Whether it’s Touch ID or Siri, we’re used to seeing hot iPhone features make their way across to the iPad. However, a new report suggests that we may soon see the opposite phenomenon: the arrival of an iPad-style Apple Pencil arrive on the iPhone.
According to “an industry source,” Apple is preparing to launch an iPhone as early as 2019 that will include a stylus. Apple is said to be in talks with several stylus makers, suggesting that this wouldn’t simply be adding iPhone support for the existing Apple Pencil, but instead the creation of something new.
If Apple does go this route with the iPhone, it would follow in the footsteps of Samsung, whose Note series of devices have shipped with S Pen styluses since late 2011. However, where Samsung opts for a stylus based on electro-magnetic resonance technology requiring extra panels under the display, Apple will supposedly adopt a “supercapacitor stylus type for price benefits.”
The report also notes that Apple’s A-series chips will undergo a “drastic upgrade” so as to be able to better support handwriting as delivered by the planned stylus.
Coming soon?
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard hints about an iPhone possibly coming with stylus support. Back in August, two patent applications refer to the possibility of stylus technology that would work on a “smartphone or tablet.”
Given the popularity of Samsung’s Note series of devices (with the exception of last year’s disastrous Note 7), the increasing demand for large smartphones, and the all-round excellence of the Apple Pencil (my personal pick for Apple’s best accessory in years), it’s understandable why Apple would be interested in adding stylus support to the iPhone.
Would you be interested in this as a feature? Would the smaller screen size of the iPhone make stylus integration necessary? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: The Investor
