Unleashing Creativity: What Apple Pencil Can Do in iPadOS The Apple Pencil transforms the iPad into a versatile canvas for creativity, productivity, and precision. With iPadOS evolving to leverage the stylus’s capabilities, users can draw, annotate, take notes, and navigate with unmatched finesse.

An iPad Mini, powered by the A17 Pro Chip, displays a hand skillfully using a stylus to draw vibrant illustrations of flowers and leaves on its screen against a black background.
Apple iPad mini | Apple Pencil Pro

The Apple Pencil is a game-changer for digital artists, offering pixel-perfect precision, low latency, and tilt sensitivity that mimic traditional drawing tools. In apps like Procreate or Adobe Fresco, users can create intricate illustrations with pressure-sensitive strokes, varying line thickness and texture by adjusting the pencil’s angle. The Apple Pencil Pro, introduced in 2024, takes this further with a barrel roll feature, allowing artists to rotate the stylus for precise control over shaped brushes, ideal for calligraphy or detailed shading. A custom haptic engine provides tactile feedback, confirming actions like switching tools with a subtle pulse.

The hover feature, available on the Apple Pencil Pro and 2nd generation with M2 or M4 iPad Pro models, lets users preview their mark before touching the screen. This is particularly useful for aligning strokes in complex designs, ensuring accuracy in apps like Freeform, where users can brainstorm and sketch on a flexible canvas. Whether diagramming a project or collaborating over FaceTime, the Apple Pencil makes drawing feel as natural as pen on paper.

A hand holding a white Apple Pencil Pro is drawing a small yellow line on the latest iPads' touchscreen. The background is black, highlighting the illuminated line and stylus tip, showcasing the advanced features of this cutting-edge device.

Handwriting and Scribble

Scribble, introduced in iPadOS 14 and refined in subsequent updates, turns handwritten notes into typed text seamlessly. Enabled by default on compatible iPads, Scribble works in any text field—write directly in Safari’s address bar, compose emails, or jot reminders, and iPadOS converts your handwriting instantly while keeping it private through on-device processing. Users can enable or disable Scribble in Settings > Apple Pencil, with a “Try Scribble” tutorial to explore its capabilities.

In iPadOS 19, the Smart Script feature enhances handwriting clarity, smoothing out messy notes and correcting mistakes in real-time, making handwritten text as legible as typed text. Users can write in apps like Notes or Pages, and Scribble recognizes shapes, converting rough circles or squares into clean graphics for flowcharts or diagrams. Data detectors also identify handwritten phone numbers, dates, or addresses, allowing quick actions like calling a number or adding an event to Calendar with a tap.

A tablet with a keyboard displays the Apple Pencil settings menu in iPadOS. The "Scribble" option is enabled, highlighted by a green toggle and pink circle—perfect for boosting creativity. A colorful gradient and white Apple logo complete the look.

Annotating and Marking Up

The Apple Pencil excels at annotating documents, screenshots, and PDFs. In apps like Pages or Keynote, users can mark up text, highlight sections, or add handwritten comments directly on documents. Taking a screenshot is effortless—swipe the Apple Pencil from the bottom-left corner of the iPad, tap the thumbnail, and use the Markup toolbar to annotate with pens, highlighters, or text boxes. The toolbar’s plus button allows adding typed text to screenshots, blending handwritten and digital input.

For collaborative work, apps like Freeform let users annotate shared boards in real-time, perfect for team brainstorming or feedback sessions. iPadOS 19’s inline PDF support in Notes streamlines workflows, allowing users to mark up documents without switching apps. The Apple Pencil’s precision ensures annotations are clear, whether circling key points in a contract or sketching feedback on a design.

An iPad running iPadOS displays a handwritten math assignment about the golden spiral, with a FaceTime call window showing a smiling person and an Apple Pencil resting beside the device, highlighting creativity in learning.

