By now I think you all know that Apple announced a new iPad called the iPad Pro, with a keyboard and Stylus called Pencil. I’m sure it will be amazeballs. Just remember, there are no new ideas, just old ideas with different execution. Before Apple announced iPad Pro and Pencil I had picked up a similarly named product called Pencil made by FiftyThree. They are a company that produces an app called Paper and hardware called Pencil, which is a really nice stylus for your iPad and now iPhone. As a side note, I feel kind of bad for these guys since Apple has basically ripped off their product name and product. But such is the life when you build a feature for Apple’s ecosystem and then Apple decides it wants that feature too. And to be clear, the Apple Pencil will have far better / greater hardware integration than anyone else can deliver.

So, what’s great about the FiftyThree stylus?

Well with my iPad I find that I take it with me everywhere. I have the walnut version and I like how it feels. Each Pencil is slightly different due to the wood, and so if you are at a store that carries them you may want to evaluate a few different ones to get the one you like. Beyond making drawings and annotations with the Paper app, I also like using it to navigate and in apps such as OneNote. I like that it has magnets that attached to my iPad Smart Cover.

It’s not life changing by any means, but it’s by far the nicest stylus you can get for the current iPad generation. It’s helfpul for drawing if you like to do that. And with the new Paper app you can insert photos and draw on them which I find really great for landscape projects and home projects. If you are an artist I think you’ll love both products.

★★★★☆ Great. Worth purchasing.