Citi Research market analysts claim that the iPhone 11 will “include support for iPhone pencil/stylus”. If true, Steve Jobs must be screaming “what have you done, you bozos?” from beyond.
When Jobs introduced the iPhone he famously lambasted the stylus in all the PDAs and smartphones of the day: “Who wants a stylus? You have to get 'em, put 'em away, you lose 'em. Yuck! Nobody wants a stylus. So let's not use a stylus.” He claimed that the best pointing devices ever are built in our hands and they are called fingers, which is why the iPhone got its capacitive touchscreen and the world changed forever.
Years later, Samsung adopted the stylus with great success on its Galaxy Note line. Apple never took that step, though, living up to his co-founder’s vision until Tim Cook and his cronies released the first Apple Pencil for the iPad Pro. The company redesigned the Apple Pencil last year for the new iPad Pro, adding more features like a new touch sensor and a magnetic design for easier charging.
But according to the Citi Research report obtained by Business Insider, which also lists all the rumors about the 2019 iPhones that we already know, the Apple Pencil will work with the iPhone 11 this Fall.
If true, the rumored 6.5-inch iPhone 11 Max will turn into a direct Samsung Galaxy Note 10 competitor, sitting between the Note 10’s 6.3-inch display and the Note 10+’s 6.8-inch.
However, if Apple is using the existing Apple Pencil for the iPhone 11, there would be no easy place to store the Pencil when not in use. The Galaxy Note houses the S Pen within the phone's chassis.
It’s not the first time that we have seen rumors of incoming iPhone stylus support; last year, the Chinese financial newspaper Economic Daily News claimed that the 2018 iPhones would support the Apple Pencil. So perhaps this Citi Research report is poppycock. Or maybe the Economic Daily News’ industry sources got the dates wrong. We will know for sure in a little more than a month.
In the meantime, check out our frequently updated iPhone 11 hub for all of the latest news, rumors and leaks.
