The Best Stylus for Your iPad
A stylus isn’t a necessary accessory for your iPad, but if you want to draw or take notes, or if you simply prefer a digital pen for navigating, Zagg’s Pro Stylus can significantly improve the experience. We’ve tested every major stylus, and Zagg’s stands above them all with the best combination of accuracy, features, and price.
It’s not made by Apple, but the Zagg Pro Stylus matches most of the benefits of Apple’s Pencil and even exceeds them in some ways. Most important, it’s accurate: The line on the screen keeps up with the tip of the stylus without lag. The Zagg Pro Stylus supports both palm rejection (so resting your hand won’t register as interaction) and tilt awareness (so the side of the stylus writes differently than the point), and it works flawlessly across iPadOS and every app, regardless of which modern-generation iPad you have. Embedded magnets allow the Pro Stylus to attach to the side of flat-edged iPads, and the hidden USB-C port is one of the cleanest charging options we’ve yet found. The Pro Stylus is light and comfortable, its clean, dark-hued design won’t clash with any iPad shades, and there’s even a rubber stylus tip on the “eraser” end, which some people may prefer for navigation or for use with non-iPad devices. And it does all of this for $30 to $60 less than an Apple Pencil.
If you own an iPad introduced since 2015, plan to do a lot of writing and drawing, and have the cash to spare, the 1st-generation or 2nd-generation Apple Pencil is the absolute best stylus money can buy. Both models offer the same key features as the Zagg Pro Stylus, with the added benefit of pressure sensitivity, which draws a heavier line the harder you press—essential for digital artists. In addition, the 2nd-gen model wirelessly charges when you attach it to an iPad. Other than the price, the main drawback is compatibility: Each Apple Pencil model works only with certain iPads. You need to make sure you buy the right one, and you may have to buy a replacement if you upgrade your tablet.
The Adonit Mark is far less advanced than the Zagg Pro Stylus or Apple Pencil, but our experts cited it as a must-have cheap stylus for simple note-taking and sketching. The triangular anodized-aluminum body feels well made, it fits in a hand as perfectly as a grade-school pencil, and it writes smoothly on the iPad’s screen without producing too much—or providing too little—resistance. As cartoonist and designer Rich Stevens explained after testing the Mark, “For the cost of a pizza, it’s definitely worth doing some drawing with it.”
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