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Will SP4 pen work on SP3 identically?

hughlle

Super Moderator
Staff member
Surely the pressure levels are screen dependant. The. Pen does not transmit the pressure levels to the surface, the surface reads then from the pressure on the screen. So why would the sp4 pen change anything? Or am I missing g something? no way the pen can be responsible for pressure given the battery and the battery life.
 

ScottyS

Active Member
Surely the pressure levels are screen dependant. The. Pen does not transmit the pressure levels to the surface, the surface reads then from the pressure on the screen. So why would the sp4 pen change anything? Or am I missing g something? no way the pen can be responsible for pressure given the battery and the battery life.
The only change would be eraser for the top button, instead of opening OneNote (or not opening OneNote or opening MUI OneNote and not desktop OneNote) and changeable nibs. Though I'm not sure how good that will be on SP3 because other than the physical drag you from the nib on glass, the SP4 has a thinner surface for better parallax and Pixel Sense.
 

Tsuekasa

New Member
Surely the pressure levels are screen dependant. The. Pen does not transmit the pressure levels to the surface, the surface reads then from the pressure on the screen. So why would the sp4 pen change anything? Or am I missing g something? no way the pen can be responsible for pressure given the battery and the battery life.

True, I was just being optimistic hoping maybe the pressure sensitivity would be in the pen unlike Wacom. With Wacom and Ntrig being different in all (passive/active.)
 

psychoboogie

New Member
I have confirmed unfortunately that even with the new surface pen. The 1024 pressure is not present in the sp3. I brought my sp3 to a best buy where they had the display models and tested with Sketchbook Pro. It's still 256. So I guess the pressure sensitivity has something to do with the digitizer or the g5 chipset...Oh well..

my main question is how did the new stylus feel on the glass compared to the original?

the new pro 4 does feel more like writing on paper, but how about pro 4 pen with pro 3?
 

Johnny365

Member
It will work on SP3, but only as eraser and perhaps better ergonomics. The increase in pressure levels on the SP4 is due to the co-processor built into the digitizer, which you won't notice anything on the SP3 (obviously).
 

eric anderson

New Member
my main question is how did the new stylus feel on the glass compared to the original?

the new pro 4 does feel more like writing on paper, but how about pro 4 pen with pro 3?
I tried the sp4 pen on the sp3 glass last week. I only had a few strokes when the guy came over and started chatting me up. Then my wife and 2 year old came in with directions to bail :D
It feels good but i didnt get an opportunity to really put it through its paces or compare like i wanted. Would like to hear from others.
 
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