The Logitech Crayon is a stylus for iPads, and easily one of the best alternatives to Apple’s own Apple Pencil 2 stylus. In fact, the Logitech Crayon has the rare distinction of being a stylus that’s approved by Apple – and even uses a lot of the same tech as the Apple Pencil.
This means, unlike unapproved styluses, the Logitech Crayon pairs instantly with an iPad, and Logitech promises ‘zero perceptible lag’ while you’re drawing. The pause between a stylus stroke and what appears on the screen can be annoying and distracting for digital artists, which makes the Logitech Crayon very tempting. So, too, does the price. At around £60, it’s almost half the price of the Apple Pencil.
Logitech Crayon review: design
While the Logitech Crayon features Apple Pencil tech on the inside, on the outside, this stylus is markedly different. While the Apple Pencil is sleek, thin and minimalist, the Logitech Crayon is chunkier and brighter. As their names suggest, think of the difference between a pen and a crayon.
If the ‘Crayon’ part of the name makes you worried this could be a device for children, then don’t fret. This is a solidly built tool for digital art, and if the orange highlights of the design seem a bit much, you can also get it in silver/grey.
The wider design, with flat sides, is comfortable to hold and draw with. If you’ve found the Apple Pencil to be too thin to hold, then the Logitech Crayon is definitely worth considering. However, if you prefer smaller, thinner, styluses, then you may find the Logitech Crayon too large.
The replaceable tip of the Logitech Crayon is quite thick, so not ideal for fine details, but it glides across the iPad screen easily. At the other end is a power button, and a removable cap that gives you access to a Lightning charging port.
Logitech Crayon review: performance
As an Apple-certified stylus, there’s no need to pair the Logitech Crayon with an iPad. As long as you have a reasonably recent iPad from 2018 onwards, the Logitech Crayon will work with the device straight out of the box. This is incredibly useful for people who just want to get drawing and not mess around with any settings.
As promised, in most apps we tried, the Logitech Crayon felt incredibly responsive. Apple’s Scribble tool, which turns hand-written notes into editable text, worked brilliantly, managing to accurately pick out words despite our terrible handwriting.
Drawing and painting, which is probably of most interest to creatives, was also handled very well. Using a mix of Apple’s own apps, alongside Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, the Logitech Crayon performed brilliantly. With these more intensive apps, using more complex paint effects, there was sometimes a slight lag, but that was more down to the iPad than the Logitech Crayon. If you have a modern and powerful iPad, such as the iPad Pro, then this shouldn’t be an issue.
The Logitech Crayon comes with tilt sensitivity, which gives you greater control over what you’re drawing, and along with pressure sensitivity does a great job making line weighting feel natural.
There’s also palm rejection, so if you accidentally touch the iPad screen with your palm or hand while drawing, it doesn’t register as a brush stroke, for example.
Overall, we were very impressed with the performance of the Logitech Crayon, which gave us a sensitive and reactive experience similar to the one we’re used to with the Apple Pencil, but for less money.
Logitech Crayon review: charging and battery life
Logitech claims the battery life of the Crayon is 7.5 hours of active writing time, and we found that to be broadly accurate. To help preserve battery, it switches off after 30 minutes, and a single press of the power button turns it back on. A small LED light lets you know if the battery needs charging.
Charging is handled by plugging a Lightning charger into the top of the pen, whose charging port has a removable cover to keep it clear of dust and debris.
There’s no charger or cable provided, which is a pity, but as it uses the same Lightning charger as an iPad, you should already have one to use. If you don’t, or want to charge your iPad and the Logitech Crayon at the same time, then you’ll need to buy a second charger.
Logitech Crayon review: price
You can buy the Logitech Crayon for around £60 ($80), which is pricey for a stylus. However, as Logitech is keen to point out, this isn’t a passive stylus, but a battery-powered stylus with Apple Pencil technology. And, seeing as the Apple Pencil sells for around £90 – £120, depending on which generation you go for, this makes the Logitech Crayon a very strong value proposition.
While it shares many of the same features as the Apple Pencil, there are still some that are exclusive to Apple’s stylus. So, it doesn’t magnetically clip to the side of the iPad, nor does it charge wirelessly like the second generation Apple Pencil does. If you don’t mind missing out on those features, then the Logitech Crayon is a great, cheaper, alternative.
Logitech Crayon review: should you buy it?
If you’re a digital artist that likes to work on an iPad, but feel the Apple Pencil is too expensive, then the Logitech Crayon is definitely worth considering. It pairs instantly with an iPad and works brilliantly, offering some of the same features as the more expensive stylus.
It’s comfortable to hold, and it’s got great battery life as well. The lack of a charging cable is a pity, but most iPad owners shouldn’t find this an issue
However, if you want something smaller and easier to carry around, the chunky Logitech Crayon may not be to your liking. This is also squarely aimed at iPad users – if you’ve got a Windows or Android tablet, this isn’t for you. Not only will you miss out on nearly all of its features, but you’d also need to buy a Lightning cable separately.
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