Apple
The Apple Pencil is aimed at artists and designers.
The Pencil, which costs £79 ($99), was introduced as a creative tool alongside the iPad Pro. The company markets the accessory as allowing for "even greater precision" when drawing making it an ideal companion for the 12.9-inch Pro.
One thing Apple does not market, however, is the pressure sensitivity, a key metric for those who want to get serious about drawing with the Pencil.
"There is literally no indication anywhere as to what kind of pressure sensitivity the device has," said Reddit user GroovyBoomstick. "For reference, the [Microsoft] Surface has 1024 [levels of pressure sensitivity]."
Microsoft, the company that makes the Surface Pro, advertises the sensitivity of its stylus on its website. Wacom, which makes multiple high-end drawing accessories, does the same.
"I do think [this] is weird," said NathanielRussell in a separate Reddit thread. "Apple does not want to mention it at all?" The user said they asked the head of customer service in an Australian Apple Store and they did not know.
One user argued that if the Pencil felt good and was good to draw with, the exact number didn't matter. "Numbers like [pressure sensitivity] are pretty meaningless," they write. "I used the Pro 4 [which has 1,024 levels of sensitivity] this weekend and the pen was disappointing."
The Apple Pencil has received good reviews across the board, despite the long wait times for shipment, but it would seem that Apple is withholding a piece of information that would not hurt the product if released.
Business Insider has reached out to Apple to clarify the levels of sensitivity for the Pencil. We will update the post when we hear back.