Can You Use A Stylus On An Ipad
The research
- Why yous should trust u.s.
- Who this is for
- How we picked and tested
- Our pick: Zagg Pro Stylus
- Upgrade pick: Apple Pencil
- Upkeep pick: Adonit Marker
- The competition
- Sources
Why yous should trust us
Nick Guy has been using and reviewing iPad styluses for a decade, first using the early on 10 I Pogo stylus when working in Apple retail and so covering dozens more as an accessories editor and writer of several iterations of this guide.
For previous versions of this guide, we interviewed graphic designer Dan Bransfield, and designer Mike Due west helped us examination styluses. For the more than recent updates, nosotros did speed, handwriting, and precision tests. Author Quiet Caldwell interviewed pixel artist Rich Stevens, cartoonist Danielle Corsetto, and illustrator Mike Thompson, who have decades of collective experience working in impress and online, and asked them to personally test our top picks.
Editor's notation: Tranquillity Caldwell began working for Apple in July 2018. She last tested and reported on iPad styluses for Wirecutter in 2016. Since then, the guide has been updated several times.
Who this is for
An iPad stylus makes it easier to describe, sketch, doodle, write notes, and apply devices in common cold weather, and it tin assistance some people who take certain mobility problems that might make touchscreen navigation hard.
iPad compatibility of our recommended styluses
| Zagg Pro Stylus | Apple tree Pencil 1st gen | Apple Pencil 2nd gen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPad 6 | Yes | Yes | No |
| iPad seven | Yep | Yes | No |
| iPad eight | Yes | Yes | No |
| iPad 9 | Yes | Yes | No |
| iPad mini 5 | Yes | Yeah | No |
| iPad mini 6 | Yep | No | Yes |
| iPad Air 3 | No | Yep | No |
| iPad Air 4 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 9.vii″ Pro | No | Yeah | No |
| x.v″ Pro | No | Yes | No |
| 1st-gen 11″ Pro | Aye | No | Yes |
| 2nd-gen xi″ Pro | Yep | No | Yes |
| 3rd-gen 11″ Pro | Yes | No | Yeah |
| 1st-gen 12.9″ Pro | No | Yes | No |
| 2nd-gen 12.9″ Pro | No | Yes | No |
| 3rd-gen 12.9″ Pro | Yes | No | Yeah |
| quaternary-gen 12.nine″ Pro | Yes | No | Aye |
| 5th-gen 12.nine″ Pro | Yes | No | Aye |
The Zagg Pro Stylus is compatible with more iPads than whatever other smart stylus. The two versions of the Apple Pencil are each compatible with different iPads.
A stylus isn't for everyone. If y'all use an iPad largely for browsing the spider web, watching video, or playing games, you lot're likely improve off with standard bear on controls. Simply even if you're just a casual iPad user, a simple stylus might brand sense for you lot: When it comes to taking notes, using a stylus to write is faster and easier for many people than borer away at the iPad'due south screen, especially with the advanced handwriting features introduced in iPadOS 14. (People who don't enjoy handwriting have other options, such every bit a Bluetooth keyboard or an iPad keyboard instance). And with the right stylus, digital artists can relish an experience closer to that of using a pencil on newspaper (or painting on sheet) than they would get past using a finger on the tablet's glass display.
How nosotros picked and tested
We've researched hundreds of models of styluses over the years, and we have easily-on experience with dozens. There has been footling innovation on the budget side of the spectrum, and very few models have been able to compete with Apple'due south own Pencil at the high end. Although the Adonit Mark has been our perennial favorite cheap stylus, we wanted to explore other Pencil competitors to come across if anything could stand up up to what Apple offers, a decision that led u.s. to test the Adonit Notation-M, the JamJake Stylus Pen, and the Zagg Pro Stylus, too as to reevaluate the Logitech Crayon.
We designed our tests to evaluate the five most important characteristics of a smashing stylus: precision, advanced features, comfort, resistance, and residue.
- Precision: A stylus should write consistently, without overlapping letters or inconsistent vertical spacing. While yous're cartoon, the stylus should ink over the aforementioned line precisely and repeatedly, and the line on the screen should closely stick to the stylus's tip without noticeable lag.
