Stylus

A stylus is a pen-shaped input device used to interact with touch surfaces and graphics tablets. It enables precise pointing, writing, drawing, note taking, and signature capture, offering an alternative to finger input on many devices such as smartphones, tablets, and pen-enabled laptops or dedicated drawing tablets.

There are several categories of styluses. Passive styluses, also called capacitive styluses, rely on a conductive tip to mimic the effect of a finger. They require no power and work on most modern capacitive touchscreens, but they typically offer basic precision and no advanced input data. Active styluses include electronics and may require batteries or wireless connection. They can provide higher precision, pressure sensitivity, tilt sensing, palm rejection, and data such as pressure levels and tilt to the host device, often with features like Bluetooth pairing and programmable buttons. Resistive styluses are used with resistive screens that respond to pressure and can work with any pointing object; they are more common on older devices and are less widespread today.

History and examples: styluses have ancient origins for writing on clay or wax tablets, while modern digital styluses emerged with graphic tablets from companies like Wacom and evolved with tablets and smartphones. Notable contemporary examples include the Apple Pencil, Samsung S Pen, and Microsoft Surface Pen. Compatibility varies by device and may require specific models or software to access advanced features such as pressure sensitivity.

When selecting a stylus, consider device compatibility, whether pressure or tilt data is needed, response latency, tip type and durability, and whether wireless features or replaceable tips are desirable.