OK… so, I bought another stylus (for $15), then an refurb Apple Pencil Gen 1 (for $65), then this one (Penoval AX Ultra 2), not really knowing which direction I'd ultimately go.
The First stylus I bought was a simple, Turn On and use. it worked ok, but skipped everyone once in a while (leaving a gap when writing, or simply wouldn't write at all for a second or two). So, I knew that an Apple Pencil would be better….so, I bought one from Best Buy.
The Apple Pencil, of course, worked great. Easy paring, no skipping, and ….. Pressure Sensitivity, which I wasn't really sure I needed. Since it stays paired (unless you turn Bluetooth off) when you're not using it, the battery of the Pencil and iPad is affected. I saw the battery drop quite a bit from intermittent use. (Clarification… I don't know what the battery health of the Pencil is…it may be a bit degraded). It's going back to Best Buy.
Now, The Penoval…. Downside: No Pressure sensitivity (Same for most third party Pens). That's it, every thing else is a Plus.
If you connect it via Bluetooth (IF… you don't HAVE to in order to use it), you get shortcuts, via tapping the pencil, and clicking the On/Off button on the end of the pencil. Through the Note App they mention, you can map different functions for both, to different apps (GoodNotes, Notability, etc…) So, you can double or triple tap to erase, change to highlighter, undo, redo, switch to a specific tool within an app, etc…. Click the button to switch apps, return to Home Screen, and much more.
So, that's amazing. Even the Gen 1 pencil (and Apple USB-C pencil, I believe) can't do that. However, there is a battery reduction due to the bluetooth connectivity. I don't know what's Normal, but I did notice a dip in iPad and Pencil battery — Oh, when connected, it shows up on the battery widget, which is handy.
It can be used without connecting as well, either turning Bluetooth OFF, Forgetting device or never connecting it. It still writes wonderfully, and rejects palm interaction the same. But, from what I can tell so far, definitely reduces battery drain. I'll probably use it mostly like that…but, it's nice to know that the rest of the functionality is there when I want it.
Great Pencil…. I hope it's durable, and last a while.
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