Microsoft Surface Pen Platinum Model 1776 (EYU-00009)

This review applies to the Platinum Surface Pen in use with a Surface 2017 model. The official Surface Pen has proved excellent in use. It is comfortable in my hand, feels natural against the touch screen, writes with no lag, has flawless palm rejection and attaches firmly to the magnetized side of the device. My only problem with the hardware was that it failed to pair automatically with my Surface as the enclosed instructions stated it would. Though far from expert, I'm comfortable with technology and was able to pair it manually in seconds. I suspect my experience was atypical so I did not subtract any stars because of this. Although I use my Surface primarily as a laptop with the Type Cover, adding this Surface Pen definitely expands its functionality. When precision mousing is required, such as in photo editing or using OneNote's drawing tools to make a garden plan, I can be more accurate using the pen's mouse buttons than using the track pad or a conventional mouse. Thanks to the programmable eraser button, with one click I can open a OneNote page to quickly jot something down without hunting for pen and paper even if I'm in the middle of doing something else with my computer. I am no artist, but I have poked around in my amateurish way with drawing apps that support direct on-screen inking and the conventional kind of program that would be used with a graphics pad and stylus. In my non-expert opinion, the Surface Pen would be an invaluable tool for any real digital artist. Finally, a tip for the thrifty: the platinum pen, the least expensive color option, matches the metal casing of the Surface. It won't match your Type Cover, but it won't clash with it either. So unless you're bent on making a fashion statement, pick the platinum model and save a few bucks.

Greta pe. For my i pad. Works great with it.

Had to retire my old tilt pen which I used on the daily for note taking on my Spectre aw0xxx, because a soft drop from my desk caused the tip to break and bricked the pen. Just experienced a much harder drop of my new surface pen on the floor and this time the initial impact was straight on the 2H tip, not a scratch! The fragility of the HP tilt pen (and the rest of the hp pens that carry a similar design) is it's main flaw, and the surface pen has nothing of that! Some more advantages I noticed: + No more battery anxiety because a single AAAA battery will last me over 2 semesters easily with Bluetooth features enabled. That is compared to around 10 days a charge for the hp tilt pen w/o Bluetooth or 8 hours with Bluetooth on. A rechargeable pen isn't for everyone, certainly not for me. Add the peace of mind of having a rechargeable battery degrade on me over the next 10 or so years which the pen could easily outlive, the AAAA is countering this planned obsolescence and is pro consumer in that regard. + High quality nibs are abundant and affordable. Found a 3-pack of high quality uogic nibs (survived a 1m drop onto my floor) cost me the equivalent of 7 USD on Ali (couldn't get a set shipped to me from amazon because I'm not from the US). That is the opposite of the case with my former hp tilt pen, 0 official replacement nibs and the only ones that I could fit on it (surface pro 3 pen nibs) eventually broke inside of it effectively breaking it entirely. Another point towards being pro consumer compared to HP. + The magnets in the pen can latch onto my spectre laptop in about 8 different spots, it's not designed to do that on a non surface device per se but it's definitely nice because it's harder to lose/drop from the desk this way. HP pens have no magnets. + The better weight balance over the HP pen makes the flip-to-erase function (which the hp pen also has) actually practical. I had to shift my entire hand to a different position on my old hp pen but that isn't the case with the surface pen which actually feels like a slightly heavier pencil that is still easy to flip over to erase with. + Still fits in the pen pocket of the oem Spectre laptop sleeve - No clip means it rolls slightly more easily on my desk than the HP pen but being able to magnetically attach to my spectre counters that. - No dark coloured optioned, only light blue/silver/red. I don't find it a big deal since at the end of the day I used it as a tool and not a fashion accessory but I slightly miss my Tilt pen completely matching my Logitech mouse's colour scheme. Considering the surface pen and the HP Tilt pen have similar MSRPs where they're sold, The only reason i could see any HP convertible owner buying an hp pen is either blind brand loyalty or needing a rechargeable battery.

I got this to use with a Surface Book 3, it's more expensive than the generic surface pens but it beautifully matches the platinum color of my laptop. The erase function is one thing that I couldn't find replicated in any of the third party pens. They all have erase functions, but not one that you can flip around like an eraser. The button on the pen acts as a right click from a mouse. The button under the eraser can be programmed to open any number of apps. You have to pair this using the Surface app to get the full functionality of this product. This pen includes a AAAA battery already installed, this was something that I couldn't find a definitive answer about (before buying). The quality of the hardware is as good as Microsoft's tablets and laptops. Writing with this product feels better than the third party pen I have that costs $55, and it’s one of the best 3rd party pens available. I think this product is worth the money if you want the best experience and highest quality pen to use with your Microsoft device. Also, just because I want to correct some things that other reviewers have said- these surface pens require replacement tips and they are not included. The first tip is included but not the extras, you can buy them from Microsoft’s site or 3rd party ones on Amazon. You will have have to replace them every few months depending on how often you write with it. A worn out tip doesn’t mean it’s time for a new pen or that it’s a faulty product because it only lasted 3 months! Second thing- if this product is “shipped from and sold by Amazon services LLC” then it IS a genuine Microsoft product. I wish I didn’t need to amend my reviews to combat misinformation, but someone has to set the record straight.

First of all, when it comes to something like this, I needed durability and something that would be easy to use or write, draw, etc as I use it for my digital art classes. I like everything about it, but the one thing I will say is the use of the tip, maybe just be a defect I got but about two weeks after using it, the black piece around the tip came completely off in pieces. Buying tips is fairly cheap and I plan to do so to have back up but I find this to be frustrating, to say the least, because if its something I couldn't work around, would have to return and that would put me in a bind as I needed it for my assignment, so time was not something I messed with. However, it works still, flimsy but overall, great product. I would like to see maybe other colors or possibly add something to be able to change it out if wanted or protect them like the cases instead of buying from another company or adding in extra tips for the price.

