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Apple’s insistence on selling products with Lightning and USB Type-C ports has led to a lot of frustration, confusion, and strange adapters. From the company that revolutionized the headphone dongle comes a new product: the USB-C to Apple Pencil adapter.
Apple today released a new entry-level iPad (the 10th-generation iPad), which has a USB Type-C port, among other upgrades. However, it is only compatible with the first generation Apple Pencil, which has a physical connector for charging and not the magnetic charging of the second generation Pencil. There’s just one catch: the first-gen Pencil uses the Lightning port for charging, and the new iPad only has USB Type-C.
Apple’s solution to this problem wasn’t to add support for the second-gen Pencil or make a different version of the first-gen Pencil with a Type-C connector. That would make too much sense. Instead, Apple has released an adapter that can only be described as cursed: the new USB-C to Apple Pencil adapter.
This adapter has a USB Type-C port on one side and a Lightning port on the other, allowing you to connect your Lightning-based Apple Pencil to a USB Type-C iPad. This abomination of technology is the only way to charge the pencil. Unless you want to pop it into an older iPhone or iPad from time to time, or buy a third-party charging stand (which isn’t practical for travel). As silly as the first-gen Pencil already looked when charging from an iPad, this adapter makes it stand out even more.
The only good news is that Apple is now packing the USB Type-C adapter in the box with the Apple Pencil, according to the updated Apple Store listing. If you already have a first-generation Apple Pencil and are planning to buy the new iPad, you should buy it for just $9.
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