quill color picking stylus review

The Quill Digital Stylus can Sample Colors from the Real World

If you’ve ever tried creating digital art with apps like Photoshop or Procreate, you’re probably familiar with the eyedropper tool. This simple function allows you to pull colors from anywhere on screen and immediately use them for drawing, writing or other creative purposes.

It’s an invaluable tool and a huge time saver compared to sorting through tens of millions of digital color choices.

Now imagine if you could take the eyedropper tool beyond the artificial canvas of the screen and into the real world…

That’s exactly the idea behind Quill, a revolutionary digital stylus that scans physical objects and captures their unique colors.

Quill brings the world to your palette

Digital styluses are the interface between our hands and touchscreens, just like you see with iPads and the Apple Pencil. What makes the Quill unique is the built-in camera integrated into the back of the stylus. With one button you can instantly scan anything you can touch – plants, fabrics, toys and just about anything else provide over 16 million color possibilities.

The device analyzes the color and pulls it into its onboard memory, which can store up to 30,000 colors. Quill’s “Color Visualizer” shows an instant example of the most recent scan on a digital display along the side.

The stylus uses a universal capacitive nib that is recognized by pretty much any device with a touchscreen. The dedicated Quill app will be available for iOS devices, with an Android release planned later this year.

Qube Alexa-powered base

When the battery runs low on the stylus, you pop it into the included charging base called the Qube. Besides making the whole kit look like a colorful exclamation point, the Qube offers several features in its own right.

A built in Alexa smart speaker allows the Qube to answer questions, play music, order items and anything else Amazon has thought of.

How to back

The demand for a color picking stylus has proven to be quite strong, with Quill’s campaign reaching their $60k goal within a few days. Backers can currently pre-order the early bird bundle for $239, which includes the Quill and Qube in matte colors, plus the iOS app.

Rewards are estimated to deliver December 2022.