- Advanced features: More advanced stylus models include features such equally palm rejection, tilt support, and force per unit area sensitivity, which make for a better drawing and writing feel.
- Comfort: Recommending a single stylus design and grip for everyone is difficult; some people prefer a thicker body, for example, while others want rubberized grips or angled grip surfaces. Yet, if a stylus cramped a tester's hand or dug into skin, we dropped that model from consideration, and if nosotros found it impossible to grip a stylus without dragging a hand on the screen or contorting our fingers, we eliminated that contender.
- Resistance: A skillful stylus offers the right amount of friction between the neb (drawing terminate) of the stylus and the iPad's screen. If the nib is too slick, you don't take the line command that you might get with a pen on a slice of paper. If it's also viscous, you might make erroneous marks or get sore hands from gripping the stylus more than tightly to drag it beyond the screen.
- Balance and weight: A stylus'southward weight should exist distributed evenly along its torso—a stylus with most of its weight at the nib and footling at the other end (or vice versa) is uncomfortable to hold and difficult to control. This is especially true for styluses that don't support palm rejection, which means yous have to keep your hand upright over the pen. Weight in general is also of import: A stylus that'southward too heavy cramps your paw over fourth dimension, and one that'south too light suffers from the same problems every bit a slicker pen nib—you don't have the same control over your lines.
Over the years, we've tested styluses with illustration and cartooning experts. Diesel Sweeties creator Rich Stevens has been cartoon and illustrating digitally for decades. Girls With Slingshots creator Danielle Corsetto is near Stevens's contrary: Though she's famous for her recently completed webcomic, Corsetto created it largely using ink pens and concrete paper, turning to digital tools primarily for cleanup. Illustrator Mike Thompson conducted additional testing. Each panelist spent a few hours cartoon in Notes, Paper, Procreate, and GoodNotes. In 2021, we took what we learned from that wealth of feel and applied information technology to a handful of new styluses to see how they stacked up to previous picks.
Our selection: Zagg Pro Stylus
Our pick
Zagg Pro Stylus
The best iPad stylus
The Zagg Pro Stylus is as responsive as any stylus, works throughout iPadOS on whatever iPad released since 2017, offers tilt support and palm rejection, and charges via USB-C.
Buying Options
Zagg's Pro Stylus is the best digital pen for most notation-takers, casual iPad artists, or anyone who just likes a stylus for navigating their tablet. It'due south as accurate and responsive as Apple tree'due south Pencil, with nearly all of the same features save for pressure level sensitivity. The design is familiar and practical, and different Apple'south stylus, it works no matter what recent-model iPad you're using. Charging is elementary, the battery lasts for a total workday, and in that location'due south a 2nd, non-smart stylus on the other terminate. The Pro Stylus is not cheap, but at $30 to $threescore less than an Apple tree Pencil, it's well priced for all that it offers.
A great stylus will never fully replicate the feel of a pen on newspaper, just it should come up shut, creating a fine, authentic line that trails the tip as closely as possible with imperceptible lag. That'southward what Zagg'south Pro Stylus offers. Across our note-taking and sketching tests, it ever drew a line right where we intended, with the digital ink flowing directly from the fine tip, even when we tried to trip information technology up with fast squiggles upwards and down the iPad's screen. We wrote at 10- to 12-bespeak font size without losing detail. The glass iPad screen doesn't have the same kind of drag and resistance every bit a piece of paper, but the Zagg stylus felt as skilful as whatever other active model we've tested. In accuracy, response, and the physical feel on the screen, the Pro Stylus performed but as well equally the 2nd-generation Apple Pencil.
The Pro Stylus also offers palm rejection and tilt support, two features nosotros consider essential on a premium stylus. No matter how much of our hands were touching the iPad's screen while we were writing, it never interfered with the stylus'south performance or acquired the line to jump around, which used to be commonplace with non-smart styluses. And with the Pro Stylus's tilt support, you tin can utilise the pen tip's wide border to draw a wider line. Note-takers may find this feature particularly useful when highlighting, and artists will detect that it comes close to replicating the experience of using a paintbrush or a marker.
