Recently-released Moto Z4 supports the Surface Pen

Jun 14, 2019 05:23 GMT  ·  By

If you’re in the market looking for a smartphone that works with a stylus, your options are incredibly limited, and most customers end up buying the Samsung Galaxy Note.

And while the Note itself is a monster in terms of software and hardware, it turns out there’s actually a cheaper alternative in the Android ecosystem, and it’s one that you may actually miss if you don’t inspect the spec sheet very closely.

The recently-launched Motorola Moto Z4 appears to be working like a charm with the Microsoft Surface Pen, which Microsoft didn’t build for smartphones, but for its own lineup of Surface 2-in-1s and laptops.

But as redditors discuss in this thread (via XDA), both the pressure sensitivity and the eraser button on the Surface Pen are supported on the Moto Z4, albeit the latter plays the role of a back button.

No confirmation from Motorola

Interestingly, Motorola hasn’t publicly announced support for the Microsoft Surface Pen, but some users came across a short reference mentioning “Stylus Compatible with Microsoft active pen protocol.”

That reference has since been removed by Motorola, and the reasons are not clear at this point, especially because support for the Surface Pen could make the phone itself even more compelling for buyers.

For now, however, stylus support on the Moto Z4 is something that is yet to be confirmed, but I expect the device to work smoothly not only with the Surface Pen, but also with other similar devices out there.

Is stylus support on this phone a feature that Motorola should make a big deal about? Without a doubt, yes, especially because there aren’t too many options in this limited market. But on the other hand, is a pen something that you truly need? Not really, but at the end of the day, it’s something that you’d rather have than… well, not have, especially if you have a Surface Pen around.