Active Stylus vs Inactive Stylus

Non-Active Stylus (aka universal stylus)

Non-Active Stylus simulate finger. It doesn't have battery, and no light, no buttons. Advantage is that it's cheap and simple.

• Touch Screen Pen
• Cheap Stylus

Problem of Inactive Stylus

• Writing for notes is difficult. Drawing any artwork is impossible.
• Do not work on Apple iPhone, or does not work well. Nor MacBook Air M1 (2021) touchpad. Finger always works.
• Right-click and text selection is difficult, sometimes impossible. You have to hold to do a right-click, which is very frustrating because sometimes it doesn't work at all in some apps. And often you need to mak a text selection, and right-click on the selection to lookup/search the phrase. Sometimes, when you hold to right-click, you deactivate the selection, making this impossible. 〔see Problem with Touchscreen User Interface〕

Active Stylus

Active pen typically:

• Require battery (or rechargeable)
• Have buttons on the pen
• Can work as eraser
• Pressure sensitive
• Dedicated button for right-click

Advantage of active pen:

• You can drag to select easily.
• Write or draw with precision.
• Write or draw with palm on the tablet or screen.
• Have dedicated right click, often necessary.

Disadvantage of active pen:

• Need to charge.
• The pen needs to be used with specifically designed computer, touch screen, or tablet.

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