Apple has announced a cheaper Apple Pencil that comes with USB-C. The iPad accessory will cost $79 and comes with a sliding cap that reveals the USB-C port. It also attaches magnetically to the side edge of an iPad — even the 10th-generation model Apple released last year.

The cheaper price means that the Pencil doesn’t come with some of the more advanced features as the first- and second-generation accessories. The device doesn’t support pressure sensitivity, wireless pairing and charging, or the double-tap feature that lets you switch between tools. However, it still supports hover with M2 models of the iPad Pro.

The first Apple Pencil model used a Lightning connector that jutted out of it to plug into your iPad’s port for charging, while the second-gen model charged wirelessly and isn’t compatible with the 10th-generation iPad Apple released last year, leaving owners of that iPad with not-great options if they wanted to use Apple’s fancy stylus. It has been a confusing time for iPad accessories.

The USB-C Apple Pencil is compatible with a range of iPads, including the third- to sixth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the first- to fourth-generation 11-inch iPad Pro, the fourth- and fifth-generation iPad Air, the 10th-gen iPad, and the sixth-gen iPad Mini. The USB-C Apple Pencil will become available in early November.

Apple released a second version of the Apple Pencil in 2018, aptly named the Apple Pencil 2. It was a huge upgrade over the original model, adding features like wireless charging (meaning you didn’t have to plug it into an iPad to charge it), a way to magnetically attach to the side of supported iPads (meaning it had a flat edge that prevented it from rolling off a table), and support for gesture controls for things like switching tools while using an app. However, those improvements came at an increased cost of $129, a $30 jump from the first Apple Pencil.

Apple has been overdue for some iPad updates. It launched the 10th-generation iPad in October 2022, iPad Pros powered by M2 chips that same month, an iPad Air with an M1 chip in March 2022, and the redesigned iPad Mini in September 2021.   Credit source By Jay Peters, Wes Davis, and Emma Roth