The Apple Pencil is a stylus designed to work with iPads, but different generations of the product work with different iPad models, making it important for users to check their device compatibility before purchasing one. The first-generation Apple Pencil was introduced in 2015 alongside the iPad Pro. It was designed for drawing, sketching, and taking notes, and also required the iPad Pro's touchscreen display to be redesigned for reduced latency and more accurate input.
The Apple Pencil 2 was launched in 2018 and brought several improvements over its predecessor. For starters, it got rid of the Lightning charging port and attaches magnetically to the side of a compatible iPad, allowing for easy storage and wireless charging. The newer Apple Pencil also supports a double-tap feature, which can be set up to switch between drawing and erasing, switching to the last-used tool, or bringing up the color palette. A small but useful design change is a flat edge, which prevents the Apple Pencil from rolling away when placed on a flat surface.
Both Apple Pencils are designed to work with various iPad lineups, including the regular, mini, Air, and Pro models. As expected, the first-generation Apple Pencil is compatible with older iPad models. Among the standard iPads, the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth-generation models are supported. It also works with the iPad Pro 9.7-inch, iPad Pro 10.5-inch, and iPad Pro 12.9-inch (both first and second-generation models). The third-generation iPad Air and fifth-generation iPad mini are supported as well. iPad models that don't work with the Apple Pencil include the iPad mini fourth-generation and earlier, iPad fifth-generation and earlier, and first and second-generation iPad Air.
Apple Pencil 2 Works With USB-C iPads
The Apple Pencil 2 works with any iPad that has a USB-C port and a flat edge for magnetic charging. It doesn't support any of the standard iPads, but it does work with the iPad mini 6. It is also compatible with the fifth and sixth-generation iPad Air. As for the supported iPad Pro models, the Apple Pencil 2 works with the first, second, and third-generation iPad Pro 11-inch. The third, fourth and fifth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro also work with the newer Apple Pencil.
Unlike most Apple products that work across the brand's ecosystem of devices, the Apple Pencil has been specifically designed to work with iPads. This means that iPhone users can't use the stylus, which is a surprising omission given the popularity of Samsung's S Pen. Apple's Mac computers don't come with touchscreen support either, so using an Apple Pencil with its laptops is out of the question, unless an iPad is being used as a secondary display.
Source: Apple