In addition, you don’t need to bring a heavy laptop and your days of struggling with an onscreen keyboard on your iPad or tablet are over.
Surface Pen vs. Apple Pencil
In addition, you don’t need to bring a heavy laptop and your days of struggling with an onscreen keyboard on your iPad or tablet are over.
In search of the best iPad stylus
Let’s face it: there is an inexplicable bond created when you slide a pencil or pen across a piece of paper, leaving traces of graphite or ink on what was once a blank canvas. As someone who makes a living staring at a blinking cursor that seems to always be a step ahead of me, I often find myself retreating to—if you’ll permit me saying so, here on this website—the analog version of Microsoft Word. Microsoft, among others, is putting a lot of effort into replicating the familiarity of pen and paper on a layer of pixels below a slab of glass. On the business end you’ll find a soft rubber tip designed to glide across an iPad display; the butt of the tool offers another contact point that’s meant to duplicate an eraser.
Thanks to a Bluetooth 4.0 sensor, the implement can detect tip pressure (which, through software, translates to line thickness), determine when the eraser end is in use, and eliminate any errant doodling when you rest your palm on the screen. How I positioned the tip of the stylus was a persistent thought because its soft material made the contact point change in shape as I wrote with it. The Cosmonaut is far simpler than its peers because it lacks internal electronics and dedicated software, instead relying on a device’s capacitive screen for interaction. It quickly became clear to me that this stylus was better suited to acute tasks, such as selecting icons or buttons in an interface, rather than free-form writing. The Adonit Jot Touch ($120) was by far the most expensive stylus I tested, and like most of the models I used, it had a thicker profile, akin to a full-size Sharpie (but with two buttons where your thumb might rest). Though the Jot Touch’s body is thicker than a traditional pen, its “Pixelpoint” tip isn’t, and I found it suitable for writing at length.
After a week of staring at my embarrassing penmanship—at times laughing at the fact that it could actually get worse than what’s already become of it in this keyboard-first world we live in—I came to an obvious conclusion.
iPad Pro vs Surface Pro
The iPad runs iPad OS, has optional apple pencil and keyboard cover and has a large bump on his head, not from a fight but because his dad thought it would be cool to put a camera there. If you want to do a deep dive into the how and why check out my review of the X, but for now what you need to know is that only some apps run on the X but they all work on the Surface Pro 7. Clip Studio, Sketchable, Paint TOOL SAI, Leonardo, Autodesk Sketchbook, Corel Draw and Painter… I think you get the idea. The interface has a traditional desktop feel on Windows but the interface is a lot more touch friendly but I feel that it has more of a learning curve on the iPad, it might be because I learned on desktop software and that’s what I’m used to. Clip Studio on the iPad is a straight up port of the desktop version. Because of that it’s pretty cool, but I think the interface is kinda small and hard to navigate on the ipad compared to mouse on the desktop.
The new iPad Photoshop and Fresco show a lot of promise but are still incomplete and need more work before they become reliable tools ready for every day use. You might be thinking, “geez that’s a lot of money for a stylus” but this is one area you don’t want to cheap out.
You can usually find the official Surface Pen for far less than the listed price on Amazon. If you are using it as an input device or for handwriting this sort of thing doesn’t matter, if like me you are trying to draw clean ink lines like me, it’s a big big deal and that’s why for me the Apple pencil is the clear winner.
For drawing on a traditional computer ram can be really important, I advise people working on Windows to go for at least 8gb. But paper specs don’t tell the whole story, not even close because the iPad doesn’t work like a traditional computer.
The iPad OS takes a lot more resources away from background processes to focus on your active app so if you’re drawing in something like Procreate most of your processing power and ram are focused on making that app run as well as possible. Also many of those apps are streamlined specifically for the iPad and arn’t as robust as their desktop counterparts. Those are still very capable machines and you can save yourself a good chunk of change settling for one of those, especially if you want to go up to a better processor with more ram you can save yourself a ton and see a big performance bump over the entry level Surface Pro 7.
As much as I liked last year’s cute little Surface GO, it’s not spec ready to be your go to drawing too at its lowest configuration.
I made a whole video where I used only my iPad pro for a full week to see how that would go, check that out here. One thing is clear is that the gap between what I need to do and what the ipad can do has closed considerable over the last 4 years.
Is the Apple Pencil Really Worth Buying?
