Apple Pencil 2 is definitely a big improvement on the first one, primarily because of the charging mechanism - the first one was always either out of battery or I couldn’t find it when I needed it, as charging it felt stupidly awkward and there’s no way to attach it to the iPad. The second one just attaches and charged magnetically so it’s always there and charged when I need it, making me much more likely to use it (and I do, all the time).
It does feel quicker and more accurate too though I wouldn’t say that’s a dealbreaker for the first gen (I also upgraded to a 12.9” iPad which I think makes a bigger difference for note taking etc, maybe because you end up writing a bit bigger than on paper so the extra space is useful?)