Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 unveiled with new features to rival Apple Pencil

Microsoft Surface Slim Pen two unveiled with new features to rival Apple Pencil

(Epitome credit: Microsoft)

The Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 was unveiled this week during Microsoft's Sept. 22 Surface event (handily summed upward in our Microsoft Surface event recap) as a complement to the visitor's fall lineup of Windows eleven-ready Surface devices.

The successor to Microsoft'southward Surface Slim Pen stylus doesn't wait very different from its predecessor, but the Slim Pen 2 has some new features which make it a potentially exciting product for anyone who needs a stylus for their new Surface device.

While the Slim Pen 2 is compatible with all Surface devices and any PC that supports the Microsoft Pen Protocol, some of its new features currently only piece of work with the newly-announced Surface Pro viii and Surface Laptop Studio.

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Here'southward a quick rundown of all the new functions and features you can look from the Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2.

Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 price and availability

The Microsoft Surface Slim Pen two was announced Sept. 22 and is bachelor as a $129 add-on when you pre-social club the new Surface Pro viii or Surface Laptop Studio, which are expected to ship the first week of October 2021.

Because Microsoft sells the original Surface Slim Pen equally a standalone product, it's a rubber bet that you'll before long be able to buy the Slim Pen 2 on its own as well, probable via Microsoft's Surface accessories page.

Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 specs

Surface Slim Pen two spec comparison
	Surface Slim Pen 2	Surface Slim Pen	2nd Gen Apple Pencil
Price	$129	$99	$129
Connectivity	Bluetooth	Bluetooth	Bluetooth
Buttons	Side button, superlative button w/ eraser functionality	Side button, height push due west/ eraser functionality	None
Force per unit area sensitivity	4,096 pressure levels	iv,096 pressure level levels	Unspecified
Color	Matte blackness	Matte black	White
Battery	Rechargeable Li-Ion, advertised to last up to xv hours	Rechargeable Li-Ion, advertised to concluding up to 15 hours	Rechargeable Li-Ion, advertised to last up to 12 hours
Dimensions	5.38 ten 0.44 inches	5.23 10 0.44 inches	6.53 x 0.35 inches
Weight	0.03 pounds	0.02 pounds	0.04 pounds

Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 design

Microsoft appears to take changed very petty about the Surface Slim Pen two's design, every bit information technology looks virtually identical to the original Surface Slim Pen. Information technology's nonetheless a slim, matte-black stylus sporting a side button, plus a superlative button where the eraser would be on a traditional graphite pencil.

Surface Slim Pen 2 plugged in and charging via USB-C — Surface Slim Pen ii plugged in and charging via USB-C (Image credit: Microsoft)

Like its predecessor, the Surface Slim Pen 2 charges via a built-in USB-C connector, so you tin can just plug it directly into a USB-C port to recharge it. It can as well wirelessly charge when slipped into the Signature Keyboard (compatible with the Surface Pro eight and Surface Pro Ten) or magnetically attached to the Surface Laptop Studio — just like the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil, which can attach magnetically to most modern iPads for pairing and charging.

Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 new features

While the Surface Slim Pen 2 looks virtually the same as its predecessor on the outside, on the within are new features that rival those of the 2nd Gen Apple tree Pencil.

Most notably, the Surface Slim Pen two is pitched as beingness more accurate than its predecessor, and it has a new haptic motor that's designed to provide tactile feedback which replicates the sensation of putting pen to newspaper.

Microsoft calls this feedback "tactile signals", and information technology's currently but supported when you're using the Surface Slim Pen two with either the Surface Pro 8 or Surface Laptop Studio running Windows xi.

In improver to making drawing and sketching feel more than natural, Microsoft besides uses this haptic feature to provide feedback when you're using the Slim Pen 2 with select apps.

In Microsoft Give-and-take, the haptic motor will both replicate the feel of writing on paper and vibrate when you successfully execute gestures similar highlighting text, for example. In Microsoft Whiteboard, it will make the various pen, highlighter, and eraser tools feel distinctly different to use.

This is a characteristic Apple's Pencil can't yet match, though we've seen multiple Apple Pencil patents which suggest an updated model with haptic feedback is in the works.

Surface Slim Pen 2 in use on a Surface device — Microsoft claims the Surface Slim Pen two will deliver a smoother, more accurate sketching feel than its predecessor (Image credit: Microsoft)

Nix-Force inking is another new feature debuting in the Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2. This appears to be a fancy way of saying the stylus will do a better job of detecting when it's nearly the display so in that location'southward less delay between touching the screen and seeing what you've fatigued announced on it.

Surface Slim Pen 2 charging — The Surface Slim Pen 2 can wirelessly pair and charge when placed into the cubby carved out for it in the $179 detachable Surface Pro Signature Keyboard (Paradigm credit: Microsoft)

The Surface Slim Pen 2 offers the same user-friendly wireless charging capabilities as its predecessor. You can slide it into the charging cubby on the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard, magnetically attach it to the Surface Laptop Studio, or slide it into the Surface Duo 2'southward Pen Cover for convenient charging when you lot're not using information technology.

The second Gen Apple Pencil does the aforementioned thing when yous magnetically attach information technology to compatible iPads, and it'southward ane of the features we capeesh most.

Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 outlook

Microsoft's new Surface Slim Pen 2 is about $thirty more expensive than its predecessor, but the improved accuracy and new zero-strength inking feature should make writing and sketching with information technology feel more natural.

The new haptic motor is undoubtedly the Slim Pen 2's most heady feature, simply right now the only devices that support the Slim Pen ii's expanded haptic feedback features are the Surface Pro eight and Surface Pro Studio running Windows eleven. And then unless you're investing in those devices, yous won't enjoy the full functionality of the Slim Pen 2.

Notwithstanding, the same can be said of the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil: It'south a decent stylus in its ain correct, but it truly shines only when paired with one of Apple'southward flagship tablets. Now Microsoft appears to have a solid competitor in the Surface Slim Pen 2, and Apple tree is playing grab-up on the haptic feedback front.

Of form, we'll have to expect until we get a new Surface device in for testing and review to detect out how well the Slim Pen 2 really performs when the stylus meets the screen.

Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than a decade of feel covering both for outlets similar Game Developer, Blackness Hat, and PC Earth mag. He currently serves every bit a senior editor at Tom'due south Guide covering all things calculating, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.