Since its first release in 2015, Apple’s high-tech, low-profile input device has changed the way iPad users interact with their favorite apps. In this guide, we’ll help you cover the basics of the Apple Pencil and whether it’s worth buying for your specific needs. In short, the Apple Pencil is a touch-sensitive, precision selection tool that functions as a replacement for tapping the screen when used with a compatible iPad.
Some users even prefer to buy female port adapters for the lightning connector — like this one on Amazon — to avoid charging the Apple Pencil via the iPad. #alt#Architect Luis Furushio’s desk set up including two iPads, an Apple Pencil, glasses, and a cup of coffee. Hands and fingers are great for a lot of things, but they’re clumsy and awkward when compared to the precision that we get from using specialized tools. Combined with the Apple Pencil, drawing and writing on your iPad feels just like working in a sketchbook or physical notebook. Teardowns of Apple Pencil units have shown that the device isn’t capacitive — meaning that it doesn’t conduct a charge through the screen like your finger does when you touch the iPad. That’s a major difference between what you’ll see in third party styluses for Android and iPad devices, which may only provide limited pressure sensitivity — if they even offer it at all. Because the tip of the Apple Pencil understands how hard or soft you press against the screen, it’s possible for iPad users to create everything from handwritten text to incredible digital artwork, like lettering and calligraphy, without any other specialized tool.
With creative apps like Procreate or Adobe Fresco (comparison here), artists can adjust the size, texture, and consistency of the brushes and erasers they use to paint and draw. Notetakers using GoodNotes 5 or Notability (comparison here) can emphasize key points in their notes by pressing down harder while using the fountain pen tool.
#alt#Image of an iPad with a design that says, “Forever Bettering My Lettering” with a hand holding an Apple Pencil over it. #alt#Image of an iPad with a drawing of snails wearing sunglasses in a car, with a hand holding an Apple Pencil over it. The Apple Pencil gives artists almost everything they need to sketch, draw, and colorize artwork on their touchscreen device. This is because the Apple iPad supports technologies like palm rejection and pressure sensitivity, both of which are fundamental to most digital artists. Combine that with an active imagination and a few powerful artistic apps like Procreate, Affinity Photo, or Photoshop for iPad and you’ve got everything you need to start creating amazing digital art. You can even grab a Screen Protector by Paperlike to make the surface of the iPad feel like real paper.
This combination of hardware and software makes your Apple devices powerful enough to compete with dedicated drawing tools like the Wacom Cintiq. The iPad apps, combined with features built into the iPadOS software, save Apple users from a hefty investment into specialized hardware.
That’s especially true when you use the macOS Sidecar feature or an app like Astropad Studio (for increased low latency performance) to transform your iPad into a graphics tablet for your Macbook while still using the Apple Pencil as your primary stylus. Keeping professional artists out of unnecessary investments and allowing hobbyists to improve their craft by utilizing technology that they already own makes the Apple Pencil a worthwhile purchase for millions of iPad users. It can help young students explore their creative side, stay organized, and learn using interactive tools. For high school and college students, leveraging the iPad with notetaking apps like Evernote, Microsoft OneNote (comparison here!)
Accessories like our own Paperlike for iPad can improve this experience further by helping students take neater and more precise notes. A great example of an app packing this tech is Froggipedia, which allows students to use the Apple Pencil as a scalpel to digitally dissect and explore the inner workings of frog anatomy all through the view of the high-resolution retina display. Taking a step in the opposite direction, apps like Showbie help teachers run a paperless classroom while the Apple Pencil allows them to mark up homework and grade quizzes without leafing through endless stacks of paper. Thanks to creative app developers and their initiatives in education, the Apple Pencil is worth buying for teachers and students who want the best tools possible for an efficient and immersive classroom experience.
Beginning pianists and professional musicians alike love the iPad for its ability to store sheet music and connect with modern electronic instruments like keyboards and guitars. Any musician will tell you that writing the fingerings for a tricky chord or highlighting a change in time signature is a major help when committing those details to memory. The Apple Pencil works in conjunction with sheet music apps like forScore to make annotations simple, easy, and convenient. With the Apple Pencil, you’ll simply add your notations to an empty page and StaffPad’s handwriting recognition will transform your marks to a professional-looking musical score. For maximum flexibility, a Paperlike can make this process even better by replacing the slick, glassy surface of the iPad with something that feels like real paper so that your strokes stay quick and precise.
