The Apple Pencil USB‑C is now down to $49 at Amazon as part of its Cyber Monday sale, a hefty 38% off the regular $79 list price and the lowest total price we’ve seen according to popular price history tracking services like Camelcamelcamel.
If you’ve been holding off on matching a recent iPad with a first‑party stylus to take Notes or do light sketching, now is your time.
The urgency is particularly acute because high‑demand Apple accessories have a tendency to reprice or sell out with astounding speed as remaining Cyber Monday inventories shuffle in and out of stock. And with iPads still leading the category — IDC only recently put Apple at the head of global shipments total once again — you don’t see very deep discounts on many good add‑ons, and when you do, they disappear nearly as quickly.
What the $49 Apple Pencil USB‑C Deal Includes
This model was created as an affordable gateway into Apple’s lineup of styluses. It provides accurate tracking, low latency and tilt support for intuitive shading. It attaches magnetically to the side of compatible iPads for easy storage, and charges and pairs with a USB‑C cable tucked underneath a sliding cap — simple and reliable, just like a classroom.
There are trade‑offs versus the higher‑end Pencils. The USB‑C model lacks pressure sensitivity and the ability to double tap as a gesture, two artist‑friendly features for brush control and quickly switching between tools. For students and working professionals drawing on PDFs, or for the casual scribbler in apps like Notes, Freeform, GoodNotes, and Notability — the level of function is ample.
How Apple Pencil 3 Compares to Apple Pencil Pro and Gen 2
Apple Pencil Pro is the ultimate Apple Pencil with pressure sensitivity, a squeeze gesture, barrel‑roll rotation for pencil tilt effects and even more natural like haptics plus Find My. The 2nd‑gen Apple Pencil retains pressure sensitivity, plus magnetic charging/pairing; the Pro’s haptics and squeeze are not on board. By comparison, if your workflow is heavy on illustration, either of those will feel richer. At that price, the only consideration need be handwriting and markup navigation, with which the USB‑C model holds its head high at a substantially lower cost — especially with a $49 retail price.
Latency is great in all three cases on contemporary iPads, meaning the biggest real‑world difference you’ll notice should be pressure control and charging convenience. For most buyers, the savings of $70 to $80 over a premium model outweigh those benefits.
Which iPads Are Compatible with Apple Pencil USB‑C?
The Apple Pencil USB‑C is compatible with all iPad models that have a USB‑C port including the 10th generation iPad, iPad Air (4th generation and later, including M‑series models), iPad mini (6th generation) and the 11‑inch (1st–4th generation and later) and 12.9‑inch (3rd–6th generations) iPad Pro, in addition to the latest versions of the 11‑inch and the 13‑inch iPad Pro.
Lightning‑port iPads are not supported. If you’re unsure, find the model of your iPad in Settings > General > About and compare it with Apple’s list of supported devices before ordering.
Why This Apple Pencil USB‑C Price Drop Is Noteworthy
Since its release, the USB‑C Pencil has been listed at many major retailers for between $59 and $79. The drop down to $49 is a new floor at Amazon, and illustrates the face‑melting‑ness of Cyber Monday for first‑party accessories. Normally, these record‑breaking lows prove fleeting; as supply tightens up, prices snap back to more familiar ranges.
Context matters, too: With Apple’s iPad line representing a significant proportion of global tablet shipments (IDC puts it at about one‑third of units for several quarters), the above pens‑and‑keyboards attach rate keeps inching up. That demand is what makes sub‑$50 pricing noteworthy and rare outside of relatively brief sales.
Who Should Get It and Who Should Skip This Apple Pencil
Get it if you’re a student, teacher or professional who spends most of your time writing, annotating or whiteboarding. Apps such as GoodNotes and Notability transform it into a paper‑like notebook, while Freeform and Apple Notes enable you to brainstorm or do markups with no friction. With features like Scribble (to turn handwriting to text) and Quick Note (for a quick capture), the ease with which it jumps over finger input is immense.
Skip it if you rely on nuanced pressure control or need magnetic charging and advanced gestures; the 2nd‑gen Pencil or Pencil Pro will be a better fit. If you’re in the market for a third‑party option, Logitech’s Crayon USB‑C is a good alternative that often sells between $49 and $69, although it doesn’t have all of Apple’s system‑level integrations.
Bottom line: Priced at $49, the Apple Pencil USB‑C is a fantastic deal and a great addition for most iPad owners. If the price is right, don’t hesitate — Cyber Monday windows can close quickly and this one probably won’t last.