After a year and a half of use, my Apple Pencil had to be retired. I had the stylus snugly in my backpack during a flight and the tip broke. Thank you, #thoughtsandprayers, but life goes on.
I’ve always used Apple Pencil on my iPad Pro to annotate PDFs, draw, write notes, and doodle on photos. So there was no question that it needed to be replaced…until I remembered the shocking price. The Apple Pencil I had was a 2nd generation model and retailed for $129 / £129 / AU$219. To be honest, the idea of spending six weeks’ worth of our grocery budget on a plastic board wasn’t all that appealing.
So we had to find an alternative that didn’t require the same costs. I’m increasingly reluctant to buy bargains on Amazon. Very few people I met had anything positive to say about the products they purchased. I also bought cheap headphones, fitness trackers, clothing, etc. from this site, and now I don’t have much of it left.
Nevertheless, I did some research, believing there must be an Apple Pencil replacement or two online, and found hundreds of options on Amazon, but I don’t think it’s worth the purchase. There was very little reliable literature.
So instead of a cover, I decided to make my own Apple Pencil. I bought five different models of low-cost Apple Pencil replacements from Amazon and tested them to see if any were worth keeping. The options I chose are the first five on the list, many of which are on special Prime Day offers. We have made some of them available overseas as well.
As you’ll know from my previous experience with Amazon bargains, my expectations were low. But what actually happened surprised me. See how I utilized each option.
Yunju Stylus Pen 10 Pack
We’ll start with the Yunju stylus pen, the company’s cheapest Apple Pencil replacement. These pens differ from most other pens in that they lack Bluetooth, buttons, charging ports, LEDs, and have minimal functionality.
These pens have rubber tips and basically function exactly like your fingers, allowing you to swipe and press buttons. Not only does it work on iPad, but it can also be used on other touchscreen devices. I also used it on my cell phone.
You may be wondering why we need fingers when they function just like fingers. What’s the point if it doesn’t offer useful Apple Pencil features like angle detection and palm rejection?
But I was captivated by its simplicity and the joy of holding something in the shape of a pencil. As an avid note-taker and annotator of documents, I’ve found the Yunju stylus pen to be perfect for many tasks using the iPad. For example, if you’re not a sketcher or physical artist, these might be all you need.
This pen is super easy to use as you don’t need to charge it, turn it on, or pair it with your iPad. It turns out to be very good for older people who find it unnatural to use their fingers on a screen.
The Yunju pens come in a pack of 10 and I bought them for just £3.99 (or less than 40p). each). I don’t know what I’ll do with 10 yet. Even with one for my iPad, one for my phone, two spares and one for the black hole in my backpack, I still have half the pack left. Maybe my friend will also get into some trouble Really Are Christmas presents cheap this year?
TQQ Pencil for iPad
I’m really glad I ordered the TQQ Pencil. That’s because it offers the widest range of color options of all the models I reviewed (except Yunju). I chose the lilac color mainly because it was on sale at the biggest discount.
When I used it, I was immediately struck by how similar the TQQ stylus felt to the Apple Pencil. Yes, it’s a little lighter and the materials are different, but the overall feel in your hand is very similar.
Holding down the non-tip end of the pen (I didn’t know it was a button in the first place) turns it on, and double-tapping it turns it off. It charges via the side USB-C port and lasts for 10 hours. Note that this port is covered with a piece of rubber when you take the stylus out of the box. this It was a button. I continued tapping in confusion for about five minutes until I realized my mistake.
I was really surprised at how much like the Apple Pencil the TQQ worked. This is the first model that I would call a “proper” replacement model, and I didn’t expect there to be this much similarity. The TQQ offers Apple Pencil features that I appreciate, such as palm rejection and angle detection.
However, one thing that puzzled me a bit about the TQQ is that while it attaches magnetically to the iPad Pro (which is a top priority for me), the attachment is quite loose. So if you have these two in your bag, your iPad will definitely fall out. I wonder how long this will last considering my original Apple Pencil broke like this.
Retail price is £24.99, but I bought it on sale for 60% off. I think it’s the kind of device you can easily find at a discount. Nine color options are available in the UK, and at the time of writing, all have been reduced in price, albeit by different amounts. Inside the box, you’ll find a stylus, three extra nibs, and a USB-to-USB-C cable for charging.
