# Apple Pencil

20 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple Pencil and 16 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for drawing, note-taking and photo editing on iPad, where it works well. Critics point to awkward charging and a confusing model lineup.

## Why people recommend it

- Strong for drawing and painting (3 comments): "It's great for drawing / painting using Apple Pencil and software like ProCreate." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47222608)) "artists use things like the Apple Pencil, it makes way more sense" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47588316)) "I'm a hardcore iPad Pro + Pencil lover." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50281383))
- Makes iPad more usable and capable (4 comments): "This combined with the Apple Pencil made a huge difference in the usability of my iPad" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49030835)) "I often do serious photo editing on the iPad because I have access to Apple Pencil" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47221794)) "The difference for me has been the Apple Pencil" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47874117))
- Good for note-taking and diagrams (2 comments): "which I can annotate with an Apple Pencil (the cheap $99 one)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46211947)) "note taking and drawing diagrams with apple pencil" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47219621))

## What people warn about

- Awkward charging (4 comments): "I would have used it more if they used Wacom-style tech that didn't require the stylus be charged" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47226074)) "A pen that charges in the most insane way." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47851399)) "I get home, the battery won't charge." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47124449))
- Confusing lineup of several models (3 comments): "Why is Apple selling three variants of the Apple Pencil and then the Apple Pencil Pro as well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46764221)) "I doubt he'd be happy at the current Pencil lineup. It's a mess." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49803742)) "The Pencil situation is a disaster" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46063815))
- Doesn't work with some devices (4 comments): "I couldn't use my 1st-gen (Lightning) Apple Pencil with it even though it's compatible" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46063582)) "the Pencil STILL doesn't work on the defectively oversized trackpads on Apple laptops" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47583303)) "I still cannot use an apple pencil on my iphone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47168997))
- Less precise than paper and pencil (2 comments): "the Apple Pencil sucks compared to regular paper and pencil" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49031382)) "the utter physical imprecision of stylis pens is annoying" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48433494))

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+Pencil+1st+generation&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Apple Pencil", https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-pencil/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).