Apple Pencil isn’t just a tool that lets you draw and take notes—it has a wide range of uses that may surprise you. From editing documents and signing contracts to creating advanced graphics and enjoying augmented reality experiences, Apple Pencil can add significant value to your everyday iPad use.
We’ll explore some amazing and unconventional uses for the Apple Pencil that you may not know about, and how it can boost your productivity and creativity in new ways. Check out the best apps to use with the Apple Pencil.
1. Convert handwriting to text
It may be faster and more natural to write your notes by hand rather than typing them on a keyboard. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology Handwriting is also better for remembering the content of your notes.
Apple Pencil lets you quickly jot down your thoughts, and instead of leaving your questionable handwriting to be deciphered later, you can convert it into digital text. All you have to do is enable the “Scribble” feature in الإعدادات -> Apple Pencil On iPad.
Scribble lets you convert Apple Pencil handwriting into digital text. You can also use Apple Pencil to select and delete words, draw lines across or circle words, insert new words in a space, and join or split words.
You can handwrite and convert it to digital text in almost any app, like Notes, Procreate — to name the layers — or Facebook, to name a few. Apps like Nebo let you handwrite entire notes that are converted to easy-to-read text.
2. Change tools quickly
Depending on which Apple Pencil model you have, you can tap, press, or twist your Apple Pencil to switch between different tools or quickly access menus.
You can adjust your chosen touches in the iPad settings, but older Apple Pencil models are more limited in their touch options. The Apple Pencil Pro, released in 2024, has more options than other models, allowing you to access more menus and tools without tapping the screen.
For example, you can tap Apple Pencil Pro to bring up the color palette and toolbox menus for drawing or writing. If you twist Apple Pencil, you can shade or change the pressure like real craft tools, like crayons, chalk, or graphite. Finally, you can double-tap to switch between tools and set different tap patterns in Settings to bring up your favorite menus or tools.
You can change these settings by going to الإعدادات -> Apple Pencil or الإعدادات -> تسهيلات الاستخدام -> Apple Pencildepending on your Apple Pencil model.
3. Text highlighting
When you use iPad to read eBooks, PDFs, or articles, you can use Apple Pencil to highlight favorite areas of text. In some apps, you can choose the highlight color and type.
The most useful part of highlighting text with Apple Pencil is the ability to attach notes to highlighted text, similar to writing notes in the margins of books. This is great for when you're working on research papers, studying for school, or working documents, while taking advantage of the non-permanent markers to preserve your actual books.
If you use an Apple Pencil Pro, you'll benefit greatly from the hover feature. It allows you to make sure you've highlighted the right letter before you start highlighting or selecting.
4. Link the audio to your handwriting.
Notability It's a presentation and notes app that has a lot of powerful tools. What makes this app stand out is that it lets you link the audio of your presentation to your handwriting. You can do this on presentations that already include audio or record audio directly in the app. While the presentation is playing and audio is being recorded, anything you write on the screen with your Apple Pencil will be linked to that timestamp.
This means that when you play the presentation, you can also highlight notes in gray on the screen to drag the timestamp to the point in the presentation when you wrote that note. The audio player displays colored lines as you type each note to help you find it quickly.
Your handwritten notes will sync with the audio as they play, so you can play the presentation and see your notes appear at the right times alongside the presenter's speech or other audio playing. This is much more useful than a physical notebook full of notes that you can't find slides for.
Remember, there are a lot of great apps you can use with Apple Pencil, whether you're annotating presentations, drawing, or even playing games.
5. Screen sharing with live captions in video calls
When you’re on a Zoom call or video meeting, you can connect your iPad separately and share its screen with the audience. Then, you can use your iPad and Apple Pencil to take notes, annotate screenshots or photos, and write or draw anything that helps meeting participants understand easily.
This feature means you don't have to switch between screens or have hard-to-share paper notes. Just share your iPad screen and open the app you want.
Whether you’re annotating a photo or screenshot of your presentation or taking notes using Apple’s Notes app to share with others, your audience will appreciate your handwritten notes and live annotations as they discuss remotely. Check out the best free online screen sharing tools and websites.
6. Edit photos and videos
Apple Pencil is useful when editing on iPad because it's more precise than using your finger. You can use Apple Pencil on iPad to continue editing your photos or videos on the go when you don't have access to a laptop and mouse.
Besides photo editing, there are many graphic design and illustration tools that you can excel at using your Apple Pencil, such as Procreate. Although Procreate is a dedicated drawing app, you can still edit photos with it, such as creating double exposures in Procreate. Sometimes, you may encounter Apple Pencil issues in Procreate, but you can easily fix them.
You can also use Apple Pencil in photo editing apps like shine For iPad or animation apps like Linearity MoveApple Pencil enables more precision and natural movements when drawing or editing digitally than your finger.
7. Draw on your Mac using iPad
Apple’s Continuity features, like Continuity Sketch and Sidecar, let you use Apple Pencil with your Mac, as long as your devices aren’t too old. You can essentially turn your iPad into a drawing tablet or use it as a second display while using Apple Pencil to navigate between your iPad and Mac.
For example, to use Continuity Sketch, all you have to do is open a document on your Mac, then click إدراج -> إدراج من iPad -> إضافة رسم تخطيطي From the menu bar. Using your iPad as a second display for your Mac with Sidecar is easy—click the Control Center icon in the menu bar, choose Screen Mirroringthen select your iPad. Check out how to use your iPad as a second display for your Mac with Sidecar.
While some uses for Apple Pencil may seem obvious — like simple drawing or writing — there’s more to Apple Pencil than you might think. Transform your writing with Scribble, use a variety of tools, get more precise with Apple Pencil Pro’s scrolling feature, or use touch and more to turn your iPad into a productivity powerhouse. Check out the best Apple Pencil alternatives to take your creativity beyond the pale.
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