Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
Well so much for "stylus... yuk!" but I can see how it can be useful for an architectural or graphic design app but at $99 bux? I shouldn't be surprised by Apple I guess.
 

thedon1

macrumors 6502a
Jun 26, 2010
529
73
Look at when Jobs made that statement, and look at the pens now. It's a totally different world.
Didn't he also say that in reference to a stylus with the phone? I think the sentiment was that a pointing device wasn't required. I don't think thats what apple is selling the pencil as.

It is a little expensive relative to the other styli in the market though.
 

iSee

macrumors 68040
Oct 25, 2004
3,539
272
Well, he was comparing the iPhone's touch screen to the crappy displays Palm's had that were so clumsy that they required a stylus.

But, sure, if you take his statement eight years later and apply it to a completely different stylus technology, a different product, in a different market, then yeah! He was totally wrong!!!

But I'm pretty sure he's resting in peace right now.
 

Macalway

macrumors 68040
Aug 7, 2013
3,943
2,506
Actually, there's some truth to this.

But it's only because if Steve had to announce this, on stage, you know everyone would be remembering his comment, so it would be s slightly awkward/amusing moment

For about a second
 

adamjackson

macrumors 68020
Jul 9, 2008
2,334
4,730
Here's the problem, if you look at this logically and compare the world Steve was in when he mentioned 3.5" screens in 2008, Styluses in 2007 and video on iPods not being a good idea (2003/2004), these were concepts that were
  • Already in the marketplace from other makers and were piss-poor
  • the tech to do what Steve & Co. wanted out of these were not acceptable or the price would be too high
  • The idea to him simply wasn't a good one based on what he saw in the market and in the R&D labs at Apple.
Steve sometimes made statements to redirect media who asked questions about unannounced products.

Unfortunately, it's really easy to say Apple copied other people OR Apple went back on their word after making fun of _____ for many years.

There's 3 ways to look at this
  • Apple didn't invent PC UIs, the mouse, printers, touch operating systems, WiFi, Video editing or tablets or even webcams for that matter but they dove in head first when the tech was at a cost they could sell as a part of their ecosystem at a premium with a nice UI, display and overall desirably well thought out package
  • "Steve never would have done this" That's not fair. Steve has been passed away for nearly 4 years. He often changed his mind when he was here and the teams at Apple shouldn't be making decisions on what would steve do. They should do what's best for the company
  • Apple has done revolutionary things with everything I listed in bullet one. They didn't just put a stylus on a phone, they made this pencil that basically has the power of a Wacom tablet that costs $1000 USD and put it on an iPad that does a ton of stuff and works perfectly fine without a stylus as an optional accessory for artists and note-takers. (you can apply this argument to pretty much everything they've been late to the game one)
I believe the only exception of late would be a larger iPhone screen. The team didn't think big screens were going to remain a thing and that probably thought it was a fad. Then the market basically for 2 years said "nope, 5.5+" is really a thing and people are buying them in droves" and Apple shifted by releasing a larger screen.

----

My point is, don't bring steve into anything that Apple does today unless you're a professor at a business school and are using various steve missteps in a lecture along with other CEO mistakes over the last 100 years. Also, don't **** on Apple for doing something another hardware or software maker has done. I've used a lot of these things on other device makers like front facing cameras, fingerprint readers and NFC and the experience is simply not polished along with dozens of other things that were out on other devices first. I'd prefer Apple wait and get something right.
 

garirry

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2013
1,543
3,904
Canada is my city
Steve Jobs said "who wants a stylus [on a 3.5" phone]". This is not a 3.5" phone. It's a near 13" tablet. You NEED a pen in order to do stuff like drawing. In fact, this could be probably the best thing for drawing digitally, I really don't like using a computer drawing pad thingy, so this would be amazing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hellenek

SnowLeopard OSX

macrumors 6502a
Dec 5, 2012
676
60
California
It's tacky to name it Apple Pencil, though. And it's insulting to price it at 100 dollars. Might as well have named it smart pen.

I still think Steve Jobs would have opted out. He would have just preferred third party manufacturers to make styluses that were compatible with the product instead of making them himself with Apple. Also, I really think Steve would disapprove of the 6S and 6S plus' big screen.
 

TechZeke

macrumors 68020
Jul 29, 2012
2,455
2,289
Dallas, TX
Steve Jobs said "who wants a stylus [on a 3.5" phone]". This is not a 3.5" phone. It's a near 13" tablet. You NEED a pen in order to do stuff like drawing. In fact, this could be probably the best thing for drawing digitally, I really don't like using a computer drawing pad thingy, so this would be amazing.

This is definitely an important detail. When the iPhone was released, I was in Middle School using a Samsung Omnia running Windows Phone. Boy was it terrible, and was pretty much unusable without the stylus because it was basically a windows desktop on a tiny screen and you needed the precision to press the little x in the corner to exit an App. A stylus made no sense on devices that small.

