured it could be useful for software development and various other engineering disciplines.
Yeah if it were lighter the long length wouldn’t matter as much, but at that weight I would prefer the AP were fatter and shorter (like an expensive heavy pen).
What kind of pens are the 2 others, and particularly the left one?
Yes, much better size. AP looks big
The writing/drawing feel, how are they in comparison?
The one one the left is a Cross click gel pen
The one on the right is a Kosmos pen.
I use these as they both write extremely smooth and flow well.
The Cross is thinner and easier to do basic note taking and general writing.
The Kosmos in shape and feel is better for diagramming and ad hoc brainstorming sessions.
Last edited: