hp spectre x360 active pen

Best pens for HP Spectre and Envy x360 in 2023

The HP Spectre and HP Envy devices use the MPP protocol, so these eight pens can take your device to new levels for inking and drawing.

When looking for a new laptop or a great Windows convertible , the HP Spectre and HP Envy x360 lineups are where you'd want to look first. These great HP laptops have really great touch screens with slim bezels and even top-quality webcams for video conferencing. What's also great about these devices, though, is the support for pens. As convertibles, you can flip these devices around as a tablet and hold them in your hands for note-taking during meetings, and even put the devices into a tent mode, too for a more comfortable at-desk writing experience.

HP Spectre and HP Envy devices use active pens that leverage the Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) technology. These types of pens used to be called N-Trig pens, but you'll now find plenty of first-party and alternative MPP pens. Some pens will also support both the MPP protocol and the AES protocol, which is developed by Wacom and used on other laptops like Lenovo's Yoga line.

Either way, if you've lost the original pen that came with your HP Spectre or HP Envy and need a replacement, or just want to keep a spare around, here are some of your options.

HP Rechargeable MPP 2.0 Tilt Pen

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This is the official pen for the HP Spectre x360. It's the one that comes with the device. The pen has good accuracy and offers 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. It also has exchangeable tips and tilt support.

The Microsoft Surface Pen is one of the most popular pens for MPP tablets. It comes in many different colors, has a clip so it won't get lost, has Bluetooth connectivity, and features side buttons. It's usually on sale a lot, too.

For those who are on a budget, the Renaisser Raphael 520BT is a pen to consider buying. This pen still offers the 4.096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt support as more premium options, and it even has Bluetooth connectivity.

This pen from Wacom is great for artists. It comes with exchangeable pen tips for different styles of inking, which is sure to make drawing on the screen feel like putting pen to paper. It also has Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to use it to control things on your screen or in an app.

This pen from Dell is one that supports both the MPP and AES pen protocol. This means you can use it with multiple devices if you please. It's a really premium-feeling pen, too, since it's made of aluminum and has a loop for you to put a lanyard into, so it won't get lost.

The Uogic pen is quite sleek and similar to the Microsoft Surface Pen when it comes to design. However, it's a budget-friendly pen, so it only offers 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity,

Want a pen with longer battery life? You'll love the Renaisser Raphael 530. It doesn't have Bluetooth connectivity, so the battery can last a bit longer. It is rated for 100 hours of use, and there's a smart power management feature that'll turn it off when not in use.

The Andana MPP pen is quite a simple option. It looks like HP's original pen but comes in both silver and black It's a cheap but versatile pen that still comes with palm rejection and is USB-C rechargeable.

Best pens for the HP Spectre and Envy x360: Recap

And those are all the MPP pens for the HP Spectre and Envy x360 that you should consider buying. Out of all the picks, it's almost certain that you'll want to pick up the HP Rechargeable MPP 2.0 TIlt Pen. This is the official pen for HP devices. It has rechargeable batteries via USB-C, so you'll worry less about swapping out batteries mid-writing if it were to run dry. It also has exchangeable tips, should the tips break, so you don't have to replace the entire pen. Other than that, it has a battery life of up to 30 days, and also tilt support, and 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity for the best inking quality.

Of course, MPP pens come in plenty, so don't feel limited to just HP's option. Microsoft's Surface Pen still provides a quality inking experience, and a product like the Wacom Bamboo Ink Plus will be appreciated by artists who want to use different pen tips. There's a pen for everyone regardless of your needs.

There are two models of the HP Spectre x360 (2023) that you can buy. The 2023 HP Spectre x360 13.5 packs 13th-generation Intel Core processors in a sleek and stylish design. The 2023 HP Spectre x360 16 comes with upgraded Intel processors and optional Intel Arc graphics for workloads that require more GPU power.

The HP Envy x360 is a versatile laptop that can be used as a tablet. It comes with a 15.6-inch display, including the option for an OLED panel, and it has 13th-generation Intel Core processors.

The 2022 HP Envy x360 is a portability-focused convertible laptop with Intel 9W processors and a large battery, plus a 16:10 display that makes it great for getting work done. It's actually a great laptop for almost anyone.