Help me write on my iPad

October 12, 2023 3:12 PM

What's the best stylus for the iPad (recent gen Pro, Mini) for note-taking & sketching?

Is the Apple one worth the outlay?
What about the ZAGG version?
Any others worth looking into?

posted by chavenet to Technology (5 answers total)

My kid uses cheap styluses because she loses them - the no battery ones with the little circle at the tip. What makes a big difference is the screen cover which is called Paperlike. The texture of the iPad screen becomes much easier to draw and write on, and visually it’s about the same.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 4:52 PM on October 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

I have an Apple pencil (2nd gen). I usually use it for making notes on sheet music on my iPad Pro. I particularly like the palm rejection, which means I can rest my hand on the iPad while using it without it registering touches from anything other than the tip of the stylus. It's very precise. I also like that it attaches to the side magnetically, which means I don't lose it.

I only really have good things to say about it, but I don't have much experience of cheaper ones to compare it to, so take that with a pinch of salt. For me, although it was expensive, it was worth the outlay, but I could justify it because I use it for work a lot.
posted by spielzebub at 3:43 AM on October 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

My grown kids really use the Pencil 2 to great effect. One is an artist, the other studying physics and such. It is steep, but sometimes Apple nails it.
posted by drowsy at 6:55 AM on October 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

@dorothyisunderwood -- that is a very cool rec. Thanks!
posted by drowsy at 6:56 AM on October 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: So, I bought the ZAGG #2 pencil, so far so good and about half the price of the echt Apple version. I will look into Paperlike, that sounds interesting. Thanks!
posted by chavenet at 10:24 AM on October 28, 2023