Get To The Point – The Best iPad Styluses
July 20, 2012
The iPad was built to be touched, sure. But as far as pointers go, our fingers don’t always feel like the most functional tools. If you’ve ever tried to scribble out your signature on screen or go deep into detail in a round of Draw Something, you’ve known what it means to yearn for a better input device. Luckily, there are an army of iPad accessory makers producing styluses (or styli) of all shapes and sizes to better your touch experience. To find out which one is best for you, read on about the best stylus options we’ve encountered.
Rubber-tipped – Styluses in this category feature a round, conductive rubber ball on the end for making contact with the screen of your iPad. This feature allows a natural, responsive level of pressure sensitivity; the harder you press down the more of the tip (or “nib” if you prefer) comes in contact with the touchscreen. The most popular form of iPad stylus, there is a lot of competition among rubber-tipped offerings.
Wacom Bamboo Stylus ($22.05) – The name Wacom comes with a great pedigree; this company has been making tablet drawing devices of their own for years. Their Bamboo Stylus features a standard pen-like shape complete with metal body and durable pocket clip for carrying. A lot of thought and testing has been put into the device’s textured grip, weight, and balance for optimum control and use over time, making it one of the most popular and beloved styluses out there.
Just Mobile AluPen ($14.99) – With a hexagonal shape, the AluPen alludes to the classic design of a lead pencil. However, it’s thicker in your hand than a pencil, and heavier too. This stylus’ body is sculpted from aluminum, providing greater heft for precision control from end to end.
AmazonBasics Stylus ($9.89) – Direct from Amazon comes this fairly generic, but also fairly priced, AmazonBasics Stylus. It’s a plain metal tube with a standard rubber tip at one end and a short lanyard at the other. While not too fancy, the low price means you won’t be too heartbroken if you wear it out. And we imagine that the lanyard, at first a somewhat odd-seeming accessory, could come in quite handy if you want to keep your stylus dangling around your neck or intend to have it hooked to a station for semi-public use, such as a kiosk at a trade-show or convention.
Cosmonaut by Studio Neat ($25) – Not every stylus wants to be a digital pen. The Cosmonaut is a thick, all-rubber stylus that replicates the feeling of holding a big, fat dry-erase marker in your hand, as opposed to some skinny ballpoint. It’s a firm, wide-grip stylus that will make the glass front of your tablet feel like the smooth surface of a whiteboard, which is great for quick notes, drawings, or diagrams. And because of its form-factor, it is not just comfortable to hold but durable enough to toss into a bag without worrying about breaking or scratching up your device.
Other-tipped – A rubber nib is not the only option when buying a stylus. Check out these other unique solutions for interacting with your touch screen.
Adonit Jot Pro ($24.46) – This unique offering from Adonit looks like no other stylus. Looking like a mechanical pencil, the tip of the Jot Pro pokes into a flat, clear plastic disc. As you hold the stylus in your hand, this plastic disc is actually what makes contact with the surface of your screen, allowing you to move the tip around as if drawing with a pen, while keeping it at the same close distance to the screen without carving a line through the glass as you press down. And because this disc is clear, you can see exactly where you’re touching, resulting in the most precise control available. But it comes at a price; gunk up or break the connection between stylus and disc and the experience falls apart.
LYNKtec TruGlide Stylus ($15.95) – A response to problems with the wear-and-tear of rubber stylus tips, the TruGlide uses a conductive microfiber mesh nib that provides less resistance on screen. Less resistance means you can make faster motions without causing the tip to skip or bounce, and there’s less friction to break it down over time. It also features gold accents on the pocket clip and finger grip, if you must keep things classy.
Alexei Bochenek is a lifelong tech nerd & film buff based in Los Angeles. When he’s not playing with his phone, it’s because the movie has started. Shhhhh!
