I’ve recently bought a new iPad A16 to use for watching films, reading magazines and for help with my family history research. My existing iPad, an M1 iPad Mini, has served me well and I will continue to use it as a Kindle but I wanted something with a larger screen.
When I bought the iPad Mini I also bought an Apple Pencil to go with it which I used along with the Goodnotes app to jot notes for both professional and home use cases. It wasn’t something that I used often but was useful occasionally. I decided that I would like to also use the pencil on the new iPad and was disappointed to find that my existing pencil wasn’t supported on the new iPad. Turns out that there are three different Apple Pencils supporting different iPads – it’s a confusing mess.
This left me with a bit of a dilemma – did I buy a new Apple Pencil at £79 or did I go without. Turns out that there is another way.
The Other Way
I started to do some investigation and found that there were third party pencils that could be found at a fraction of the cost. I quickly narrowed the choice down to one from either ESR or Metapen. The ESR Geo Digital iPad Pencil (£32 at AliExpress or £33 at Amazon) or the Metapen Pencil A8 (£4 at AliExpress or £18 at Amazon) were the two that were compatible with my iPad.
I decided that at £4 from AliExpress the Metapen Pencil A8 was worth a punt as if it didn’t work I’d have limited my loses and could then invest in an ESR so I placed an order. It arrived less than a week later in a box that looked very similar to that of an Apple Pencil.
Metapen Pencil A8 in use
The box included not only the pencil but also a spare tip, which was nice. I also discovered that the tips are compatible with those from Apple so if you have any of those spare you can use them with the Metapen.
Like so many battery powered devices these days the Metapen came charged and worked immediately – without even having to pair it to the iPad which I found curious to say the least. When I say “immediately” I really do mean that. I turned it on, there’s a little button at the very top of the pencil you push, the battery charge level lights on the side light up and we were good to go. I opened Goodnotes, put the pencil down and started writing. It really was seamless.
In use, it really does write just the same as the Apple equivalent – I found no discernible difference. My wife has been using it on her iPad (no unpairing and repairing required) to annotate some PDFs and loves it so much that I have ordered a second one so I can have mine back!
Metapen Pencil A8 vs Apple Pencil Comparison Table
I asked my faithful friend ChatGPT to put together a comparision table looking at the similarities and differences between the Metapen Pencil A8 vs Apple Pencil. This is what it came up with:
| Feature | Apple Pencil (1st gen) — for A16 iPad | Metapen Pencil A8 |
|---|---|---|
| Compatibility (example) | Compatible with iPad (A16) when using the USB-C adapter as required by Apple’s compatibility list. | Advertised compatible with iPad models 2018–2025 (explicitly lists A16/iPad 11 compatibility on product pages). |
| Pressure sensitivity | Yes — supports true pressure sensitivity (Apple Pencil API). | Manufacturer pages advertise precision and tilt, but do **not** document native Apple pressure-sensing support — marketed features emphasise tilt rather than true pressure API support. |
| Tilt support (shading) | Yes — tilt supported for shading/brush effects. | Yes — A8 advertises tilt support for thicker/shaded strokes. |
| Pairing / Charging | Pairs via Bluetooth; charges via Lightning on the pencil (USB-C adapter available for use with USB-C iPads such as A16 model). | Pairs (Bluetooth) and charges via USB-C; claims fast charge (full ≈30 min) and several hours use per charge. |
| Magnetic attachment | No (1st gen has a removable cap; it does **not** magnetically pair like the 2nd gen). | Advertises “double magnetic adsorption” to keep the stylus attached to some cases/magnetic holders. |
| Battery life (typical) | Reported ≈ up to ~12 hours on a full charge (typical usage reports / Apple community references). | Manufacturer / sellers claim up to ~10 hours per full charge; rapid (≈30-minute) full charge time is advertised. |
| Replaceable tip | Yes — extra tip included (Apple supplies spare tips & adapters as applicable). | Yes — extra tip included / sold as accessories. |
| Advertised accuracy / latency | Apple emphasises pixel-perfect precision and very low latency (native Apple Pencil experience). | Advertises “0.1mm” or “pixel-precise” accuracy on product pages (marketing claims vary by retailer). |
| Palm rejection / OS integration | Full OS-level integration (Scribble, palm rejection in iPadOS, app API access to pressure/tilt). | Offers palm rejection in marketing text; level of OS/app integration may vary (depends on how the stylus communicates with iPad and app support). |
| Approx. UK price (retail) | Apple: ~£99 (Apple UK RRP for Apple Pencil (1st gen)). | Metapen A8: typically in the £10–£35 range depending on retailer / offers. |
Conclusion
If you have been considering a pencil to pair with your iPad and have been wavering due to the cost of the Apple Pencil, I would throughly recommend the Metapen Pencil A8 (£4 at AliExpress or £18 at Amazon), which will allow you to dip your toes in the water without a large financial commitment.