Since Apple’s fall iPhone event, iPads and styluses have seemingly become a thing, despite the fact that Microsoft launched its stylus-using laptop/tablet hybrid Surface device a number of years ago. I mention this because only a couple of months ago it seemed like Apple would stick with its long-held belief — iterated by former CEO Steve Jobs — that the best and only way to interact with a tablet is to use one’s fingers. However, that stance has obviously changed since not only did Apple announce its own take on a tablet stylus, we now have companies like Microsoft updating their iOS apps to take advantage of pencil-like input devices.
On Tuesday, the company released an update for OneNote that adds the option for users to add text and drawings with FiftyThree’s excellent Pencil stylus.
Pairing the stylus with OneNote requires navigating to the Draw tab, tapping on the Stylus option and then selecting Pencil by FiftyThree. Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to press Pencil against a black dot that appears on the screen to properly pair it with OneNote.
For those that don’t own the accessory, this update is likewise notable for adding support for several iOS 9 specific enhancements, including the option to use keyboard shortcuts while operating the app, as well a couple of significant bug fixes.
The most notable one is that Microsoft has re-added the ability to zoom when taking a photo in document and whiteboard view. The app’s cheeky change log admits, “We reworked the document/whiteboard camera view and forgot to put the zoom back in.” Also fixed is the infinite scroll bug that affected the page view, an unintended feature the company admits was humorous at first but ultimately not very useful.
Download OneNote from the iTunes App Store.
[source]iTunes App Store[/source]
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