There are a myriad of cheap and plastic styluses that ship for free with most e-readers and e-notebooks from companies such as Onyx Boox, Meebook, Hyread, Readmoo and other Chinese companies. The Amazon Kindle Scribe, Kobo, Remarkable 2, and SuperNote all have a line of basic styluses with limited functionality. If you want to spend way more money, they also have a line of premium styluses with expanded features such as tilt recognition and erasers. Some have no charging capability, while others do. There is also a complete line of 3rd party styluses made of wood, aluminum and higher-grade materials compatible with most e-notes on the market. With all of these choices of digital stationery, why don’t they support internals capable of receiving firmware updates for expanded functionality?
One intriguing aspect of the digital stylus market is Apple’s approach to firmware updates. Various Apple Pencils are the only ones in the market that receive these updates on a regular basis. The interesting part is, Apple never discloses what these updates entail. They could be preparing for brand-new products that haven’t been announced yet or are coming out soon. This air of mystery adds to the anticipation and excitement around Apple’s products.
The Remarkable Premium pen, Kobo Pencil 2, SuperNote Heart of Metal 2 and Amazon Kindle Scribe premium pen all cost about the same as an Apple Pencil (various generations) or more. Most of these premium pencils only have a few things that separate themselves from the cheaper ones. Remarkable supports tilt recognition, so you can shade easier, while the others have pressure sensitivity and erasers.
I know the e-reader and e-note digital stationery industry is very small. I wouldn’t be surprised if premium pencils from all of these companies are a drop in the bucket, sales-wise, compared to Apple Pencil sales. Despite this vast gulf, it would be good if the next generation of digital stationery from Remarkable, Kobo or Amazon would release new pens with support for over-the-air updates. You would get new features and functionality, likely prompting more people to switch over because there is more long-term value. Amazon and Kobo, especially, have deep pockets to develop and release a stylus with remote updates.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.