After testing the TQQ pencil, I thought my search for alternatives was over. But since I had already ordered the other three options from Amazon, it was time to take my time.
meco stylus pen
The Meko stylus felt very similar to the TQQ. Both were fairly faithful Apple Pencil imitations in shape and feel. However, there are some differences in Meco that some may appreciate more than others.
The main point is that you don’t have to tap or press down on the plastic nib when turning on the stylus. Meko has a physical power button. Press once to turn on, press again to turn off. I found this option to be much more convenient than TQQ.
Additionally, instead of one LED to indicate power level, Meko has three, making it easy to tell when the stylus needs charging. In this way, this stylus is not only better than other options, but also better than the real Apple Pencil.
There’s also an auto-shutdown feature in case you forget to turn off the stylus. This is a feature I often use. Meko estimates battery life at 9 hours. This has the shortest lifespan of any stylus, but it’s still plenty of time.
Additionally, two important features of Apple Pencil are tilt sensitivity and palm rejection. Given that some of Apple’s biggest rivals still fail on these fronts, it’s always a joy to see these features included in an inexpensive gadget like the Meko.
The Meko stylus pen retails for £29.99, so it’s not cheap, but I managed to get it for half the price. I was still able to get it at this discounted price after 3 weeks.
AUZOSL Capacitive 2 in 1 Stylus Pen
The 2-in-1 AUZOSL stylus is a little different than most of the other options here.
It’s similar to the Yunju in that you can use the round tip instead of your finger to scroll and open apps, but its longer length and more robust feel in your hand make it a better choice. User experience is delivered. It also has grooves to fit into a natural pen hold.
But the bigger difference is its “2-in-1” bit. Unscrew and turn the silicone part to find a clear disc tip (see image below) that can rotate to different angles depending on how you hold the stylus.
I’m not sure what use AUZOSL has in mind for this disc. It’s wider than a silicone nib (or any other stylus) and is see-through, so you can see where the pen touches the screen better than other options on this list. However, the fact that the pen rotates makes it feel more prone to breaking, although this did not occur during testing.
I’ve used the stylus in a few different apps and for a few different purposes, and I don’t see why anyone would buy an AUZOSL pen.
It’s cheap – normally you can get it for just £3.99, but I bought it on sale for £3.49 – but note that this is only one pen, not the 10-pack of Yunju. However, it feels better in the hand Any Of the other options on this list, I wish electronic styluses were like this too.
The last model I tested was the Metapen Pencil A8. Like the TQQ and Meko, it’s an Apple Pencil clone with a prominent USB-C port and LED light.
It is most similar to TQQ in that it is turned on by double-tapping the edge of the eraser and turned off in the same way. However, it feels heavier than TQQ and Meko pens.
This weight may be due to the fact that the MetaPen is about 90% magnetic. I attached it to the magnetic part of my iPad, and it sat firmly there, as if it were part of the tablet.
Like its aforementioned rivals, the Metapen works similarly to the Apple Pencil, with palm rejection, tilt sensitivity, and high precision. Metapen says the nib is durable enough to draw 20km of line (I couldn’t test this, of course). Additionally, the box comes with two extra nibs.
Battery life is 10 hours, in line with the TQQ stylus, and the LED color changes to indicate the pen’s charge level. While convenient, I personally found the Meko’s three LED status indicators to be easier to understand at a glance.
I’m a fan of the MetaPen, but I bought it at a third off of its normal price of £32.99 as it’s the most expensive stylus I’ve tested and I can’t help but do it. It comes in a wide range of colors, including pink, black, mint green, and even white in our test version, and Metapen also appears to offer other styluses for use with different types of iPads.
Which one did you leave behind?
From a starting point of “I hope one of these is worth keeping,” I was surprised to find that I’ve actually stuck with three of the models I tested and been happy with them. I had a hard time choosing which one to use, but one works as my main stylus and the other two work as styluses. As a backup.
After completing my testing of Apple Pencil alternatives: Meko, TQQ, and Metapen, the latter is the one I use the most. I like that it sticks better to the iPad than the actual Apple stylus. Feel the weight when you hold it in your hand.
However, all three are great options and we recommend them to anyone shopping for a stylus for their iPad. In fact, I found some features to be better than the Apple Pencil, such as the Metapen’s stronger magnetic force and the Meko’s power indicator.
So, after doing some research, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d happily stick with one of these great alternatives over the Apple Pencil.
