vOnce upon a time, all iPad styluses had rubbery tips about the size of your fingertip. Then then smart folks at Adonit figured out that you could make a stylus with a tiny, 1.9 mm tip, but have the tip emit a signal that is sensed by the iPad as if it is a larger tip touching the screen. The Adonit Jot Script, which came out in late 2013 and which I reviewed in early 2014, was groundbreaking. Other companies followed Adonit’s lead, and nowadays, there are quite a few companies selling active (powered) styluses with tiny tips.
One of the most recent entries in the active stylus market is the Bamboo Stylus fineline by Wacom. Wacom is no Johnny-come-lately in this market; the Wacom Bamboo Stylus duo is now on the third generation and has been widely considered one of the very best non-active styluses on the market. And Wacom has been making pen-like inputs for computers since the 1980s. I was interested to see Wacom’s take on an active stylus for the iPad, and after Wacom sent me a free review unit a few weeks ago, I’ve been trying out the Bamboo Stylus fineline quite a bit. Although this stylus suffers from some of the same drawbacks as the Adonit Jot Script, such as the fact that the hard stylus tip makes some noise every time you tap the screen, this is an excellent stylus that seems to me better than the Adonit Jot Script in every single way.
Design
The tip of the Bamboo Stylus fineline is 1.9 mm, the same as the tip on the Adonit Jot Script.
The fine tip is what makes active styluses is so nice. The tip is so tiny that you can see precisely where you are going to write on the screen, and you feel like you are actually writing with a pen. With traditional styluses, you often feel like you are using the thick tip of a crayon.
Like all active styluses, the Bamboo Stylus fineline is thicker than a non-active stylus. I suppose the electronics inside requires some extra space. The Adonit Jot Script has a diameter of 12 mm; the Bamboo Stylus fineline is tapered with a thickness that ranges from 10 mm to 11.9 mm. I only slightly notice the difference in diameter when I immediately go back and forth between the two styluses. In normal use, they both seem to be about the same thickness. The Wacom Bamboo Stylus fineline and the Adonit Jot Script are the same length, except that the Wacom stylus is longer when you put the cap on it.
Speaking of the cap, one aspect of the Adonit Jot Script that I do not like is that it lacks a clip. Not only does this mean that you cannot easily put it in a shirt pocket, it also means that the stylus is perfectly round and easily rolls off of a table. The Bamboo Stylus fineline has a removable cap that offers some protection for the tip — albeit protection that may be unnecessary, as I have never seen any damage to the Adonit Jot Script tip. But more importantly, you can place that cap on the back of the stylus when you are using it, and becuase the cap has a clip on it, the Bamboo Stylus fineline doesn’t roll around.
Bluetooth technology
An active stylus doesn’t need to include Bluetooth technology to work. For example, the Cregle Ink, which I reviewed this past May, doesn’t have Bluetooth. (I have just started to test the next generation Cregle active stylus called the Cregle Ink R; it also doesn’t have Bluetooth, and I’ll be ready to review that stylus in a few weeks.) But if a stylus does have Bluetooth technology, it can have some extra features when you use an app that knows how to talk to the stylus.
For example, with both the Adonit Jot Script and the Bamboo Stylus fineline, if you use an app that is designed to work with the stylus, you can tell the app not to display virtual ink on the screen unless it came from the stylus. Thus, you can use your finger to tap any menu, but if your finger or palm accidentally touches the main part of the screen, the app will just ignore that input; only strokes that you make with the stylus are registered. It’s a neat feature that works well with both styluses.
The Bamboo Stylus fineline takes this a step farther by also including a button near the front of the stylus, located in a spot that is easy and natural to tap with your index finger. Apps can do whatever they want with the button. For example, in Wacom’s own Bamboo Paper app, you can configure the app to Undo every time you tap the button, an incredibly quick and easy way to correct while you are writing. Other apps like the current version of Noteshelf (which I reviewed back in 2012) can also use the button for Undo. In the Bamboo Paper app, you can also make the app switch to the eraser mode as long as you are holding down the button, making it incredibly quick and easy to fix mistakes and then switch right back to the pen mode. That’s a neat trick that I wish that Noteshelf also supported.
