A decade ago, Apple released the first Apple Pencil. Since then, the company has introduced three other models. Now, according to a newly granted patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office (via Patently Apple), it looks like a next-gen Apple Pencil might work with your iPhone, and potentially much more.
The patent reveals that Apple is exploring an Apple Pencil capable of generating content on non-touch surfaces. With new optical sensors, users could draw or write on a device that doesn’t have a touch-sensitive display, such as your iPhone, a tabletop, or other surfaces.
Some of these sensors could include optical flow sensors and laser speckle flow sensors. The patent explains, “Optical flow sensors could detect spatial-temporal image brightness variation (e.g., frame-to-frame brightness variation) to estimate motion of the input device. In some examples, an optical flow sensor could include an emitter (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) to emit light to a target (e.g., surface), a detector (e.g., an image sensor) that captures an image of an environment to detect light reflected from or incident on the target (e.g., surface) in response to light emitted from the input device, and a lens or lens array configured to collimate or condition emitted light beams.”
Apple also gives a few examples of how this next-gen Apple Pencil might function, noting that the optical sensors could be used to “detect characteristics of the input device including position, orientation, and/or motion of the input device.”
Ultimately, this next-gen Apple Pencil could work with your iPhone, but it might also explain why Apple hasn’t added support for the Apple Pencil Pro on the Apple Vision Pro. With the upcoming visionOS 26 update, Cupertino is adding support for third-party accessories like PlayStation’s VR controller. Still, there’s no sign of Apple enabling its own iPad accessory for the headset.
BGR will let you know if Apple ever puts that patent to use, so you can start using the Apple Pencil with your iPhone or any other device.
