Thing of the day: NovaPlus A8 Duo - stylus for iPad with magnetic charging

An interesting new project has appeared on Indiegogo crowdfunding: the NovaPlus A8 Duo stylus for drawing and taking notes on the iPad. It offers all the basic features of the Apple Pencil, including pressure levels, tilt sensitivity, interchangeable nibs, and magnetic charging. A bonus is a USB-C port for wired charging.

There are two keys on the case (capacitive in the front and mechanical at the end), which allow you to switch between pen and eraser and use keyboard shortcuts in programs like ProCreate. Handprint protection is present: normal touch input will be blocked when using a stylus.

As noted by the creators, the stylus will work with the iPad "out of the box" without prior settings. The battery level of the stylus will be displayed in the Batteries widget, so the experience should be similar to that of an Apple Pencil.

The stylus comes with NX metal tips that can draw a line 30 km long before they need to be replaced. Any nib that fits the Apple Pencil is also supported.

NovaPlus A8 Duo can be ordered on indiegogo starting at $55 each (or $100 for a set of two styluses). By comparison, the 2nd generation Apple Pencil costs $129. The project has already collected the amount needed for the release, sending pre-orders is expected in January next year.