Turning "off" the Apple Pencil?

[WilliamG]

Ver. 1 goes to sleep after just a couple of minutes but wakes on movement - it has a motion sensor embedded in it. That's why it drains if attached to the iPad case and carried around. Mine drains very slowly if just left sitting there.

Hmm... So maybe nothing has changed after all. I just don't recall the ver. 1 Pencil disconnecting and going into low-power sleep mode as fast as the v.2.
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The problem with gen 1 was that people who carried it around in their bag etc often found it drained of battery because it was constantly in motion. Gen 2 is pretty much the same situation except now you have the theoretical option of keeping the pencil attached to the ipad (charging) while carrying it around. The problem with that is the pencil reportedly does not stay attached to the ipad when carried around in a bag (I don’t have 2nd gen). The workaround for both gens is to toggle on/off airplane mode on the ipad to disconnect the pencil, then pair the pencil again each time. Some sort of off/on switch on the pencil would be much more preferable.

Yes, that was indeed the original issue - and nothing has changed there. Also, the Pencil attached to the new iPad Pro massively drains the battery on the iPad itself when left there.

 

[sparksd]

Hmm... So maybe nothing has changed after all. I just don't recall the ver. 1 Pencil disconnecting and going into low-power sleep mode as fast as the v.2.
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I just tested with my 10.5 iPP. I set the pencil down and left it and it stopped showing battery status on the iPad after about 12 minutes.

 

[PhillyGuy72]

My solution on the Apple Pencil 1 - mentioned above - If I'm not using it, I toggle off Bluetooth settings, turn it back on. For me this disconnects Pencil. It will reactivate once I plug it back into the lightning port. So after a few weeks of not using the Pencil at all, I plugged it in a few nights ago and it showed 97%. Far better than before when it would slowly drain down to when I got a "5% Batt. Life left"alert on my 2015 iPad Pro after 6, 7 days.

 

[dysamoria]

Ver. 1 goes to sleep after just a couple of minutes but wakes on movement - it has a motion sensor embedded in it. That's why it drains if attached to the iPad case and carried around. Mine drains very slowly if just left sitting there.

As I barely use it, it just sits on a shelf across the room. No motion.
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My solution on the Apple Pencil 1 - mentioned above - If I'm not using it, I toggle off Bluetooth settings, turn it back on. For me this disconnects Pencil. It will reactivate once I plug it back into the lightning port. So after a few weeks of not using the Pencil at all, I plugged it in a few nights ago and it showed 97%. Far better than before when it would slowly drain down to when I got a "5% Batt. Life left"alert on my 2015 iPad Pro after 6, 7 days.

Mine drains much more, much faster. Maybe the battery is poorer in general. As said, I don’t use it much. Maybe the chemistry is slowing from disuse. That’s the thing with rechargeable batteries being sealed away: they WILL degrade and your product will be junk (well, the Pencil sure will be; does Apple have a trade-in program to get a discount on a replacement?). Use them a lot, or barely use them, they’ll die and you can’t replace them; there’s no winning.

 

[henryseiden]

Actually, in this case that is not correct.

You’ew referring to 2ᴺᴰ gen Pencil in your link. I still have the older one w/o magnet for my iPad Pro 10.5”. Worse life, no magnet. Frankly I don’t it enough to afford an upgrade and my iPad wouldn’t be compatible anyway. Catch-22, so until I upgrade both (if ever), stuck in a rut.

 

[AutomaticApple]

You’ew referring to 2ᴺᴰ gen Pencil in your link.

They might've realized their error by now.

 

[rui no onna]

You’ew referring to 2ᴺᴰ gen Pencil in your link. I still have the older one w/o magnet for my iPad Pro 10.5”. Worse life, no magnet. Frankly I don’t it enough to afford an upgrade and my iPad wouldn’t be compatible anyway. Catch-22, so until I upgrade both (if ever), stuck in a rut.

They might've realized their error by now.

There's no error back then as the 2nd gen Pencil didn't exist in 2015. Apple just updated the article's contents.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Can’t be bothered to read back a thread that dates to 2015(!!) but if you remove rechargeable batteries (standard aa ones) from their charger and leave them in a drawer - they definitely will be dead after an unknown amount of time. It’s the nature of a rechargeable battery!

