Tablet styluses

What do they do?

A stylus is a pen-shaped device that lets you interact with your tablet’s screen. Its points of contact are more precise than fingers and drawing feels more natural. You don’t need to worry about finger smudges, either.

How do they work?

There are two types of styluses – capacitive and active. Capacitive models simply replace your finger - the screen senses its presence and reacts as if there’s a finger there. However, you can’t rest your hand on the screen while using one. Active styluses only work with tablets that have an extra layer built into the screen. This provides a more nuanced interface with the stylus and can apply extra information, such as how hard it’s being pressed against the screen, as well as detecting its location. It can also ignore any other pressure points, so you can rest your hand on the screen while writing or drawing, as you would on a piece of paper.

What are their specs?

Capacitive styluses will work on any screen – you can even use them on smartphones if you find the smaller screens too fiddly. Because active styluses are more advanced, they usually need to be paired with a specific device. You can’t use an Apple Pencil (£139, pictured), for example, on non-apple tablets. Some Samsung tablets have specific styluses too.

Can I change it later?

Yes. There are plenty of companies that make styluses that are compatible with most popular tablets, so if you get one you don’t like, it’s simple to replace it. Obviously, you need to ensure the one you choose supports your particular device.