Stylus guide: Pens for iPad, convertible, Windows & tablets from 20 euros

Taking notes at university, sketching in meetings, drawing in your free time: there are plenty of uses for pens on tablets. But there are at least as many different technologies, from Wacom AES to MPP to USI. We show what kind of pen you need for the respective tablet and what functions it has – from a pressure-sensitive tip to an “eraser attachment” to additional buttons on the side of the pen.

Some proprietary pens like the $149 Apple Pencil 2 have a reputation for being very expensive. In other cases, we miss functions – for example, the eraser shortcut at the top end of the pen on the Lenovo or HP. This is exactly why we recommend looking at third-party hardware, which can often be obtained for significantly less money. However, you always have to consider whether your own device is compatible with the stylus of your choice.

You can get simple touch pens for as little as 3 euros. These work passively, i.e. without an active power supply or connection to the device. In contrast, active styli transmit input via an electromagnetic field. In order to set this up, they need a power supply that is produced using a rechargeable battery or a replaceable battery and are therefore much more precise. In addition, many active pens are connected to the device via Bluetooth. In the case of Chromebooks and USI (Universal Stylus Initiative), however, this is not required.

Active pens can not only transmit pen inputs much more precisely, but also have additional functions such as eraser attachments or buttons for shortcuts.

If you want to draw, you should make sure that the desired combination of pen and tablet can handle the hatching function. To do this, you tilt the pen very flat towards the display and can hatch like you would with a pencil on paper.

It is practical that you can simply write directly into documents with a pen, for example in OneNote or Word, just as you would on paper. In this way, important content can be highlighted manually.

This can make a big difference, especially when it comes to learning and working together. School classes can use it, for example, to carry out group work on a document more easily, with several students working on different devices with the pen in the document. Teachers save themselves copies of worksheets because: Documents can be scanned and then immediately edited digitally. The pens can be helpful not only for writing, but also for editing images in Adobe Photoshop. The integrated tools, such as brushes, can be used with the pen, which allows you to make edits much more sensitively.

In order to be able to use digital, i.e. active pens, you not only need a device with a touchscreen, but it must also have a so-called digitizer. There are different standards for each system. Depending on the technology used, you have more or less free choice on the pen market.

Tablets like the Apple iPad or some Android tablets now have pen support. In addition, many convertibles, i.e. 2-in-1 devices with a foldable keyboard, or detachables, i.e. devices with a detachable keyboard, have a digitizer. When it comes to Windows devices, Surface devices often come to mind first. But manufacturers such as Lenovo, HP or Asus also have convertibles and detachables in their range. Here you have to find out about the interface used, because not every active stylus is compatible with every device.

The best-known representative of the pens is the Apple Pencil on the iPad, which is now available in two versions. The Apple Pencil 2 charges wirelessly on the tablet’s casing while being held in place magnetically. It is only compatible with the iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil 1, on the other hand, has to be plugged into the Lightning port of the normal iPad. A wireless charging function is therefore missing here. This is only compatible with the iPad and not with the Air or Pro models. Both pens are over 100 euros, the older Apple Pencil 1 still costs 108 euros. The newer pen of the second generation costs 149 euros.

Cheap pens for iPads are available from Amazon for as little as 30 euros. An example of this is the ESR digital pen, which works with a wide variety of iPad models, including Pro and Air. It works without pairing and also supports palm recognition, but only costs 33 euros. It is charged via a USB-C socket. In general, however, it should be noted with third-party providers that, depending on the processing quality, the accuracy of recognizing how hard you press can decrease. With such a large price difference of over 100 euros, this is bearable.

The appropriate pens are usually supplied with Android tablets, since manufacturers sometimes use their own interfaces that offer special functions. Samsung, for example, supplies the S-Pen directly integrated into the devices. We can therefore make general recommendations here rather badly, since this can vary from device to device. If you are interested in such tablets, our guide to tablets with a pen: Android, iPad, Windows and alternatives will help. We have also selected a selection of tablets with pen support below:

On Windows, most pens use Wacom’s AES (Active Electro Static) standard. However, there are also many pens based on the MPP standard (Microsoft Pen Protocol). Microsoft would like to establish this as the standard for stylus under Windows. Currently, it is mainly used by the Surface devices. The two protocols are not compatible with each other – only a few pens support both, which is important to consider before buying. There are also different versions of the standards. Here you can only find out before you buy which standard and which version the device of your choice works with.

Manufacturers such as Lenovo, HP or Dell also offer their own pens that they recommend for use with certain devices. If you want to buy such a pen later, they are usually between 40 and 70 euros. Otherwise, cheap alternatives can be found on Amazon for around 20 euros, although it is not always clear how exactly the models work, especially with Chinese models.

With Chrome OS, Google has enforced a uniform standard: USI (Universal Stylus Initiative). Any manufacturer that wants to support pen use must install a USI-standard digitizer. That makes the selection quite easy. However: If you have a device with the new USI-2 protocol, you must also use a USI-2 pin. However, the pens according to the newer standard are backwards compatible, so they can be used on both USI-2 and USI-1 devices.

There are manufacturer-specific solutions, such as those from HP or Lenovo, which are sometimes even supplied with the devices. But there are also third-party providers, such as Penoval, who score points with higher-quality processing or battery operation and charging via USB-C instead of battery operation.

For example, the author of this guide uses a Penoval USI stylus pen with an eraser function and a rechargeable battery that is charged via USB-C. Compared to the pen from HP, this is not only made of aluminum instead of plastic, but is also cheaper. HP wants just under 80 euros for the Rechargable USI Pen, whereas the Penoval model only costs 58 euros.

Not every device offers suitable storage options for pens, which means that the small drawing aids can quickly get lost. Especially with tablets, pens are often attached magnetically to the side of the device and can easily fall off when stowed in the bag. This is where pen pockets or pen holders come into play, which safely store the stylus. This should also benefit the longevity of the tips, which are protected and break less easily.

Pen sleeves, which can be attached to the tablet or convertible case with or without adhesive, can be found on Amazon for less than 10 euros. Of course, you can also simply pack such pens in the good old pencil case, where they are also well protected.

When choosing a stylus for tablets and convertibles, you don’t necessarily have to rely on the manufacturer’s own solutions, but can also be happy with third-party providers. These offer more functions or better processing for an often lower price. Depending on the system, however, there may also be restrictions and missing functions, which you have to check beforehand. Especially with Chrome OS and also under Windows, taking into account the protocol compatibility, you can choose quite freely.

All in all, such pens are practical companions, especially for use in education, where students and pupils save paper with them.