iPad OS 17.5 talks about a new feature

It's the website 9to5Mac that claims to have found evidence confirming that there will be a new Apple Pencil 3 (do we really need another Apple Pencil?) and that it will have a new “tap” gesture.

More evidence was found in the code for the beta version of iPad OS 17.5, which was released to developers on Tuesday. The function or gesture is called 'press' or klem in Swedish. The gesture can be used for quick interactions such as adding shapes, signatures, stickers, or text fields. This gesture is supposed to be triggered by pressing part of the Apple Pencil.

The Apple Pencil 2 only supports double-tap to switch between different tools in some apps and has no pressure sensors on its surface – only on the tip. According to 9to5mac, this suggests that the new tap feature, which is in the iPad OS 17.5 beta, is for the yet-to-be-launched Apple Pencil 3.

Interestingly, Apple has also updated the interface to pair the Apple Pencil for the first time to support new, non-existent devices. Earlier this year, 9to5Mac actually found evidence of Apple Pencil support in the Find app. Currently, there is no Apple Pencil model that can be tracked via Find.

iPad OS 17.4 introduces a new version of the PencilKit API, which developers can use to make their apps compatible with the Apple Pencil. Some rumors suggest that the Apple Pencil 3 will support replaceable magnetic tips.