3 reasons Apple Pencil won't come to iPhone Ultra

Apple built a working Apple Pencil prototype for its first folding iPhone. Then it shelved the idea entirely, and the real reason likely has nothing to do with Steve Jobs.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports Apple internally prototyped and tested a shorter, "stubbier" Apple Pencil designed for the iPhone Ultra, its upcoming foldable device expected to unfold into something resembling an iPad mini.

Like existing pencils, it would have attached magnetically to the phone's side for storage and charging. Apple has since abandoned the concept, and Gurman says it's unlikely to appear when the device launches.

Why won't the Apple Pencil come to the iPhone Ultra?

Gurman lists three factors behind the decision: an awkward side-mounted design, a desire not to contradict Steve Jobs' original stance against smartphone styluses, and the risk of unsightly marks on the foldable display.

Of the three, the design and Jobs-legacy arguments look weaker on closer inspection. A top-mounted pencil, though requiring a shorter design, would likely have solved the attachment problem.

Jobs was opposed to smartphones with styluses because of the need to have one in the phone, not because styluses and touch screens can't coexist. This point also explains why the next MacBook Pro is going to get a touchscreen, despite the fact that the Apple founder rejected touch-enabled Macs.

The foldable screen has a much thinner, more fragile surface compared to standard glass on iPhones, and Apple postponed the launch of its first foldable for many years due to concerns about the ageing of this surface. Letting the pencil tip press and scratch this surface constantly would be very harmful for it.

Apple is expected to unveil the foldable iPhone, likely as the iPhone Ultra, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and new Apple Watch models at its September 9 event.