Apple Pencil
Stylus in Phones & tablets
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.
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.
36 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 20
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 56%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 20 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strong for drawing and painting
“It's great for drawing / painting using Apple Pencil and software like ProCreate.”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Apple introduces the new iPad Air, powered by M4” “artists use things like the Apple Pencil, it makes way more sense”
Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)” “I'm a hardcore iPad Pro + Pencil lover.”
Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch” Makes iPad more usable and capable
“This combined with the Apple Pencil made a huge difference in the usability of my iPad”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain” “I often do serious photo editing on the iPad because I have access to Apple Pencil”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Apple introduces the new iPad Air, powered by M4” “The difference for me has been the Apple Pencil”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “MacBook Neo and How the iPad Should Be” - Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch”
Good for note-taking and diagrams
“which I can annotate with an Apple Pencil (the cheap $99 one)”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “Apple's slow AI pace becomes a strength as market grows weary of spending” “note taking and drawing diagrams with apple pencil”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Apple introduces the new iPad Air, powered by M4”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Awkward charging
“I would have used it more if they used Wacom-style tech that didn't require the stylus be charged”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Apple introduces the new iPad Air, powered by M4” “A pen that charges in the most insane way.”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Tim Cook's Impeccable Timing” “I get home, the battery won't charge.”
Comment from 23 Feb 2026 in “How in the Hell Did Joann Fabrics Die While Best Buy Survived? It Wasn't Amazon” - Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch”
Confusing lineup of several models
“Why is Apple selling three variants of the Apple Pencil and then the Apple Pencil Pro as well.”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Apple, What Have You Done?” “I doubt he'd be happy at the current Pencil lineup. It's a mess.”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy” “The Pencil situation is a disaster”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop” Doesn't work with some devices
“I couldn't use my 1st-gen (Lightning) Apple Pencil with it even though it's compatible”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop” “the Pencil STILL doesn't work on the defectively oversized trackpads on Apple laptops”
Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)” “I still cannot use an apple pencil on my iphone”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Palm OS User Interface Guidelines [pdf]” - Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)”
Less precise than paper and pencil
“the Apple Pencil sucks compared to regular paper and pencil”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain” “the utter physical imprecision of stylis pens is annoying”
Comment from 7 Jun 2026 in “What was your "Oh Shit" moment with GenAI?”
What people said
33 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the thing was decidedly NOT a stylus”
“I'm a hardcore iPad Pro + Pencil lover.”
“it worked beautifully with the iPad”
“how it charges itself is even worse”
“I’m disappointed that there’s no Apple Pencil support.”
“the stylus not as good as Apple's”
“I doubt he'd be happy at the current Pencil lineup. It's a mess.”
“Wow coming apple pencil support! That will be pretty awesome.”
“the Apple Pencil sucks compared to regular paper and pencil”
“This combined with the Apple Pencil made a huge difference in the usability of my iPad”
“The combination provides a comfortable amount of friction for me, and the fact that it's matte cuts down on reflections.”
“Stylus input-> subpar slow interface for computation.”
“the utter physical imprecision of stylis pens is annoying”
“it's neat, tablets are always over idealized”
“The difference for me has been the Apple Pencil”
“A pen that charges in the most insane way.”
“the apple pencil (as well as other modern styluses) are completely different, and work on capacitive touch screens”
“artists use things like the Apple Pencil, it makes way more sense”
“would love it more if the pencil worked with it”
“the Pencil STILL doesn't work on the defectively oversized trackpads on Apple laptops”
“Students may want to throw in a base iPad and an Apple Pencil.”
“I mislike the Apple Pencil”
“I would have used it more if they used Wacom-style tech that didn't require the stylus be charged”
“It's great for drawing / painting using Apple Pencil and software like ProCreate.”
“I often do serious photo editing on the iPad because I have access to Apple Pencil”
“note taking and drawing diagrams with apple pencil”
“I still cannot use an apple pencil on my iphone”
“I get home, the battery won't charge.”
“Why is Apple selling three variants of the Apple Pencil and then the Apple Pencil Pro as well.”
“The Apple Pencil hover is neat”
“which I can annotate with an Apple Pencil (the cheap $99 one)”
“The Pencil situation is a disaster”
“I couldn't use my 1st-gen (Lightning) Apple Pencil with it even though it's compatible”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.