Apple Pencil Gen-1 vs Gen-2 vs USB-C vs Pro: What’s the difference?

If you have an iPad, the Apple Pencil is a must-have accessory. Doodling aside, the Pencil is now a very powerful input device in its own right thanks to features like handwriting recognition, tilt and pressure sensitivity, advanced math and note-taking features, and more. The only question really is: Which Apple Pencil should you buy?

Given that Apple now has at least four different Apple Pencils on sale, this is a pertinent question in 2024. Let’s go over all the options one by one.

1st-Gen Apple Pencil

Buy this only if you have an old iPad that still comes with a Lightning connector and is incompatible with newer Pencils. It supports pressure and tilt sensitivity, but is not as sensitive and responsive as newer models. The two main issues with this Pencil are design and price. 

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The fact that you have to plug the 1st Gen Apple Pencil into the Lightning port of your iPad makes it a bit of a hassle to use, and then there’s the fact that it still retails at Rs 9,500 despite being nearly a decade old at this point. Oh, and then there’s the shape. Since it’s perfectly cylindrical, this Pencil will not stay still even on the flattest of surfaces.

2nd-Gen Apple Pencil

The 2nd-gen Apple Pencil is much better designed thanks to a flat edge that allows it to rest without rolling, and the fact that it pairs, charges, and attaches via a magnetic connector on the iPad itself. Apple also added support for hover, double-tap gestures for switching between modes, and worked on reducing the latency when doodling with it. 

Overall, this Pencil is a huge improvement over previous designs and should be the de-facto Pencil for most people. Strangely however, the more feature-packed Apple Pencil Pro also retails at Rs 11,900. Buy this Pencil for any compatible iPads that launched in 2023 or earlier. The 2024 iPad Air and Pro models support the Apple Pencil Pro.

Apple Pencil (USB-C) (Also known as the 3rd-gen Apple Pencil)

Compatible with just about every iPad currently supported, this is the Pencil that everyone should get if they don’t need magnetic charging or have an iPad that doesn’t support magnetic charging.At Rs 7,900, the 3rd-gen Apple Pencil is also the cheapest in the lineup. It’s missing the double-tap function but does support hover on compatible iPads. It also charges and pairs via USB-C, hence the name.

Apple Pencil Pro

By far the best Pencil you can get, the Pencil Pro costs the same as the 2nd-gen Apple Pencil but adds a whole host of additional gestures including squeeze and barrel roll, not to mention support for haptic feedback.

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These three features aren’t by themselves enough to justify the price if you’re thinking of upgrading, but if you have an M2 or M4 iPad, picking this up is a no-brainer.

Apple’s Pencil lineup is admittedly, a little complicated. Still, there is a Pencil for every single iPad in Apple’s lineup, and given how well integrated the Pencil is in iPadOS, it is a must-have accessory for anyone who wants to enjoy the iPad ecosystem to the fullest.