The only cartoon feature the Pro Stylus lacks is pressure level sensitivity. In contrast, Apple's Pencil draws a darker or heavier line when you press harder. Some other styluses, such equally the Adonit Pixel, replicate pressure sensitivity with specific apps, only none offer it system-broad. This omission isn't a dealbreaker if you lot're writing or casually sketching, but if you lot're trying to produce more professional-looking art, pressure sensitivity might exist of import. In that case, we recommend spending more than and getting an Apple tree Pencil.
At just over 6.5 inches long and with a 0.35-inch diameter, the aluminum Pro Stylus feels a lot more than like a standard pen, rather than a tech gadget. Information technology's mostly round, with i flat edge that prevents it from rolling away when yous set it down. Magnets along that border tin can adhere to the side of flat-edged iPads, including the 2018, 2020, and iPad Pro models, the 2020 iPad Air (4th generation), and the 2021 iPad mini (sixth generation). This is only for storage, though; your iPad won't charge your Pro Stylus wirelessly, unlike with the Apple Pencil. Zagg'due south stylus weighs just over half an ounce, which makes it a bit heavier than our favorite traditional pen, but we still found it comfortable for extended employ.
The Pro Stylus works with any new iPad instantly, without your having to pair information technology (although if you previously paired an Apple Pencil to that iPad, you'll have to unpair that showtime). All yous accept to do is press the power push, and the status ring glows blue, showing that the Pro Stylus is ready for use. One time it's turned on, you can even use the stylus with multiple iPads without having to worry near going through a pairing process each time y'all want to switch between them.
Zagg took a simple and smart approach to charging with the Pro Stylus, rather than introducing a new solution every bit Apple has washed with each of its Pencil models. The top inch or and so of the stylus, to a higher place the power button and status band, slides upward to reveal a USB-C port. Zagg includes a short USB-A–to–USB-C cable and says the battery volition final for upward to eight hours of use per charge. We never ran the battery all the fashion downwardly, only with fifty-fifty intermittent charging, the Pro Stylus was always ready to go whenever nosotros picked it up. If you have a USB-C–to–USB-C cable, you lot can plug the Pro Stylus into an iPad Pro, iPad Air, or iPad mini to charge while you lot're away from an outlet.
The Pro Stylus is actually two styluses in one: In add-on to the active tip, information technology has a capacitive condom nub at the "eraser" end. Although that nub is non nigh as accurate for writing or cartoon, it'south useful for swiping around and scrolling. Because it doesn't brand a digital connexion, you can use it with any touchscreen device, not just iPads, and even if the Pro Stylus's battery is dead, it still works. We wouldn't recommend that you buy this stylus if you desire something only for navigating (consider our budget pick if that'due south what you're looking for), but the second nub is a nice extra.
Zagg's stylus works most iPads that back up the 1st- or 2nd-generation Apple Pencil, and then yous don't have to worry as much about getting the correct version to lucifer your tablet. That list covers the following models:
- 6th-generation iPad
- 7th-generation iPad
- 8th-generation iPad
- 9th-generation iPad
- 5th-generation iPad mini
- 6th-generation iPad mini
- 4th-generation iPad Air
- 1st-generation 11-inch iPad Pro
- 2d-generation eleven-inch iPad Pro
- tertiary-generation 11-inch iPad Pro
- tertiary-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro
- 4th-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro
- fifth-generation 12.ix-inch iPad Pro
With a list price of $seventy, the Pro Stylus isn't inexpensive, but compared with styluses offering similar features, it's a practiced deal. The Apple Pencil costs $thirty to $60 more, depending on which model you have to get, and no other smart stylus costs much less than $50.
Zagg warranties the Pro Stylus for one year. In our experience, the company's service department has been responsive and effective. An extra active stylus tip is included in the box in case you wear the original downward over fourth dimension.
