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Andy847

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 17, 2016
162
230
Chicago Suburb
Hi everyone, I'm going to give my review on the Ztylus Apple Pencil Case, please keep in mind this is my opinion for my Workflow and uses of the Apple Pencil, so your opinion may differ. I was asked by the company to be a Beta tester and happily accepted, having read about this AP case while looking at AP accessories. I'm trying to give an honest opinion.

First off let me start with the Good. I think the people at Ztylus Innovation did a great job answering some of the problems people stated with the Apple Pencil when it first came out. Problems such as no clip to attach to anything, where to keep the Pencil cap while charging, and the AP rolling off surfaces. I think their concept is simple and efficient, but there was a couple of Cons that I personally couldn't get use to.

I received it on Friday afternoon, and eagerly put it together with the Apple Pencil. Right off the bat, I noticed the thickness and Weight it added to the AP. Now mind you holding both in separate hands, the Ztylus isn't that heavy and the AP does have some weight to it already, but maybe because the Ztylus is thicker and more like holding an old school Marker used to mark boxes and things, it made it "feel" heavier. I say this because I held it in my hand the last couple of nights, for a few hours at a time and it didn't bother me holding it when not in use and when drawing with it.

The point that is hard for me is the Thickness of it. As someone who draws and has done art before, I've never used a drawing tool that thick. I don't use magic markers for drawing, so the thickness is odd to me and doesn't feel natural. That is one of their selling points is that the Pencil Holder is better for holding for long periods of time, than the thickness of the Apple Pencil alone. I can see that being true, but I found it awkward to use trying to get small details drawn when drawing and just didn't feel like drawing with a Pencil/Pen or painting with a brush. So that's one of the biggest cons for me.

I also don't need the Clip, like some people wished the AP had. It does come in handy, just not for my workflow or preference/needs. They have a simple efficient design that answers some of the problems with the AP alone. It's easy to put the AP together with it, the box is much like the AP box, with instructions on how to put it together and can be used to store your AP with the Ztylus holder on it if you wish. It works just like an old twist to open pen. Twist one way and AP nib comes out one end, and twist back the other way to protect the Nib inside and the AP cap is exposed on the other end. When charging, pull off the cap and attach to the Charging adapter and you place the AP cap on the top tip of the Ztylus Pencil Case clip. It holds fine and I had no worries of it falling off while charging. The Clip is good for a laptop bag, or you can even clip it to the smart Cover, but I found that the clip being kind of thick, made the cover stick up a bit. Not enough to not put the IPP to sleep though. The AP being a bit long, the clip didn't fit well on Tshirts I have with a pocket on them, also didn't feel comfortable putting it in my front pants pocket, because of getting up and sitting down. I feared breaking the AP. The clip does provide an answer to keep the AP from rolling off the tabletop and as said has a place for the Cap while charging the AP.

If I were to rate this on Amazon or someplace like that. I'd give the Ztylus Pencil Case for the Apple Pencil a 4 out of 5 Stars. The only reason I took away 1 star is, because I don't need the pencil clip in my workflow and of course the Added thickness which is something I couldn't get use to. Your opinions might vary. I think the company did a great job with it and I think many people will like it. I have tried a lot of AP accessories, a pen grip, a pouch to hold the AP, and I'm always looking at what's new for the AP out there. Right now the best working for me is the Moxiware Magnetic Sleeve for the AP and an Apple Pencil Cozy for cap and adapter. I like having the magnetic option, because I can just attach to my smart cover on the outside on my desk and the cozy keeps the AP from rolling away. When I'm not using the AP I can just keep it on the IPP itself when I have the smart cover off. It's just my preference and not a knock against the Ztylus. The clip I will say is probably more secure attached to the smart cover though.

I'm attaching pics so you can see the Ztylus and I tried to show the different uses, but you can see this on their website probably also.

Pros: Has clip for attaching to something, solves need for where to put the AP
Clip keeps from Rolling away on Desktops
Clip has place to hold the AP Cap while charging and ease of charging
Easy Assembly
Open/Close action - when open can use the AP, when closed protects the Nib in case of drops
Simple effective design
Also wanted to note that although looks slippery from the pics, I didn't find it as bad as the AP alone. Maybe because of the thickness they made it, not sure on that.

Cons: Thickness takes some getting use to
Adds some weight to the AP (May just be my Opinion, could just be the thickness giving it that illusion. YMMV)

Suggestions: I think a lot of people like colors to make things their own, so I think if they offered in other colors besides just the White, it would be a good thing for people who don't like plain white. Just maybe make it a bit thinner, I found the thickness awkward for Drawing.

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I also received the Ztylus for review.

Mechanically, it's brilliant! I love everything about it, from the way
it opens, to the way it holds the Pencil inside, the magnetic clip,
and the twist to expose the Pencil nib. It seems as though it's even
less likely to lose the end cap if you're just throwing the (now
protected) Pencil in a bag.

