The Apple Find My tool supports most of the company’s devices like iPhones, Apple Watch, and AirPods except for the Apple Pencil. A new patent filed by the Cupertino suggests they are working on enabling Find My for its active styluses as well, including how they will tap the technology behind acoustic vibration or signal.
One feature that is notably missing on the Apple Pencil 1st gen and Pencil 2nd gen is the ability to locate them when they’re separated from the iPad or away from the user. In a patent published by the US Trademark and Patent Office, Apple would use a new type of component rather than the current ultra-wideband connectivity to bring the tracking features to these devices in the future.
How Apple will activate Find My tracking on its active styluses
It is described in the filing that the Apple Pencil (alternatives) will be equipped with an acoustic resonator or a device that will produce the needed vibration level at a specified frequency or amplitude. Furthermore, it is shown that the component will be placed at the end cap of the pencil together with the haptic module instead of positioning it in the shaft.
One of the given examples of how tracking is enabled is when an Apple device such as an iPhone or iPad is going to initiate a communication with the Pencil. Subsequently, the Pencil will produce an acoustic signal before it will be picked up by the target detector of the handset to pinpoint its location through the map on the Find My application.
Currently, the patent does not suggest that this is a definitive solution the iPhone-maker will end-up using. Possibly, it may resort to the existing UWB technology which is proven to work accurately on Apple devices like the AirTag (review). Nonetheless, the latest development indicates Apple could be close to unveiling an Apple Pencil that can be located when lost.
What are your thoughts on Apple adding Find My tracking capability on Apple Pencil? Is this a feature you’re excited to have? Tell us in the comments.
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