Can You Charge An Apple Pencil With An iPhone? (2023 Update)

If you’re the owner of an iPad and an Apple Pencil, you may still be wondering how the pencil can be charged.

In some cases, you may not want to plug it directly into your iPad. For example, perhaps you’re trying to conserve as much of the iPad’s battery as possible, and you don’t want to drain it any further.

Therefore, you may be wondering – can you plug it into your iPhone instead? Can you charge an Apple Pencil with an iPhone, and is there any risk in doing so?

In this article, we’ll cover everything that you need to know.

Can An iPhone Be Used To Charge An Apple Pencil?

Yes. You can charge an Apple Pencil using an iPhone, just like you would with an iPad. However, only first-generation Apple Pencils are able to be charged this way.

Charging your Apple Pencil using your iPhone does come with a few downsides.

For one, you can’t tell how much the pencil has charged like you would be able to on an iPad.

Secondly, the iPhone has a smaller battery than the iPad, meaning that charging the Apple Pencil is going to drain a higher percentage of the battery.

For example, the 12.9 inch iPad Pro has a 9720 mAh battery, while the iPhone 13 Pro only has a 3095 mAh battery. As you can see, this is a significant difference!

Therefore, while charging your Apple Pencil with your iPhone can work in a pinch (and can be convenient if you’re doing other things on your iPad), it is a less than ideal solution.

What About A Second Generation Apple Pencil?

Unfortunately, you are unable to charge a 2nd generation Apple Pencil using an iPhone.

This is because it charges much differently than the 1st generation Apple Pencil.

The 1st gen pencil charges by plugging directly into the lightning port of your iPad or iPhone.

However, the 2nd generation uses wireless charging, magnetically connecting itself to the side of your iPad.

Because iPhones do not have this technology built into them the same way, they unfortunately can’t be used to charge 2nd generation Apple Pencils.

While Apple’s design choice for the new Apple Pencil is certainly more aesthetically pleasing, this is an unfortunate downside.

How Do I Know When My Apple Pencil Is Charged On My iPhone?

Unfortunately, there is no way for the iPhone to display the battery percentage of your Apple Pencil. This is because the Apple Pencil was designed specifically to be used with iPads.

Therefore, the best way to know how much of a charge it has is to unplug it from your iPhone, and plug it into your iPad. This will only take a moment, and then you can safely remove it from your iPad and continue charging it with your phone.

Keep in mind that the iPhone seems to charge the Apple Pencil at close to the same speed that the iPad does – and it’s already known for charging relatively quick.

A gen 1 Apple Pencil can fully charge in just 15 to 30 minutes. Even leaving it plugged in just a few minutes can give you hours of use.

Therefore, you don’t have to worry too much about the Apple Pencil dying on you!

Can You Use An Apple Pencil With An iPhone?

Here’s a fun one to think about. Since you can charge the 1st gen pencil with your phone, you may be wondering – can you actually use it to draw on your iPhone?

Unfortunately, the Apple Pencil isn’t compatible with iPhones, and was designed specifically to be used on Apple iPads.

To be fair, the small screen size of iPhones do not really lend themselves well to drawing anyway. Although it would be easier with the Apple Pencil, the screen is still too small to really have a pleasant drawing experience.

Still, some people believe that Apple should begin supporting the Apple Pencil with their line of iPhones anyway.

I mean if you already own one, why not, right?

What Other Devices Can Charge An Apple Pencil?

Any device that has a lightning charger port can be used to charge your 1st generation Apple Pencil – hence why the iPhone also works!

However, the iPhone isn’t the only solution.

Using a lightning adapter, you can charge the Apple Pencil using your computer or even a wall outlet.

Still, using the iPad provides the easiest experience. After all, this is how the Apple Pencil was designed, and how we recommend charging it as well.

Conclusion

You are able to charge your Apple Pencil using your iPhone, provided that your Apple Pencil is 1st generation.

Unfortunately, the 2nd generation Apple Pencils cannot be charged this way.

However, Apple Pencils are known for charging extremely quickly. Therefore, regardless of what method you use to charge it, you can be sure that hours of use await you.

I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. If you have any other questions about the Apple Pencil, feel free to ask them using the comment form below.

Thank you for reading,

– James McAllister