I'm not yet comfortable with the size. It may be just a tad too wide.
I know this was probably one of the most difficult decisions of
production. Perhaps it will just take me a while to get used to it.

I've now heard that there will be a "slim" version of the Ztylus. This will be perfectimage.jpegimage.jpeg
 
I'm glad to see someone else's review, and that you too are a little uncomfortable with the Width. I can't wait for the slim version, then I would say it would be a much better solution for those who can't get use to the width, like both you and I.
 
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I have had this stylus in for review myself and wanted to share my findings.

The packaging is choice! Worthy of Apple fanatics. :)

The pencil itself is solid and well built. I did not need to view the instructions on how to assemble the unit. this product safely covers the pencil and keeps it from rolling around. These are two things that get me in trouble when using the apple pencil.uhh.. naked! :eek: I have the logitech keyboard/case thingy and used the magnetic attraction of the naked pencil to the area just below the keybed of the logitech and that kept it at bay, but the pencil could still be brushed up against and can fall on the floor. With this gadget, i can place the pencil anywhere and with the attached clip the pencil is sure to stay put.

The attached clip also serves to place the pencil cap when the pencil is charging. It's held there there magnetically and will stay. The magnetic attraction feels the same as it does on the pencil top itself.

I personally like the thickness of the pencil. I use the pencil just as a glorified mouse and the added thickness and weight makes the pencil feel more substantial in my hand. I use the 12.9 pro in the logitech case 100% of the time and I am ambidextrous with it, thanks to the added thickness. I don't draw on the pad even though I have apps such as Procreate, etc. to dabble with.

I mainly use this pad for audio and light video production and the pencil has already been a wonderful piece of kit in those scenarios, now with this pencil the thickness of it allows me to do even more precise tapping/clicking/dragging on the screen than with the pencil "naked".

I agree, different colors and a thinner model would add to the product and make it more appealing to the masses, as I can see the thickness being an issue with artisans who take drawing/creating images on the tablet seriously.

I don't have any CONS for the pencil, however I DO have a concern, and this is the part that you rotate to lower the pencil nub down to write with. I wonder how long this will last as I constantly am closing the pencil back up inside nearly every time I sit the pencil down, as I do not want to destroy another pencil nib (on my second tip replacement).

To add, I have had the apple pencil and 12.9 pro since their respective launch days and am quite used to the pencil already. This is also my first ever Apple product (I am a diehard Android user).

I look forward to using this daily and feeling more at ease with the added protection.

On a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is wack and 5 is excellent, I give this sucker a solid 4.7.

I don't generally give a product an excellent rating because in my opinion there is always room for improvement. I would not hesitate to purchase this right now, thickness and all!
 
The thickness makes it unusable for me. Plus, I prefer the magnetic "tether" system of the Moxiware.

But props to the designers for a daring transformation.
.

I tried the Moxiware sleeve. Yuck. It doesn't hold well enough no matter what. If you put it in a purse or pack, it will come off. If you carry it around in your hands, it comes off.

Until the Ztylus slim, I'm sticking with the Cover Buddy.
 
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I tried the Moxiware sleeve. Yuck. It doesn't hold well enough no matter what. If you put it in a purse or pack, it will come off. If you carry it around in your hands, it comes off.

Until the Ztylus slim, I'm sticking with the Cover Buddy.
Alli, my Moxieware sleeve is snug to the point of requiring effort to get on or off! (I have two.) Those suckers will never come off by accident.

However, others have reported loose sleeves, and they used a hairdryer to shrink the sleeve.

But I also think the Cover Buddy is a great product.

I love having choices.
 
My moxiware sleeve started sliding off last week. I just used a hairdryer and heated it up to make it snug again. I saw that fix in another thread here. So it's really not a real deal breaker for me. I still prefer the magnetic attaching for right now. I'm trying another product due out next month, hoping that one solves all my problems. Although I do like that now the Ztylus is going to have a slim version, that fixes the biggest problem I had with their design. So looking forward to that also.
 
I received my Ztylus Pencil Case about a week ago. After using it for a little bit, I really like the overall functionality of it. The magnetic clip is nice since it keeps my cap from getting lost and it doesn't roll away on my work desk, which is slanted at an angle for drawing. I actually really like the retracting feature. I've already accidentally dropped my Pencil and damaged my first nib. The thickness of the pen is perfect for my hand, since it's similar to my old Wacom pen thickness, which I'm used to.

The only con I can think of for this case is that there aren't any other colors to choose from. It would be really nice to have a red version of this case, but this is just my personal preference.

If I were to give this case a rating on a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a 4.5. I'm docking the 0.5 since more color options would make this the perfect accessory
 
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