Have a seat, and allow me to tell you a story of hope, joy, and hope lost.
I picked up my iPad Pro on launch day, Wednesday November 11th like a lot of you here. They had just sold out of the configuration I wanted at my local store in New Jersey, despite arriving 10 minutes after store opening, so I gladly opted for store pickup from the only location that still had any left....5th Avenue in Manhattan. When I got there, I tried to get an Apple Pencil, but quickly realized the demand was high as the people in the pickup line before and after me all wanted one as well, which quickly turned into the realization that there didn't seem to be any in the United States at all (well okay, it turned out to be very very very few)
I tried countless other stores in New Jersey, but ran into the same roadblock we all ran into here. Nobody had any to sell. So I waited and tried each day after, Thursday the 12th, Friday the 13th, and even Saturday the 14th. But it was all in vain, so I resigned myself to refreshing Best Buy's page frequently and feverishly checking the "Share the results of your retail store Apple Pencil stock check" thread on this very forum.
Before I knew it, it was Tuesday the 17th. I got home from work at 5, and after checking the stock thread on my breaks, I learned the Apple Store in Short Hills Mall in NJ might have some thanks to a very kind poster on that same thread. Despite it being far from my local store, I dutifully rushed out, drove an hour to the store and bought one of the three they had left on display.
I paused for a moment, wondering if I should buy two in case something happened to one or I lost one, but decided against it so that other people like me would have an equal chance to buy one. It was the first day of major in store availability, the first major shipment, and I knew there'd be others along shortly looking for pencil's, and I didn't want to take the opportunity I had away from anybody else over my own paranoia that something might happen to one.
And so I proceeded to the closest Apple Store Employee, happily clutching my Apple Pencil, and asked quite triumphantly "Jesus ******* ******, where can I pay for this?!?" The employee seemed confused, probably thinking I was angry, when in all reality, I was just overjoyed to finally have one in my hand after hours and days of searching.
I drove home in 2 hours worth of prime rush hour traffic that had built up by then. But I didn't even care, I finally had a Pencil.
I've had 8 days so far. 8 glorious days of using my apple pencil. I used it for everything from drawing to general stylus duty for browsing. After the debacle I went through to get it, just like all of you, I was extremely careful with it. I never dropped it, or even unnecessarily rolled it. It never even left the house.
Until today.
I brought my iPad Pro to work today to design some flyers in Pages. And I brought the pencil along to make precision adjustments a little easier. I grabbed the iPad in my hand and picked up the pencil. I went to put it in my pants pocket for its maiden voyage out of the house but I paused, realizing that might not be a good idea, fearing it would get damaged when I sat down in the car.
So I was smart, I put it in my shirt pocket.
And off I went. An hour later and I was at work. I unlocked the Pro, retrieve my pencil and...wait what? Why is the nib loose?....
I tried to screw it back on, but it turned infinitely in a way that made me realize it wasn't spinning in a circle, it was spinning in a oval like a car tire with a rim that was bent.I pulled off the nib, and the gold rod was bent. All the way to the side, just slightly touching the outer rim.
It was about then I knew I was screwed.
Even if I could bend it back, I knew there was no way it would be right after that, not with how complicated and delicate the sensors are in the Pencil. I watched the keynote quite a few times, I knew how many sensors and delicate mechanisms must have been royally messed up. In disbelief, I inspected the nib, which was no longer a perfect cone shape, but instead had a very slight indentation.
But how? How the heck did this happen? I purposely avoided putting it in my pants pocket, and figured it didn't get any safer than a shirt pocket. And frankly, I thought I was just being paranoid anyway. I mean, after using it for 8 days, I knew the nib was well screwed on and didn't allow for any play of the golden rod sensor....
Or does it?
I'm still not really sure what caused it. I suppose it could have been my seat belt, as that would be the spot where it would cross my chest. Or maybe the nib got caught against my chest just right (I should probably mention I'm a guy, for uh...reasons) and bent it. All I know is that I didn't do anything unusual. I didn't bend down to pick up anything off the floor of the car and I didn't spontaneously take up yoga as a hobby so I'm at a loss for words. All I did was put it in my shirt pocket, drive to work, and it was broken when I arrived an hour later.
I then spent the rest of the day today trying to track down a replacement in New Jersey. I drove all over. From Edison to Short Hills to Bridgewater Apple Stores, with a few Best Buy's in between, but nobody had any to sell me as I kind of expected, despite having hopes otherwise.
I called AppleCare, mentioning I didn't even care about getting it repaired, I just wanted to buy another one as soon as possible. But they told me there was nothing I could do despite my story. They tried to see what advice the Sales department could offer, but all they could do was tell me to order online with a 4-5 week wait, the same old script we've all heard here.
So after several hours of driving all across New Jersey today in tons of traffic and a few phone calls to even more distant stores, I'm right back where I started. No pencil, and no replacement available or any hope of one being available anytime soon.
I should mention I just got back home and, figuring I had nothing to lose, tried to bend the golden rod piece back into place. It snapped. Like cleanly off. Interestingly enough, with the golden piece now off and separated from the pencil, I can see that it does have space to wiggle a bit within the nib. Now, its not a large space by any means, and its about as accurate as machine manufacturing can get, but its not a "grip" type of seal against the walls of the nib either. Point is, be careful because a slight hit or bend to the nib would be a slightly larger hit or bend to the golden sensor rod underneath, which may be what did me in.
And with that, I leave you with a warning. I thought I was being careful, I even changed my habits to be safe with the pencil by avoiding putting it in my pants pocket this morning. I just thought you guys should know its possible to break it, and that it's likely a lot easier to break the Pencil than you might think.
I'm really bummed out. If anybody gets a lead on pencil availability in New Jersey, I'd really appreciate a heads up even if it means a lengthy drive. I can only hope Best Buy gets more in soon, as I'm not sure I'll have time to spot check my local store this weekend with work and the holiday.
MacRumors, you giveth my Pencil, only to taketh away (well, not you, but still!) haha...
For the record, the nib is dirty in the photos from carrying it around in my pocket after it was broken as I didn't want to lose it. But if you look closely, you can see half of the "flange" or "lip" on the side of the nib you screw into the pencil is missing, suggesting some kind of light forced caused it to break off (either completely or it broke off in the pencil)...
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