Apple Scrapped Custom Pencil for iPhone Duo Before Launch

Apple developed a shorter, custom Apple Pencil specifically for its new foldable iPhone Duo but abandoned the accessory shortly before mass production, according to reporting by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The decision means the iPhone Duo will launch without working stylus support, with compatibility for an existing Apple Pencil model expected only later in the year. The custom stylus was designed to be shorter than the iPad versions of the Apple Pencil and to attach magnetically to the hinge side of the foldable phone, where it would also charge. According to the reporting, the project ran into technical problems a few months before mass production was set to begin, prompting Apple to scrap the device. The exact nature of the failure has not been made public, though later accounts have pointed to possible issues with the magnetic charging in the hinge, the stylus hardware itself, or the interaction between the two. The scrapped accessory is not the first stylus design to cause trouble for the foldable.