Microsoft claimed at the launch of its new Surface Pro tablet that the new Surface Pen released alongside it is the “fastest pen in the world,” and twice as fast as Apple pencil. What does it mean? How can one pen be “faster” than another?
The answer to that lies in the responsiveness to the input. On devices that have similar functionality, using them on other operating systems like Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android means slower response times. In fact, the Surface Pen, or stylus, is now two times faster than the response times for the Apple pencil.
How does that matter?
It matters a lot to an artist or a draftsman. With a physical pen or pencil, the result of the input is immediate. There’s no lag between the input and the output. On digital devices, however, the input has to be captured, processed and then rendered as the output. Even drawing a simple line will show you that stylus devices aren’t super-responsive.
And for a professional designer, that makes a huge difference. It might not seem like much to the average user, but a pro will immediately feel the responsiveness of such a device.
In addition, the Surface Pen also brings a new ‘Tilt’ function, which can be used for things like gradated shading and so on. And with now 4096 pressure levels, the device can sense even more subtle differences in the amount of pressure put on the pen – and, thereby, the screen.
On the new Surface Pro 2017, Surface pen support comes out of the box. Unfortunately, the pen itself does not, and users will have to spend an additional $99 to get the pen. Support for the new Surface pen is also coming soon to Surface Studio and the recently launched Surface Laptop running Windows 10 S, according to Microsoft.
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