 

[seggy]

Can’t be bothered to read back a thread that dates to 2015(!!) but if you remove rechargeable batteries (standard aa ones) from their charger and leave them in a drawer - they definitely will be dead after an unknown amount of time. It’s the nature of a rechargeable battery!

The problem being referred to in this thread is that the Pencil discharges quickly since it maintains an active bluetooth connection when it senses any movement.

So e.g. if you have it in a backpack with the iPad, it'll discharge by anything up to 40% after a day - that's without any use at all. So 2-3 days of just carrying the pencil around is enough to fully discharge it.

It's a dumb design, obviously due to the "we'll release something to counter Surface" - but now they've actually fully "innovated" on how Surface has does it with the 2nd gen, it works as it should.

 

[subjonas]

The problem being referred to in this thread is that the Pencil discharges quickly since it maintains an active bluetooth connection when it senses any movement.

So e.g. if you have it in a backpack with the iPad, it'll discharge by anything up to 40% after a day - that's without any use at all. So 2-3 days of just carrying the pencil around is enough to fully discharge it.

It's a dumb design, obviously due to the "we'll release something to counter Surface" - but now they've actually fully "innovated" on how Surface has does it with the 2nd gen, it works as it should.

I was with you until the last part. There might have been a typo but I think you’re saying the 2nd gen pencil solved the issue. I don’t have the 2nd gen but as I understand, it easily falls off the iPad on its own when carried around in a bag. But even if it is rigged to stay attached, I’m not sure it’s best for battery longevity to keep it charging at all times. Also I would want to detach the pencil when using the iPad without it, so that adds another point of movement. I still see some sort of an “on/off” switch as the best solution.

 

[seggy]

There might have been a typo but I think you’re saying the 2nd gen pencil solved the issue. I don’t have the 2nd gen but as I understand, it easily falls off the iPad on its own when carried around in a bag. But even if it is rigged to stay attached, I’m not sure it’s best for battery longevity to keep it charging at all times.

It's solved that problem. The pen turns off when charging - and only an idiot would assume that a mere magnet would keep it latched on there like a limpet, so you would, just like most Surfaces for example, store it in an orientation that doesn't knock the pen off. And it stops charging when it's fully charged.

I'd say that is a LOT better than a pen that self-discharges basically a full cycle every time you carry it around, no?

Siloed like Lenovo or Samsung would be theoretically the best solution, but they make compromises to do that (i.e. make the pen smaller and more difficult to use for intensive pen action).

I still see some sort of an “on/off” switch as the best solution.

Not really - that would mean it's a giant hassle to turn it on each time you use it. A longer lasting battery would be the best way - e.g. lightly used Surfaces can literally go an entire year on one AAAA.

 

[rui no onna]

Not really - that would mean it's a giant hassle to turn it on each time you use it.

Better than having to wait 5 minutes for the Pencil to charge before you can use it (particularly with how awkward it was to charge the AP1 if you lost the tiny adapter).

 

[subjonas]

And it stops charging when it's fully charged.

I'd say that is a LOT better than a pen that self-discharges basically a full cycle every time you carry it around, no?

Siloed like Lenovo or Samsung would be theoretically the best solution, but they make compromises to do that (i.e. make the pen smaller and more difficult to use for intensive pen action).

But it continuously loses charge then charges again. I should have said, “not sure it’s best for battery longevity to keep it at 100% all the time”.
It is a lot better, IF it isn’t bad for the battery longevity. But also I don’t want to detach the pencil, find a place to put it, and remember to reattach it every time I use the iPad by itself. Silo would work but like you said, that comes with compromises, which I don’t think I’d want. The 2nd gen is still a better situation than 1st gen, but again in light of those considerations I still think an on/off switch is better (probably in the form of twisting the end cap). And people wouldn’t have to turn it off if they don’t want to. The sleep function could still work the same.

Not really - that would mean it's a giant hassle to turn it on each time you use it. A longer lasting battery would be the best way - e.g. lightly used Surfaces can literally go an entire year on one AAAA.

I wouldn’t say turning it on and off is a hassle, definitely not a giant hassle. But I would take a AAAA battery too. That would also do away with any worry about battery longevity (and worry about Apple ever discontinuing battery replacement service). But that seems very un-Apple-like to do. I believe even Microsoft stopped doing that with the newer pens. Sad, I wish companies would stick to standard replaceable batteries in their devices more.

But truly truly ideal would be battery-less Wacom technology. No power needed, no pairing, use one pen on any screen. If only...