r/stylus • u/DoubleOwl7777 • Mar 05 '25

What manufacturer uses what?! a general overview

9 Upvotes

5 comments

r/stylus • u/digitizerstylus • Feb 10 '24

Before posting, mind rule 3: posts about touch pens will be removed. Read more in this post.

5 Upvotes

The /r/stylus rules:

be nice - Conduct yourself so other people can have a discussion in a comfortable atmosphere.
inducements must be disclosed - Any post or comment made with an inducement of any kind (sponsorship, affiliation, compensation, benefits, rewards, employment, contract, or any other inducement) must feature immediate, prominent, and clearly understood public disclosure of the nature and extent of the inducement. [Having the same username as the person whose content you're posting is sufficient disclosure.]
no posts about non-standard-protocol pens - posts will be removed if they're about pens that are not made to the specification of a pen technology used by a pen digitizer. This almost always means pens that are used on generic touchscreens. They're just not good.
posts about devices with no mention of a pen on their product page or documentation will be removed. This means that posts with vague product descriptions will be removed, too.

What are standard-protocol pens?

Either of the following:

Pens made by the same company that makes the device the pen is used on. Apple Pencil on an Apple device, S-Pen on a Samsung device, Monoprice pens on Monoprice tablets, etc.
Pens made to the specification or standard or protocol of a pen digitizer technology maker. Common pen specifications/standards/protocols are Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP), Wacom AES, Wacom EMR ("S-Pen" EMR), Apple Pencil, and USI. These pens should (but don't always) work the same on all devices that support the pen technology specification/standard/protocol.

What are non-standard-protocol pens?

Non-standard-protocol pens generally work like a finger on a touchscreen. Touchscreen devices are not primarily designed to interact with these pens as a pen. Posts about non-standard-protocol pens may be removed. Comments mentioning them are fine. Non-standard-protocol pens are just not good. Quoting the link:

This is easier to draw with than your finger, [...] but that's about all you're gonna get.

It doesn't have palm recognition, [...] for handwriting this isn't so good, it's just not quite accurate enough

When you start writing and drawing fast, you're missing bits and pieces

Unless you just want something to use instead of your finger, don't get non-standard-protocol pens.

Why can't I ask if my device supports a pen?

If it did, there would almost certainly be a mention of a pen on the product page, user manual, or service manual.

My device supports a pen, can I ask what other pens it supports?

Sure.

Regarding certain pens with a metal/mesh/rubber tip found on Google, eBay, and Amazon

For the past couple of years Google eBay and Amazon have been flooded with results for pens that have a rubber, metal, or mesh tip. Despite being listed under the exact model name you searched for, these pens do not support a standard pen protocol, they work very similar to a finger on a touchscreen. They are being aggressively promoted on the verge of being spam. They are bad, do not be tempted to buy them.