| Cult of Mac

Best Apple Pencil alternatives for your iPad

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Adonit Note+ review
Apple Pencil isn’t the only iPad stylus. With Adonit Note+, you can draw Tippy. Or take notes, sign PDFs, and more.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iPadOS 14 includes Scribble, finally allowing you to hand write text on an iPad with a stylus. If you don’t already have a stylus, there are some great options out there besides the very expensive Apple Pencil.

Here are some of the best available, so you can take full advantage of your iPad’s capabilities without paying too much.

Apple gets it ‘write’ with Scribble on iPadOS

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Scribble is the most significant new feature in iPadOS 14
Apple’s Scribble handwriting-recognition system makes iPad styli more useful.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2020 Apple finally brought handwriting recognition to iPad. With Scribble built in iPadOS 14, it’s possible to enter text simply by drawing on the screen.

My testing with the first version shows its an amazing feature. But one with room for improvement.

Adonit stylus both sterilizes your iPad and writes on it [Review]

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Adonit Note-UVC review
Adonit Note-UVC does two jobs. It’s both an iPad stylus and a UVC sterilizer.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Adonit Note-UVC is certainly a product for its time. While this stylus lets you take handwritten notes on a range of iPad and iPad Pro models, the standout feature is a pair of ultraviolet lamps that kill the germs and bacteria on your tablet screen (or any other object). The release is timed just right, with COVID-19 making so many people worried about potential infections.

I tested the Note-UVC as a stylus, and looked into how effective it is at sterilizing surfaces. The results of both might surprise you.

This is the affordable Apple Pencil rival you’ve been looking for [Review]

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Adonit Note+ review
With Adonit Note+, you can draw Tippy. Or take notes, sign PDFs, and more.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Adonit Note+ is a pressure-sensitive iPad stylus that stands up well in a head-to-head competition with Apple Pencil, and even beats it in some areas. It offers tilt detection and pressure sensitivity, as well as shortcut buttons. All at a price definitely lower than Apple’s stylus.

We used this Apple Pencil alternative for both writing and drawing — read our Adonit Note+ review to see how it handles in real-world use.

Adonit Note+ does nearly as much as Apple Pencil but costs far less

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Adonit Note+ iPad stylus
The Adonit Note+ iPad stylus is designed for artists and note takers.
Photo: Adonit

Adonit’s second-generation iPad stylus offers many features not in the original, including including tilt detection and pressure sensitivity. The Note+ also adds shortcut buttons for quick access to erase, redo, or other functions.

It has nearly the same feature set as the Apple Pencil while costing significantly less.

PhotoGrip Qi is a camera grip and wireless charger in one [Review]

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Adonit PhotoGrip Qi
The Adonit PhotoGrip Qi is charging this iPhone XS Max while taking this picture.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Adonit actually found a way to make taking vacation pictures with your iPhone easier. The PhotoGrip Qi turns your phone into an old-school point-and-shoot. Plus it includes a tripod with a remote shutter button. On top of that, its flexible iPhone clamp wirelessly charges the handset.

I still remember the days before phone cameras. Come see how well Adonit did re-creating that experience.

Adonit Note is the affordable stylus your iPad needs [Review]

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Adonit Note review
Adonit Note costs half and much, looks twice as good as Apple Pencil.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

More than artists want to draw on their iPad, and Adonit has just introduced a stylus for the rest of us. This lightweight accessory offers most of the features of the Apple Pencil, while costing far, far less.

We fully tested the Adonit Note iPad stylus, so be sure to read our review.

Jot Dash is the iPad stylus you never knew you needed

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The new Jot Dash stylus works anywhere your finger does.
The new Jot Dash stylus works anywhere your finger does.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — You’d think stylus maker Adonit would be terrified by rumors that Apple is about to release a plus-size iPad Pro with its very own writing accessory, but nothing could be further from the truth.

According to Ian Shirey, Adonit’s chief strategy officer, facing competition from Apple would be the sweetest vindication of all for his company’s devices. “For Apple to tell the world a stylus is OK would be great,” Shirey said during a visit to the Cult of Mac offices to show off Adonit’s latest creation, the Jot Dash, an midrange stylus that works with iOS and Android devices.

Stylus maker Adonit makes the jump to apps with Forge

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Forge is a new digital workspace. Source: Adonit
Forge is a new digital workspace. Photo: Adonit

Adonit already makes some of the best styluses in the world, now it’s unleashing a new app that will help you make the most of them.

The company behind the popular Jot styluses line revealed today that it’s made a new app called Forge that’s not just a great place to sketch out drawings, but also doubles as a digital workspace for visual thinkers.