Technical Description of Apple Pencil

 

Tasmia Sultana

Writing For Engineers

21007- E2

Professor Davidow

 

Table of Contents

 

Introduction                                                                                                        3-4

Description of Apple Pencil                                                                               4-5

Components of an Apple Pencil- Exterior                                             5-6

Components of an Apple Pencil- Interior                                              6-7

 

Conclusion                                                                                                             

References                                                                                                           9-10

 

Introduction:

The Apple Pencil is a device used all around the world by many people. It is used to write on the iPad Pro to effective take down notes and much more. The Apple pencil is formally known as a stylus, which is used on many technological devices.

Styluses were first introduced in the first civilization in ancient Mesopotamia it was made from reed and had a trapezoidal top. This style of writing utensil has a different shape from our regular everyday pencil. They were also not the only people that adopted the stylus. Egyptians and the Minoans of Crete created them with different materials than reed. Reed was commonly found on the side of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Egypt, so it was more accessible for them to create the stylus. Then, the stylus became popularized in the Middle Ages. “For learning purposes, the stylus was gradually replaced by a writing slate. From the mid-14th century, improved water-powered paper mills produced large and cheap quantities of paper and the wax tablet and stylus disappeared completely from daily life.” (Cammarosano & Cammarosano, 2014)

The stylus became known for educational purposes. Today, when someone says stylus they refer to a technological one. A technological stylus performs on a tablet and writes down on a screen without the use of ink or paper. “Modern day devices, such as phones, can often be used with a stylus to accurately navigate through menus, send messages etc. Today, the term stylus often refers to an input tool usually used with touchscreen-enabled devices, such as Tablet PCs, to accurately navigate interface elements, send messages, etc.” ( RealPen, 2016) Now, many new phones have a built-in stylus to make more use of the phone than just texting and making phone calls.

Apple introduced the Apple Pencil in 2015. They have mass created their technological devices, spreading its brand into thousands of locations around the world. Apple first launched their company on April 1, 1976 with the Apple Computer. It was launched by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Who started their business because they wanted people to have access to small computers at home. Since in the late ’70s computers were quite large many people did not gravitate towards keeping one at home. This one technological innovation became the stepping stone to one of the largest businesses in the world.

 

Description of the Apple Pencil:

The Apple Pencil is a stylus made to write onto the iPad Pro, a tablet. A mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery. All compiled into a single, flat package. The pencil is for the 21st century where people use technology to create art, accessibly. Also, it is very convenient for students who may have to carry notebooks every day. This can be solved by simply carrying your Apple pencil along with the iPad Pro. “You can use the Apple Pencil to navigate your iPad Pro as well. The Apple Pencil easily pairs with a plethora of compatible apps. It is pressure-sensitive, has tilt control and palm rejection” (Apple, 2018). All of these functions improve the quality of eco-friendly note-taking. Also, the device is manufactured by Foxconn and has a voltage of 3.82 V and for memory purposes, it uses a 64-Kbyte Flash. Foxconn is a company that helps assemble the Apple Pencil together. It carries a voltage of 3.82 V which means that it able to push the electrons to allow the flow of electron within the pencil. So the Apple Pencil can be effectively used. A 64-Kbyte Flash is to allow the pencil store information it is similar to a flash drive.

Apple Pencil (2nd generation)

Components of the Apple Pencil- Exterior:

1. Apple Pencil Tip; the cover to the front of the stylus which also allows the consumer to comfortably write onto their iPad.
2. Apple Pencil Nib; it is made of hard capacitive plastic. It sends signals to your iPad’s screen-based where you are drawing.
3. The outer casing of the Apple Pencil has a matte finish and a seamless design which allows the pencil to attach to the side of the iPad. This new case is an upgrade from the original Apple Pencil. A new upgrade is that it can wirelessly charge which is a major change from the charging output attached to the old pencil. The original Apple Pencil used to charge with a cap covering the the charging port. You stick the pencil inside the iPad Pro’s charging place to connect. So, ultimately you would use the iPad Pro itself to charge the pencil.

