One of the best features of the newest generation of Apple Pencil is its battery life – but exactly how long does the battery last on a single charge?
How Long Does Your Apple Pencil Battery Last?
It’s important to note that there are two versions of the Apple Pencil – the first generation model and the second generation model.
For the first generation Apple Pencil, Apple states that it gets around 12 hours of battery life from a full charge when you’re using it for normal tasks. In my own testing, I’ve found that estimate from Apple to be pretty accurate.
I can easily go over a week of moderate use before needing to recharge the first gen Pencil by plugging it into the Lightning port on my iPad Pro. A full recharge only takes around 30 minutes as well.
Where the battery life gets significantly shorter is if you’re doing more intensive tasks that require very rapid Pencil input, such as intricate illustrations in a professional art app like Procreate.
In those cases, you may only get around 6-8 hours of use before needing a recharge.
The second generation Apple Pencil that magnetically attaches to the iPad Pro has somewhat better battery life.
Apple says it gets around 12 hours of use like the first gen model during normal tasks, but it extends to around 30 hours of low usage like just taking notes or making simple sketches.
In my experience, that 30+ hour estimate for light use seems to hold up for the second gen Pencil.
I can go around 2 weeks of taking handwritten notes every day before the battery gets critically low.
Though when it comes to intensive illustration work, the second gen Pencil battery life is similar to the first generation at around 6-8 hours.
But the good news is that it charges much faster when you magnetically attach it to the iPad Pro, getting up to 30% battery in just 15 minutes.
How to Make Your Apple Pencil Battery Last Longer
If you have an Apple Pencil 2, you don’t need to worry about extending it’s life too much. Still though, there are some tips and tricks to maximizing the battery life:
- Make sure that you turn off the Pencil when not in use by double-tapping the flat side
- Use the Pencil in its intended fashion, rather than tapping the tip rapidly
- Avoid those intensive gaming apps that require fast Pencil input
- For the second gen Pencil, keep it magnetically attached to your iPad when not in use to maintain charge
Apple has done an excellent job with the battery life of both Pencil models, especially compared to other stylus options, and the second generation of Apple Pencil is a step up on the first (though a little more expensive) – we’re looking forward to seeing what improvements Apple make in the future!
