Three months ago I reviewed the Jot Pro stylus by Adonit. I found it to be a high-quality stylus that offered a unique feature: a fine point with a clear disc at the end, a combination that made it the most precise stylus that I had ever tried with an iPad. But I had a few complaints about this otherwise excellent product: it was noisy every time the stylus tip tapped the screen, and there was something not quite right (to me) about how it felt on the screen. On November 1, 2012, Adonit released a second generation version, and Adonit sent me a free sample to review. I’m thrilled to see that the new Jot Pro fixes most of the problems I noted in my original review, resulting in a really incredible stylus.
If you haven’t read, or don’t remember, my review of the first generation version of this stylus, you might want to take it a look at it because 95% of the Jot Pro remains the same. The Jot Pro still has a very sharp point like a pen — unlike every other stylus on the market. That sharp point is connected to a clear disc that is large enough for the iPad to sense it (the iPad is made to sense something the size of a fingertip, not the size of a pen tip), but because the disc is clear you can see right through to the screen. As a result, you can be incredibly precise. With other styluses, you might feel like you are taking notes with a crayon or a marker. With the Jot Pro, you get the sensation that you are taking notes with a pen. And the stylus itself has a great weight, a rubber grip that is comfortable in your hand, and a cap to protect the tip that screws on the other side when you are using the stylus. The first generation Jot Pro felt like a premium product, and the same is true for the second generation Jot Pro. Here is the second generation Jot Pro next to my other favorite stylus for the iPad, the Wacom Bamboo Stylus duo:
What’s different about the second generation Jot Pro is that Adonit improved the tip. To reduce the harshness and the loud tap every time that the disc touches your iPad screen, the pointed tip is now two parts instead of one with a small point at the end that is supported by some sort of spring mechanism so that it gives when you press it down. View the animation on this page to see how it works in action. In this next picture, the old Jot Pro is on the left and the new Jot Pro is on the right:
Although you can still hear a slight sound when the second generation Jot Pro touches the screen, it is much softer than the first generation Jot Pro, and reduced enough to no longer be an issue. This is the major difference between the first and second generation Jot Pro, and it is a major improvement.
Adonit also made the disc itself smaller. Adonit bills this as a way to provide more accuracy. I’m not sure about that — the original Jot Pro already seemed incredibly accurate — but it does make the disc feel better against the glass screen of the iPad, and perhaps is another reason that the noise is reduced when tapping the screen.
If that was all that I had to say about the Jot Pro, I would conclude this review by saying that it is my favorite iPad stylus on the market today. Unfortunately, I noticed one problem with the Jot Pro that doesn’t occur all the time, but it is annoying when it occurs. Earlier this week I attended a court hearing that lasted about five hours and I took notes throughout the hearing using the excellent GoodNotes app on my iPad mini. I switched back and forth between the Jot Pro and the Wacom Bamboo Stylus duo to compare the two over the course of that long hearing. For the most part both were excellent, but every once in a while I would find that the “ink” drawn with the Jot Pro would skip. Here are some examples:
As you can see from the gaps in the “2” and the “3” in the first image, the “r” and the “f” in the second image, and the “g” in the third image above, the Jot Pro seemed to sometimes lose contact with the iPad screen. I tried applying more or less pressure to the Jot Pro, but that didn’t seem to make a difference. Let me emphasize that this happened rarely with the Jot Pro, but it did happen enough for me to notice it, and it never happens at all with the Bamboo Stylus duo.
[UPDATE 6/24/2013: I encountered those gaps using the GoodNotes app. On June 21, 2013, GoodNotes was updated to version 3.10 and one of the new features is “Jot Touch improvements.” The Jot Touch is a version of the Jot Pro that adds Bluetooth and thus adds pressure sensitivity. Rhys pointed out in a comment to this post that the update appeared to solve the gap problem, and in my initial tests, I’ve seen this too. Thus, it appears that software developers can fine tune their apps to work better with the Jot Touch/Jot Pro. This is great news, and should mean that as long as you use the correct app, you may not have to worry about gaps.]