Works awesome. The red color is awesome. Love the rubber top/button and the rubber tip. Makes it feel like a real pencil or something. Only thing I'd note is that there is no clip or hook or anything and it's pretty slippery. I wish there were like skins or something for this. You also need to be really careful with it. This is the second one I've had to buy because it rolled off my standing desk and stopped working.

I love my surface pen. It always works and you can tell it is made to last. It is made of metal and has a very good weight to it. The tip is also very good in that it feels like you are writing with an actual pencil. It creates a friction as you write which gives it a more natural feel compared to others on the market. It also HAS AN ERASER on the top like a normal pencil. If you are writing and need to erase something you literally just flip it over and erase like you would a normal pencil. Many styluses do not have this feature and I really appreciate Microsoft for including this. I use it for taking notes in class and I know people who buy the 30 dollar styluses and they have had to replace them because they break multiple times in only 2-3 years. Save yourself the trouble and money this stylus has lasted me 3 years and still looks and works like new. After having to replace cheap styluses a couple times you would have spent the same if not more than just buying one of these styluses. If you have a Surface Pro this stylus is a no brainer. It has a magnet on it and ATTACHES TO THE SIDE OF THE SURFACE PRO. I cannot tell you how useful this is. I know people that are always loosing their styluses and have to buy new ones this feature has saved me from ever loosing my stylus. I really cannot recomend this stylus enough

To start off with, I'm actually using a Surface Pro 3 tablet, NOT the 2017 Pro... I may or may not be hoping for my Pro 3 to just suddenly crap out, in hopes of justifying a purchase of the latter. Until then, you're going to get a review and subjective results of this 2017 pen on a late, but great, Surface model. I have been using the Pro 3 with the Pro 4 pen for a long time, and debated over the switch to the 2017 Pen for the $100 price-point. After succumbing to the lure, I have to suggest that fellow Surface Pro 3 users do the same (and with 200% confidence for users still using the Pro 3 Pen... what have you been doing with your life!?). The biggest reason comes down to the lower initial activation force (IAF). Before biting the bullet, I remember reading conflicting reports and reviews on Reddit about whether Surface Pro 3 and 4's would support the IAF improvements. I can't do the objective testing now that I've sold my old pen, but can tell you that my writing has become notably more precise and consistent, which lower IAF would certainly result in. More objective examples of improvement: - With the Pro 4 pen, I had the pressure sensitivity setting at a 10 or 11 to accommodate for the many skips in handwriting I would get with my furiously scribbling notes. Of course, that resulted in a lot of over-pressurized and unwanted carry over lines and curves. With the 2017 Pen, my pressure setting is on anywhere between 4-7, and it's perfect. No skips! Some caveats: I do a ton of note-writing and doodling, but can't comment on drawing, shading, or any other 'real' artistic endeavors. In addition, improvements are more notable in Onenote and Sketchable, and less so in other apps (e.g., Xodo, Drawboard). I also scribble exceedingly fast, so that may explain why the IAF improvements have been obvious for me. If you're a normal human writing at sub-80mph speeds, maybe the differences won't be as noticeable? - With the Pro 4 pen, I had to use the 2H nil-friction nib because my handwriting looked the best (albeit still with intermittent under-recognition and over-pressurization issues noted above). However, with the 2017 Pen, I'm actually still able to use the standard HB pen, because the pen performance is better enough to overcompensate. Now I can simultaneously enjoy the slight friction across the screen, which is more reminiscent of real note-taking. Other reasons I like this new pen more: - The magnet inside the pen is much stronger. My pen is actually able to stick onto my Surface enough that I now feel comfortable tucking the whole device under my arm and walking around. - The annoying clip is gone. I never used it to begin with, and it just got in the way. You may feel the polar opposite about this, however. Of note, the advertised improvement in sensitivity levels is NOT available for Surface Pro 3 (or 4)! Microsoft promised a firmware update for the old Surface Pro's with support for the tilt-feature, but the specific release date still hasn't been announced. Some other tidbits of info you may care about: - The weight is exactly the same as the Surface Pro 3 Pen (20g). - It only comes with 1 nib (the HB one). I almost want to dock a star for this, because it's such a cheapskate sell to not include the pack of pen nibs (like Surface Pro 4 pens did), especially since the HB rubbery tip WILL wear down. If there's one thing I can swear to you, it's that. - Download the Surface app from the Microsoft store if you haven't already. You can adjust the pen pressure sensitivity and turn off the [annoying] Windows button. - I was able to use this pen and my old Pro 3 pen almost simultaneously. Each one was able to be recognized the moment I brought it to the screen. Ok, this may be a completely useless fact after all. - I found the following tips on various Reddit threads in improving pen precision and performance, and have definitely found them helpful (I made sure to adjust these after I used the 2017 Pen for >2 weeks, as to prevent confounding): 1) Go to control panel --> mouse settings ---> Pointer Options tab --> uncheck "enhance pointer precision" box. 2) Control panel --> Pen and Touch settings. Under Pen Options tab ---> go to press and hold settings --> uncheck "enable press and hold for right-clicking" box. Under Flicks tab --> uncheck "use flicks to perform..." box. Don't ask me why... just do it. I hope this review helps anyone using the Surface Pro 3 specifically! 2018 UPDATE: As much as I still love my Surface Pen, the Apple Pencil definitely outperforms it for both note-taking and drawing purposes. See the additional handwriting comparison sample I just uploaded. The differences are particularly noticeable when I'm scribbling quickly. (Amazon uploads images in a bizarre fashion, so you may need to zoom in a ton on the handwriting sample I uploaded.)