The Apple Pencil is one of the best styluses out there for those who want to sketch and scribble on their iPads. However, like many Apple products, it too comes burdened with a rather hefty price tag. The basic Apple Pencil starts at Rs 7,900, while the Pro variant of the same can set you back by Rs 11,900. While there are alternatives such as Logitech’s very good Crayon, they too are on the expensive side (the new Crayon will set you back by Rs 6,990). But that does not mean that you need to give up your stylus-tic options if you are on a tight budget. There are a number of styluses from lesser-known brands that try to mimic the Apple Pencil and bring many of its features to the iPad at surprisingly affordable prices. One of these is the very elaborately named Case Magic iPad Pencil Active Stylus Pen with Palm Rejection, which is priced at a rather amazing Rs 999, which is why it is being featured in this column.
No cheap clone feels
It feels almost exactly similar to the original Apple Pencil. (Express Photo)
The Case Magic iPad Pencil does not give a “cheap stylus” feel like some lower-priced Apple Pencil clones. We got the white unit (you can also get it in dark grey and blue) , and while it was made of plastic, it gave us a reassuringly solid feel. It is about the same length as the Apple Pencil so those who like their styluses to be long and with a bit of heft (unlike the S-Pen you get with the Galaxy S24 Ultra) will be right at home with this. The most distinct design touches are near the top, where you get four LED lights, which show the level of battery left in the stylus, as well as a USB Type-C port. The Type-C port is covered by a tiny rubber cap, which we wager is going to be lost, but that’s not a problem at this price point. The side of the pencil that contains the LEDs and the Type-C port is actually magnetic and can be attached to the side of most iPads, but charging happens solely through the Type-C port. The stylus comes with three replaceable tips and a USB Type-C to Type A cable in the box.
The Case Magic iPad Pencil is easy to use with an iPad. It connects without your needing to install any app, and in fact, its connecting process is one of its coolest features – you just need to press the top of the stylus like you would in the case of an old-fashioned ballpoint pen, and the stylus switches on and connects to your iPad. Disconnecting is as simple as pressing the top again, although the stylus switches off automatically if not used for about five minutes.
Performance that punches well above its price
The Pencil can be charged using any USB-C charger. (Express Photo)
For its price, the Case Magic iPad Pencil delivers a surprisingly good performance. You are not going to get those tap gestures that the Apple Pencil brings to the table, and there is no magnetic charging, but by and large, the iPad Pencil lets you draw, make notes and annotate pretty smoothly, without causing too many problems. We tried out on the iPad (10th generation) and the iPad Air (M1) and it worked very well with both. Its palm rejection can at times be a little erratic, but it has decent tilt sensitivity and unlike some of the lower-priced styluses we have used, this one ran relatively smoothly on the iPad. We used it for about five days and never felt that it would scratch the display of our tablet. It worked very well with every app that supports the Apple Pencil and even worked very well with Scribble, the iPad’s handwriting-to-text conversion feature. There are rough spots though – the Pencil could not perform the swipe up to minimise feature on the iPad, so we often had to use our hands for the same, Not a deal-breaker, in our opinion. The Pencil also does not attach smoothly to the side of the iPad (10th generation) and remains a little lopsided, although it attaches very smoothly to the iPad Air (M1). We guess it will attach evenly to any iPad that supports magnetic charging (the iPad 10th generation does not). In terms of support, the brand claims the stylus will work with almost all iPads released over the past 4-5 years. Finally, there is a clear difference in performance levels in terms of ease of writing and sketching if you compare this stylus with the likes of the Apple Pencil and the Crayon, both of which work more smoothly and have a slightly more premium and sensitive feel to them. Things get a little inconsistent with this iPad Pencil, with tilt sensitivity and palm rejection sometimes not working the way they are supposed to. But then we guess that is the price one pays for a lower price tag. Pun intended.
Want a stylus for your iPad on a super tight budget? Get this one!
It also comes with multiple tips that are easy to replace. (Express Photo)
Battery life is a decent 8-10 hours on a single charge and we love the fact that we can actually see the level of battery by just pressing the top of the stylus and looking at the LEDs (we really wish the Apple Pencil had something like this). The stylus takes about 45 minutes to charge fully. Changing tips is easy too, with the tip getting unscrewed without too much stress or pressure.
All of this makes the Case Magic iPad Pencil a very good option for those wanting a stylus on a super tight budget to work on their iPads. The stylus punches well above its price point in terms of features and performance, and while it does have its shortcomings and a relatively limited feature set (we ended up tapping on them just like we did on our Apple Pencil, only to see nothing happen), they are too minor to detract from its being perhaps the best budget stylus for Apple’s tablets.
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