A report from earlier this week, courtesy of Taiwanese research firm, TrendForce, suggested that Apple might release two of its three possible iPhones this year with support for its in-house stylus, the Pencil. Another report - this time, from Taiwanese publication Economic Daily News - validates the prior report by backing it up with information it received from "industry insiders".
Indeed, this adds another differentiating factor between the more expensive, AMOLED-screened iPhone X models and their relatively cheaper, LCD-screen toting sibling, which will reportedly not come with the support for the stylus. All of this points to Apple"s apparent strategy to increase the number of its devices that support the Pencil; since its debut in 2015, only the higher-end iPad Pros did so, but earlier this year, Apple extended this to its latest, less-premium iPad line, too.
Enthusiasts would make sure to cite Steve Jobs" famous "Yuck. Nobody wants to use a stylus!" quote from the very first iPhone keynote back in 2008, but one has to remember that he was referring to the primary method of interacting with iOS" interface, which is still far and away one"s fingers. The Pencil is intended for a smaller niche of users who specifically require a device in that shape for a different set of tasks, such as sketching.
It"s currently unclear if Apple would release a smaller variant of the Pencil similar to the S-Pen that comes with Samsung"s Note line of smartphones, given the current ones - geared for just iPads, thus far - could be too big for efficient use with smaller screens, in some situations.
In any case, all will be revealed soon enough, as Apple"s big event for its iPhone announcements is less than a month away, so do stay tuned!