Observation: A Pencil with USB-C would likely be too big for the 11" iPad.

[m.x]

Well, everything points to a new iPad Pro with USB-C, but I can't think of an elegant design for a Pencil with USB-C. I thought a little bit about a possible solution and I now think that the new Pencil won't have a port at all. It will only be charged wirelessly, or have another solution, but it won't have USB-C.

The current  Pencil measures 8.9mm in diameter. Its lightning port has a width of ±6.1mm. That means the cap of the Pencil has 1.4mm space on each side of the connector.
A USB-C port has a width of 8.4mm. If we add the dimensions of the cap of the current pencil (I think it is highly unlikely that Apple doesn't cover the port), the diameter would be 8.4mm+2*1.4mm=11.2mm.
I also think that Apple will keep the design of the current Pencil and won't make it thicker on one end (this would also eliminate wireless charging).

To show you the dimensions I drew a sketch of the current and new diameter and included the (leaked) dimensions of the new iPad Pros compared to the current iPad Pros with the current Pencil. Please excuse the mess of a sketch, but I drew it rather quickly. It'll be better when I buy my iPad Pro next week ;-)

Let's say the new Pencil can be attached to the side of the new iPads and it has a USB-C port.
When the new 11" iPad is lying 'naked' on a flat surface with the Pencil magnetically attached to a side, there would be a 2.7mm gap between the iPad and the surface. If you now rest your palms on the iPad or you are typing, there is a pretty high chance that the Pencil will detach, since there is a quite powerful lever affecting the magnetic connection. Apple could solve this by using strong magnets, but observing the currently used magnets in their products, I think it is highly unlikely that they will require you to use much force to detach the Pencil from the iPad. The  Watch and the cap of the current Pencil are using pretty weak magnets, and I think the magnet of their SmartCovers and Smart Keyboards would also be too weak. It would also look quite ridiculous if the Pencil is nearly twice the height of the iPad.

So I think the Pencil won't have USB-C and will only be charged attached to the iPad or via Qi-charging. Or there will be a different method to charge it (likely Lightning) since USB-C would make the Pencil too thick. What do you think? If I'm wrong, I'm really curious how Apple will solve this.

TLDR: I think a USB-C Pencil would be too thick, and I drew a sketch to show it.

[Please excuse my English. I'm a non-native speaking engineering student and still have problems to phrase certain technical problems in English]

 

[alex00100]

That’s a good observation and you’re probably right

 

[va1984]

My guess:
1) Apple will not allow the Pencil to attach to the side of the iPad Pros as a permanent solution precisely because -- as you point out -- the iPads are way too thin already. So the Pencil will remain something that you have to carry separately or via a case.

2) The current Pencil has a male Lightning connector, but I think that v2 will switch to a female connector. The reason is that, anyway, as you point out, the Pencil would no longer be ready to plug into a USB-C iPad. So it will have to just become something like an iPhone that you just plug a cable into.

...of course, that would be very impractical if the battery life of the 2nd gen Pencil is as bad as the original. So maybe there is a massive battery life improvement in the works. Or maybe wireless charging, via the smart connector, only while standing up. It's going to be interesting...