14 DAY TRIAL // Apple launched the iPhone 14 with much fanfare earlier than usual this year, but as it turns out, the company also wanted to take the wraps off another ambitious device whose unveiling was canceled at the very last minute.
More specifically, a post on Weibo shared on Twitter by DuanRui claims that Apple was working on a new Apple Pencil whose main feature was the iPhone 14 compatibility.
In other words, Apple sort of wanted to turn the iPhone 14 into a direct alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which also comes with support for the S Pen.
But what’s more, the same rumor claims the stylus, internally called Maker, was based on a similar approach to Samsung’s S Pen. It didn’t require a battery, as it was supposed to get its power from the screen while in use.
The more surprising tidbit is that Apple has allegedly built over 1 million units of this new Apple Pencil, but the device was canceled just before the official launch.
The reasons haven’t been shared, but the source of the leak claims Apple wanted to sell it for $49, so presumably the company wasn’t necessarily pleased with the profit margin given this low price tag.
“At the Apple Event in September, Apple was originally going to release a new Apple Pencil code-named Maker, priced at about $49, with no pressure sensing and no battery needed, using a chip to power the stylus from the screen, similar to the Samsung S- Pen. The new Apple Pencil even supported the iPhone, but the project was terminated closer to launch. It is said that more than one million levels had been stocked at that time, and now they should all be scrapped,” DuanRui said on Twitter based on the Weibo post.
Needless to say, it’s important to take this information with a healthy dose of skepticism, as no other (more) reliable source said anything about a new Pencil that was planned for 2022.