As an Apple Pencil owner, I’ve often been frustrated by how quickly it runs out of battery. After doing some research and testing, I’m here to share my experience and what I’ve learned about how often you need to charge an Apple Pencil. In this blog post, I’ll discuss the battery life of an Apple Pencil and how to optimize it for the best performance. I’ll also share some tips on how to prolong the battery life of your Apple Pencil and other solutions I’ve discovered along the way.
The Apple Pencil lasts for 12 hours of regular use when fully charged. The Apple Pencil also lasts for 30 minutes after being charged for 15 seconds. When in standby mode users report the battery losing around 15% of charge per day and will usually keep some charge for around 1-2 weeks without use.
It is actually very important to make sure that your Apple Pencil does not stay at 0% charge for too long because the battery can die as a result.
Indeed, a number of users have reported that their batteries have died after being at 0% charge for more than a few days.
Key takeaways:
- The Apple Pencil 1 lasts for 12 hours of regular use when fully charged and 30 minutes when charged for 15 seconds.
- It is important to not leave the Apple Pencil at 0% charge for too long, as this can cause the battery to die.
- The Apple Pencil 2 can be left attached to the iPad when not in use, so it rarely runs out of charge.
- The Apple Pencil 2 keeps its charge for around 1-2 weeks when left unused after being fully charged.
- To check the charge level, you can swipe from left to right on the home or lock screen.
Table of Contents
How often do you need to charge an Apple Pencil?
The Apple Pencil 1 is usually charged by connecting the Apple Pencil to the lightning port on the iPad.
By charging the Apple Pencil this way, it will charge to full in just 15 minutes and this will give you 12 hours of use. You can also charge it for 15 seconds to get 30 minutes of use time.
To charge the Apple Pencil 2, you just leave it attached to the side of the iPad where the magnets are. To fully charge the Apple Pencil 2, it only takes 15 minutes and this will give 12 hours of use.
Since you can easily leave the Apple Pencil 2 attached to the iPad all the time, it will not be often that your Apple Pencil 2 will run out of battery.
Read more: How do I wake up the Apple Pencil?
However, if your pencil does run out of power, it will not be an issue since it only takes 15 seconds to charge it enough to get 30 minutes of use.
Because you can easily leave the Apple Pencil 2 connected to the iPad when you are not using it, you will rarely find that your Apple Pencil 2 does not have any power.
Also, even if you do find it without power, it is not an issue since you can charge it enough to last for 30 minutes in just 15 seconds.
Read more: How to disconnect my Apple Pencil?
Often, people worry about having their Apple Pencil 2 attached to the iPad most of the time because they don’t want the battery degrading due to being fully charged all the time.
However, the Apple Pencil 2 is designed to be connected to the iPad most of the time.
Also, because the Apple Pencil 2 can last for 12 hours from full charge, so it is not such an issue if the battery does degrade slightly since the battery will still be able to last for a long time.
Also, keeping the Apple Pencil 2 attached to the iPad when not in use is ideal because it will not allow your Apple Pencil to be at 0% charge for too long.
The Apple Pencil’s battery can die if it is allowed to be at 0% charge for more than a few days.
| Apple Pencil | Battery Life | Charging Time | Charging Duration | Best Practices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 hours | 1 Hour | 15 sec = 30 mins | Avoid 0% for too long |
| 2 | 12 hours | 1 Hour | 15 sec = 30 mins | Can be left attached to iPad |
| Swipe from left to right on home or lock screen to check charge level |
Is it bad to keep the Apple Pencil charging?
The Apple Pencil 2 is designed to stay attached to the iPad. When it reaches a 100% charge, it will stop charging, so you do not need to worry about overcharging the Apple Pencil by leaving it attached to the iPad.
It is also much more convenient since you will be able to use the Apple Pencil whenever you want to use it and it will help you to avoid losing it.
How often do I need to charge the Apple Pencil when not in use?
I have found that the Apple Pencil 2 keeps its charge for around 1-2 weeks, if you leave it unused after being fully charged. Users also report in forums that their Apple Pencil 2’s lose about 15% of charge each day without use.
Something very important to be aware of is that it is important not to allow the battery to be at 0% charge for too long.
The reason for this is that many users have reported their Apple Pencil batteries dying when left at 0% for more than a few days.
In practice, this should be very easy with the Apple Pencil 2 because you can just leave it attached to the iPad, so it will rarely be able to get close to 0% unless your iPad goes to 0%.
How do you know when an Apple Pencil is charged?
To see when the Apple Pencil is fully charged, you can swipe from left to right on the home screen or the lock screen and it will display the amount of charge all of your devices currently have.
Pros
- The Apple Pencil 1 and 2 both charge quickly and last for 12 hours of regular use when fully charged.
- The Apple Pencil 2 can be left attached to the iPad when not in use, so it rarely runs out of charge.
- The Apple Pencil 2 can be charged enough to last for 30 minutes in just 15 seconds.
- The Apple Pencil 2 keeps its charge for around 1-2 weeks when left unused after being fully charged.
- The Apple Pencil 2 is designed to stay attached to the iPad and it stops charging when it is fully charged, so you do not need to worry about overcharging.
Cons
- The battery can die if it is left at 0% charge for more than a few days.
- The battery may degrade slightly if the Apple Pencil 2 is kept attached to the iPad all the time.
