Adonit launched its new premium-looking Star iPad pen stylus earlier this year. Looking to offer folks a more classical take on Apple Pencil, it delivers much of the same experience in a more luxury-looking package with a basic overall feature set. While it might not be the best option for hardcore iPad artists, after spending some time hands-on with the Adonit Star, I can say it is worth a closer look for folks that can appreciate this kind of design and those who only require a basic writing device without all the bells and whistles. Head below for a closer look at our hands-on impressions.
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Hands-on with the Adonit Star iPad Pen
The Adonit Star is an iPad stylus made to look like a luxury fountain pen. It features a metallic build with polished silver accents throughout, subtle engraved lettering at the base of the lid, and decorative markings on the 1mm nub. The lid works just like a traditional one – there’s no screw off here and the clip functions just like a traditional one you can use to connect the stylus to a pocket on your shirt, jacket, or inside a bag/brief case.
Adonit’s Star delivers 11 hours of battery life after a 1-hour charge via the USB-C port hidden under another screw-off cap at the top of the pen – although it seems to be lasting for longer than that in my tests.
Adonit Star is inspired by sleek and simple elegance for high quality luxury writing. It features metallic body for a comfortable, weighted feel. The fountain pen tip is engraved with the iconic Adonit emblem. The POM tip ensures every line drawn and letter written is where it needs to be. Rest your palm comfortably on the screen without leaving stray lines on the page.
The Adonit Star iPad Pen stylus is available for purchase now directly on Amazon for $49.99 shipped.
Here’s a closer look at the spec sheet:
- Palm Rejection
- Metallic body
- Charging time: 60 min
- Continuous use: 11 hr
- Copper material (POM tip)
- USB-C charging
Electronicsforward’ Take
Clearly Adonit is going for the look of a high-end and highly collectible fountain pen, like a Montblanc or something like that. Anyone familiar with these sorts of writing instruments will know how serious folks who collect them can be and how expensive some pieces can get. While you won’t need to worry much about that with the Adonit stylus version, is does do quite a good job of living in that space, from the shape and hand feel to the engraved nub and overall style.
It’s overall build quality is not going to go toe-to-toe with high-end luxury fountain pen either, but it does more than just look the part – this is not just some thin flimsy plastic pen, but rather one that has some weight to it, feels a lot like a the real thing, and doesn’t completely break the bank.
While I’m certainly no expert in luxury fountain pens, friends of mine that are seem to think this one certainly looks and feels about as close as it could for $50.
As for its actual functionality as a premium-looking Apple Pencil replacement, it’s mostly up to the task. Everything works just as expected – smooth digital lines whether you are doodling or taking notes, palm rejection so you can rest your hand down while writing, and it glides nicely across the iPad Air I have here to test it on.
One thing to quickly point out while we are on the subject though just in case, this is not a hardcore art stylus. While I guess for some folks that is already entirely obvious considering it looks like an old school fountain pen, there’s no pressure or angular sensitivity here. It’s just a alright up, basic stylus with palm rejection made to look like a historical pen, no proper calligraphy action and you can’t replace the nub without buying an entirely new pen.
It comes in at well below the Apple Pencil, as it should considering the more basic functionality and brand pedigree, but as someone who mainly only ever uses hand writing and doodling on an iPad for taking quick notes and brainstorming here and there, it is for my money a far better option, that both looks nicer, and costs less. I just wish it had wireless charging and a replaceable nub.
Buy the Adonit Star iPad Pen
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