Used for notetaking (especially with an Apple Pencil and a Paperlike to round out the experience), the iPad can serve as a middle ground where notes can be made without obstructing the user’s line of sight. Plus, the iPad’s lighter weight and enhanced mobility, coupled with the ability to connect to large monitors and display devices, make it an ideal candidate as a meeting presentation tool. Suddenly it’s easy to mark up, redesign, and digitally sign PDF documents on the fly, whether you’re meeting with business partners, negotiating with clients, or trying to get a little more work done while lounging in your favorite recliner at home.
One of our Paperlike artists, Guillaume Wiatr, uses the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro to help business leaders better understand how to refine their messaging through a process known as “graphic facilitation.” Outside of singular use cases where your favorite apps have really taken advantage of the technology, it’s impossible to say whether or not the Apple Pencil would be a great fit for you.
However, users across various forums have complained that the battery on the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) dies more quickly than the previous model. This downside is largely offset by the fact that the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) is designed to adhere to the side of the iPad and charge magnetically.
You’ll find several aftermarket options, but we’re partial to our own Paperlike Pencil Grips, which are designed for maximum comfort and precision while writing and drawing. Take care with 3rd party options, however, as they may be made of different materials and could potentially damage your devices.
You can find a ton of variety on Amazon and through tech accessory shops, but make sure that what you pick up won’t damage your device or stop it from charging properly. In our view, the Apple Pencil turns the iPad from a luxury multimedia device into a robust productivity and learning tool.
Whether you’ve got an Apple Pencil, a Logitech Crayon, or any other compatible iPad stylus, you can make your iPad screen feel like real paper with a Screen Protector by Paperlike and improve your writing and drawing experience with a set of Paperlike’s Pencil Grips.
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I find that the surface pen is less responsive than the apple pencil because of the movement the tip has to do before triggering writing in apps like onenote.
Apple Pencil 2 vs Surface Pen: Which is Better for Drawing & Note Taking? | 2023
In this post, I’ll be covering these differences as well as an additional comparison of the Apple Pencil vs Surface Slim pen. Which you choose will largely be based on which iOS you prefer and which apps you plan on using the stylus pen for. Microsoft’s Surface Pen can’t use ‘iOS exclusive’ apps, such as Procreate; which is a con for many looking to draw and create digital art.
I’ll be addressing expert opinions, side-by-side tests I’ve ran, as well as how the two pens have evolved from their previous models. For those note-taking, the Surface Pen works very nicely with One-Note, while the Apple Pencil felt a bit more on point with a few slight advantages for drawing. A big difference between the two is the weight of the stylus pen; since the Apple Pencil has a very tiny Lithium ion battery, it’s lighter.
The Surface pen is heavier as it requires a AAAA battery that adds extra weight. A third option, the evolved Microsoft Surface slim pen, is lighter as it has upgraded to the similar rechargeable battery like the Apple pencil models have.
The gesture shortcut feature on the Apple Pencil 2 allows you to swap between a drawing tool and eraser.
You can instantly swap between the color pallet, a tool, or the eraser seamlessly in the middle of drawing. However, many argue it’s which tablet and pen you’re used to navigating and it’s compatible apps t hat will drive the overall best choice. If you are not running OneNote and you are used to the navigation of the iPhone or iPad, then the Apple Pencil is likely best for you because both pens have very similar properties excluding the charging and app compatibility features.
As mentioned, the big difference between the Apple Pencil and the Surface Pen is the battery; the Apple Pencil 2 is rechargeable and lasts for roughly 11 hours per charge, whereas the Surface Pen requires 1 AAAA battery which will last up to 12 months. The iPad for example is much lighter and very portabile, while the Surface Pro is a bit more bulky, but allows for desktop versions of apps you may already be used to.
In fact, Apple Pencil 2 utilizes a unique technology behind it, as developed by experts in the digital art field. On the flip side, Microsoft lets us know that the latest Surface Pen includes a vast number of 4096 individual pressure points, one of the best on the market.
Of course, the tablet’s display plays a great role in the final drawing or note-taking experience. If we had to choose the best screen for drawing, that would be the breathtaking 12.9” Retina display of the latest iPad Pro due to it’s portability and on-the go lightweight design. Now that we have explored the technical features of both pens and their differences, let’s have a look at the more generic experience by analyzing the shortcut buttons and the pairing process of each device. With the latest iPadOS 14, the brand added even more gestures to create an ultimate, quick drawing experience.
