Apple has reportedly signed on with a Taiwanese stylus supplier, adding credence to speculation that new OLED iPhones will support Apple Pencil.
The Economic Daily News out of China said Apple is contracting with Elan for “touch-and-pen related” chips for two next-gen handsets in the iPhone X line.
“Apple’s two large-screen OLED iPhones are expected to support the Apple Pencil stylus this year, so as to increase consumer fun and convenience and (spark) new machine sales,” the EDN story said, citing supply industry sources. “Apple’s move will help detonate the mobile phone with a stylus trend.”
The report falls short of answering one question: is Apple rolling out a version of the Apple Pencil dedicated to iPhone?
Elan, accorded to EDN, also provides chips to make devices stylus-compatible.
A stylus with a smartphone is nothing new. Just look at Samsung and its line of Galaxy Note handsets that come with S Pen that stows inside the phone.
News of Apple going in this direction crosses a line famously drawn by the late Steve Jobs, who had great disdain for styluses, that if you need one with a touchscreen, “you’ve failed.”
Nonetheless, Apple developed the Apple Pencil to work with the iPad Pro. Creatives have marveled at the Pencil’s touch sensitivity and a slew of apps taking advantage of the Apple Pencil have hit the App Store.
Making the Apple Pencil useable with a device that accounts for the lion share of profits seems a good business decision, even if the idea would upset the old boss.
Source: Economic Daily News and Forbes