The Bamboo Stylus fineline also uses Bluetooth technology to make the stylus pressure sensitive, when you are using an app that is designed to work with the stylus. In the Bamboo Paper app, you can hold down the stylus and make the ink thicker, or apply less pressure to get a thinner line. I don’t use a stylus to draw artistic pictures; I use it to take notes. Thus, for the way that I use a stylus, I don’t see any real advantage to a pressure sensitive stylus, but I suppose that it is nice to have. Here is an example of a line that I drew in which I pressed down harder in the middle of the line:
Right now, there are not many apps that work with the Wacom Bamboo Stylus fineline (you can see a list here), but Wacom is a well-known brand, so I expect that we will see more support in the future. For example, Wacom says that the GoodReader app is adding support, which will be nice since that is the app that I often use to highlight and annotate cases that I download from Westlaw.
[UPDATE 2/18/2015: I just noticed that when you are using this stylus with an app designed to work with it and which has the latest SDK from Wacom, you get an alert when there is a firmware update available for the stylus along with a link to download a free app that updates your stylus. I just updated it, and it seems to be doing a better job with diagonal lines on my iPad Air 2. It is great to see a stylus get better over time.]
Rechargable Battery
Active styluses require power to work. Some active styluses, like the Adonit Jot Script and the Cregle Ink, use a battery. It is a pain to have to carry around an extra battery, but if you run out of power it is simple to just swap out a new one. Other active styluses, like this Bamboo Stylus fineline and Lynktec’s Rechargeable Apex Fine Point Active Stylus which I reviewed in June, are rechargeable.
This is certainly a matter of personal preference, but I prefer to use a rechargeable stylus. It seems somewhat wasteful to me to have to throw out a battery and replace it with a new one, plus I have to remember to carry around a battery. The Bamboo Stylus fineline is rechargeable via an included Micro-USB cord. I already carry around a Micro-USB cord in my briefcase because I use it to charge so many other iPhone and iPad accessories (such as external batteries) so I don’t need to carry around anything extra to charge the Bamboo Stylus fineline.
Recharging is easy. Just pull off the rubber cover at the back end of the stylus and plug it in. Wacom says that the battery lasts for up to 26 hours. I’ve never come close to running the battery all the way down to 0%, so you should be able to use this stylus in an all day long meeting and then just recharge it at night.
One minor complaint that I have with this stylus is that the rubber end pops off pretty easily, which made me afraid that it might one day break off. That hasn’t happened yet, but I do wish that the rubber cap stayed better attached when not charging the stylus.
The disadvantages
There are two major disadvantages of this stylus. The first is a problem that exists with all active styluses. When you draw a diagonal line, the line is wavy if you move your stylus too slowly. For example, in the next image, I made a series of Xs in the GoodNotes app. If I draw the X quickly, it looks fine. If I draw the diagonal lines more slowly, the lines are wavy.
This issue is counter-intuitive. It seems that if I write more slowly, I ought to write more neatly. But with an active stylus and a diagonal line, the opposite is true.
This is a problem that I have seen with every active stylus, and unless Apple changes the iPad hardware to work better with active styluses, I doubt that this problem will go away. It isn’t a major problem for me, but I’ll admit that sometimes I reach for a traditional stylus like the Wacom Bamboo Stylus duo instead of an active stylus just because I don’t feel like dealing with this while I am taking notes.
