Apple’s Pencil and iPad Pro make for a potent creative combination, with stunning displays, low latency interactions and a growing library of pencil-friendly apps. iOS 11 will bring new multitasking and note-taking features to the entire iPad Pro lineup, but in the meantime, try out these excellent pencil-enabled offerings from the App Store.
Procreate is a robust painting, sketching and drawing app with a set of over 100 fully customizable brushes, an extensive layering system and continuous autosave. Some of its impressive technical features include support for 64-bit color, ultra-hd resolution canvasses and multi-threaded processing for smooth pencil operations. Credit: Savage Interactive
This photo editing experience makes full use of Apple’s Metal graphic technology and the iPad Pro’s powerful CPU to bring full support for RAW image files. It also brings essential technical information to the forefront with easily viewable histograms and EXIF data of your photos. Affinity Photo also supports the pencil’s pressure, angle and tilt capabilities for editing. Credit: Serif
uMake is one of the best options for quickly creating CAD models and blueprints on the iPad Pro. Pencil-specific features include dynamic pressure sensitivity, auto-correction of curves and a live symmetry mode for creating mirrored elements. While only your first 10 creations are free, the $49.99 annual subscription model grants access to a library of step-by-step modeling guides and compatibility with other apps such as SketchBook and the Adobe suite. Credit: uMake
LiquidText is a complete document-editing app which lets you write or type grouped notes on the document or in the app margins, highlight multiple sections or simultaneously search for in-text results across multiple documents. It supports PDF, Word, and Powerpoint files, Dropbox and iCloud storage, and sharing fully marked-up documents to other app users. Credit: LiquidText
Complete Anatomy makes it easy to explore 12 complete recreations of the human skeletal, muscular, respiratory and nervous systems among many others. Detailed animation, recording and annotation tools make capturing all of the body’s movements and functions an educational and interactive experience, especially on the iPad’s Pro sharp and vibrant screen. Credit: 3D4Medical
Notability, a premium note-taking app, includes pencil-friendly features such as automatic palm rejection, straight-line detection and sharable selections. Options for writing or typing out your notes, PDF dictation tools, a digital workflow system and automatic backup features are all valuable additions. Credit: Ginger Labs
If you enjoy managing your portfolio in real time, Bloomberg Professional can help you stay on top of the latest financial and stock market news. It also enables investors to share ideas directly with friends via integration with iMessage and Notes or to download reports for later analysis. The entire app interface is navigable with the Apple Pencil and allows users to annotate charts and graphs directly. Credit: Bloomberg
With Felt, you can design a custom card on your iPad with a thoughtful, handwritten message. After customizing a digital card frame, it is then printed on square Mohawk paper and enclosed in a hand-stamped Kraft envelope. Sending your creation to friends and family is cheap and convenient at only $3 per card and will typically be mailed in under 24 hours. Credit: Felt
Microsoft’s Office Suite is one of the best software solutions for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations or notes, and the iPad Pro’s form factor enhances that experience by enabling users to pencil-in edits, annotations and diagrams. Although it does require an Office 365 subscription, this is a great investment when it comes to being productive on your tablet. Credit: Microsoft
PhotoShop Fix offers quick access to a variety of photo retouching features. Some of the built-in features include slider adjustments for the lighting and color, as well as patching tools and brushes for fixing imperfections of your subject. The pencil becomes particularly valuable for fine-tuned adjustments to delicate areas of your photos. Credit: Adobe
