Macworld - USA (2019-10-B)

56 MACWORLD OCTOBER 2019

iOSCENTRAL WHY YOU SHOULD GET AN APPLE PENCIL

styluses you can
use with an iPad
instead of an
Apple Pencil for
these tasks, but
keep in mind
that they won’t
have Apple’s
pressure
technology or
the Pencil’s
sleek design.
Many feel like you’re writing with a
stubby crayon.

HANDWRITTEN NOTES AND
DRAFTS
Some of us are still nuts enough to write
the occasional first draft by hand—I’m
one!—and no other combination of
electronic devices really captures the
experience of writing with paper and
pencil quite like the iPad and Apple Pencil.
Paper and ink still have the edge—even
with its admirable precision, the Apple
Pencil still feels a bit like a marker—but the
Pencil and iPad nudge us a lot closer to
ditching paper than I once figured we’d be
at this point in history.
This arrangement works well enough
for traditional writing and outlines with the
right apps, but sure, you can just as easily
do these things by typing. The Apple
Pencil, though, shines because it allows

you to circle key items in your notes, easily

make highlights, and scribble comments in

the margins when you’re using specialized

apps (go.macworld.com/spcl) like MyScript

Nebo or Notability. Word processing

software still doesn’t successfully mimic

this kind of organic drafting, and the Pencil

helps you enjoy that process without

killing a forest.

THE iPAD AS A VIRTUAL

DESKTOP

Setting up a virtual desktop program such

as Chrome Remote Desktop (go.macworld.

com/chdk) on my iPad saved me a couple

of times when I needed to remotely

access a file that’s only available on my

desktop PC. The catch is that it’s

sometimes awkward to interact with the

interface of my Windows machine with my

iPad’s display, particularly when I try to

“right-click” with my fingers. Most of the

Here’s a simple mind map I made for this story with the 2018 iPad Pro.