Apple Pencil vs cheaper alternatives

Do you really need the expensive Apple Pencil 1 or 2 or would a cheaper ipad stylus do everything you would need? Here I test review and compare a variety of cheaper ipad stylus alternatives to see whether they offer value for money compared to the official branded apple pencil.

[FaerywingArt]

One thing to keep in mind, Procreate developers have already announced that they are removing pressure sensitivity support for non-Apple Pencil styluses. So the the other brands won’t be able to be used to full potential very soon.

[MargoBeatty]

If you are an artist, there is no replacement for an Apple Pencil. I have an Apple Pencil one I bought in 2017 along with my 12.9 iPad Pro and they both work perfectly to this day, although I am kind of ready to buy a new iPad with an updated pencil. I have dropped my pencil several times but it still works perfectly and holds its charge well. I used Wacom tablets for several years and hundreds of dollars! They can’t hold a candle to the Apple Pencil! So for me the Apple Pencil is cheap by comparison. I’m not saying other Styluses don’t work because they do but they just don’t do everything most Artists would need (most importantly Pressure Sensitivity). However, I do also have alternative styluses such as the mesh one and it works perfectly fine (when I’m NOT doing calligraphy, sketching or detailed artwork). So, if you’re looking for something like that, this video is very helpful. Thank you for your informative video!

[simsjef]

Thanks for this review which is helpful since I will be doing a presentation concerning digital art in a class where most of the participants have mild cognitive impairment which includes me as well. Art is proven to help those with MCI. Since I use Procreate I will be recommending your drawing videos and reviews such as what you have done concerning using different pencils. I pIan on doing a simple drawing where I will have differed participants doing aspects of it on different layers so they can see how simple it can be to do a drawing. I so appreciate your in-structural encouragement as you suggest not to get to bogged down with doing it at your proficiency but to do it the best you can. You are such a good ambassador for Procreate and iPads which have encouraged my purchases in these areas.

[codygreer]

I bought my pencil from SHEIN and paid £10 for it. It’s a great pencil does everything except pressure sensitivity.

[KeepinItReal]

This is perfect!! I’m looking for an alternative for my daughter! She’s almost 6 (in April), loves drawing, and is very good at it, so I want her to have a stylus to use on her iPad. She has 6th Gen iPad, and even tho it would be the 1st Gen pencil, idk if I wanna spend the money. She’s 5, and may lose it 🤷🏽‍♀️. This gives me some good alternatives to check out!! Thanks so much!! Oh, I didn’t hear it mentioned, but is scratching the screen ever a concern? She’s not particularly heavy-handed, but anything is possible. 😅

[WanderFeetChronicles]

This will definitely help people make a more informed decision if funds are low.

I’m personally very happy with the Apple Pencil 2, it offers so much more to me pairing with my iPad Pro magnetically charging as you said, and the features it affords me like pressure, drawing with angles it’s just perfect.

If you can afford an ipad, then I’d definitely suggest going with apples own proprietary pencils for ease of use.

[kevindoidge]

I love being able to watch such a great video with an easy-on-the-ear English voice... thank you so much for this, very helpful :)

[Thompson-wnli]

I am a college student. I mainly take notes and draw. My first pen was an Apple Pencil 2 gen. Later I bought an unbranded alternative. YEBOS T5X is enough for my daily use, and it is cheap enough!

[markr]

I have 5 quadence pens. I have lost 2 - kids. They are brilliant. Use it for engineering sketches and markups…perfect.

[sunnystorm]

I have the KXT and for what I need it for, I would say it’s really good! As said in the video, it’s accurate and smooth, but there are a few things to consider. One is that for me, I keep accidentally clicking on the power button and switching it off. I might just be clumsy but it’s quite annoying. The battery life is excellent, it lasts a long time and I don’t feel like I have to constantly charge it. The final thing for me personally, is since the tip isn’t the absolute finest, it’s sometimes not as accurate as it could be. It is still accurate, but if you’re an artist I honestly think you’d be better off with an Apple Pencil. I am in no way an artist, but I do like to do sketches and research using it, mainly for fun. I think this review was really good and helpful, but this is my opinion on the KXT.

[Able_Cylon]

Great review! For me, the largest drawback of the Apple Pencil is that I can never seem to get a secure grip on it. I’ve tried a couple of sleeves, but got my best results with masking tape.

[christinehowell]

Very helpful. Still Apple Pencil 2 for me and it's useful to see it was worth me going for it from the start.

[thomasdiersch]

Time to test again. I have one that does the pairing.

[Sailfinnsp]

5:37 I use this pencil at my school so I can work on worksheets and I actually think if you were using a Apple owned app with this or you are drawing with images since this is a great digital pencil

[masteroogvvay]

I'm not happy until I find a pineapple pen.

[leslievaldez]

I used to have the Apple pen that has like a little magnetic top and the button that you charge with like the one that you take off and put on his top that one

[sarahstevenson]

Thanks James, great review! I use a UOGIC and am very happy with it. I used to have an Apple Pencil but it didn’t last very long before it stopped working and at that price, I wasn’t going to replace it. However, I had forgotten that my stylus isn’t actually an Apple Pencil when I got it back out a couple of weeks ago, so it just goes to show that the other styluses are great alternatives 😊

[tezzcan]

I’m a beginner using Procreate to learn how to draw. I have one of the £20 stylus’s and the only problem I have is that a lot of the tutorials out there are of course done with an IPencil. Because of that fact some of them can’t be followed closely, even the beginner ones as a lot use the fact that the IPencil tapers or they use a lighter or heavier pressure. Now for beginners I guess we shouldn’t worry about that but I find it stresses me out as I have to keep stopping the tutorial to alter the width or opacity of the line. Is there an alternative between a compatible stylus at around £20 and the IPencil at £100+ that has a version of the pressure sensitivity?

[jejakakacakberbudibahasa]

What app are you using for the drawing demo?

[emilyrumshas]

I have the quadence one. And the tiny thing in the back, I always sometimes lose it