Separate from simple tap, swipe, and pinch actions on the screen, pen support requires a touch-capable screen. If sketching or handwritten note-taking are part of how you work, you'll want to investigate the pen options available in a given touch-screen laptop. Usually, it's just the 2-in-1s that will offer them. Stylus types range from a simple passive stick, which is essentially a more precise surrogate for your fingertip, to an active pen, which has a built-in battery and will have click buttons on the pen and possibly support for pressure sensitivity. Top of the line are true digital pens, which are active—meaning, they are powered by their own internal battery. Pens of this kind will include click buttons, pressure-sensitivity detection, angle detection, and possibly a digital "eraser" on the top. A prime example of the latter is Microsoft's Surface Pen we mentioned earlier, which works with the company's line of detachable laptops. If you go this route, also investigate the pen storage scheme. A laptop or convertible stylus is easy to lose in your bag or leave behind if it doesn't have a niche to tuck into. Some laptop and 2-in-1 makers employ a magnetic virtual "clip" that sticks the pen onto the side of the unit (the Surfaces are known for that), or in a few cases, provide a plastic bracket that may insert into a USB port. (Fortunately, we haven't seen one of those in a new model in a while.) Windows Ink, which was introduced in a 2016 update to Windows 10, can also be a compelling reason to investigate the stylus capabilities of a given touch-enabled laptop. With the introduction of Ink came support for Sticky Notes, Sketchpad, and Screen Sketch within the OS. With Sticky Notes, you can scrawl on virtual Post-It notes and have Cortana interpret relevant information from your scribbles, such as email addresses and phone numbers, and make them actionable. Sketchpad lets you do freeform drawing with basic tools, while Screen Sketch lets you annotate onscreen images freehand, great for UI designers, developers, or others who work with graphical elements that need feedback. Other pen-enabled apps appear in the Windows Ink Workspace, a pen-centric panel that you can pop up with an icon in your taskbar.