The only other drawbacks I noticed with the Jot Pro also existed with the original version. First, I wish the Jot Pro had a clip for when I put it in my shirt pocket. Second, the Jot Pro works best when you are moving the tip across your screen, but when you need to tap once on an on-screen button, the Jot Pro does not always work — whereas my fingertip or a stylus with a more traditional tip such as the Bamboo Stylus do always works. Perhaps the iPad’s occasional inability to respond when you tap once with the Jot Pro is in some way related to the gaps that would sometimes appear when I was writing?
My main use for a stylus is taking handwritten notes, but I should note that if you are using a drawing program such as the fun Paper app by FiftyThree, the Jot Pro is miles ahead of other styluses. The more precise tip and the see through disc makes it much easier to be precise with your drawings.
For taking notes with an app such as GoodNotes, however, I’m torn as to whether the new Jot Pro or the Bamboo Stylus is better. They each have a different feel against the screen, but both feel really good. The Jot Pro is more precise but as noted above occasionally less responsive, while the Bamboo Stylus always elicits a response from the iPad but does feel more like you are using a crayon than a pen tip. If you think that a more precise tip would be appealing to you, I highly recommend the Jot Pro. It is one of the very best iPad styluses on the market today.
Note that while you can buy a Jot Pro on Amazon, it appears that Amazon is still selling the first generation version. Until that changes, I recommend that you buy directly from Adonit. [UPDATE: You can now get the second generation on Amazon; link added below.] You can get it in Gun Metal (what I tested), Silver, Turquoise or Red.
Click here to get the Jot Pro [second generation] from Adonit ($29.99).
Click here to get the Jot Pro [second generation] from Amazon ($29.99).
Will you be sticking with the Bamboo Stylus? I’m also gave the new Jot Pro another try, but it’s still too loud IMO for note taking. I’m going to checkout the Bamboo Stylus after reading your reviews. Keep up the great work!
I’ve enjoyed using the Jot Pro (original) and haven’t really been bothered by the noise. More recently, though, I’ve been using the HAND stylus and have found it to be great. You get nearly the same accuracy as the JotPro without any noise and it also doesn’t have the annoying drag of most rubber-tipped styli.
I have noticed some similar drop outs with the bamboo lately on my ipad3.
I use Bamboo, Jot and Hand for different purposes. I’ve had dropouts with Jot and Hand, and Hand requires a little more pressure. I’d say that Bamboo is best for just straight writing; Jot is best for detailed work, like marking up a draft; and Hand is best for out of the office because it’s retractable.
Jeff: I’m wondering what GoodNotes features have made it your first choice. It’s an excellent program — I found it through you, and I use it for PDF mark-ups (along with Notability) — but I generally use Noteshelf for straight note-taking.
Noteshelf is also a great app, and I know that you like it Robin — you posted a great comment to my 4/17/12 review of Noteshelf that I went back and referenced in the post. But GoodNotes just seem to work the best for me. I love the speed, the custom templates with adjustable margins, the ability to create shapes or draw freehand, really everything. My only current complaint with GoodNotes is that I haven’t found a good way to share files between my iPad and iPad mini versions.
I’m so old fashioned that I continue to use a legal pad to take notes. I really need to get the program.
Dropbox sharing?
You can’t use Dropbox to share between two instances of GoodNotes. You can share one version of the app to a Dropbox folder, and then share another version of the app to a different Dropbox folder, but you cannot start taking notes in one file on an iPad and then continuing taking notes on an iPad mini. I wish GoodNotes had iCloud support, which would provide that.
Great article and review. I use my stylus in the field and have to switch between using a pen and using a stylus all the time. I really really don’t want to carry two pens and have ended up using the iKross pen/stylus ($9.95 Amazon).
It has a small footprint in my pocket, but it definitely has its drawbacks…too small in hand, cap for pen does not attach to pen when you are writing.
Over all it does well. I am looking for something that I can use when not in the field and plan on just taking notes on my iPad in an office setting. I will have to look at the Bamboo and Jot. Which do you think should be my first purchase?
And my two cents on apps…iAnnotate has been a game changer for me in the field for PDF reading and notes. Though when I have to sign documents, my app of choice is PDF Expert.
Jeff,
I’ve read in other reviews that Jot Pro scratches the screen of the iPad. Have you noticed that as an issue? Very helpful review!
