One of the big advantages of using the iPad is the compatibility for the Apple Pencil to draw or handwrite with compatible apps. Microsoft has just released a beta version that supports hand-writing via Scribe. This system allows you to insert and edit text in a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, or Excel spreadsheet using the Apple Pencil, with handwriting automatically converted into typed text.
Apple Scribble works by recording what you’re writing on the screen with the Apple Pencil and then translates that into typed text that an app can read. Scribble was added in iPadOS 14 for any iPad that supports the original or second-generation Apple Pencil, including any iPad Pro, the third-generation iPad Air and newer, the fifth-generation iPad mini and newer, and the sixth-generation iPad and newer.
Microsoft will likely support the Scribble feature for most users in the coming weeks, once all of the bugs have been worked out with the Insiders Build. This might be a very useful feature for many users. One of the use cases that I find interesting is when you are out of the office and don’t have the magic keyboard with you, you can make a quick annotation or a quick change in a PowerPoint presentation right before you present it.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