The second problem that I have with both this stylus and the Adonit Jot Script is noise. Because the stylus has a hard tip, and because the iPad has a glass screen, every time that you tap the screen, you hear a tap. I even recorded a video of this noise with the Adonit Jot Script, and I’ll embed it right here because the Bamboo Stylus fineline is just as noisy:
In some environments, the tap tap tap sound on your screen is no big deal. But if I am in a meeting or a deposition or a courtroom or some other relatively quiet environment and I want to use a stylus to take notes on my iPad, this noise virtually always deters me from using a stylus that has a hard tip. And this is really a shame because otherwise, I really like the way that the Wacom Bamboo Stylus (and the Adonit Jot Script) write on the iPad screen. It’s not that the noise is super loud, but it is loud enough to make me self-conscious when using the stylus.
Price
Active styluses are more expensive than traditional styluses. The Adonit Jot Script costs $75. It is nice that the Wacom Bamboo Stylus fineline is cheaper, only $59 on Amazon. This is still a lot of money to spend on a stylus, but at least you save a little money as compared to the Adonit stylus.
Colors
The stylus that Wacom sent me is gray, and that’s probably the color that I would have picked anyway. But if you want more color, the stylus also comes in blue, pink, orange and silver.
Conclusion
If you can get past the issue that a hard tip makes noise when tapped on a glass surface, the Wacom Bamboo Stylus fineline is an excellent stylus. Although more expensive than a traditional stylus, you get the tiny 1.9 mm tip plus extra features that result from Bluetooth, the button and the pressure sensitive tip.
I suspect that anyone looking at this stylus will also be looking at the Adonit Jot Script. Adonit gets the credit for creating this category, but I think that the Wacom Bamboo Stylus fineline is better in every way. You get more features thanks to the button and the pressure sensitive tip (when using compatible apps), it is nice to have a cap for the tip, it is especially nice that the cap includes a clip, and this stylus is even a little cheaper ($59 versus $75). I also consider it an advantage that the Wacom Bamboo Stylus fineline is rechargeable, although I can see how others might prefer to use and replace the AAA battery in the Adonit Jot Script, so you’ll have to decide which you prefer.
Click here to get the Wacom Bamboo Stylus fineline on Amazon ($59.00)
I agree with the comments in the post. The Bamboo fineline in a better product than the Adonit jot script. I purchased the jot script first and thought it was pretty good but when I compared it to the Bamboo fineline I could not believe how superior it is in every aspect. It does not skip, it is truer than the Adonit, it slides better on the screen and it has a cover with a pocket clip.
The only thing than I cannot seem to simulate is the configuration button. it won’t show me any options (erase, undo, redo…). Perhaps I purchased an older model????).
Does it work with iPhone 6+?
No
Jamal says “no” but I can confirm that this stylus works with my iPhone 6. I’ve never actually done so except as a test just now before posting this reply because I think that the iPhone 6 screen is too small to really use a stylus on it. But obviously the iPhone 6 Plus has a larger screen, so if you want to use a stylus with it, I don’t see why this one wouldn’t work.
-Jeff
Can someone recommend an app that would work on the iPhone 6 plus?
GoodNotes, the app that I use on my iPad, also works on the iPhone 6; it is a universal app. I haven’t tried it on the iPhone 6 Plus.
-Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the fantastic review.
I have read a lot of reviews indicating that the Fineline stylus is not compatible with the iPad Air 2. However, I see above that you have used it with the Air 2.
Can you please confirm that it works well with the Air 2 and GoodNotes app?
Thanks much!
Yes, I use this stylus with the GoodNotes app on my iPad Air 2. GoodNotes can take advantage of the advanced features — such as when you press the button on the stylus it delete the last thing you wrote (the undo function) which is very useful.
-Jeff
I would like to to use it on my Iphone 6 and I already have a Bamboo stylus with a bigger nib, my concern is this, I watched the video and noticed a clicking/tapping sound and I worry about scratching or marring the glass or screen protector. Does anyone know if this has or could happen.
Nope its doesn’t work on iPhone 6 Plus I bought it works fine in my ipad but dosent work on iPhone ( 5 5s 6 6+)
Its dosent scratch you glass but Bamboo fineline dont work on Iphone 6
Diar, it works fine on my iPhone 6.
