Stylus Pen is a tool that is used to write, draw, navigate, point on touchscreen devices. This post will discuss in detail about the meaning of Stylus Pen, active and passive stylus pens, top stylus in the market & advantages.

What is Stylus Pen

Stylus is an ancient writing tool that dates to 3000 BC made of metal, bone, ivory, feathers (quills), wood, or other materials. Ancients used clay/ waxed tablets for writing. Writing tool had one end pointed for incising the letters and the other end; blunt for erasing and smoothing the surface.

Fig. 1 – Introduction to Stylus Pen

In modern computing, the Stylus has evolved into a pen-like instrument (thus the name “Stylus Pen”) that can be used to point, swipe, sign, and draw on a variety of touchscreen electronic devices such as tablets, smartphones, laptops, and so on.

Fig. 2 – Ancient Stylus

When all touchscreen devices allow fingers, why use a Stylus Pen? Precision is the answer. Stylus is required for applications that demand precise and controllable input. Stylus Pen serves as a pointing device in the same way that a mouse or touchpad does, and its use is also known as pen computing.

Fig. 3 – Modern Stylus Pen

Types of Stylus Pens

Stylus Pens are classified into two types:

• Passive Stylus (also known as Capacitive Stylus)
• Active Stylus

Passive Stylus

They are called Passive since they don’t have any electronic components and don’t need any electricity. They are environmentally friendly and they work on any multi-touch screen that accepts finger input, including capacitive screens used in smartphones and tablets.

Passive Styluses have a finger-like rubber or conductive foam or metal tip. To transport electrical charge between your hand and the tip, the Stylus’s stem is formed of a conductive substance (usually a metal rod or barrel). They merely carry electrical charge from your finger to the screen in the same way that your finger does.

Fig. 3 – Passive Stylus

Active Stylus

Electronic (digital) circuitry is built into Active Styluses, which communicates with the touchscreen device’s digitizer. Touch sensitivity, programmable buttons, electronic erasers, memory, and data transmission capabilities are all achievable with this connectivity. The digital component protocol of an Active Stylus must match the digitizer technology in the touch screen it is interfacing with in order for it to function.

In order to connect with the digitizer of a multi-touch device, Active Stylus use unique protocols developed by different manufacturers. The pen’s digital protocol must match the device’s digitizer; otherwise, the Pen’s input will not be recognized by the device. Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP), Wacom AES, Wacom EMR, Universal Stylus Initiative (USI), Apple Pencil Active Projected Capacitive (APC), and Bluetooth are the most well-known Active Stylus protocols. A replaceable or rechargeable battery powers Active Styluses.

Fig. 4 – Active Stylus

Is Digital Pen the same as Stylus Pen?

Digital Pen is a specialized Active Stylus Pen. Digital Pen is a writing device that allows the user to digitally capture a handwritten note, drawing, or brush strokes and converts handwritten analogue data into digital data using “pen and paper”. The digital data can be used in a variety of ways. Although the data can be used for various applications or simply as a visual, this sort of pen is commonly used in conjunction with a digital notebook.

The pen appears and functions like a standard ball-point pen, but it requires specific digital paper if the user wants to digitally capture what he has written. A page of digital paper has small dots on it that allow the pen to “see” what has been written. It can be purchased in regular pad or sticky-note size. Some digital pens are referred to as Smart Pens because they include additional features such as voice recording and text scanning.

Fig. 5 – Digital Pen

Top Stylus Pens in the Market Today

We are listing some of the top available styluses in the market today with no particular order or ranking.

• Apple Pencil
• JamJake Palm Rejection Stylus
• Mixoo Capacitive Pen
• Adonit Note+

Apple Pencil

Apple Pencil 2nd Generation is an Active Stylus Pen for newer iPads that features high precision, no lag, high pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, and magnetic charging. You may either convert your handwriting to text in Apple Notes or read your handwriting in any text field using Apple’s Scribble function. On the right, there’s a magnetic docking strip that keeps the pen charged while charging it, so you’ll never run out of juice.

Palm Rejection is a premium feature that allows you to write or draw while your hand is resting on the screen. The Pencil has a rigid nib that allows you to place your lines and curves precisely where you want them. With a light touch, it also responds to pressure, leaving the tiniest hint of color. Overall, it’s a high-quality Stylus Pen. Supports iPad Air, iPad Mini and iPad Pro.

JamJake Palm Rejection Stylus

JamJake is the way to go if you’re searching for a best budget stylus pen that closely matches an Apple pencil in terms of functionality and performance. For a quarter of the price, it performs almost everything the Apple Pencil does, almost as well. The pressure sensitivity isn’t as good as Apple’s, but the palm rejection is flawless. It also doesn’t connect to your smartphone magnetically, and you have to charge it using a USB cable. Supports iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro

Mixoo Capacitive Pen

If you’re looking for a simple tool for navigation and crude writing or drawing on a budget, the Mixoo Capacitive Pen is a great choice. It includes two nibs (mesh and disk). The traction provided by the mesh nib is sufficient for readable writing.

Disk nibs, on the other hand, are more difficult to negotiate on the screen, resulting in sloppy notes and less accurate drawings. When using the disc nib, the pen has a comfortable rubber grip. For those on a tight budget, the Mixoo is a simple, low-tech Passive navigation Stylus. Supports all Capacitive touch screen devices.

Adonit Note+

Adonit Note+ is an excellent option if you want a stylus pen with the best writing experience for half the price of Apple’s Pencil. The Note+ has a softer grip and a replaceable nib that makes it feel more like a high-end ballpoint pen. Palm rejection, pressure and tilt sensitivity, and two customizable shortcut buttons are just a few of the features that give you a lot of artistic control and convenience.

In comparison to the other Pens described in this post, Adonit+ offers best writing experiences. In programs like Evernote, Apple’s Notes, or Apple’s Scribble, you can simply convert your handwriting to text, allowing you to write in text fields like the Google search box. While palm rejection is consistent across all apps, other functions have limitations that vary by app. Supports iPad Pro, iPad, iPad Mini, and iPad Air.

Advantages of Stylus Pen

The advantages include:

• Capacitive styluses are inexpensive since they do not contain any electronic components.
• Active Stylus Pens have high precision and advanced features.
• Adonit+ provides excellent writing experience, reasonable price, and consistent palm rejection across apps.
• Mixoo Pens are of very low cost, and compatible with most of the modern touchscreen devices.
• JamJake Pens are of low cost, has strong features, and compatible with a wide range of Apple devices.
• Apple Pencil’s Performance is nearly flawless.

Disadvantages of Stylus Pen

The disadvantages are:

• It’s tough to take precise notes or sketches with rubber or foam stylus tips because they’re often large.
• When compared to a passive stylus, it is bulky and expensive.
• Adonit + has no wireless charging, and several functionalities are limited to specific apps.
• Mixoo Stylus Pens have very basic feature and performance.
• JamJake Pens pressure-sensitive isn’t ideal, there’s no magnetic charging strip, and the overall feel is stiff.
• Apple Pencil price is the pen’s primary drawback, and it only works with the most recent iPad models.

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