No, I have not noticed this, although as I noted in my initial review I have seen others mention this and it was something that concerned me. But I haven’t seen it myself at all.
Jeff, I have been online for a countless amount of hours trying to find the best stylus for an ipad to take notes with. I have read so many reviews and watched so many video reviews I am going crazy. I just started school and need to find one that will do the job, I cant afford to go through x amount of styli until I find the right one. I have read about the bamboo, hand stylus, jot, magnus, cosmonaut, trent arcadia, etc!! In your opinion what is the best stylus for taking notes?
I haven’t tried the Hand stylus yet but I hear good things about it, and the Cosmonaut seems a little large for taking notes but I haven’t tried it yet either. Of the many that I have tried, my two current favorites are the Wacom Bamboo Duo and the second generation Adonit Jot Pro. Both are excellent. Just think about whether you want a more traditional stylus tip that will always work great, or if you want the more precise Jot Pro tip that you might prefer for writing but is not as good for tapping on buttons. When I have shown both styluses to people and asked them which they prefer, I more often hear that people prefer the Bamboo, but a lot of people really love the Jot Pro too. Either one is a great choice.
Hi Jeff, thx for the review. The scratch reports are worrisome. Do you use a screen protector on your tablet? If so which one? I have yet to find one that is stylus friendly.
No, I don’t use a screen protector on my iPad or my iPhone. (I do have one on an old iPhone with the SIM card removed that I let my kids use for apps.) As I noted above, I completely understand a concern about scratching, but I have to say that I haven’t seen any evidence at all of scratching, and I use my Jot Pro quite a bit.
Jeff
Can u suggest a stylus to use when you don’t plan on taking notes, just for “surfing?”
If you are just “surfing” and looking for something to use to tap the screen instead of your finger, the Wacom Bamboo Stylus Duo works great. I can also recommend the Kensington Virtuoso Stylus, which is cheaper.
Is the new smaller sized disk interchangeable with the original Jot Pro?
I just tried it, and I couldn’t get the smaller disc to work with the original Jot Pro. The ball that sits on the top of the original Jot Pro seems just a little too big for the hole on the smaller disc. But I’m sure that Adonit sells replacement discs for the original model as well.
It has happened to me…. but this is because of the dust residuals on the screen that were carried by the disc (which was pressed down) when you move the stylus. It made terrible squeezing sound and left marks on the screen protector film
The Jot Pro is garbage. I lost the first tip and just broke the second one. (it just came unglued)
It has that problem with not actually touching the screen.
It scratches the screen (just the plastic film that I have on top, but that’s annoying)
And the mall charged me 10$ for a replacement tip.
This thing is a paperweight without the easily breakable tip.
Is the Jot Pro pressure sensitive? That’s what I need and the Touch is way out of my budget.
No, the Jot Pro is not pressure sensitive. In my opinion, if you are taking notes, you don’t need that feature. But if you are being artistic — drawing or “painting” — then I can understand how pressure sensitivity could be useful. I have not yet reviewed a stylus that is pressure sensitive, but there are several out there.
Why has no one mentioned the note ability app. I love it. It has great synchronization with dropbox, and it’s palm safe and zoom writing is great. It is also a zip to use with PDFs.
Also any consideration that The smaller form factor of the iPad mini would make the accuracy of the Jot preferable?
Forgive the typos Siri is typing for me
Thanks for the great review Jeff! One query, is there a drag on the Adonit Jot Pro? I have been using a Wacom Bamboo Stylus primarily for note-taking and frankly the drag is getting quite annoying.
Would mesh/ microfiber tipped stylii help?
I don’t know if I would call it a “drag” or not. On the one hand, the Jot Pro is pretty smooth against the screen. On the other hand, I do find that I am compelled to write a little slower with the Jot Pro than with the Bamboo Stylus — and perhaps for this very reason, I find that my penmanship is better and more precise with the Jot Pro. The mesh type tip, such as on the BoxWave EverTouch Capacitive Stylus that I reviewed on May 8, 2012, has MUCH less drag and you can write much more quickly on the screen. But I find both the Wacom Bamboo Stylus and the Adonit Jot Pro better for taking handwritten notes, so I don’t use that EverTouch stylus very much.
