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Most people may not know this, but the Google Pixel Tablet comes with stylus support. This means that you can use advanced styli with this tablet to help augment your experience. The Pixel Tablet is compatible with USI styli, and that opens it up to a wide array of pens that you can buy for the tablet.
If you have the Pixel Tablet, and you’re planning on picking up a stylus, then this guide should give you a bit more information about these styli and why you should use them. We’ll also talk about three fine examples of styli that you should consider. Hopefully, this will help you discover your new favorite stylus.
What is USI?
Before we get into this guide, it’s important to know what USI is and what it’s all about. USI (Universal Stylus Initiative) is a nonprofit organization that defines industry-wide standards for interoperable communication between an active stylus and touch-enabled devices such as phones, tablets, and computing and entertainment platforms.
Basically, it defined standards for styli to work across different devices. Oftentimes, like the case of the Apple Pencil and Samsung’s S Pen, styli are proprietary devices. They only work with devices from their company.
However, USI has members including leading OEMs, stylus, and touch controller manufacturers such as Lenovo, Intel, Google & more. It makes high-quality styli more accessible to more users around the world.
We’re not talking about store shelf styli
Most of the time, when people think of styli, they think of the simple unpowered ones that you find on store shelves. Those are just pieces of plastic with a rubber material on the tip.
USI-certified styli are powered devices that communicate directly with your device. This way, your phone or tablet knows where the stylus is. This allows the stylus to have a much narrower tip for added precision. Unpowered styli need to have a wider tip because they rely on capacitance for your device to detect where they are. This can’t be done with a thinner tip.
However, with a USI stylus, you’ll be able to use it for precise tasks such as drawing and painting. In order to draw professional works, you need pen-tip precision. So, if you’re planning on picking up an unpowered stylus, you might want to consider a USI stylus instead. They’re more expensive, but they’re much more usable.
Three great USI styli for the Pixel Tablet
USI was nice enough to lend us a few styli to test out along with a Pixel Tablet. These are three fantastic styli that you can pick up if you’re in the market for a new pen. We’ll dive into what makes them great additions to your workflow.
HP USI Wireless Pen G2
This stylus is a pretty simple and straightforward device. It’s lightweight, which is good if you typically draw or write for extended periods of time. While it’s lightweight, picking it up, you can still tell that it’s solidly built. The soft-touch plastic feels nice to the touch. When you first pick it up, it almost feels like it’ll be slippery, but it’s easy to get a tight grip on it.
Drawing with this pen, you’ll want to know that it’s pretty sensitive. It can be easy to draw lines a little thicker than you intend. However, it’s something that you’ll get used to.
The pen can last you a good while on a single charge. When you need to top it up, the charger part is cleverly hidden on the device. At the top of the pen (the end opposite the tip), it slides out to reveal the charging port. It charges via USB-C.
This pen costs $71.99 straight from HP, but you might be able to find some different prices through other retailers.
Penoval USI 2.0
The Penoval USI 2.0 is a premium stylus through and through. This stylus has a significant heft to it with its metal build. It’s great if you want a more premium-feeling stylus. It’s made from a soft matte metal that has a pleasant feeling in the hand.
As for the functionality, the Penoval USI 2.0 has 4,096 levels of pressure, so your strokes should feel like natural pen strokes. This helps when you’re drawing intricate details or practicing calligraphy. Just like the aforementioned stylus, this pen has a pretty fine tip for ultimate precision. Not only that, but it has excellent palm rejection. This lets you rest your hand on the screen while writing. It makes writing and drawing feel more natural.
The Penoval USI 2.0 has its charging port on the end opposite the tip. All you have to do is plug it in for a few minutes to get several hours of usability. In fact, a 50-minute charge will get you about 90 hours of usage. so you can plug it in during any activity to do a quick top-up.
Lenovo USI Pen 2
The final pen on this list is from a familiar brand. Lenovo makes pens that are exclusive to its tablets, but the company also makes styli that other devices can use. The Lenovo USI Pen 2 is another premium-feeling pen with a predominantly metal body. It’s using a soft-touch metal, but there’s also a plastic clip on the top. This makes it feel more like a traditional pen.
The tip of this stylus is a bit more rounded than the other two on this list, but it’s still extremely precise, and you still get 4,096 levels of pressure with it. So, you’re covered when you’re writing and drawing. One thing to note is that this stylus is also rated to work on Chromebooks.
This one stands aside from the other styli on this list because of the battery that it takes. The Lenovo USI 2.0 uses a AAAA battery rather than a rechargeable one. This means that you’ll have to replace it. However, the battery life of this stylus is great, so you won’t have to worry about changing it for a long time.
Other Pixel Tablet accessories
Perhaps, you’re also looking for something else along with a stylus. Well, there are other additions you can purchase to add to your tablet experience. At Android Headlines, we have a constantly updated list of accessories that are perfect for the Pixel Tablet.
It encompasses devices like cases, styli, stands, audio devices, and more. You can keep checking back for new items being added each month. Check out our list of the Best Pixel Tablet Accessories.