Here’s why Apple scrapped its shorter Apple Pencil designed for iPhone Duo: report

Michael Burkhardt | Sep 20 2026 - 7:38 am PT

Leading into the iPhone Duo launch, we heard from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that Apple was considering a new Apple Pencil for iPhone Duo, though it was unlikely that the company would go forward with it. Of course, the iPhone Duo keynote came, and Apple did announce support for the USB-C Apple Pencil. Here’s how that happened.

Apple Pencil support was reportedly always on the roadmap for iPhone Duo, and the company had designed the product to be compatible. That said, the company had initially planned to build a new Apple Pencil for the Duo. It would’ve been smaller and attached to the hinge side of the iPhone Duo.

According to Bloomberg, that pencil ran into “technical problems” prior to mass production, so the company scrapped it and went with the traditional USB-C Apple Pencil.

Top comment by redus

Liked by 18 people

Personally, I'd want a smaller pencil that stows into the phone and not attached via magnets. The Pencil for my iPad Mini gets bumped off enough to be annoying and sometimes almost gets lost. Imagine one on the Duo that goes in and out of a pocket often.

If Apple ever releases a Pencil specifically for the Duo, I hope it's stow-able inside or at least case makers add a slot to stow it in.

Also, any mention of the Duo supporting hover features for a Pencil assuming the USB-C Pencil supports it.

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After the keynote, you might’ve noticed on Apple’s website that Apple Pencil support won’t be available on iPhone Duo at launch. That delay is a result of the fact that the product wasn’t initially designed with the USB-C Apple Pencil in mind, and Apple still needs to test it thoroughly:

But getting the iPad Pencils to work on the iPhone Duo isn’t as simple as hitting a button to enable support. Apple has to roll out new software to make them compatible and run loads of internal tests. That process is now underway within Apple, with the company — as it said during the Duo unveiling — believing that support will be ready by the end of the year. I would take that literally: It will be fairly late in 2026.

It’s not quite clear if the technical problems with the new Apple Pencil design are with the Apple Pencil, or if it’s with the iPhone Duo being able to magnetically charge it. If it’s the former, it’s certainly possible that Apple will still debut the accessory at a later date.

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Michael Burkhardt mbrkhrdt

Michael is a 9to5Mac Reporter, leading all of our Apple news coverage on weekends and reviewing the newest Apple products and accessories. He got started in the world of Apple news during the pandemic, and it became a growing hobby. He’s also an indie iOS developer, and started the weekly Indie App Spotlight series, which has covered hundreds of blooming new apps since it launched. In his free time, he enjoys shooting street photography around New York City on his Sony A7RV.

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