7 Best Smart Pens for 2022 (2024)

Our experts loved this pen for its traditional styling — simply uncap the pen to turn it on and find its accurate conversion of handwriting to digital, searchable notes. The Symphony Smartpen works only with Livescribe microdot paper, which enables the high-speed infrared camera in the tip to capture the strokes of your writing and stores them in the pen’s internal memory or stream them to the free Livescribe+ App in real time via Bluetooth. The paper is available separately in a variety of notebook styles: spiral-bound notebooks, hardbound journals, notepads and sticky notes. The app also records audio that syncs with your notes so you tap anywhere in your notes to play back that exact moment in the file. The pen can recognize 27 languages and has a battery life of up to 90 days. The Symphony comes with an extra ink cartridge, a pocket-sized starter notebook and a USB cable for direct transfer of files. The Livescribe+ mobile app is compatible with iOS and Android, and the desktop version works with iOS and Windows.

This affordable, reusable notebook works with any pen from Pilot Pen’s Frixion line, which earned the Good Housekeeping Seal after testing in our Media & Tech Lab. The pages are designed to feel like paper, but they’re made from a polyester composite that bonds with the ink in seconds but wipes clean with a damp towel, so you can reuse your pages and notebooks. Write or draw by hand, then use the free Rocketbook App (available for iOS and Android) to scan the pages for email or text message or to send to cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, box, OneNote, Slack or iCloud. The app can transcribe the notes to typewritten text, and it creates searchable versions of your handwriting. The notebooks are available in letter and executive size as well as with grid or lined pages. The pen and notebook come with a microfiber cloth for wiping the screen clean.

This pen is actually a stylus that will get you up and running in no time if you use Windows devices: There’s no need to pair it; just tap the Windows Ink workspace. ​​The tip is designed to respond to more than 4,000 pressure levels to feel like natural writing and for precise capture of your strokes on the device screen. When the stylus is in pen mode, you can write, draw and erase as well as pull up menus for templates. The Bamboo Ink is also compatible with Wacom Active ES protocol and Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) devices. It runs on a AAAA battery that is estimated to last 15 months with standard use.

The Neo Smartpen N2 translates your writing via a camera that captures more than 120 frames per second. The pen works only with N-Code Digital Paper notebooks, which help the camera capture the position — and more than 250 levels of pressure — of each stroke. The specialized paper is sold separately but offers several styles, including spiral-bound college notebooks, laboratory notebooks and planners, which can sync with your calendars. The N2 smart pen pairs with the free Neo Studio app (available for iOS and Android), which allows you to record audio and is compatible with Evernote, Google Drive Manager, OneNote and Creative Cloud. Some apps create only pdf or jpg files, but Neo Studio supports gif and mp4 as well, which is great for sharing on social media. The pen has built-in storage capabilities, so you can use it offline and it will hold 90 megabytes of data until you connect with the app to transfer. The Neo uses a standard D1 pen tip, so you can replace it with other compatible D1 refills.

iPad users will find that the second generation Apple Pencil makes their tablet far more nimble. This stylus tool is compatible with iPad Pro and iPad Air, and it allows you to write, sketch, navigate and mark up PDF documents onscreen. Like a mouse, the Apple Pencil 2nd generation supports double-tapping so you can change tools without setting the pencil down. It detects pressure and angle so you can vary strokes as you would with a standard pencil or marker. The pencil is designed with a flat edge that attaches magnetically to the iPad for charging and automatic pairing. Fun bonus: You can personalize the pencil by adding a short engraving with numbers, letters and even emoji.

Moleskine has designed a smart pen that works with a digitally enabled version of its cult-favorite notebook, which has devoted fans for both sketching and journaling. The microdot, N-coded paper helps the pen’s infrared camera track your strokes so they are reproduced in real time in the free Moleskine Notes app, available from the App Store and Google Play. The device also records audio and syncs with Google Drive and Evernote so you can store and search PDFs. The pen comes with a USB cord for charging and a small starter journal. It includes a refill for the tip but can accept any D1 refill.

This smart pen operates via a camera that tracks writing and drawing on NEWYES notebooks and translates it in real time on the companion NEWYES Note app (available for Android and iOS). The app features a playback option that will redraw your text and sketches, which can be linked to audio recordings for a full review of your notes. The app also creates searchable and editable text and lets you share files to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp and email. The package includes an A5-size notebook, a USB charging cable and 3 pen refills.