Astropad’s Rock, Paper, Pencil 2 Review

Reading Time: 6 minutes.

I love the iPad mini. Few other devices have become such a core part of how I operate than my iPad mini. My mechanical keyboards, my trackball mouse, and my iPad mini, my office must-haves. I write my notes, my findings, my plans, all of it gets written in a note in Notability. I have even started doing some sketches in my iPad mini to make a point about making art instead of getting AI to do it.

Before my iPad, I was putting pen and pencil to paper, and I never could get used to the feeling of the Apple Pencil on the iPad glass. It is just a bad feeling. I found Paperlike and fell in love. It’s not perfect, but it’s far better than writing on the surface of the iPad. However, my last Paperlike screen protector had begun to wear down too quickly. It was already feeling smooth just a few months into use. I had been working on a lot of greenfield projects, both at work and in my own time, so I had been planning and writing more than usual, but it still was a short time to go from brand new screen protector to worn out. I decided it was time to try something new.

Rock, Paper, Pencil, by Astropad, is a different kind of textured screen protector. It’s removable. On top of that, you pair its thick and extra rough texture with an Apple Pencil nib with a metal tip. Combining the two makes for the best paper-feel experience on the iPad I’ve experienced. It made me drop the idea of a non-iPad writing tablet. However, it’s far from perfect. In fact, I can’t help but wonder how they messed this up so badly.

Note: All the screenshots on the iPads are from the PS5 version of Horizon: Forbidden West

What It Is

Astropad has been around to serve the iPad for a long time. Before you could use your iPad as a monitor as a feature of macOS and iOS, you could just use one of Astropad’s Luna Display dongles, which would let you use your Mac as a monitor or your iPad as one. It’s still a handy tool, and even works with Windows. They also have their Darkboard, a drawing stand for the iPad, and Slate, which turns your iPad into a drawing tablet for your Mac.

Astropad’s commitment to the iPad as a tool didn’t stop at the device’s capabilities either. They introduced the “Rock, Paper, Pencil” accessory some time ago. This was their second version. The first version was bulky, using magnets to secure itself to your display. This one uses a slimmer and still reusable “NanoCling.” Strips on the side of the screen protector give it a reusable grip, similar to suction cups, except very small. It’s a secure fit, and hasn’t slipped loose on me once.

The screen protector goes directly on the screen, not over another screen protector, so take anything off you were using. After that, it adds a dense plastic layer and a new rough texture to your screen. That’s what the product’s for, making your iPad feel less like a slab of glass that’s difficult to write and draw on, and more like a piece of paper. With the metal-tipped Apple Pencil nibs the kit comes with, the illusion is surprisingly good.

Texture Feel

I’m sorry, Paperlike. I love your product, I do! But this is a paper-like feel. This is what I expect my tablet to feel like when it’s made for writing. There’s this feeling of it being made for writing, for interaction, not just looking at it. A roughness with just a hint of flexibility, just a bit softer than glass. With the Paperlike, you feel like you’re using something a bit rubbery, made to slow your Apple Pencil down to feel similar to the friction you feel with actual paper. I actually find I need to break it in for a week or so before I like the feel of the new Paperlike screen protectors. But the Rock, Paper, Pencil feels like a solution made to turn your iPad into a device that’s actually made for the Apple Pencil. Seriously, Apple, why can’t we get an iPad made for the Apple Pencil?

While you’re writing with this, you can flow over the screen, writing as fast yet accurately as you can with paper. I found that even my more jagged scribbles were just a little more readable thanks to the increase in friction adding pen control. It’s like writing on paper with a fountain pen, it’s the perfect sensation.

This is far more matte than Paperlike or other textured screen protectors. That makes everything about writing from the feel to even the sound so much better. But it’s not without drawbacks.

Display Clarity

The Paperlike was designed to reduce drawbacks. The texture isn’t perfect, but that’s because it’s a screen protector you leave on all the time. You need to be able to see your screen through it with minimal light dispersion. It does this incredibly well. It’s a jack of all trades, master of none. It’s passable though, and has been something I purchased for all my iPads in the past.

Then there’s the Rock, Paper, Pencil. This feels incredible, but looks terrible. This refracts so much light that, at some angles, you can see a rainbow-like sheen in between the glass and protector. It blocks so much light that black pixels look gray. It reduces contrast a shocking degree. Any drawings you use this for would require you take the Rock, Paper, Pencil screen protector off to finish the colors, because they’re muted and washed out with this on. Your display gets far worse with this screen protector, there’s no changing that. You can take it off, but then, where do you put it for safe storage? You need some kind of plastic envelope, and you’ll need to clean off your screen and your protector before you put it back on. It’s not as temperamental as an adhesive screen protector, but it’s not as easy as removing it and sticking it to the back of your iPad folio or on a desk somewhere.

That’s not a reason to avoid the Rock, Paper, Pencil. After all, I am just writing notes and occasionally drawing scary robots for articles about AI. I mostly am looking at a black background with white text, and the drop in contrast is fine, because it’s just writing and some light sketching. For my use, the terrible display properties aren’t as important as how good it feels to write on this.

If not for the fact that the writing gets worse with time, it would have been perfectly fine for me.

Two Months with Rock, Paper, Pencil

If the wrap-up was just, “Feels great, looks bad,” it would be a solid review for a few hours of use. But I used this for weeks, months, even. So there’s something else I have to bring up: this thing is a mess.

First, the biggest redesign for the second version is a harder pencil nib. They should have tried harder. The tip has a palladium coating and copper-alloy core. I noticed that, after using my first tip for a few weeks, it was getting scratchier. As I was writing, it tended to get into grooves, like it was stuck and being pulled along a certain way. What happened? The metal or coating wore down enough, flattening out and creating a sharp edge. That edge gouged the screen protector. As I replaced the tips, I noticed that they began getting scratchy after just a few days. I tried third party metal tips that also felt fine for the first day or two, then quickly became scratchy. My best solution was a nice third party one with a slightly thicker “ballpoint” tip, so that it would be less likely to wear down, but even that one eventually became scratchy. This screen protector is like sandpaper, and these pen tips can’t keep up.

Outside of that, you have the fact that it’s a plastic sheet being scratched up by metal tips. It, too, will get covered in scratches. Use a nib too long, and it can get deep grooves cut into it from that sharp edge. I learned that the hard way during the first few weeks.

I would love to experiment with actual ball points, something that doesn’t always give the same edge to the screen so it doesn’t get such a flat spot. However, as designed, with the Rock, Paper, and Pencil, this feels like a prototype product. It’s a fantastic idea, and works great for the first week or two, but quickly becomes a bad product. Astropad needs to go back to the drawing board with this. Or, perhaps the darkboard.

The thing is, I may still keep using it! Sure, it turns my metal nibs to jagged trash quickly. But I just can’t get over how much better it feels than anything else. My plan is to go back to a Paperlike screen protector after I’ve worn through the last of my metal nibs. I’m sure they’ll take me back.

If not for the complete lack of durability with Astropad’s writing and drawing tool, I’d love it. I’d praise it and use it forever. But it just wears out too quickly, and I can’t recommend something that will be worn out in just a few weeks of use. I love the feel, hate how fragile it is. Maybe the next version will finally fix their issues. Third time’s the charm?

If you want to try it out for yourself, despite my advice, you can get it from Astropad’s website. All versions are $39.99.