Upgrade pick: Apple Pencil
Upgrade choice
If you're a professional illustrator, calligrapher, or creative person, you should get the Apple tree Pencil (1st generation or 2nd generation, depending on which iPad yous have) over the Zagg Pro Stylus. Apple's stylus is the same as Zagg'southward in most of the of import means, just information technology's the only stylus that offers universal pressure level sensitivity, a characteristic that anyone who draws would likely consider necessary.
| The 1st-generation Pencil is compatible with Lightning-port-equipped iPad models released since 2015: | The 2nd-generation Pencil works with whatever iPad that has a USB-C connector and flat edges, including the following: |
|---|---|
| 6th-generation iPad | fourth-generation iPad Air |
| 7th-generation iPad | 1st-generation 11-inch iPad Pro |
| 8th-generation iPad | second-generation 11-inch iPad Pro |
| 9th-generation iPad | |
| 5th-generation iPad mini | third-generation 11-inch iPad Pro |
| 3rd-generation iPad Air | third-generation 12.ix-inch iPad Pro |
| 9.7-inch iPad Pro | 4th-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro |
| 10.5-inch iPad Pro | fifth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro |
| 1st-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro | 6th-generation iPad mini |
| 2d-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro |
As with many Apple products, the Pencil'southward greatest strength is in the company's hardware-and-software integration. Because Apple tree makes the Pencil, equally well as the iPad, iPadOS, and software kits for developers, the Pencil can have reward of more than features, although the listing of unique functions has shrunk over the years. At this bespeak, force per unit area sensitivity for art and writing is the main advantage. Unlike Bluetooth styluses from other companies, which take pressure sensitivity but in apps that explicitly back up each stylus, the Apple Pencil still offers serviceable pressure level sensitivity in older or unsupported programs. In the best apps, using a Pencil feels very close to cartoon on real paper.
The Apple Pencil is designed with real-earth drafting pencils in mind; its length is almost identical to that of an HB fine art pencil, lack of eraser and all. It's counterbalanced just as nicely, besides, allowing y'all to concur it wherever it feels natural or comfy.
The Pencil's pecker is non as resistive or soft as it could be. Plastic nibs are usually slippery confronting glass and tend to make a tiny "tap-tap-tap" audio, and the one on the Pencil is no dissimilar. Most high-end styluses—Wacom pens included—are similar in that respect, and the Pencil's plastic beak doesn't dramatically worsen the experience of working with the tool. That said, a Pencil with a safe- or mesh-coated neb would be nice to run into.
The 1st-generation Pencil besides has a somewhat odd charging organisation: The tool has a Lightning-connector plug subconscious under a magnetic cap at the "eraser" end, and you plug the Pencil into an iPad's Lightning-connector port to charge the stylus. (This is also how you pair the Pencil with the iPad in the commencement place.) The result looks weird, and it seems every bit if a bump might intermission the connector off. Soon after the Pencil'south release, blogger Zach Straley discovered (video) that it can stand up a surprising amount of abuse—Apple tree has clearly designed the rear of the tool to blot forcefulness applied to the connector if information technology'south jostled. If y'all really want to break your Pencil, you can—simply y'all shouldn't break your iPad in the process.
As foreign as having a stylus sticking out from the bottom of your iPad looks, the convenience cistron of existence able to add together roughly 20% of the Pencil'due south battery life in v minutes is groovy. Other powered styluses require either a carve up power brick or a USB cable (and, of course, a USB power source) to accuse. You can charge the 1st-gen Pencil anytime, anywhere, without having to remember whatever other accessories.
The 2nd-generation Pencil charges and pairs through a magnetic connection on the iPad's right side. This arrangement offers a few benefits. Information technology looks a lot less silly and puts null in a position to break, the Pencil has somewhere to go when it'south non in utilise, and the stylus near always stays charged. You tin can't accuse the 2d-gen Pencil any other way than on the iPad, unlike with the 1st-generation Pencil—non that you should ever demand to.
The double-tap function is another advantage of the 2nd-gen Pencil. In supported apps, you can double-tap anywhere on the stylus'due south lower third to toggle between settings. Past default, including in Apple's Notes app, that action reliably switches between the drawing implement you're using and the eraser. App developers can ready and offer dissimilar settings in their apps, such as zooming.
The biggest strike against the Apple Pencil is its cost. When Apple appear the original at $100, it seemed expensive but not exorbitantly so. But the 2nd-generation model launched at $thirty more than. Yep, the newer model is more than avant-garde, including its magnetic attachment/charging bespeak and touch sensor. But $130 is a huge price to pay for an accessory, especially compared with the Zagg Pro Stylus's lower price.