Quick Note and Productivity

Quick Note is a standout feature for capturing ideas on the fly. Swipe the Apple Pencil from the bottom-right corner to open a note, regardless of the app you’re using, and jot down thoughts, links, or sketches. These notes sync to the Notes app, making them easy to revisit. In iPadOS 19, Quick Note integrates with Apple Intelligence, offering smarter organization and context-aware suggestions, such as linking notes to related calendar events.

The Apple Pencil also enhances productivity in apps like Numbers, where users can sketch charts or annotate spreadsheets. Custom gestures, like double-tapping to switch between tools (e.g., pen to eraser), streamline workflows. For the Apple Pencil Pro, a new squeeze gesture brings up a palette to adjust tools, line weights, or colors, reducing the need to navigate menus. These features make the Pencil a powerful tool for students, professionals, and creatives managing complex tasks.

A hand holding a Pencil Pro in a dimly lit environment is interacting with a glow-in-the-dark tablet screen. The latest iPads display a curved toolbar with icons including a color palette, brush settings, and an eraser.

Navigation and Accessibility

Beyond creative tasks, the Apple Pencil supports basic navigation in iPadOS, acting as a stylus for tapping and swiping. This is especially helpful for users with repetitive strain injuries, as it reduces finger-based interactions. In apps like Notes, multi-touch gestures combine with the Pencil—for example, placing two fingers on the screen to summon a ruler for straight lines. Users can customize settings in Settings > Apple Pencil, such as toggling “Only Draw with Apple Pencil” to reserve the stylus for drawing while using fingers for navigation.

Accessibility features include support for Braille Access in iPadOS 19, allowing users with connected braille displays to interact more effectively. The Apple Pencil Pro’s Find My integration helps locate a misplaced stylus, adding practicality to its advanced features. Pairing is seamless—attach the Pencil Pro or 2nd generation to the iPad’s magnetic connector for wireless charging and automatic pairing, while the USB-C model uses a cable for setup.

An iPad running iPadOS displays the Apple Pencil settings screen, highlighting the "Only Draw with Apple Pencil" option switched on. The device rests on a keyboard, set against a colorful gradient background that inspires creativity.

Sidecar and Cross-Platform Creativity

With macOS Catalina and later, Sidecar turns the iPad into a second display for a Mac, where the Apple Pencil becomes a high-precision input device. Users can draw in Mac apps like Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Photo, leveraging the Pencil’s pressure and tilt sensitivity for professional-grade work. Sidecar supports wired or wireless connections, with the latter offering mobility but potential lag depending on distance. The iPad can mirror or extend the Mac desktop, and Touch Bar shortcuts appear on the iPad screen, even for Macs without a Touch Bar.

This feature bridges iPad and Mac workflows, making the Apple Pencil a versatile tool for creatives who work across platforms. For example, a designer can sketch on the iPad in Sidecar mode, then refine the artwork in a Mac-based app, all while using the same stylus for precision input.

Three iPads with Apple Pencils showcase creativity on iPadOS: the left features handwritten notes and graphs, the center displays vibrant digital art, and the right shows a video call filled with birthday-themed doodles.

Why It Matters

The Apple Pencil’s integration with iPadOS transforms the iPad into a powerhouse for creativity and productivity. Its precision, low latency, and advanced features like Scribble, Smart Script, and hover cater to artists, students, and professionals alike. The ability to annotate, navigate, and collaborate seamlessly makes it an essential tool for modern workflows. As iPadOS 19 continues to evolve, the Apple Pencil remains a cornerstone of Apple’s vision for intuitive, versatile computing, turning ideas into reality with a flick of the wrist.

Tagged:
Tom Richardson
About the Author

Tom is a passionate tech writer hailing from Sheffield, England. With a keen eye for innovation, he specializes in exploring the latest trends in technology, particularly in the Apple ecosystem. A devoted Mac enthusiast, Tom enjoys delving into the intricacies of macOS, iOS, and Apple’s cutting-edge hardware.