With Note 7's unfortunate discontinuation, fans are in the market for a new smartphone. While most users are fine with getting a new phablet-sized device, there are people who are still longing for a stylus-based gadget. With that, here are our top picks for smartphones and smart devices with stylus.
LG's Stylus 2, G4 Stylus And G3 Stylus
LG actually has a number of phones to get your stylus needs covered. Now that the Note 7 is out of the picture, people start to appreciate LG for catering to the needs of a small percentage of smartphones users. The LG Stylus 2 was just released this June and it comes with relatively competitive specs for a midrange phone. It has a 5.7 inch display and it runs Android Marshmallow from the box. It is certainly not as premium as the Note 7 since it only has a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, but it is not as expensive either. Furthermore, it comes with a 13 MP/8 MP camera combo and a sufficient 3000 mAh battery.
The LG G3 Stylus and LG G4 Stylus are siblings in the series they're in and both come with midrange specs. With the G4 Stylus being a newer LG release (2015), it is pretty much an improvement over the G3 Stylus. It comes with a 5.7 inch display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution and it runs Android Marshmallow from the box. Its storage options are 8 GB and 16 GB with RAM sizes of 1 GB and 2 GB. It's worth noting though that since the G3 and G4 Stylus are from the last seasons, not every country may have them available.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2016
Samsung's total cancellation of the Note 7 has been followed up with a subtle replacement suggestion of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2016. The said tablet is set to be released this October and it will be equipped with an S Pen, GSM Arena reported. This may not exactly be similar to the Note 7 in terms size but it's a good buy too. It comes with a suggested retail price of $349.99, so it's not exactly a big splurge.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2016 will obviously sport tablet-features like 8 MP/2 MP camera combo and a big 10.1 inch display. It will be powered by an Exynos 7870 chipset and it will be running Marshmallow from the box. It's battery size is a sufficient 7300 mAh battery.
Apple iPad Pro
The iPad Pro comes in two size variants with 9.7 inch as the smaller one's size. It may not have a built in stylus but its Apple Pen integration is quite impressive. Apple boasts of the Apple Pencil's intelligent nature as well. The company says that their pen has virtually no lag and the iPad Pro can naturally recognize whether you are using your finger or the Apple Pen. The company also boasts of the Apple Pen's uber pen-like traits as the stylus and the iPad Pro can tell how much pressure you're using in drawing and writing. Thus, giving you thicker and thinner writings depending on how much pressure you give the pen.
Microsoft Surface Pro 4
The Surface Pro 4 is one of the more expensive options you have if you're longing for a stylus. According to The Verge's report, Surface Pro 4's Surface Pen has 1024 pressure points and it is also easily stored on top of the tablet. The pen comes in multiple color options and it also has interchangeable tips to cater to different drawing and writing styles. What's a bit amusing about the Surface Pen is that it also has an eraser on top of it, like an actual pencil. You can double click the stylus to automate the launch of OneNote and you can also long-press its eraser to activate Cortana.
Needless to say, Microsoft might have put in more effort on its stylus than you'd need and not all phablet searchers would be willing to commit in such a high end device. Nevertheless, it's still a good option for those who use their smart devices to record and write up important notes. The Surface Pro 4 is actually more office-friendly than most of its competitions on the market.
