Best stylus phone 2022: Take note of these top picks
Gone are the days of swivel, slide, and kick-flip phones, but there are still options aplenty if you’re eyeing one with a built-in stylus. Business professionals, students, artists, and many others often find stylus-supported handhelds invaluable due to the added precision and tactile feedback — features that a finger simply can’t touch. Yet, you don’t have to be a professional to see the use in a stylus phone. Many devices nowadays offer extensive features that utilize the stylus for more than just scribbling, like Samsung’s S Pen, which can be used as a remote shutter for taking pictures.
That said, if you’re on the market for a new phone and crave the benefits of a stylus, these are the best options to take note of.
The lowest latency stylus phone
The Samsung Galaxy Note line has long been the perennial option for stylus fanatics, and while the company seems to have discontinued the Note moniker, its spirit lives on through the new Galaxy S22 Ultra.Â
Released early February, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is arguably the best stylus-supported phone on the market, with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, a massive 6.8-inch canvas, 5,000mAh of battery, and the unrivaled, built-in S Pen. The flagship is a follow-up to last year’s Galaxy S21 Ultra, which earned spots in our best smartphone categories, and with all-around improvements to the camera and hardware, a similar tale may play out in 2022.
Most importantly, the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s S Pen carries a breathe of nifty features, aimed to improve your productivity and content creation. The stylus is housed and charged within the device and carries a latency of just 2.8 milliseconds. That means every tap and stroke across the display produces an input near instantly.
You should note that the Galaxy S22 Ultra is a big phone, making it an excellent pairing for a stylus, at the cost of comfort and one-handed use.
Pros
- Large 6.8-inch display, perfect for multitasking and content creation
- 2.8 millisecond latency on the built-in S Pen
- An ultra-flagship smartphone in general
Cons
- Pricier than other stylus phones
- Large size can be uncomfortable to wield, especially with a case
The best “Note” for business users
Though not the latest and greatest from Samsung, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is unofficially the last of its line, which gives it quite the significance. Still, it’s packed to the brim with processing power and future-proof features that make it a viable stylus phone option in 2022, especially for business users. Here’s why.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is everything that the name says, an ultra smartphone with a feature-rich S Pen for note-taking and productivity. It sports a large 6.9-inch display, a 4,500mAh battery, triple cameras at the back, with 12GB of RAM and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus chip to power it all. That, with 5G-support, keeps the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra ever so relevant two years after launch.
Like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Note is also a massive phone, making it the perfect mobile canvas for the built-in S Pen. Toss in useful business features like PDF annotation and signing, wireless DeX connection, and an updated Samsung Notes app, and you get a reliable handheld for business and non-business users alike.
Pros
- Massive 6.9-inch display for productivity and entertainment
- 9 millisecond latency on the S Pen is the 2nd best on the market
- Triple cameras at the rear, capable of 8K video
Cons
- Discontinued by Samsung, though available at 3rd party retailers
- Older device means a shorter update cadence
A stellar budget option with 5G
Motorola’s Moto G Stylus proves that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get the benefits of a stylus. In fact, at $299, the latest iteration of the Moto G device is one of the best budget 5G phones you can get.
So what do you get for $299, and more importantly, what do you miss out on? To start, the Moto G Stylus comes with a 6.8-inch, 1080p display that can ramp up to 90Hz refresh rates. That’s no QHD, 120Hz panel like Samsung’s, but it covers the grounds for most consumers. Anything less would be a different story. The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G88 processor, 6GB of RAM, and a massive 5,000mAh battery, matching that of today’s flagships. Motorola promises 2-day battery life with those numbers.Â
As for the built-in stylus, it’s capable of all the essentials: Jotting down notes, drawing, editing images, and more. Though not the most intricate stylus phone, this Moto G pick is worth its $299 price tag and your consideration.