Thus, even though Apple Pencil 2 doesn’t include any shortcut buttons, the latest iPads combined with top-tier software like Procreate make us feel we don’t need any.
On the other side, both the Surface Pen’s classic and slim versions have an amazing rubber eraser on their tail that will make you feel like using a traditional pencil. The Surface Pen has a multi-functional side button that you can use to right-click, select multiple items, etc., easily. As mentioned above, your tablet’s OS plays an important role in the drawing or note-taking experience.
What that means is that in both cases, you are limited to the apps and software developed for the Operation System of your tablet (iPadOS and Windows 10). Although Microsoft’s Sketchable is also an amazing drawing software, Procreate easily outshines it, mainly due to iPad’s gestures and flexibility.
Microsoft has a similar feature that you can access by opening the handwriting panel and then use it on apps like OneNote and Whiteboard. In both cases, after you connect the pen to your tablet, you are ready to draw, sketch, navigate or take notes in no time.
On the other hand, if you enjoy learning new things (or if you are an Apple user), you will find that those gestures are pretty easy to master. If you are an artist or designer, the best options are the Apple pencil 2 and the classic Surface Pen, as they feel better in drawing and editing apps. If you find out that your Pencil’s battery has run out, but you haven’t finished your project, you can charge it for only fifteen seconds and get up to 30 minutes of additional use time. To charge your Apple Pencil, all you have to do is Place it on the wide side of the iPad Pro with the magnetic strip.
To sum up, the fact that the classic surface pen needs an AAAA battery to work in 2021 feels kind of awkward and outdated.
If those are too pricey or an alternative pen is in mind, then see our post: 7 Best iPad Air Stylus for Drawing and Note Taking.
For artists, graphic designers, and work professionals who use a stylus, the Surface Pen will not be a suitable option for drawing or creating art on an iPad. While it may be possible to use the Surface Pen as a capacitive stylus on an iPad (it didn’t work for us), it will certainly not provide the same level of precision or performance as the Apple Pencil.
If you are looking to create art or take notes on your iPad, the Apple Pencil is the recommended option. The way it moved across the Surface Pro’s screen felt more intuitive, while the accuracy may have just been a placebo as the pressure sensitivity levels remain at exactly 4096 amongst various devices. Another big difference between the apple Pencil 2 and the Surface Pen for drawing and note taking is the operating system and the devices they’re connected to. So you’ll have to be considering the iOS apps vs windows softwares when deciding which is better for your digital art style: the Apple Pencil 2 or the Surface Pro.
Surface Pen vs Apple Pencil: Which is Better? [2023]
Due to popular demand from a lot of readers, I pitted the Apple Pencils with the Surface Pen to see who came out on top. The answer seemed very obvious at first glance, but things did take quite a few twists and turn to warrant a comparison article on its own. The Surface Pen excels in battery and overall value for money, whereas the Apple Pencil offers more features for a digital artist
It features a sleek rounded design with a metallic finish that comes in different eye-popping colors to suit your compatible Surface product. Though this might be a direct consequence of Apple’s market dominance and popularity, it is a design that third-party competing brands often copy. While this adds points for convenience, it calls for some serious cause of concern as the Apple Pencil sticks out in its entirety from the iPad during charging.
This adds quite a lot of rupture points to its design, making many users question its overall durability while charging. The round cylindrical design, while being eye-catching, was very eager to roll off flat surfaces making it quite hard to manage for digital artists.
In terms of design, it is fair to say that both Apple and Microsoft compete with a very balanced set of pointers on both sides. The Surface Pen packs in plenty of features that are considered the industry standard when it comes to active stylus options. What this essentially means is that now you can adjust the intensity and style of your stroke naturally, as you would with a normal stationary pencil. This allows the Apple Pencils to pair instantly with compatible iPads without requiring you to fiddle around with the Bluetooth menu every time.
The Apple Pencils can recognize the tilt of the tip up to 60°, allowing you to accurately incorporate different shading and strokes. The Apple Pencil 2 has a touch area on the body that allows you to set up custom gestures such as enabling an eraser. Despite the Surface Pen trying its best to stay relevant in the features segment, it is plenty clear that Apple Pencils reign supreme in this regard Both the Apple Pencil 1 and 2 can last up to 12 hours on a single charge, making them an excellent choice for any digital artist.