On superlative of that, if y'all take the original Pencil, in that location's bad news: It doesn't work with the newest iPads. And similarly, the 2nd-generation Pencil doesn't work with older iPads.
Budget option: Adonit Mark
Upkeep choice
The best inexpensive stylus for most people and near uses is the Adonit Marker. It feels like a high-quality pen in your hand, with an anodized end that you can't aid but want to touch. Its weight is evenly distributed across its body, assuasive you to hold information technology shut to the nib or near the other finish and nonetheless have control. The Marker's mesh nib is thicker, more than durable, and smoother to write with than the contest'due south. And perhaps all-time of all, this model is ane of the most affordable styluses available. It'due south as well the best pick if you have an older iPad that doesn't support a smart stylus like the Zagg Pro Stylus or the Apple tree Pencil.
Adonit has long been hailed in the iPad stylus universe for great designs that feel good in the hand, and the Mark is no exception. The curved, triangular design brings to heed grade-school pencils or charcoal sticks, with slanted sides that converge into a cone nose that cradles a 6 mm mesh nib. This cone-shaped nose will be welcome to anyone who places their fingers close to the nib when writing or drawing.
The Mark really proved itself during our speed and precision tests. While writing or tracing, you can hold the Marker in just about any position and nevertheless retain a skilful grip and control—and you can easily avoid accidentally rubbing your palm against the screen. This is one of the reasons the results of the Marking's handwriting tests looked so natural, fifty-fifty at multiple sizes, and why the shape tracings were so authentic.
Even with its nifty performance, the Mark's price hasn't risen above $14 since 2016, and information technology commonly goes for $10. Only the Mark doesn't feel inexpensive: 1 of our analogy experts, Rich Stevens, described its build quality equally "feeling like you were getting $fifty of stylus," pointing out that by comparison, the $60 Lynktec Noon Fusion "also felt similar you were getting $l of stylus." If someone had asked us to take a guess equally to the Mark's cost, we would have easily pegged it at double or triple its actual price.
The contest
Adonit'south Neo and Neo Duo lack pressure sensitivity, and they're too missing tilt support, which the Zagg Pro Stylus does take. It'due south worth the modest toll divergence to get that extra feature from the Pro Stylus. Otherwise, both have fine tips, palm rejection, a apartment magnetic edge for connecting to (but not charging from) the side of compatible iPads, and USB-C charging. We institute they write well and are comfortable in the hand. The simply departure betwixt the two Adonit models is the Duo'south universal mode, which lets it human action equally a standard stylus on any device, non just iPads.
Logitech's Crayon has the same features as the Zagg Pro Stylus, supports the same broad range of iPads, and costs nearly the same. We plant its flat body to be less comfy than the Pro Stylus's pen-like shape, though, and the Crayon can't snap onto the side of apartment-edged iPads. Just it's an otherwise expert culling if you prefer the design or if it drops significantly in price.
JamJake's Stylus Pen is the most popular version of a generic smart stylus nosotros've seen nether a number of different brands. It'south actually surprisingly authentic and responsive, only information technology has a few major flaws: It doesn't back up tilt or pressure sensitivity, and the apartment border that looks like information technology magnetically attaches to an iPad doesn't actually do so. But the ability toggle is the dealbreaker—the capacitive power button is located where the eraser would exist if this were a pencil, and even a soft tap or brush against information technology tin turn the stylus on or off, which makes information technology a real pain to use.
Like most of the smart styluses we tested, Adonit's Annotation-M doesn't support pressure level sensitivity, but it likewise lacks tilt support, and information technology doesn't support early iPad Pro tablets. The most noteworthy feature is its built-in mouse functionality: Where an eraser would be on a pencil, the Note-Grand instead has a sensor that you can elevate along flat surfaces, left- and correct-click buttons, and a scroll-wheel button. The mouse functionality technically works, only it'southward not a necessary feature, and information technology doesn't work well plenty that you should option this stylus over the Zagg Pro Stylus.
