metapenPencil A11 for iPad 6th-11th, Quick Button & Bluetooth, 2X Fast Charge Stylus Pen for 2018-2025 Apple iPad a16/11/10/9/8/7/6th Gen, Pro 12.9/11/13-inch M4, Air3/4/5/M2/M3, Mini 5/6thCarbonfree Certified

I purchased the A11 September, 2024 and have been using it primarily for note-taking and occasional doodles on the iPad 9th gen. Though it lacks pen pressure support, it was $17 USD at time of purchase compared to the $70 USD of the Apple USB-C. Functionally it does what I need, but if you're an artist, you'll want to look elsewhere for pressure capability. I did encounter an issue with the stylus, which is mentioned at the end.What you get:The box comes with the stylus, a 6" USB-C charging cable, 2 replacement hard plastic tips, 2 hard plastic USB-C port covers, and the typical manual/warranty information papers.Operation/Side Button:There's a single side button that's used to power the stylus on with one click and off by holding it for a few seconds. Though the button can also be set to other functions while on, it seems to require the installation of either the Metapen app or the Wellnotes app (both on the App Store), which not everyone may be interested in doing. Further, the speed in which the functions respond after the input click(s) are a bit delayed for my liking, so I generally just ignore the feature and use the iPad gesture controls instead.This stylus does have an internal magnet for attaching to the iPad, but my iPad has a case with no stylus holder, and the magnet is not strong enough to hold the stylus to the iPad through the case. As a result, I just stick the stylus to something metal on the edge of my desk or my computer case (which secures just fine), but if you're more mobile, then you may want to consider a case that has a place to put the stylus.Battery/Charging:Unfortunately, I have not been keeping close track of battery life and charge times, so I cannot give an accurate, metrics-backed representation of this category. The stylus has power when I need it, and keeps its charge while powered off when I don't use it. I do check the battery level after I finish using it for the session, and if it's low, I'll connect it to the included USB-C charging cable for around 30 minutes, and that generally leaves it at a high enough amount for the next few sessions (typically over an hour per session).Writing Experience:The design of the stylus is mostly round, with a single flat side, where the LED battery indicator and side button are positioned (seems like the indicator function has to be enabled in the Wellnotes app). It's comfortable enough for me to hold for longer periods of time, and for what it's worth, I personally have not encountered accidental presses of the side button no matter how I held the stylus.When writing notes, the only problem in quality is the readability of my handwriting; the stylus is fine. When doodling, I noticed that diagonal lines will have some semblance of line jitter/wobble, unless you use software stabilisation or draw the line quickly. This appears to be a problem with most digital styluses I've seen, outside of styluses from companies that specialise in digital drawing devices, such as Wacom, XPPen, Huion, etc. so it is expected. The wobble with this stylus is not terrible, and personally, it does not bother me, but it's something I will mention since it is somewhat noticeable.App:I use the Apple Notes app because I'm cheap. The stylus works with the app.Apparently Metapen has a Wellnotes app that appears to be a part of their troubleshooting steps, but also is a note-taking app. It looks like this app can change the function of the side button (albeit with limited options); tune the stylus with sensitivity gain settings and adjustments based on the kind of tip used (plastic, rubber, metal, etc.), hand position relative to iPad orientation, screen protector; change the auto-power off time; etc., but I have not played around with those settings much since the stylus works out of the box. I have not used Wellnotes for my note-taking either, so I can't really speak to how well it functions there.Issue/Customer Support:A timeline/TL;DR: My initial email was sent Saturday evening with Metapen's initial response including troubleshooting steps and video-of-issue request on Monday just past midnight (likely based overseas, though fine as the representative seemed more fluent in English than myself). My video was sent on Monday evening, with their follow-up conclusion just past midnight on Wednesday. The rest of the correspondence occurred Wednesday evening, with the order for replacement created then, and it arrived Thursday afternoon. 4-5 days for the resolution, mostly slower due to time zones.About 6-7 months in, the stylus started to cut out when writing. I sent the Metapen support email a message detailing the issue, and they got back to me in just under two days (I sent the first message on Saturday evening so it's understandable. Overall their responses took no more than a day during the weekdays, excepting a single other occasion where it took a bit more time).The support representative, Rosie, sent a list of troubleshooting steps, and, assuming the steps were unsuccessful in resolving the issue, requested a video of the problem for their technical support department. At the end of their response, they provided me the option of either a full refund or a replacement stylus (without having to send the broken one in), should the issue be unresolvable. I sent the video of the malfunction, and about 29 hours later the representative responded stating that it was probably a broken sensor and could not be fixed, so my options were the full refund or a replacement pen. I went with the replacement pen as it worked fine for the months I had it, and it was only $17. I provided my shipping address, and the replacement stylus arrived the next day.The replacement works just fine so I'm satisfied with how it turned out.