-Jeff
I’m curious why it doesn’t work for you, Diar. I just tested it again on my iPhone 6, and it works fine.
-Jeff
Hi Jeff, what was the app that you were using on your iPhone. I have not been able to get it to work with my iPhone 6 Plus… it works well with the iPad though. also, any settings that were changed?
I use the GoodNotes app for most of the writing I do on my iPad and iPhone.
-Jeff
Wich one is the best? Adonit Jot Script 2 or Bamboo Fineline?
My review of the Wacom Bamboo Fineline:
http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2014/11/review-bamboo-stylus-fineline.html
My review of the Adonit Jot Script 2:
http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2015/05/review-adonit-jot-script-2.html
I like the button on the Fineline. But if you use an iPad Air or Air 2, the Adonit Jot Script 2 works better for diagonal lines. Check out my reviews for my thoughts on those features. Tough to choose which one is best because they have different advantages and drawbacks. Lately I have used the Jot Script 2 more.
-Jeff
Hi Jeff, Thanks for the review. I just got the Fineline delivered from Amazon. What i noticed is that the tip is not firm – the tip moves in and out bit while writing giving a feeling that it is tightly fit. Unfortunately, i don’t have a way to compare this. Is this a right behavior
thanks
Sharath
My tip isn’t 100% firm either. It moves a very tiny bit. I have to admit that I didn’t even notice this until you just posted this comment, so perhaps yours moves more than mine does.
-Jeff
Hello Jeff,
Thank for sharing your reviews.
I have an iPhone 6 Plus and I got Goodnotes and Wacom Fineline connected, the button erases the content but the pen does not write.
Perhaps some problem with the glass protection that I put On the screen?
Could be. I don’t have that setup so I cannot test it myself. In fact, I never use a stylus with my iPhone, just my iPad, but perhaps since you have the iPhone 6 Plus a stylus makes somewhat more sense. Good luck!
-Jeff
When I try and connect my bamboo fineline to my ipad it never shows that it’s linked and should the blue light on the pen continually blink? Any assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Michael
I have the 6+ and the fineline doesnt work but sometimes it does idk whats the problem. It also doesnt work on the ipad 2 just 3 and above
Hi Jeff,
Adonit’s new Jot Touch (the one with pixelpoint technology, not the one with the disc) has two buttons, that you can setup for whatever you like. I use for undo and redo when I’m drawing. The noise is the same as all adonit’s pixelpoints, and it is a bit annoying… And no clip too. But is actually better than the scripts 1 and 2, the buttons made quite a difference to me.
As for note taking, which I do extensively, pretty much all day long, I much prefer Notes Plus App, it vectorizes your handwriting so it looks better than the real one, and because it vectorizes, it doesn’t have shaky diagonal lines at all. It supports Adonit (doesn’t support the buttons though), Pencil by 53, and Wacom.
The paper dimensions’, cover, margins, color, layout, even the width in-between lines, and units of mesure can be all customized. You can also copy, paste and cut your notes, just by circling them, and resize or turn them into text. And eventually, if needed typing is alao available. It exports your notes in pdf, and imports all kinds of pdfs, even books and papers, so you highlight them, Write something on the margins..
And, comes with a very handy and easy guide. Oh, almost forgot, you can record the audio of the lecture or event your’re in. It backs it all up automatically on dropbox or google drive, and soon it will support cloud drive as well.
The customer support is amazing, the developer themselves always answer your questions, and very quickly I might add.
I used noteshelf, penultimate, good notes, which was my note-taking app of choice untill then. But once I tried NP, I couldn’t go back to the shaky lines and ugly handwritting. Notes Plus is good notes but prettier and a tad bit more intuitive and feature full.
I’d recommend you giving it a try. If you don’t want to pay to try, they have a Lite free version, (InkRedible) but it has very little features in comparison. It basically allows you to feel what is like, and what it looks like to write on the NP, only. I use their lite version to write grocery lists and small things… The heavy note taking it’s only done on the Notes Plus!
