Writing, drawing and tapping without a fingertip
This department is for the times a finger is not the right tool: a pen for notes and sketches, a finer point for small buttons, or a pair of gloves you can keep on while you answer a call. It holds stylus pens for phones and tablets, the spare tips that keep a pen writing, and gloves made to work a screen.
How a touchscreen feels a touch
A phone or tablet screen is a capacitive screen. It feels the tiny electrical charge your bare fingertip draws at the spot you touch. Anything that does not conduct, such as plastic, wood or an ordinary glove, does nothing at all. Every pen and glove in this department works by giving the screen something it can feel.
A simple stylus has a soft tip that conducts, so it stands in for your fingertip. A battery pen makes the signal itself, which lets its tip be much finer. A touchscreen glove has conductive fibres woven into its fingertips.
The ranges in Stylus and Touch
- Capacitive stylus pens are the simple kind, with a soft tip that works on any touchscreen. One here is also a ballpoint, a ruler, a spirit level and a small screwdriver.
- Active stylus pens have a battery and a fine tip, for neater handwriting and drawing. They charge by USB-C and are switched on to use.
- Stylus tips are spare nibs, mostly compatible with the S Pen supplied with Samsung Galaxy tablets and phones, with a replacement pen for the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
- Touchscreen gloves have fingertips that work a phone, in motorcycle gloves and warm winter gloves for cycling, running and walking.
Pens made only for a tablet are also in tablet stylus pens, in the Tablet and iPad department.
Choosing between them
For tapping, scrolling and the odd signature, a capacitive pen is all you need, and it never needs charging. For handwritten notes or drawing, a fine-tipped active pen is far more accurate. If you already have a pen that came with your tablet and its tip has worn flat, a spare tip costs much less than a new pen. If what you want is to use your phone outdoors in winter, gloves do the job without anything to carry.
Questions people ask about stylus pens and touchscreen gloves
Does a stylus work through a screen protector?
Yes, through ordinary thin glass and film protectors, the same way a finger works through them. See tempered glass screen protectors.
Will these pens work like an Apple Pencil?
No. Apple lists the Apple Pencil for iPad models only, and the pens here are not Apple Pencils. They are general pens compatible with most touchscreens, and each product page says which phones and tablets it suits.
How long does delivery take?
Delivery is included in every price and tracked to your door. Each product page says when it usually arrives.
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