Wacom today debuted its Intuos Creative Stylus (via Engadget), which uses Bluetooth 4.0, integrated shortcut buttons, and 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity to create "a realistic pen-on-paper feel" when drawing on an iPad. It's designed for sketching, drawing, and painting and aims to deliver "professional-grade performance" to iPad users.

WACOM INTUOS CREATIVE STYLUS
The pen comes in blue or black brushed aluminum with a case, extra nibs, and a replacement AAA battery. It is compatible with the third generation iPad, the fourth generation iPad, and the iPad mini. While it is meant to work with the company's Bamboo Paper app, it will apparently be compatible with other apps as well, including SketchBook Pro, ArtRage, and ProCreate.

Providing the power to produce professional results on an iPad, the Intuos Creative Stylus's advanced technology comes in form of a best-in-class pen experience and pressure sensitivity of 2048 pressure levels. This means that it can reproduce the feel and artistic control of traditional brushes and markers, so it's ideal for sketching, illustrating and image editing. It is also highly responsive, even reacting to light strokes, while rejecting unintentional touches when used with compatible creative apps that integrate Wacom's industry-leading technology.

In addition to announcing the stylus, Wacom has released a new version of its Bamboo Paper app. Version 2.0 of the app includes Tumblr and Dropbox sharing, along with premium notebooks, improved palm rejection software, new color palettes, and new tools.

Wacom's Intuos Creative Stylus will be available in Best Buy Stores for $99 beginning in October.

Bamboo Paper is an iPad app that can be downloaded for free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

Renzatic Avatar
125 months ago
Fat nib. Fail.

p.s. It may be hardware related, but Samsung's Note phablet and tablet seem to get the fine nib thing down just fine.

That's because they have a Wacom digitizer built into the screen alongside the capacative.

I'm still holding out hope Apple eventually goes this route with the iPad line.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
komodrone Avatar
125 months ago
my gf thinks my pen is too sensitive to pressure. :(
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThunderSkunk Avatar
125 months ago
It was easy to understand Jobs' & Apples initial refusal to include a stylus and digitizer in the original ipad line. It established that iOS is first & foremost about touch-selecting things from preprogrammed menus, and forced devs to write apps to that effect, not just port over their existing cluttered UI's and make people hunt and peck for commands with a stylus and magnifying glass.

But Good. Great! You've established that. Everybody gets it. Now, can we please have our dang digitizer so we can write words and draw sketches quickly and legibly? I mean it's ridiculous.

But it feels like Apple is just going to milk cycle upgrades with little performance bumps as long as they can, instead of expanding the hardware functionality or intended use. Like they've reached the innovative cul-de-sac that paralyzes so many inventive companies.

...but hey, we get a fingerprint scanner on the home button. How incredibly useful.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
125 months ago
I'm finally upgrading from the iPad 2 when the iPad 5th gen comes out this autumn and I'm definitely getting a pressure sensitive Bluetooth stylus. I do wish that Apple would build-in pressure sensitivity. I want an 11" or 12" iPad Pro with pressure sensitive display, quad-core A7, 4GB ram, 128GB SSD, and USB port for $999. Then I want either Apple's Pro apps ported over or some of Adobe's CC apps like Lightroom, Illustrator, and a more advanced Photoshop Touch. I want to design stuff while in my big brown comfy chair.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kreme Avatar
125 months ago
Too little too late

I already broke down and bought the Galaxy Note 8 for my artistic and note-taking needs a few months ago. I still use my iDevices for everything else, but I'm tired of kidding myself when it comes to precision. Android still feels like beta and the apps just aren't there--I miss Procreate and Art Studio, but it meets my needs where Apple doesn't.

Unfortunately, Fat nibs don't offer the precision I need, and the disk on the jots aren't quite the same as a 'real' stylus. They're annoying in a different way. Plus, two of them scratched my moshi protectors. I don't like that, and I don't like having to turn off global settings to get palm rejection. It's just silly to have to keep jumping through hoops. I also don't have to worry about the charge running out on my Galaxy's stylus and I'm tired of waiting for Apple to pull the heads out of their arses.

Wacom has always made excellent products, and kudos to them for creating this stylus. I'm sure it will be up to their standards, but this is nothing more than a bandaid for a bigger problem that Apple continuously ignores.

I'll be passing this one by and wait for a newer version of the Galaxy 10, or pigs to fly, whichever comes first.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JohnGrey Avatar
125 months ago
I really do not understand Apple's reluctance to incorporate pen-sensitive technology into their tablet products, be it Wacom (preferable) or proprietary. Something like the retina mini, yes, you can argue about cannibalizing sales from the iPad, but there are no competing products in Apple's lineup that would be hurt by the addition.

I've seen the iPad touted as a platform for media content creation. To be taken seriously, it needs to provide the some version of the tools used for the Desktop. Maybe then Adobe would euthanize Ideas and give us a full-throated tablet version of Illustrator. If Apple were to do this, in the rumored 12", and release a retina mini, all of my tablet needs would be met. As it stands, I'm giving serious thought to the Galaxy Note 12.2 due in October.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
maxresdefault

Nothing Launches $149 Ear (2) Wireless Earbuds to Compete With AirPods Pro 2

Wednesday March 22, 2023 9:48 am PDT by
Nothing today announced the launch of its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2), which offer many of the same features as Apple's AirPods Pro 2 at a lower price point. We went hands-on with the Ear (2) earbuds to see whether they're a viable alternative to the AirPods Pro 2 for those who want to save some cash. The Ear (2) earbuds are the successor to the Nothing Ear (1),...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to Developers [Update: Public RC Available]

Tuesday March 21, 2023 10:25 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The RCs mark the final version of the software that will be provided to the public in the near future. Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates...
apple park at night 1

Apple 'Tracking Employee Attendance' in Crackdown on Remote Working

Thursday March 23, 2023 3:41 am PDT by
Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer. Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Rumor Recap: 10 New Features and Changes to Expect

Thursday March 23, 2023 6:42 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular. Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...