Pros
- A dependable display configuration for what you’re paying
- One of the only phones in general with a built-in stylus
- Affordable 5G phone
Cons
- Comes with Android 11 when Android 12 is already out
- Plastic build may come off as cheap for some
Tablet-sized screen for your stylus dreams
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is unique enough of a device thanks to its folding form factor, but Samsung made a key improvement to the latest flagship that couldn’t set it further apart: S Pen support. Sold separately, Galaxy Z Fold 3 owners can take advantage of previously-exclusive Note features with an optional S Pen for $49.
While the S Pen isn’t built in like the aforementioned picks, the expansive 7.6-inch main display and S Pen pairing may be enough to entice your penmanship endeavors. Like the Galaxy Note and S22 Ultra, having the S Pen gives you the power to use Air Commands, gesture controls, and up to 4,096 pressure levels for precise inputs. Samsung also sells a Galaxy Z Fold 3 case that can store the S Pen.
Still, the optional stylus shouldn’t be the only reason you buy the Galaxy Z Fold 3, it’s a dual-screen phone that can fold after all. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, 12GB of RAM, and a new IP-rated design, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the best foldable on the market to date.
Pros
- Foldable display is bar none in terms of functionality
- IPX8 rating means the Z Fold 3 is now waterproof
- Big 7.6-inch display is perfect for S Pen users
Cons
- More expensive than the typical flagship phone
- S Pen and cover are sold separately
Dual-screen productivity machine
Microsoft made waves when it first announced a return to smartphones, in the form of a dual-screen foldable under the Surface line. The Surface Duo was promised to be a productivity champion, with all the Microsoft quirks to convince potential buyers. Instead, we got a device that, as good as it looked, didn’t have the software chaps to put it beside the best of the rest.
Fast forward to 2021 and the Microsoft’s Surface Duo 2 offers a much more robust package, including a refined Microsoft Pen experience. While the stylus is sold separately, once equipped, the sleek accessory provides enhanced accuracy and greater control of your handwritten needs. It can even be propped onto the front side of the Surface Duo 2 by magnets, saving you the cost of a companion case.
Looking at the phone itself, the Surface Duo 2 has a spec sheet that fares well against other flagships of 2021, which is already better than the original. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 4,449mAh battery. There’s now a camera module at the back of the device and a new hinge that Microsoft calls “Glance Bar”. When the dual screens are folded together, the Glance Bar acts as an always-on display for the time, notifications, and other alarms.
Pros
- Dual-screen design means greater surface to write on
- Glance Bar feature is innovative and actually useful
- Superb battery life for all the screens it powers
Cons
- More expensive than the typical flagship phone
- Microsoft Pen sold separately
How did we choose these phones?
There are numerous phones on the market with styluses, but only the best utilize the accessory to it’s fullest. Samsung is a front-runner in this aspect, with an S Pen experience that has gone through more than 10 years of refinements. Likewise, Motorola has seen great success with its Moto G Stylus line thanks to the accessibility it brings to the budget market. Not everyone is willing to spend $1,000 or more for a stylus phone, so trailblazers deserve some recognition as well.Â
Lastly, while the end goal is to get the best stylus experience, we recommend phones that play just as well on their own. Every selection on this list carry specs, processors, and features that can go head-to-head with its non-stylus counterparts.
Which stylus phone is right for you?
The biggest question you should ask yourself is: How much money am I willing to spend? The best picks from the list, including the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Note 20 Ultra, and Z Fold 3, cost upwards of $1,799. With the average ownership times of phones ranging from three to five years, the investment may be worth it.
If you’re on the low- to mid-range budget spectrum, then the $299 Motorola Moto G Stylus (2022) is a great pickup. It’s also worth checking with your carrier for any deals and promotions. More often than not, carriers will offer you flagship phones for free, as long as you trade in an older device and stick with the service for two or three years.
What if the stylus breaks?
Whether your stylus breaks or is nowhere to be found, most manufacturers offer replacements at an additional cost or free with a qualified insurance plan. Samsung’s S Pen, for example, can be purchased from its online store or at retailers like Amazon.
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