Universal Stylus Initiative

The Universal Stylus Initiative (USI) is a non-profit alliance of companies promoting a technical standard for interoperable active pen styluses on touchscreen devices such as phones, tablets, and computers.[1][2][3]

It defines a two-way communication protocol between the stylus and the computer and allows the stylus to remember user preferences for ink color and stroke. It support 9-axis inertial measurement.[4]

Products started coming to market in 2019 including one stylus and several Chromebooks from different manufacturers.[1] By 2019, there were over 30 members, including Google and 3M, but some major players like Apple and Microsoft had not joined.[4] As of 2022, the promoters include Google, Intel, Lenovo, Samsung, and Synaptics. Dell, Sharp, and Wacom are contributors.

While USI promotes itself as an open standard,[5] access to detailed specifications is restricted to paying members.[6]

History

USI was launched on April 23, 2015, by a group of prominent OEMs, stylus and touch controller manufacturers.

  • September 22, 2016: Release of the USI 1.0 Stylus and Device Specification
  • September 26, 2019: Announcement of the first 14 companies with products using the USI 1.0 Specification
  • June 10, 2020: Launch of the USI active stylus certification program
  • February 28, 2022: Release of USI Version 2.0 specification

Features

USI 1.0

  1. Two-way communication protocol
  2. Support for multiple simultaneous styluses on a single device
  3. Pressure sensitivity (up to 2048 levels in USI 1.0)
  4. Button presses and eraser functionality
  5. Tilt detection
  6. Supports a color palette of 256 colors

USI 2.0

  1. NFC wireless charging capability
  2. Support for in-cell display panels
  3. Expanded tilt functionality
  4. Enhanced color palette with 16 million colors.[7]
  5. Enhanced pressure sensitivity (up to 4096 levels)

Some reports suggests backwards-compatibility issues at least in some devices, with some USI 1.0 pens not working with screens that are certified USI 2.0 compatible.[8]

Certification process

According to the USI website, the certification process is from an end-user perspective and is a test of performance and interoperability. The website guarantees that the certification program offers:

Personal experience: Users can choose a product in a form factor that works for their convenience and still get all the features and functionality.

Predictable experience: All USI products will perform the same way.

Interoperability: Ensures that the USI-certified styluses will work on all devices.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Schoon, Ben (2020-05-12). "Hands on: Chrome OS works well w/ a USI stylus". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  2. ^ "Google and Amazon Release Tablets Supporting USI 2.0 Stylus |". 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  3. ^ "universalstylus.org". Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  4. ^ a b Ong, Thuy (2018-02-01). "Google and 3M have joined an initiative working toward an open standard for styluses". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  5. ^ "Research Shows Global Stylus Pen Market To Reach $24 Billion by 2027 |". 2022-09-08. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  6. ^ "Membership Benefits |". Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  7. ^ "The Universal Stylus Initiative Releases Version 2.0 Of Its Popular Active Stylus Specification |". 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
  8. ^ Porter, Jon (2022-06-15). "The new USI 2.0 standard for styluses isn't so universal after all". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-11-13.


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