I hope you give it a try.
Does the bamboo fine line work with the iPad 2?
I haven’t myself tried it with the iPad 2. The Bamboo Fineline has now been replaced by the Baoboo Fineline 2, and the page for that stylus doesn’t list the iPad 2 as a compatible device. It says: ‘For iPads featuring Bluetooth® Smart technology and iOS 8 or later: iPad Air 2 iPad Air iPad mini 3 iPad mini 2 iPad mini iPad (4th generation) iPad (3rd generation).” But I don’t know if the older Bamboo Fineline works with the iPad 2.
-Jeff
Will the bamboo fineline work on an iphone 5c? I’m not worried about how small the screen is, I just want a working thin stylus that I can use to draw on my phone with ^ – ^;
I don’t know — I don’t have an iPhone 5c to test. I recommend that you contact Wacom and ask them which of their styluses support the iPhone 5c.
-Jeff
Hello Jeff,
I really appreciate your reviews because I just bought my first tablet ever (iPad Air 2) so I’m pretty ignorant on the subject. I was recently accepted to Vet Medicine and I was envious of other students using tablets and styli to write directly on PPTs and PDF notes the professors give in advance and I am still stuck on printing them out (6 slides per page to save money) and writing notes on them with pen. I study on an island where you do not have a Best Buy, not even a store that comes close to it, available so I cannot try out a stylus with my new Ipad and unfortunately have to wait until Holiday break when I come home and get them both; so basically I rely on reviews 100%. I originally wanted to get the Bamboo Fineline 2 since Best Buy recommended it for the iPad Air 2. On this review you prefer the Jot Script over Fineline, but I see this review is for the original one. Have you used the updated Fineline 2 and does it work better on the Ipad Air 2? I’ve read it has improved the use on Ipad Air 2. Or should I go with the Jot Script 2? What note taking app would you recommend for my situation? I’m sorry I’m being overwhelming I just don’t want to end up on the island with a stylus that won’t work and either have to wait months to get a new one or spend tons of money to ship one from the USA.
Thank you very much!
I haven’t tried the new Fineline 2 and, other than a different external design, I’m not yet sure what is different. My favorite stylus for the iPad Air 2 is actually a non-active stylus, the Adonit Jot Pro:
http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2015/03/review-adonit-jot-pro.html
But if you want an active stylus, all of them that you mention have their strengths. I like the Adonit Jot Dash because it is so thin, so it is probably the active stylus that I used most with my iPad Air 2.
-Jeff
In my case it works clunky and buggy on a supported app, but outside of the app it does not work. On my iPad 4 and iPad Pro it works fine.
As part of my regime of medication for my stroke I have to use a drug in my nebulizer which in turn makes my hands shake badly, which is not conducive with texting. So i bought a cheap active stylus from China but unfortunately hasn’t a protective cap or a dust cap to protect the charging port. So I splashed out on the beautiful Wacom Bamboo Fineline active stylus only to find out it will not work on an iPhone! Is there a whizzkid out there that knows what you have to do to make it work on an iPhone? Thanks in advance ………………….. Dave.
You should get a non-active stylus — one that doesn’t have batteries. Any non-active stylus should work with the iPhone. I recommend that you consider this one, the Adonit Jot Pro:
http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2015/03/review-adonit-jot-pro.html
-Jeff
I’m very interested on this.
Espescially since i found presenting at my student is much easier with stylus.
I have some question though. Will this work on non ipad device ?. I have asus transformer which i use a lot for presenting. I wondering of i can write there with this.
Have anyone try this outside of ipad ?
-anton
Hi please will the Bamboo Fineline 2 Pen work in IPhone 6 S Plus ? And 6S ?
Has anyone tried the newer versions of this pen? I want to know if I should save $20 by buying the 1st edition on Amazon vs the 3rd edition from Wacom.