New patent suggests future Apple Pencil could draw on anything

The Apple Pencil goes with the iPad like jam goes with bread, right? Well... not necessarily. A new patent granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office suggests that the Pencil could potentially work on other surfaces too.

According to the filing, named Input Device with Optical Sensors, the Apple Pencil could in future work with optical sensors across a wide range of surfaces, potentially including the iPhone, MacBook Pro, Apple Watch and err... wood and paper. This could really mix up our which Apple Pencil should I buy? piece.

The patent describes a stylus that could be capable of detecting movement, tilt, rotation and position in 3D space. Which sounds pretty epic. That basically means it wouldn't rely on interacting with the sensors within the iPad, but would have its own sensors that would capture motion and translate that into digital input.

The same patent also talks about how the Apple Pencil could have a trackball tip, which rolls as you move it. This makes it sound almost like some mice, but unlike traditional mice which use internal wheels to detect when the ball rotates, the patent suggests it would using optical sensors instead. This would apparently make the surface less prone to scratches and contamination.

Elsewhere, the patent discusses combining the optical sensor tech with other sensors like inertial measurement units, force detectors and machine vision, which could potentially mean the Apple Pencil could have handwriting recognition and 3D drawing plus gesture input. That means it could potentially draw in the air in combination with the likes of the Vision Pro.

We'd love to see the Apple Pencil up there with the best 3D pens on the market, but it's all a little hard to imagine right now.

I do love the idea of being able to use my Apple Pencil to draw anywhere there though, a little bit like Penny Crayon.

We don't know if this patent will ever come to fruition though and we're not sure right now when the next Apple Pencil will come out.

For now, Apple Pencils only work with iPads, and they do work extremely well. To grab yourself one, see the deals below.