Jony Ive explained why Apple did a U-turn on making a stylus
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The iPad Pro comes with a Pencil, an electronic stylus that is aimed at those who draw. Jobs famously said that any company that included a stylus "blew it."
"It was fundamentally important originally not to develop a user interface that required another instrument," Ive said. "It was important that we develop the UI based upon multi-touch, based on our fingers." This explains why Jobs disliked the stylus.
However, the focus changed with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. "I think it is equally obvious that you're just not as dexterous as you are with a pen or a pencil for certain things," Ive continued. These certain things are exactly what the Pro, which launched in early November, is aimed at.
"What we found is that there's clearly a group of people that would value an instrument that would enable them to paint or draw in ways that you just can't with your finger," said Ive. "And I suspect that this isn't a small group of people."
So there it is: Apple saw a new market for an iPad - creative professionals - and built the tools that they need, irrespective of whether Jobs would have approved.