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Home Tech Computing Tablets iPad

This new ZAGG stylus is a cheaper, more colorful Apple Pencil alternative

iPad owners looking to save money could bypass the Apple Pencil and get the ZAGG Pro Stylus 2 instead.

Written by Maria Diaz, Staff Writer on

For tablet users, a great stylus can be a game changer. Beyond being a tool for navigating your tablet, great styluses like the S Pen for Samsung tablets and the Apple Pencil for iPad can become a productivity tool for annotations, graphic design, photo editing, and content creation. ZAGG just launched a new Pro Stylus 2 with some advantages over the Apple Pencil.

The Pro Stylus 2 boasts wireless charging, tilt recognition, palm rejection technology, a replaceable tip, and compatibility with apps that support the Apple Pencil.

Also: The best stylus tablets for note-taking and drawing

Plus, it’s also available in five colors, has a dual tip, and goes for the price of $80, which is cheaper than the Apple Pencil 2 — though you can snag one of those for only $89 for a limited time.

The ZAGG Stylus Pro 2 features tilt recognition, allowing you to vary the width of your stroke.

ZAGG/ZDNET

The dual tips on the Pro Stylus 2 include an active tip for drawing precise lines, making notes, and sketching; and a universal capacitive tip on the opposite end to easily scroll and navigate your iPad. Each stylus includes a spare active tip for replacement.

Also: This is the $300 Android phone to beat in 2023 – and it even has a stylus

It’s worth noting that this new ZAGG stylus will be a different experience than the Apple Pencil 2 on the iPad. For one, the pen turns itself off after 15 minutes of inactivity, requiring the user to push on the capacitive end of the stylus to turn it on instead of just picking it up and using it on the screen.

ZAGG Pro Stylus 2

View now at Zagg

The battery life is also shorter than the Apple Pencil’s at six and a half hours on a single charge, compared to the 10-12 hours you’d get on Apple Pencil 2.

Like the Apple Pencil, the ZAGG Pro Stylus 2 supports wireless magnetic charging on the iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9, so it attaches easily to the side of Apple’s flagship iPads to charge. This stylus is also compatible with any iPad model from 2018 or later.

Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: This tablet can truly replace your laptop

The Pro Stylus 2 also supports Qi wireless charging with the included charging cradle or any compatible wireless charger for greater convenience and is available now in five colors: black, white, yellow, pink, and blue.