New Apple Pencil could support gesture recognition

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We could see a new Apple Pencil this week.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple Pencil is the best iPad stylus money can buy — and it could be about to get even better.

iOS code reveals an updated model, which is likely to make its debut during tomorrow’s “More in the Making” event, will support gestures that make it even more powerful. It could also pack a physical button that provides access to useful functions.

Apple Pencil might be pricey at $99, but it’s well worth the money if you do any kind of drawing on your iPad. You simply won’t find a better stylus. But that doesn’t mean Apple can’t find room for improvement for new functionality.

New code discovered in iOS indicates we’ll see those improvements very soon.

New Apple Pencil will be even better than the last

Two developers, Guilherme Rambo and Steve Troughton-Smith, have found evidence that suggests an “Apple Pencil 2” — with model number B332 — is right around the corner. Its biggest selling point could be gesture support and a new shortcut button.

Gesture support could allow users to “change stroke properties by sliding along the side of the Pencil” when using a drawing app, Rambo explains. A string in iOS for “UIPencilAdjustmentInteraction” and “didSlide” all but confirms this.

Troughton-Smith, who notes the gestures will become the “new favorite delegate methods” for drawing apps, believes the new Apple Pencil could have some form of “button,” too.

This could offer all kinds of functionality, like producing “radial contextual menus” that make tools and other things easier to access, or to quickly switch between two common tools.

Apple Pencil 2 could be revealed on October 30

The existing Apple Pencil does have a pressure-sensitive tip and angle detection that allows users to adjust stroke size and other things in supported apps. However, it doesn’t support any gestures like those mentioned above.

We hope to hear confirmation of Apple’s plans for a new Apple Pencil tomorrow, October 30. The company is hosting an event in New York City which is also expected to bring a refreshed iPad Pro lineup, a new affordable MacBook, and an updated Mac mini.

Cult of Mac will be covering the event right here as it unfolds, so be sure to keep an eye on the site so that you don’t miss a thing.

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