Adonit's Notation+ matches many of the Apple Pencil's features at a lower price. It supports tilt and palm rejection out of the box, instantly connects, and charges over USB-C, all of which are skillful things. Just we found a college latency while writing or drawing with this model, its pressure sensitivity isn't universal throughout iPadOS, and information technology's compatible only with a limited selection of iPads.
The Adonit Note provides accurate palm rejection at an affordable price only doesn't offer the same tilt recognition as our pick.
Adonit's disc-fashion styluses, including the Mini four, Pro 4, and Switch, can work well, simply they're non for everyone. The clear plastic tip gives you lot the advent of greater accuracy, but every bit with sparse-nib styluses, that may not always be the case, especially when you're writing or drawing chop-chop. Disc nibs also lack the "requite" of a soft tip and offer less resistance against the screen than condom or mesh, and every bit a result you must position the nib at the proper angle to write or draw correctly.
Adonit's Pixel was one of the commencement third-party smart styluses to compete with the Apple tree Pencil, but information technology works simply with certain apps, and the most recent iPad the visitor lists support for is the 2017 iPad (fifth generation).
The Adonit Snap two is a i.9 mm fine-line stylus with a apartment, magnetic body. It's primarily designed for use with a smartphone, and it fifty-fifty comes with a magnetic adhesive for your phone and so that you can store the Snap on the rear of your device. It's a decent version of a fine-line stylus, merely as its primary focus is mobile phones, we elected not to put information technology through the same tests equally our iPad contenders.
The Studio Corking Cosmonaut has a larger body and nib than every other modern stylus we've seen. Simply this bigger size makes it a perfect choice for kids, people who have trouble gripping smaller pens, and anyone who wants the equivalent of a dry out-erase marker in their iPad armory. With an aluminum body and a rubber coating, it's a big tool, and although its balance and resistance allow you to do excellent line work, you have to trust in the Cosmonaut's nib precision—the stylus'south chunky body often blocks your view of the area yous're working on. For zoomed-in illustrations, loose sketching, or big writing, nonetheless, the Cosmonaut is a delight to work with.
Meko's Universal Stylus is popular on Amazon. Available in one- and two-piece bundles, it pairs a mesh tip on i end with a articulate disc tip on the other, and it comes with replacements for both. The fiber tip feels slick on the iPad'due south drinking glass screen, but it's quite accurate. Members of the Wirecutter staff were split on whether they preferred that slick feel or the slight elevate from Adonit's Mark, with the latter earning a bit more than back up. If you don't like the Marker'southward drag, though, the Meko stylus is a good, affordable option.
Longtime tablet leader Wacom has been making condom and Bluetooth styluses for the iPad for a few years, but 2016 saw the company change to mesh nibs for its standout models, the Bamboo Solo and Bamboo Duo (the latter of which includes a traditional pen beak in add-on to a digital stylus tip). Those mesh nibs feel flimsy and have way besides much squish when you depict on the screen, and the weight balance of both styluses has changed, too, which left us thoroughly unimpressed.
The Ten One Design'due south Pogo Stylus is slightly heavier and better weighted in the hand than the Bamboo Solo, but it notwithstanding feels too flimsy for writing on iPad-size screens.
The Lynktec Apex Fusion offers a 1.9 mm mesh neb, an machine-off battery, and easy charging via a Micro-USB port on its body. The Noon Fusion is great in apps like Notes, simply it suffers from worse lag than bones capacitive styluses do. It too performs poorly in programs that utilize custom drawing algorithms or that aren't optimized for powered styluses. Our drawing tests in Newspaper highlighted this behavior: When we drew or wrote slowly with the Apex Fusion, the app would lose the nib's location and generate wavy, jagged patterns, whereas with other stylus models the app would produce smooth lines.
The amPen New Hybrid Stylus is about as basic as a cheap stylus gets. It works, but information technology's non special in any way, and you can get something great for just a few dollars more than.
Sources
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Rich Stevens, Diesel Sweeties, test panelist
-
Danielle Corsetto, Girls with Slingshots, examination panelist
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CGP Grey, CGP Grey Videos, test panelist
Can You Use A Stylus On An Ipad,
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-ipad-stylus/
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