-Jeff
about the occasional drop-outs : it happend a couple of times because a part of my little finger was accidentaly touching the screen…
I just got the hand stylus. I ordered this because of the pointy tip. I tested it and a bit disappointed that the tip is too mushy and does not respond well. There are too many jumps and skips. I theorize that this is because of the 4 mm tip. (Too pointy for the iPad). Does not respond quickly to buttons. I reverted to using my 6 mm point Targus stylus. I want to try the jot pro but i hear of it scratching the iPad surface….
Thank you for the review, very helpful. I’m a student looking to switch from notebooks to taking class notes in my ipad. I imagine having to write in a “zoom box” would be annoying if I’m taking fast notes for science classes. Would the Jot Pro write like a real pen, without having to use that zoom box?
What you are asking about is a software question, not a question related to the Jot Pro or any other stylus. In every note taking app that I have used, yes you can turn off the zoom box for times when you want to just draw directly on the page. And you can also usually change the size of the zoom box to make it the right size for something like a scientific equation. The only issue is that you cannot be as precise when you are not using the zoom box because the iPad is designed to recognize a “tip” the size of your finger, not a fine tip like you would find on a pen.
Jeff, regarding the “ink” gaps when using the GoodNotes app, I also found this problem when trying my friend’s Ajdonit, but in the last few days, GoodNotes have released an update. I just retried my friend’s Adonit, and I no longer get the ink gaps. It was a limited test though, so it would be interesting to hear if you see similar improvements after updating GoodNotes. Thanks for taking the time to write the review by the way… I’ll now invest in a Adjonit 2nd Gen of my own.
Thanks for the helpful review. It looks like Amazon is selling the second generation of jot pro. Although it does not state “second generation” clearly, it lists all the improvements that you mentioned in your review. The first generation is for $26.99 now.
Jeff, it’s been about 4 months or so since the comments above about scratching. I was wondering if you have continued using the Jot Pro and, if so, if you are still of the opinion that it does not scratch the screen. Thanks.
Yes, I still use the Jot Pro. No, it has still never scratched my screen. I often (but not always) use a MobileCloth to keep my screen clean, and I’m sure that helps, but I’ve never even once had a problem with thinking that my screen would be scratched by the JotPro.
-Jeff
Just wondering, is the new version of the Jot pro worth the 10 extra bucks to upgrade from the original version? (I am referring to the fact that the old version is 20 and the new one is 30 on amazon)
In my opinion, yes. The original Jot Pro was interesting but I never used it. But due to the improvements in the new Jot Pro, I do actually use this stylus quite a bit, although my favorite remains the Wacom Bamboo Duo. But if you are going for the Jot Pro, you’ll appreciate the advantages in the second generation version. Worth $10.
-Jeff
Looked and looked for a stylus to us on my surface rt. Now have jot pro . It works great especially like it on fresh paint app. Your reviews are helpful. Thank You
I have never tested any stylus, including this one, on a Microsoft Surface RT, but I’m glad to learn that it worked for you.
-Jeff
It’s magnificent, however, it’s scratched the living hell out of my screen protector. I’m afraid to use it on the bare glass! Be careful when using this thing.
Adonit Jot Pro scratches the iPad screen ! I used it with lot of cautions and clean the screen with a cloth and scratch, sooner or later jot pro micro scratch the iPad screen.
I’ve used all three generations of the Adonit Jot Pro, and the 2015 version of this stylus is my current stylus. I have never had the Adonit Jot Pro scratch any of my iPad screens. I see that Tom posts above that it scratched a screen protector, and I’ve never used one of those on my iPad so I cannot comment on that. And I can understand that if there were sand on your screen or on your stylus and you used it it could in theory scratch the screen. And I presume that it did scratch your screen and that prompted you to comment. But in my many years of testing and using the product day-to-day, this has never once happened to me.
-Jeff
How do you tell the generations apart? It looks like the pro just comes in solid colors on their webpage, but stores like Target seem to offer bi-colors, bottom one color, top of stylus, another. iPad cases like the Speck Durofolio were sold by Target that were exclusive to them, aka the blue one. Is this what going on?
A new version came out in 2015 and I strongly recommend that you get that one. Details:
http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2015/03/review-adonit-jot-pro.html
-Jeff