Old Apple Pencil on New iPad: Adapter Delivery Issues

Apple’s baffling decision to force the latest-gen iPad 10 to use the outdated first-gen Apple Pencil has had unwelcome side effects when it comes to selling the devices. According to a report, early Apple stores in the US have started restricting sales of the Apple Pencil 1 because the necessary Lightning to USB-C charging adapter is currently unavailable. The iPad 10 has a modern USB-C interface, the Apple Pencil 1 only has the ten-year-old Lightning.

No charging, no drawing and writing

However, if the charging adapter is missing, the Apple Pencil 1 cannot supply electricity. Neither the Pencil nor the iPad 10 have a magnetic charging option, unlike the iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini. Like Now MacRumors reportsTherefore, Apple has decided to stop selling the Apple Pencil 1 to new customers for the time being, until adapter availability improves.

Actually, the adapter, which costs 10 euros, is not only available individually, but is also supplied by Apple in the box together with the Apple Pencil 1. But it is precisely these combo packs that are currently only slowly arriving in stores. Apple, they say. Therefore, the management has prohibited reselling the old pens without an adapter, so as not to frustrate buyers of the new iPad 10.

The adapter alone is not enough

The Apple Pencil 1 charging situation on the iPad 10 is beyond annoying. The old pen comes with a Lightning connector hidden behind a cap. You take it off (without losing it) and then plug the pen into a Lightning port. However, this is missing from the iPad 10, instead there is USB-C. To charge, you need to use the supplied USB-C to USB-C charging cable to connect the adapter to iPad 10, the Lightning connector of the Apple Pencil 1 in turn belongs to the Lightning socket of the adapter. Then it can also be loaded “already”.

With Apple Pencil 2, simply place the pencil on one of the compatible iPad’s magnetic charging surfaces and then you can power it. According to Apple, you can use the pencil for about twelve hours at a time, after which you need to put it back in the Lightning plug.

(bc)