While some tablets and smartphones do support styluses, it’s usually better when stylus support has been integrated into the smartphone itself. Samsung has done a wonderful job with the S Pen and their Galaxy Note series of devices, and if you were looking for similar support for iOS, you’re in luck as the developers of the app Paper have developed a new stylus called Pencil. While it does play nicely as a regular stylus, one of its benefits is that it will play even nicer when used together with the Paper app.
It might seem strange that an app developer would be interested in creating its own hardware as well, but according to FiftyThree’s co-founder, Andrew Allen, in an interview with TechCrunch, “From the beginning, we formed the company around software, hardware, and web services […] Even before we released Paper, we were working on hardware.” The Pencil stylus was reportedly in the works for two years before being released and will come in either a Walnut finish or a Graphite finish and will be priced at $59.95 and $49.95 respectively.
As we had mentioned earlier, the stylus will give users more control over the Paper app and will unlock special features. The stylus will pair with the app via Bluetooth, but like we said it will also act as a regular stylus when not in use with the app. The app will also detect that the stylus is in use and will reject palm movements on the tablet, such as when you’re resting your palm on the tablet which admittedly feels more natural.
In fact it even comes with an eraser where users will just have to flip the stylus around to erase their mistakes in the app, just like they would with a real pencil. Pretty cool, huh? The stylus is expected to ship in 2-3 weeks, with orders placed before the 11th of December promised to arrive in time for Christmas.
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