There have been a fair number of rumours about the upcoming Apple Pencil 3, from it getting interchangeable magnetic tips to sharing a release date with the next iPad Air and Pro models. It is even pointed to be compatible with the Vision Pro MR headset. But more recently, code in the iPadOS 17.5 beta points to it also having a squeeze gesture feature.
9to5Mac reports that said squeeze gesture can be used for quick interactions such as adding shapes, signatures, stickers, or a text field. It sounds like a much more fleshed out version of the double-tap gesture of the Apple Pencil 2. That being said, said second generation stylus has the double-tap feature work via accelerometer, and so it lacks the sensors needed to support a squeeze gesture. These elements point to the feature being something that belongs to a new Apple Pencil.
The report also notes that Apple has passed a new version of the PencilKit API to developers with the release of iPadOS 17.4. That being said, it’s unclear what exactly the new features that can be added via the API. Also unclear is if this can add additional features to existing versions of the Apple Pencil.
For now, the only announcement window for the next Apple Pencil that we have is next month, when the new iPad Air and Pro models are also rumoured to be unveiled. So there’s a healthy dose of salt to be had here, relating to not only the supposed features of the new stylus, but also when it will be announced.
(Source: 9to5Mac)
