Active vs. passive stylus — what the difference means for writing and drawing

A passive stylus is a conductive tip that mimics a finger — it registers as a large, blunt touch point on the iPad's capacitive screen. It has no pressure sensitivity, no palm rejection, and no tilt awareness. It works on any touchscreen but adds nothing beyond a slightly firmer touch point than a fingertip. An active stylus contains electronics that communicate with the iPad's digitiser at a hardware level. The digitiser distinguishes the active stylus signal from a finger or palm contact — enabling palm rejection — and reads the pressure transducer in the nib to determine how hard the pen is pressing, enabling pressure sensitivity. For note-taking and annotation, palm rejection alone is the difference between a usable tool and a frustrating one. For drawing and illustration, pressure sensitivity transforms the stylus from a pointing device into a genuine creative instrument.

Palm rejection explained

When you write with a pen on paper, your hand rests on the surface naturally. On a touchscreen without palm rejection, that hand contact registers as touch input — dragging, zooming, or creating unwanted marks across the canvas. Palm rejection solves this by having the active stylus broadcast a signal that tells the iPad's digitiser to switch to a stylus-only input mode, ignoring all simultaneous large touch contacts that don't match the stylus tip signature. The transition happens in under a millisecond when the nib approaches the screen, and reverts to normal touch mode when the stylus lifts. The result: you can write with your hand resting completely naturally on the screen, exactly as you would with pen and paper.

App compatibility

This stylus works with any app that accepts Apple Pencil input — which covers the vast majority of drawing, note-taking, and annotation apps on iPadOS. Apps with verified full-feature support (pressure sensitivity, tilt, palm rejection) include Procreate, GoodNotes 5 and 6, Notability, Apple Notes, Adobe Fresco, Adobe Illustrator, Concepts, Vectornator, PDF Expert, and Microsoft OneNote. Apps that use standard iOS touch input (browsing, email, productivity) also work with the stylus for navigation and selection.

Why no Bluetooth pairing is an advantage

Apple Pencil (1st and 2nd generation) require Bluetooth pairing — which means they're connected to one iPad at a time, require a short setup on each new device, and occasionally need re-pairing after iOS updates or extended inactivity. This stylus uses active capacitive technology that requires no pairing: it identifies itself as a stylus to the digitiser the moment it makes screen contact. Switching between iPads, sharing the stylus between users, and using it immediately after charging all work without any configuration step. For classrooms, shared devices, or users who own multiple iPads, the no-pairing model is a practical advantage over Bluetooth-dependent alternatives.

Replacing the nib tip

Stylus nibs wear down with use — typically over 6–12 months of regular writing depending on writing pressure and surface texture (screen protectors with textured paper-like finishes wear nibs faster). Two replacement nibs and a removal tool are included. To replace: grip the worn nib with the removal tool and pull straight out, then press the new nib straight into the tip housing until it clicks into position. The replacement nibs are the same diameter and material as the original — no recalibration or adjustment needed after replacement.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work with iPad Pro M4 (2024)? Yes. iPad Pro M4 uses the same capacitive digitiser technology as all other modern iPads — this stylus is fully compatible with all features including palm rejection and pressure sensitivity.

Is it compatible with Apple Pencil apps like Procreate? Yes. Procreate, along with virtually all major drawing and note-taking apps, treats active third-party styluses as Apple Pencil-equivalent input devices. Pressure curves, tilt, and palm rejection all function within Procreate's brush engine.

Does it work on iPad without a screen protector? Yes — and also with most screen protectors including glass and paper-texture film. Very thick screen protectors (over 0.5mm) may slightly reduce palm rejection sensitivity at the screen edges.

How long does a charge last? Up to 10 hours of active drawing or writing from a full charge (approximately 1.5 hours). The magnetic side attachment provides passive top-up charging when the pen is stored against a compatible iPad case, keeping the battery near full between sessions.

Can it be used with an iPhone? No. Active stylus palm rejection and pressure sensitivity require the iPad's ProMotion digitiser. iPhones use a different touch sensing architecture that does not support active stylus protocols.