Components of the Apple Pencil- Interior:

1. Dielectric Substrate; an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field. An electrical insulator does not allow electrons to flow freely it limits the flow of electricity.
2. Capacitor Terminal; A capacitor is a “passive two-terminal electronic component that stores electrical energy in an electric field.” The terminals connect to two metal plates separated by a non-conducting substance,or dielectric. They help the capacitor gain electrical charge. (Electronics, 2018)
3. Aligning Capacitor Electrode; constructed with two metal foils (current collectors), each coated with an electrode material such as activated carbon, “which serves as the power connection between the electrode material and the external terminals of the capacitor.” The capacitor electrode allows itself to gain electrical charge to be used later on for high-speed use. (Electronics, 2017)
4. Magnetic Alignment Structure; is the casing which is made up of magnetic particles which allows the pencil to comfortably attach to the iPad Pro.
5. Capacitor Electrodes; a group of electrons that store electrical energy. The electrical energy is later on used to allow the Apple Pencil to properly perform.
6. Conductive Layer; are thin films of optically transparent and electrically conductive material. “Inorganic films typically are made up of a layer of transparent conducting oxide (TCO), most commonly indium tin oxide (ITO), fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) or doped zinc oxide.” Conductive layers are typically used as electrodes when a situation calls for low resistance electrical contacts without blocking light. These material possess wide bandgaps whose energy value is greater than those of visible light. The bandgaps allows to store a larger amount of energy (Wiley Online Library, 2018)

(Patently Apple, 2018)

Conclusion:

The Apple Pencil is an innovation that popularized styluses. The use of the stylus with a tablet is increasing and created an eco-friendly revolution. The precedent of the stylus was that it was made by intelligent people in Ancient Mesopotamia and in Egypt. They created them from materials they found riverside. The stylus was used heavily in the Middle Ages in England. It was mostly used for educational purposes and continued on to do so. With modern technological advances, people were able to write on tablets and limit the use of pen and paper. The Apple Pencil will continue to be a major technological innovation for further years to come.

 

Reference Page

Apple Computer, Inc. (2008, April). Retrieved from

https://www.loc.gov/rr/business/businesshistory/April/apple.html

 

Apple Pencil. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/

 

Apple Pencil. (2019, February 28). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pencil

 

Caldwell, S., & Caldwell, S. (2018, March 31). How to use Apple Pencil: The Ultimate Guide.

Retrieved from https://www.imore.com/apple-pencil-ultimate-guide

 

Capacitor. (2019, March 03). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor

 

Stylus. (2019, March 07). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylus

 

Supercapacitor. (2019, February 16). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercapacitor

 

Transparent conducting film. (2019, January 22). Retrieved from

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_conducting_film

 

The Patent Application behind Wireless Charging for Apple Pencil 2 Surfaced in Europe this week. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2018, from

https://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2018/11/the-patent-application-behind-wireless-charging-for-apple-pencil-2-surfaced-in-europe-this-week.html

 

Self-Reflection

In my technical description, I was mindful of large vocabulary and stayed away from it. When it came to scientific terms I made sure to explain them. I also included a graphic for them to see the device and what all the components do. Also, I used the technique of compare and contrast from the old and new stylus so people can have another way to understand. With revision and drafting, I did a lot of that. In class, we also have peer review, which let my partner see what I wrote and what I should take out or include. So, I did engage in the social and collaborative aspects of the writing process. My partner also suggested some other unique ideas, since other people were also doing the Apple Pencil as their project. I think my self-assessment was sufficed because every day I would check the Technical Description and make small changes. My strategies have also advanced because I went through an extensive amount of research to get the proper information. Also, to properly create citations for my credible sources.

When I wrote this I knew I had to keep the audience in mind. With language and complexity and to understand that everyone may not have pre-existing information Apple the company or about the Apple Pencil. So, I made sure to clearly introduce the product and its’ origins before it became a technological innovation. The multimodal composition was used because I added a graphic of the inside of a Apple Pencil. In this writing, I did not create a stance because I was using evidence to describe a device. I was not saying if the device is good or not. I used various sources for this assignment. This assignment took a lot of research and I had to look

 

through many sources in order to find what I needed. The practice of using sources was heavily told by our professor as the best way to complete this project. With all these sources came with all citations to be made which were in-text and reference page.