What you need to know
- An new patent filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office suggests haptic feedback could be coming to the Apple Pencil.
- The patent was granted to Apple this week and revealed it could consist of adding magnets inside the Apple Pencil.
- The idea is intriguing, but it's just a patent which doesn't gaurentee Apple will implement it in real life.
The Apple Pencil could be getting much more responsive with a future update. That's what a new patent Apple filed suggests.
First spotted by AppleInsider, Apple was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent was titled "Stylus with external magnetic influence," and it suggests Apple is considering bringing haptic feedback to the Apple Pencil.
Here's the description for the patent.
An interface system may include an electronic device defining an input surface, a stylus comprising a magnetic component and configured to provide input to the electronic device via the input surface, and a magnetic field generator coupled to the electronic device and configured to produce a magnetic field to impart a force on the magnetic component of the stylus.
AppleInsider suggests the magnetic components could be housed in a spring. Then when the Apple Pencil is used to draw, tilting the stylus would deliver the haptic feedback giving users a more granular feel for how to use it.
The patent certainly sounds intriguing, but it is never a guarantee Apple will apply it in real-world usage. Apple makes a habit of filing patents for a myriad of ideas, most of which never make it to consumer products.
Regardless, haptic feedback would be a very useful feature for the Apple Pencil, giving it even more functionality for professional users.
