In October, Apple introduced the next-generation iPad Pro with the M2 chip. However, the M2 iPad Pro also comes with a new exclusive feature called “Apple Pencil Hover” that allows for a new experience when the accessory is above the screen. It's “difficult to go back” for the development team behind the popular Procreate app after using the Apple Pencil Hover on the new iPad Pro.
In In an article published by Apple, Procreate developers shared their thoughts on the new Apple Pencil Hover feature. For those who don't know, Procreate is an illustrative iPad app introduced in 2011. The app now has an iPhone version and was named “App of the Year” by Apple in 2018.
What the Apple Pencil Hover changes for users and developers
But what do they think of the Apple Pencil Hover? According to Procreate CEO James Couda, the Hover feature helps artists and creators draw with even greater precision. “Being able to commit without damaging artwork makes a difference,” says Kuda.
With this new technology, the iPad can detect the Apple Pencil when the nib is up to 12mm above the screen. Developers can use the Hover feature in their apps for a variety of purposes, such as previewing where the user is drawing, selecting menus, and more. And for Procreate Product Director Claire d'Este, using apps has become much more playful.< /p>
I find myself scrolling up and down the menu just to see how he responds. There's something so sweet about the fact that everything lights up when I think about what to do next.
In Procreate, users can use the Apple Pencil Hover to expand images or preview animations right from their thumbnails. The color picker and menu buttons respond when the user hovers their Apple Pencil over them, and it also works with the canvas. d'Este highlights the ColorDrop feature for color previews using the Hover feature.
The second goal was the app's ColorDrop feature, which instantly populates a section of your artwork , when you drag a color onto it, the paint-by-numbers style. Using the Apple Pencil hover, people can preview what the artwork will look like before choosing a color, making the process much faster. “If you're an ink artist — like drawing comics — it's huge,” d'Este says.
The Procreate team now firmly believes that the Apple Pencil Hover “solves a bunch of problems” for creators and that anyone who uses the feature will find it hard to get back to the experience without it.
More about Procreate
Procreate for iPad is available in the App Store for $12.99. The pocket version for iPhone costs $5.99. Both apps require a device running iOS 15.4.1 or later.
- Procreate has been updated with better performance and more layers for iPad Pro users
- These are Apple's competition winners 2022. Design Awards
