A report yesterday suggested that Apple considered making a special version of the Apple Pencil for the upcoming iPhone Ultra before deciding against it.
Bloomberg suggests that there are three reasons behind this decision, one of them being a desire not to conflict with the position adopted by Steve Jobs when launching the original iPhone. However, this was almost certainly not the deciding factor …
The idea of a shorter Apple Pencil that could be used with the iPhone Ultra is certainly an appealing idea on the face of it. The device is essentially an iPhone that turns into an iPad mini, so giving it some of the same capabilities obviously makes a lot of sense.
Samsung gave its Galaxy Note phablets an S-Pen stylus when the device was launched back in 2011. The thinking was that this was a device that would in part substitute for a paper notebook, and it survived for a decade with a definite fanbase before being discontinued in 2021.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman lists three reasons Apple decided against the idea in the end:
