Imagine needing to write something in a hurry. Well, if you have a Galaxy Note, you can just pull out the S Pen and scribble on the lock screen. And well, you can do that on the iPhone and iPad ...

You can use the Pencil (or a finger) to draw or write directly on to a Pages document, which is handy for annotations on work documents, notes for collaborators and feedback on homework.

If you've ever wanted to create a new note in the Apple Notes app almost instantly, your iPad can do that — with the help of an Apple Pencil. Here's how.

You might yearn to pick up your iPad and scrawl some notes on its surface, but until recently you had few good options for doing so.