A future version of the Apple Pencil could be upgraded with Apple’s handy Find My technology, allowing owners to locate the pencil if they misplace it.
According to a patent filing recently unearthed by Patently Apple, the proposed Apple Pencil upgrade would have built-in acoustic resonators to warn users.
Since the stylus’s design doesn’t allow for a speaker, Apple would place the resonator in the upper part of the stylus under a cap that houses a haptic module.
The patent states: “The drive signal generated on the haptic module can be transmitted to the acoustic resonators via a material path that mechanically connects the acoustic resonators to the haptic module.”
This would allow the stylus to make a sound and vibrate when a user needs to locate it.
(Image credit: USPTO)
The Apple Pencil is already equipped with Bluetooth, which would determine its proximity. There doesn’t seem to be any plan to equip the Pencil with the same Ultra Wideband technology used in AirTags.
The addition of Find My to the Apple Pencil seems like an obvious win. The slim, all-white pens are a must-have accessory for iPad, but they’re also small and easy to lose. Additionally, at $130 apiece (for the Gen 2 model), they’re not a throwaway purchase. And if you have more than one, it’s a fair bet you’ll want to keep an eye on them. It could also help Apple further differentiate its product from the best Apple Pencil alternatives out there.
Reportedly, using “Find My” would work for the Apple Pencil just like it would for any other Apple gadget; The Pencil will be listed under the Devices tab in the Find My app.
Of course, the usual caveat applies: as this is a patent application, there is no guarantee it will ever become an actual product. Additionally, there have been previous Apple Pencil submissions (no pun intended) that haven’t mattered much yet.
In 2021, uncovered Apple patents suggested the Pencil could introduce functional top-of-the-line modules that would be interchangeable and thus introduce new sensors. Another suggested building a light-sensing system into the tip of the Apple Pencil, so you could “pull” color off an object and paint with it in an app.
(Image credit: Apple)
While both of those features would be cool, we’d argue that adding Find My to the Apple Pencil would resonate even more with users. Being able to quickly track down your Apple Pencil if it’s dropped out of your pocket or rolled under furniture is a real issue that should be addressed as soon as possible.
If your Apple Pencil isn’t working in the meantime, here’s a breakdown of the most likely causes.
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