Less than a year after its release, the Google Pixel tablet is already one of the best Android tablets on the market right now. A really reasonable price, great specs and clean, fast software combine to create an incredible device, whether you’re in the market for a great Android tablet or the best iPad around Strong competitors, it is worth considering.
Does your tablet need a stylus?Here’s how to choose the right one
You can use a stylus to improve your calligraphy or enhance your art, but you need to be careful when choosing a stylus.
One feature that most of the best tablets have is the ability to use them with a stylus. Whether you’re a designer, like to draw, or just like writing notes, this is a great input method.
Luckily, the Pixel Tablet supports one of the most popular stylus standards: USI 2.0. This means you can buy a great stylus for your device, and you’re not limited to first-party accessories. Since it also works with older styluses (just with less features), we’ve rounded up the best options for you here, supporting both the USI 2.0 standard and the older (and often cheaper) USI 1.0 pens.
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Penoval USI 2.0 stylus
Best overall stylus
When it comes to third-party styli, Penoval is a household name, and not without reason. The USI 2.0 stylus offers excellent pressure sensitivity and palm rejection, as well as great ergonomics, great battery life, and USB-C charging. Overall, it’s the best option, even if it does cost more than the competition.
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Penoval USI 2.0 Lite
The best battery-powered stylus
Penoval USI 2.0 Lite takes the feature-rich formula of the Penoval USI 2.0 stylus and changes it with an AAAA battery-powered design. It’s a little thicker than the non-Lite version, but it’s worth it if you prefer being able to swap out the battery on the go.
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Lenovo USI Pen 2
The best value stylus
The Lenovo USI Pen 2 has an excellent ergonomic design and can sense over 4000 pressure levels, making it an excellent choice for note-taking and drawing. Additionally, its fine tip makes it a good choice for works that require very precise input. It can also be powered by AAAA batteries if you prefer.
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Metapen G1 Air
Best budget stylus
If you’re looking for an inexpensive stylus that’s still very ergonomic, the Metapen G1 Air is an excellent choice. It’s not rechargeable, but you’ll want to stock up on AAAA batteries—although you shouldn’t use them up quickly. It’s smooth and very precise, making it a great budget option.
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Metapen G1
Best USI 1.0 Stylus
This is a pen that uses the older USI 1.0 standard, but it’s still very easy to use and has impressive battery life, which is a key factor for everyday use. And it uses USB-C charging, which is extremely convenient to charge even if it runs out of power.
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Alogic USI active stylus
The best stylus with clip
Alogic’s excellent stylus is a bit pricey, especially considering the USi 1.0 standard, but for good reason. It has excellent build quality and some really nice features, as well as solid battery life. It also comes with a handy clip and a very small tip, perfect for some precise drawing.
Bottom line: What’s the best stylus for your Pixel tablet?
Currently, the overall best stylus to choose is the Penoval USI 2.0 pen. It offers the best feature set, great palm response, and excellent build quality, making it a great choice that pairs well with the wide range of features of Google Pixel tablets.
That being said, if you prefer a battery-powered option, the Penoval USI 2.0 Lite is essentially the same stylus, but it swaps UBS-C charging for an external AAAA battery that you can easily swap out on the go. It’s also a bit thick, but that might also be an advantage if you like something a little bigger.
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How we chose the best stylus for Google Pixel tablets
Google’s Pixel tablet is a great device, and thanks to its support for the USI 2.0 stylus standard, it works well with a range of different devices – which is a big plus, especially when Google doesn’t offer My first-party stylus pen.
That being said, even though the USI 2.0 standard makes the feature set of every compatible stylus very similar, some of them work a little better with the tablet than others, resulting in a better or worse pairing . That’s why we not only looked at the specs of the stylus itself, but also looked at buyer opinions to gauge compatibility with Pixel tablets.
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FAQ
Q: What are the important functions of the stylus?
Of course, even our top picks won’t always be the right stylus for you, as everyone has their own needs and preferences regarding their writing devices. Here are some of the most important stylus features to keep in mind when choosing the best pen for you:
- pressure sensitivity – It measures the stylus’s ability to convert pressure on the screen into the width of the line it draws. This is important whether you are writing or painting.
- Tilt sensitivity – Similar to pressure sensitivity, it converts the tilt of the pen into the width of the line. This is especially important for painting when tilting is a natural part of the painting process.
- Prevent palm accidental touch – With software palm rejection, you can forget about specialized writing gloves and instead rely on the screen to recognize your palm and not register it as input when using the stylus.
- Battery life and batteries – Battery life is an extremely important quality of life feature, which essentially means how often you need to charge your stylus. Also, the battery type is important, as some people prefer the built-in lithium battery that charges via USB-C, while others opt for an AAAA-powered stylus.
- Ergonomics -Essentially the fit and comfort of the pen in the palm of your hand. It’s not just about its shape, but its weight too – so if you can, try out the stylus before buying it.
- Additional features – Everything else you might find useful, such as a clip, a specific nib you like, or other function buttons on the pen.