Apple Built a Shorter Apple Pencil for iPhone Duo, Then Scrapped It

Apple tested a new Pencil stylus for the iPhone Duo that was shorter and magnetic, so it could attach to the device’s hinge, according to Mark Gurman in the latest Power On newsletter (via Bloomberg). Steve Jobs famously said no one wanted to use a stylus with a phone, making the shorter magnetic Pencil a controversial move (“yuck! Nobody wants a stylus” said Jobs during the original iPhone reveal).

Gurman reports the original plan was to introduce the Duo-specific Pencil, but it ran into technical problems a few months ago, ahead of mass production. Apple then pivoted to supporting the iPad versions of the Pencil on the Duo’s external and interior screens instead.

Apple revealed at its September event that the Duo will support the USB-C Apple Pencil later this year for notes, sketches and document markup, bringing Apple Pencil support to iPhone for the first time. Apple says only the USB-C Apple Pencil will work with Duo, not the Pencil Pro. Getting the iPad Pencils to work on the Duo is not as simple as flipping a switch, though.

According to Gurman, Apple must roll out new software and run extensive internal tests, a process now underway, with support expected by the end of 2026.

This is not the first time a Duo stylus has hit trouble. Last month, Apple tested a stylus that magnetically attached to the foldable, but testers found it awkward to unfold the phone with the stylus attached and worried the tip would leave marks on the delicate inner display.

Apple is also reportedly developing two new Apple Pencils for 2027, a lower-end USB-C model and a new Pencil Pro, partly to comply with EU battery rules.

The Duo itself is Apple’s biggest swing at the iPhone in years, opening to a 7.6-inch display with pencil support arriving later this year through the USB-C model. Catch up on everything new in Apple’s first foldable, if you can stomach the eye-popping $2,999 CAD starting price.