2025 Apple Pencil, Status Update (1st, 2nd, pro) - Shelf Life, Battery Replacement, Warranty, Standby
Q1) What is Shelf Life of Apple Pencil, left unopened, new in box?
Q2) How long should a Fully Charged Apple Pencil last when left on StandBy, without any movement?
Q3) Is battery replacement for Pencil, a simple process, or are hurdles/restrictions introduced at time of need?
Q4) Is Apple battery replacement, a new Pencil or reconditioned?
Unless Apple has some way to deactivate Pencil for shipping, one assumes, from own experiences, 3 months is likely shelf life, before discharge becomes detrimental to battery.
I find the 1st gen Pencil, lasts for 4 weeks left undisturbed, in standby, starting from 100% charge. By contrast the 2nd gen Pencil only lasts 2 weeks. Apple Store, says difference, is because 2nd gen has more features.
With iPads/iPhones, I understand, Apple needs their test to show capacity is below 80%, to be eligible for Battery Replacement Service. Some would argue 90% a fairer baseline, especially for phones. The all or nothing, black or white, works or doesn’t, approach with Pencils, may be better or worse - perhaps better for DOA, worse for gradual decline with use. Spending £2k on an iPad, for it to reach 90% Battery Capacity after only 2 years, and 150 cycles, is not what one wants from a premium product.
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Many mixed messages come from Apple (and forums), regarding care of Battery, charging levels (and speed), storage, shelf life, “Battery Life” and “Battery LifeSpan”, etc..
Charging slowly (reducing heat), typically between 30-80%, occasionally to 100% for ‘calibration’, has been shown (across fields) to increase “Battery LifeSpan” by a factor of 4 or more. Even greater benefits, if charging between 50-75%. But sales persons and marketing people don’t want to say this, as it’s a negative to many. Elon Musk has said 50-70% to prolong “Battery LifeSpan”, but no Car Sales Person, wants to suggest cutting range down by 80%, in order to protect batteries long term - not an easy sell.
Apple Store (UK), says they now have 2 year warranty (demonstrated to me on their iPad Support App) across the board - Devices and Accessories, e.g. iPads, Pencils, MacBooks, etc.. UK Consumer Rights often talks of 6 years, albeit with onus on consumer to prove an inherent fault. It is generally not obvious to consumer, if they have a good or bad battery on arrival, and industry is content to leave it that way.
Many forum posts express view that Apple Pencil has a limited shelf life, if left brand new in box, unopened - for examples of weeks, months or years.
Apple Store (UK) has said they should be fine, even after 2-3 years. They added, that if opened in front of supplier, assuming brand new, sealed, no signs external damage, and a battery problem arose immediately on pairing - that would be proof of an inherent fault, thus satisfying the usual 6 months rule (which places onus on supplier to prove fault was not present). IF Supplier doesn’t repair/replace/refund Pencil, Apple Store said a Battery Replacement can be supplied by themselves for £25, irrespective of age, providing item still available.
Apple Store also said they have no metric for condition of a pencil battery, it simply works when charged or doesn’t. Consumer can gauge battery condition thru usage time. To note, Apple Online Support gave some very strange (or rather incorrect) answers. Prior experiences suggests Apple Battery Checks for iPad, iPhone, are not trust worthy in and off themselves, and can on occasion, be easily proven as false, with simple common sense apllied.
It’s all very messy, and it shouldn’t be. DEVICES like iPad should have a means to limit charging to 70% or so, and ACCESSORIES like Apple Pencil should have a shelf life listed, at point of sale. Perhaps, so should wines. Maybe one day..
iPad Pro, iPadOS 18