Apple Pencil USB-C

The Apple Pencil USB-C slots in below the other two Pencils on price, $79 against $99 for the original and $129 for the 2nd generation, and it's the only one compatible with every iPad that has a USB-C port, rather than being limited to the pricier Pro or Air models.

To hit that price, several features got cut. There's no pressure sensitivity, so line thickness can't vary based on how hard you press, a real limitation for anyone doing detailed illustration work. There's no wireless charging or automatic pairing either: instead, a small cap slides open at the end to reveal a USB-C port you plug a cable into. It also drops the double-tap gesture for switching tools and the free engraving option available on the pricier models.

What did carry over is the same low-latency, pixel-accurate tracking and tilt sensitivity for shading as the more expensive Pencils. It can still attach magnetically to the side of an iPad, though only for storage rather than charging, and on the M2 iPad Pro models it even supports Pencil hover, previewing exactly where a mark will land on screen before the tip touches down, a feature the much older and pricier original Pencil never got at all.