Universal Stylus Initiative Leads Active Stylus Non-Proprietary Category
WAKEFIELD, MA. – September 8, 2022 – The Universal Stylus Initiative (USI) announced today that recently published market share research from IMARC Group predicts the global stylus market reaching $23.95 billion by 2027 and USI maintaining its leadership position in the non-proprietary active stylus category which accounts for a 27% share of the total stylus pen market.
“USI is well-positioned for growth with Google Chromebook using the USI 2.0 active stylus specification. In addition, USI members Lenovo, HP and Dell, Inc., account for over 60 percent of the global PC market,” said Harpreet Singh, senior consultant, IMARC Group. “The availability of captivating features such as the ability to deliver a consistent stylus user experience across multiple platforms is a significant factor anticipated to boost USI market growth in the coming years.”
In 2021, tablets dominated the global stylus pen market accounting for 56.13% of the total global market. Tablets were followed by smart phones (25.58%) and interactive whiteboards (18.28%).
A non-proprietary stylus is an open, standard, active stylus solution allowing a single stylus to be used seamlessly on multiple touch-enabled devices. A proprietary stylus is “tethered” to a single specific device and can only work with that device.
“USI is the global non-proprietary active stylus leader and the data is showing that this category is growing fast,” said Peter Mueller, chairman, USI. “The trend is for USI members to adopt and standardize on the open USI 2.0 specification rather than developing their own technology. The USI Certification Program is tracking this growth and provides a way for USI members to measure compliance and ensure interoperability with the USI 2.0 specification.”
About USI 2.0: Open, Non-proprietary Active Stylus Specification
USI 2.0 replaces propriety approaches with a single solution allowing a stylus to be used across a wide range of touch-enabled devices, including phones, tablets, computing and entertainment platforms. It defines a standard signaling mechanism and communication protocol between a stylus and a touch-enabled device. It features a robust two-way protocol designed from the ground up to support a rich set of base features as well as extensibility for per-vendor customization and future usages. Wireless charging and improved in-cell support are the latest additions to the USI specification.
Users will be able to use a single USI stylus across all of their USI-enabled devices and any USI stylus shipped with devices will work with other USI-enabled devices, even those from different manufacturers. An additional benefit of the USI standard is the ability to deliver a consistent stylus user experience across platforms. This consistency and ease-of-use, coupled with interoperability, increases the consumer appeal of an active stylus and is helping proliferate the technology. For more information or to join USI: https://universalstylus.org/membership-benefits/.
About Universal Stylus Initiative
USI is a global, not-for-profit technology trade association whose mission is to define industry-wide standards for interoperable communication between an active stylus and touch-enabled devices. The USI specification provides for a stylus capable of communicating with different touch sensors and touch controller integrated circuits, so that users can employ the same stylus across numerous touch-enabled devices if each device’s touch controller is compliant with the USI specification.