This completely changes things up, as this gives you a super-fast implementation that makes you forget that you need even to charge the device. Both the Surface Pen and the Apple Pencils boast very reliable battery life numbers, despite them going through with the implementation from totally different angles. The Surface Pen is one of the most long-lasting active stylus options in the market right now, and changing the battery on the go is not at all a big deal. The frequent charging and discharging of the batteries in the Apple Pencils is bound to degrade at some point, and you will have to replace the cell after a few years anyways.
Whereas the Surface Pen uses a traditional AAAA battery, which you can get from any electronic store for a fraction of the cost that Apple might ask you for the Pencil’s replacement. But it is not a huge difference, and this just shows just how much of a battery behemoth both the Apple Pencils and the Surface Pen are.
This means that for most folks, compatibility might be a moot point to consider when comparing the Surface Pen and the Apple Pencil. But even so, the compatibility list of the Surface Pen is shockingly low compared to the Apple counterpart.
Both the Apple Pencils and the Surface Pen are meant to serve different products owing to their parent company and therefore have a varied list. The best way to move with this is to first settle on what you want to use your active stylus with an iPad or a Surface product and then make the decision.
The Surface Pen can be bought from Amazon for about $65, which is insanely cheap for a proprietary first-party active stylus solution.
You can find it even cheaper from their official website, which makes it quite a striking peripheral to have on your arsenal. There are plenty of other third-party active stylus options that can provide far more bang for your buck at a cheaper cost. But it is when you explicitly look at other professional-grade active stylus equipment will you come to realize that the pricing is in a lot of ways justified. For half the price of the Apple Pencil 2, it offers a neat set of features without having a lot of compromises in between for casual to professional users. That being said, it still stays true that the Apple Pencils justify its price point by offering a seamless experience overall.
I hope my article on the differences between the Microsoft Surface Pen and the Apple Pencil has been a great read and has aided you in making an informed purchasing decision.
Apple Pencil 2 vs Surface Slim Pen 2: Which One is the Best Stylus?
And, to find out how much this new surface pen offers, nothing can be a more efficient way than comparing its features with another best stylus, the Apple Pencil 2. Starting with the form factor, you will find the surface slim 2 slightly flattened, making it more comfortable to grip. The slim 2 comes with a sharper pen tip and an improved design to let you approach the screen at a perfect 77° tilt for ultra-precise shading and an exceptional 4,096 points of pressure sensitivity.
Apple pencil 2 also has accurate pressure sensitivity and a 9 millisecond response time, so you will find it ultra-responsive while writing or drawing on the iPads.
The apple pencil 2 offers a touch surface to deal with multiple functionalities, for instance, you can double-tap to switch between different apps. “So, overall, the Surface slim 2 offers more than the Apple pencil 2, and with its whole new features, it certainly is a worthy upgrade as both the stylus have similar price tags.
Microsoft Surface Slim Pen vs. Apple Pencil: Which is the better digital stylus?
Apple made the Pencil 2nd Gen with some pretty neat improvements over the first stylus, but the only drawback is a lack of support for older iPads. You can’t compare the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) against the Microsoft Surface Slim Pen since both styli are for different platforms. If you prefer a full Windows environment, go with the Surface Slim Pen. Microsoft Surface Slim Pen vs. Apple Pencil: specs
Microsoft’s Surface Pens and Apple Pencils have been fairly consistent with this regard, and choosing one over the other won’t unlock some hidden enhancements. Where Microsoft’s Surface Slim Pen comes out on top is with weight and dimensions.
Swipe to scroll horizontally Header Cell – Column 0 Microsoft Surface Slim Pen Apple Pencil (2nd Gen) Tilt support ✓ ✓ Wireless charging ✓ ✓ Battery life 13 hours 12 hours Connectivity Bluetooth Bluetooth OS Windows 10 iPad OS Colors Black White Dimensions Length: 5.23 inches (132.8 mm) The Microsoft Surface Slim Pen will work with a whole host of hardware, though, including: Should you already be in possession of a Surface device, they’re one clear choice here, likewise with an iPad. If you’re a fan of Windows hardware, there’s not a whole lot of difference performance-wise between the two styli so that the Surface Slim Pen will be great for doodling and note-taking. It’s more restricted in what devices it can work with, and it’s also more substantial, but overall, you won’t notice much of a difference.
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