It does everything that you would expect it to; it has a magnet for your iPad, a button to change writing tool (dependent on your note taking app - I use notability and it lets me switch between pen and eraser), battery percentage (only on app, though), and good responsiveness (no broken lines; works with very shallow angles)Things it doesn’t have: wireless charging, pressure, doesn’t turn on automatically, angle sensingNote: I did lose my Apple Pencil 2nd gen prior to buying this.All in all, no frills stylus with the necessary features and a good price. So far very satisfactory.

I use my iPad for business, travel constantly, and use a pencil for quick notes and annotations. I’m sure there’s no one else like me who has a tendency to misplace (lose) things in the constant shuffle of travel but myself, I lost my ultra-expensive Apple Pencil Pro 3 months into owning it. I’m just not going to spend that kind of money again so I researched alternatives and landed on the A11. Opened the box, plugged in for a few minutes to be sure there was power and wrote with it. No Bluetooth pairing, just simply turned it on and wrote a note with it. Works perfect, feels great and if I should happen to misplace it in my travels I’ll be ok. In fact I already picked up a second to keep in my office travel bag as a spare. I will update if I run into problems but as of right now I’m 100% satisfied and excited to find this pencil works flawlessly and serves my purpose completely.

Worked good at first. Now will only work when positioned at an angle. Does work with one tap and then doesn’t work on another. Before was working fine. Waste of my money.**I was contacted by customer service promptly and was able to receive refund. Their customer service was very good and they also sent another pen to make up further for inconvenience. The pen arrived the next day and it is working great as the first one had began, maybe a lemon…Great customer service though.

Cheap replacement for Apple® Pencil™. Yes, a bargain, but missing some features.PRO: this is a great pencil if you want bargain basement and don’t need or use all the features of the Apple Pencil.CONS: I didn’t expect a complete replacement at this price. But one feature that is essential, but inconsistent: Swipe Keyboard. I don’t mean any special keyboard. The standard iPhone keyboard doesn’t always respond to swipe typing with this pencil. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. And sometimes the keyboard disappears when I need it.I’ve used the Apple (brand) Pencil a lot, so I know what it’s supposed to do.MISSING FEATURES:More CONS; has NONE of these (only FYI; I certainly didn’t expected them at this price):Wireless charging. Pencil wake-up when moved. Tap on pencil* to activate things like: Switch Brush. Hover.*The button on pencil is hard to access without changing my grip. And I haven’t succeeded in making it do anything anyway (except power on or Pair).CONCLUSION:I’ll keep this pencil in my car for when I forget to bring one. Or when I don’t want to risk losing another pencil— I CAN afford to lose this one.BUY if:You're a non-demanding user. Or for kids who will invariably lose the pencil. It’s perfect in both cases.DO NOT buy if:You need a reliable pencil and your work demands the full range of the original Pencil (can’t work without it (artists)).?Is this is your first Pencil? Then splurge and get the real Apple® Pencil™ so you can see what it does.