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The most obvious difference between an Apple Pencil (1st generation) and a Apple Pencil (2nd generation) is that the latter pairs and charges via the Smart Connector on the side of an iPad, whereas the 1st generation has a removeable cap covering a Lightning connector.

The iPad (7th generation) has the same Smart Connector as the iPad Pro, but still can't use the Pencil 2. Presumably there are other hardware limitations that prevent this. What exactly are they? Is there some hardware limitation, or some other reason (other than "Apple doesn't want to support it") why it can't be supported?

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  • Tempted to -1 this since there are several questions to be addressed… I’ll try to address the most fundamental answer, case design is physically different in hopes that is what you need answered..
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Jul 9, 2021 at 15:52
  • Your question is based on incorrect assumptions. The Apple Pencil 2 does not pair and charge via the Smart Connector on the side of an iPad. Therefore the whole line of thought of this question is invalid (i.e. it is not the case that Apple simply decided that even though the exact Smart Connector hardware necessary for charging is available, they simply do not allow the user to do that).
    – jksoegaard
    Commented Dec 2, 2022 at 12:05

2 Answers 2

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Source:

1. Cost savings

The Apple Pencil 2 gets power through an inductive charger built into the side of the 2018 iPad Pro models. This charger is too expensive to include in the new iPad Air 3 and iPad mini 5, according to an unconfirmed report from Daring Fireball.

2. Design considerations

There are other reasons these new tablets support the original Apple Pencil rather than the newer iteration. That inductive charger requires the edge of the tablet to be flat, while the new iPad Air and mini have rounded edges. Building in support for the Pencil 2 would have required both to be redesigned but Apple clearly decided not to, likely as a way to cut costs.

3. Pro vs. non-pro

The two newly-announced models aren’t the only iOS tablets that support the original Apple Pencil. The 9.7-inch iPad introduced a year ago does as well. That means that all of the current non-professional iPads can use this stylus, while all this company’s Pro tablets use the Pencil 2.

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  • My question was not about the iPad Air and iPad Mini, but was specifically about the iPad 7th generation, which DOES have the inductive charger on the side.
    – mweiss
    Commented Jun 9, 2021 at 13:33
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    @mweiss I haven't seen anywhere that the 7th gen contains an inductive charger on the side. There's one in the back but not the side, according to the iFixit teardown. Can you please point me to a site that shows what you're indicating? With a rounded edge, you can't put a pencil there.
    – fsb
    Commented Jun 9, 2021 at 13:50
  • @ fsb I want to make sure we are not talking past each other: by "inductive charger built into the side" are you just referring to the Smart Connector? Or something else?
    – mweiss
    Commented Jun 9, 2021 at 14:22
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    Not the smart connector as that's not used to charge the Pencil (and it's not inductive). The iPad Pro has seperate charging coils for the Pencil built into the side. The iPad 7g doesn't have that. So my understanding of your question, unless you can show me otherwise, is that reason you can't charge the Pencil is because the 7th gen is missing hardware that does the charging.
    – fsb
    Commented Jun 9, 2021 at 14:27
  • Okay, I think I now understand my confusion. I was under the impression that the Pencil 2 pairs and charges via the Smart Connector, the same way that the Smart Keyboard does. You're saying that the iPad Pro has two magnet-based wireless charging systems built into it, one on each side? Whereas the 7th gen iPad only has one?
    – mweiss
    Commented Jun 9, 2021 at 14:33
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It wasn’t built for the pencil 2.

The technical specifications for the iPad 7th gen are fairly clear it doesn’t support the inductive charging required to pair the 2nd gen pencil.

Do you have a tear down that shows it mirrors the iPad Pro hardware setup? I can’t find any reference to what you state in the question of them being comparable or compatible. Physically the case on the iPad 7 is different entirely from iPad Pro. They don’t share connected keyboard or Apple Pencil compatibility.

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