I don't think Steve was talking about a stylus being used on a 13" tablet for graphic design and professional work. Either way, I wish this Steve thing would be laid to rest. He was human; no one truly knows what he might have done, so its irrelevant. For all we know, he might have thought multi-touch or the idea of a smartphone was the stupidest thing ever at first.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hellenek

StoneJack

macrumors 68020
Dec 19, 2009
2,453
1,545
Good stylus is expensive (I know cause I bought some for my mini).
This is not a stilus but something even better. So price is right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hellenek

glowrider

macrumors regular
Aug 28, 2003
149
11
This isn't a stylus. It is pressure sensitive, not just simple input. It is a creative tool. You don't need to use it to make use or enjoy your iPad. This is an accessory. As a photographer I was disappointed not to see a fuller fledged version of Photoshop demo' because working directly on the photo is next level. I hate using a tablet with my computer. If this thing is desktop class and can handle the 50mp files they say, it will be a wonderful photography tool as well as a tool for all other creatives and business users. I was blown away by the medical demo.

As to price, go look at high dpi mice or other pressure sensitive styli - not cheap even before the apple tax.

As to Jobs, the iPad he was talking about is not the same device. You can't get this level of precision with your fingers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hellenek

Cool Pup

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2010
724
115
Dallas, TX
It's tacky to name it Apple Pencil, though. And it's insulting to price it at 100 dollars. Might as well have named it smart pen.

I still think Steve Jobs would have opted out. He would have just preferred third party manufacturers to make styluses that were compatible with the product instead of making them himself with Apple. Also, I really think Steve would disapprove of the 6S and 6S plus' big screen.

It's not fair to Steve or Apple to have us say what he would or wouldn't do or approve of, but, honestly, since he oversaw the iPhone 5's creation to a 4" screen, there's no doubt that he wouldn't be starkly opposed to 4.7" considering the market around the phones now. The Plus, who can say, but regardless it's an option and it isn't hurting anybody to have a larger screen option out there for the market to want.

Not to mention Steve was anti iPad Mini, until he wasn't because the first one came out just a year after he died. He changed his mind about a lot of things and the "Pencil" isn't exactly a stylus in the conventional way — not to mention for digital imaging to fully take off on the iPad it needs a hands-on device to draw on in order to beat or match the efficiency of paper.
 

pat500000

Suspended
Jun 3, 2015
8,523
7,515
Well so much for "stylus... yuk!" but I can see how it can be useful for an architectural or graphic design app but at $99 bux? I shouldn't be surprised by Apple I guess.
Are you serious? It's joy just about architectural or graphic design, but school to take notes! Or work. Apple pencil is little steep, however, no point in buying pro if you can't purchase a pencil.
 

Mivo

macrumors regular
Jan 23, 2015
206
77
Germany
A stylus is an obvious accessory for a device of that size, if you want "pro" users to have a use for it. It's not just a media consumption and gaming tablet. This is the first time I may be able to use a tablet for handwriting.

I think $99 is an okay price. Not quite so sure about the $169 for a keyboard, though.
 

Kal-037

macrumors 68020
The other thing to think about was that when Jobs passed the torch to Tim Cook, he told him to do what he felt was right, and NOT to ask himself: "What would Steve Jobs do."
That doesn't make all the decisions right obviously, but Apple can't continue on Job's vision... (obviously due to him being gone.) Even if Job's gave them a 5-10 year product road map... they couldn't really even follow it due to tech advances. All in all, I don't care about a few Apple products, (iPad Pro is meh) but I like the majority of what they are doing.


Kal.
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
Well so much for "stylus... yuk!" but I can see how it can be useful for an architectural or graphic design app but at $99 bux? I shouldn't be surprised by Apple I guess.

No Steves been turning for years, about folks misquoting him.

He never said "stylus yuk" he said "stylus required to use device, wtf"

And he's dead and the control is Tim's. So even if Steve did hate stylus it doesn't matter
 

Krevnik

macrumors 601
Sep 8, 2003
4,100
1,309
The other thing to think about was that when Jobs passed the torch to Tim Cook, he told him to do what he felt was right, and NOT to ask himself: "What would Steve Jobs do."
That doesn't make all the decisions right obviously, but Apple can't continue on Job's vision... (obviously due to him being gone.) Even if Job's gave them a 5-10 year product road map... they couldn't really even follow it due to tech advances. All in all, I don't care about a few Apple products, (iPad Pro is meh) but I like the majority of what they are doing.

Basically, this. Certain philosophies of Jobs' are still in display in today's Apple. But the tone is certainly different. And that's not a bad thing. Honestly, one of the big mis-steps I think Apple has been doing is not offering a stylus like the Pencil as an accessory. It should be optional for those that want or demand one. And yep, what we got is optional, great.

I'm excited about the Pro because it sates a need I've been dealing with since the original iPad. But the watch? Haven't worn a watch in ages. Am kinda tempted, but otherwise am not interested.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.