Non-Apple pencil support on the iPad mini A17

[AlecEdworthy]

Hello,

I recently purchased a Metapen Pencil A11 to go with my iPad mini A17, however it turns out a change to the screen (impedance according to Metapen) means it does not work reliably (you get gaps/glitches). Has anyone got any experience with using other non-Apple pencils with the A17 yet and if so which ones do or do not work reliably please?

Kind regards, Alec

 

[pavinder]

I've been looking for the same information, as I was considering any of the Metapen models: A8, A11 and A14.
I'll definitely report back with links to anything I find.
Interestingly the Metapen website is currently down, although it's probably wishful thinking to presume it's because updated information is on its way!

 

[AlecEdworthy]

I've bought a TQQ Stylus Pen for Apple iPad (2018-2024) and the pen works well on the screen (no gaps or glitches) but the palm rejection doesn't work. So it's fine for marking up documents (highlighting, underlining etc) but less useful for more intricate work, writing etc. The search goes on.

Metapen have written back to me and said they'll let me know when they release an updated pen for the A17 so 🤞

 

[pavinder]

OK, so I tested over 12 stylus pens over the last few days and found just 2 that work:
Elecom P-TPACSTAP05WWH
Digio2 STP-A01

Unfortunately neither meets my requirements.
The Elecom has magnets but they don't quite align with the new positions on the iPad, so the pen is held very loosely.
The Digio2 is lovely in the hand (hexagonal rather than rounded) but unfortunately has no magnets, and charges via micro-USB.
Palm rejection works on both pens. And I tested in both Procreate and Photoshop apps.

The most common problem with other pens was that drawing in Photoshop was problematic: a line/brushstroke remained invisible until the pen had been lifted off the screen, so only after completing a stroke could one see the result. But the abovementioned 2 pens correctly showed brushstrokes as they were being made.

 

[pavinder]

message deleted

 

[AlecEdworthy]

Thanks for the update @pavinder. I've tested two more pencils, one which worked well for drawing in Notes but palm rejection was completely absent. The other is HJCE Stylus Pen which so far seems to work well. Lines appear complete and fluid, tilt sensing seems to work and palm rejection is fine. The magnets are strong enough to hold the pen in place if I shake the iPad quite hard and it charges via USB-C (including from the iPad using a short cable). It's predominantly cylindrical with a flat side (like many pencils I think). I've not tried it in Photoshop.

 

[pavinder]

Thanks for the update @pavinder. I've tested two more pencils, one which worked well for drawing in Notes but palm rejection was completely absent. The other is HJCE Stylus Pen which so far seems to work well. Lines appear complete and fluid, tilt sensing seems to work and palm rejection is fine. The magnets are strong enough to hold the pen in place if I shake the iPad quite hard and it charges via USB-C (including from the iPad using a short cable). It's predominantly cylindrical with a flat side (like many pencils I think). I've not tried it in Photoshop.

Thanks for the info.
I found the vast majority of pens function fine in Freeform, Notes and Procreate. Photoshop was the app in which they often had that problem of brushstrokes not being registered in real time. For me that's a deal breaker.
But perhaps that could be solved by a Photoshop app update?

 

[palmtastic]

I have found this HJCE Stylus Pen (HJCE Model P6) compatible with my iPad Mini 7 (A17 Pro). It writes fluidly without glitches or gaps. Supports both palm-rejection and tilting-detection. Attaches to the slide of the iPad with strong magnet (but no wireless charging). Charges the battery to full capacity quickly using the supplied USB-C cable. Last but not the least, it is at a low low price of less than $10 US.

 

[AlecEdworthy]

I have found this HJCE Stylus Pen compatible with my iPad Mini 7 (A17 Pro). It writes fluidly without glitches or gaps. Supports both palm-rejection and tilting-detection. Attaches to the slide of the iPad with strong magnet (but no wireless charging). Charges the battery to full capacity quickly using the supplied USB-C cable. Last but not the least, it is at a low low price of less than $10 US.

Yep, I'm very happy with my one of those. Not done much writing with it but done quite a lot of colouring over the holiday period and it worked well for me (my friend's daughter stole it for a while but I managed to persuade her to take one of the pens I'd tried and rejected which worked fine on her older iPad Air 😆).

 

[sbassios]

I have found this HJCE Stylus Pen (HJCE Model P6) compatible with my iPad Mini 7 (A17 Pro). It writes fluidly without glitches or gaps. Supports both palm-rejection and tilting-detection. Attaches to the slide of the iPad with strong magnet (but no wireless charging). Charges the battery to full capacity quickly using the supplied USB-C cable. Last but not the least, it is at a low low price of less than $10 US.

Yep, I'm very happy with my one of those. Not done much writing with it but done quite a lot of colouring over the holiday period and it worked well for me (my friend's daughter stole it for a while but I managed to persuade her to take one of the pens I'd tried and rejected which worked fine on her older iPad Air 😆).

you tried hjce only on a17 pro? is there any option to try the magnet on ipad pro m4?

 

[StoneJack]

Wiwu pens work great