Last month, I reviewed the Maglus, an aluminum stylus created by ApplyDea that is larger than a normal stylus, flat on the sides and has built-in magnets. I liked it. It's a too thick to be my preferred stylus for daily use, but it makes a nice alternative stylus for all of the reasons that I pointed out in that review. I noted in the review that you can buy replacement tips for the stylus, not only the original rubber tip but also a microfibre tip. The manufacturer subsequently sent me a free sample of the microfibre tip so that I could try it out, and I've been experimenting with it for a few weeks. For anyone who owns a Maglus, I recommend that you spend the $11.99 to get the microfibre tip so that you have even more versatility with your Maglus stylus.
To replace tip on the Maglus, you pull on the silver metal band. I find that it is easier if you first use your fingernails to separate the metal band from the aluminum body, but then once you get it out a little bit you can pull it off. Then just push in the replacement tip. In the following picture, the normal rubber stylus is on the left and the microfibre tip is on the right.
So how does it work? Most styluses have a rubber tip, which provides good friction against an iPad screen. A microfiber (or microfibre) tip typically has less friction, so it glides against the screen more quickly, although sometimes you have to press down a little harder for the iPad to sense it. I found that unlike most microfiber styuses, I didn't have to press down any harder with the Maglus microfibre tip to get my iPad to sense it. Perhaps this is because the tip is larger, or perhaps this is because the Maglus is a little heavier than other styluses. So the microfibre replacement tip gives the stylus a softer, more slippery feel.
Like the original tip, this microfibre tip is larger than the tips on many other styluses. (See my original review for a picture of the Maglus compared to other styluses.) And that is the main reason that the Maglus is not my preferred stylus. I use a stylus primarily to take notes, and I prefer a smaller tip for that. Having said that, if I am annotating or highlighting a case in PDF format that I downloaded from Westlaw, the larger tip doesn't bother me at all and is actually sort of nice. So I recognize that there is no one best size for an iPad stylus tip.
If I had to choose just one tip for the Maglus, overall I prefer the original one. But it is nice that having this microfibre tip means that you can easily change the feel of the Maglus stylus whenever you are in the mood for something new, or whenever you are doing some task with the stylus for which you prefer being able to move the stylus against the screen more quickly.
Finally, I'll note that since the time I posted my review of the Maglus last month, the company came out with new colors. You can now get the original size in silver, black or blue on Amazon. And if you want the smaller Maglus mini, you can now get it in silver or pink.
You can get replacement tips for the original Maglus tip on Amazon or directly from ApplyDea. Right now it looks like you can only get the microfibre tip directly from ApplyDea, but I'm told that the following link will work on Amazon very soon if you prefer to buy from Amazon.
Click here to get Maglus Stylus Microfibre Tips from Amazon.
Click here to get Maglus Stylus Microfibre Tips from ApplyDea ($11.99).
