Creating 3D art in VR is already one of the most useful things Meta’s Quest headsets can do. A new Logitech stylus, the MX Ink, should make that process even more useful. The $130 wireless peripheral is the Quest’s first official stylus accessory, and it’s arriving this fall to time with Meta’s Connect developer conference in late September.
The MX Ink looks like a chunky black pen, but with buttons on the sides and a replaceable nib. The wireless stylus is fully spatially trackable, allowing for complete full-motion 6DoF (degrees of freedom) work like Meta’s Quest controllers. The stylus also has its own haptics, and a pressure-sensitive tip for work on 2D surfaces. According to Logitech, the haptics also simulate the feel of drawing on different types of surface materials. An included “inkwell” base stores the stylus when not in use.
Logitech had a previous VR stylus it made back in 2019, but that one needed PC headsets and special external trackers to work. The MX Ink can connect with self-contained Quest headsets on the go.
The Logitech stylus is made to work alongside a controller at the same time.
Drawing and sculpting in VR and AR are already possible in Quest headsets using the included controllers, or with hand tracking. The stylus’ added haptics and pressure sensitivity could make it a lot more useful for artists, though, and it will also work as a third paired device while both controllers are still working: You could swap between controllers and stylus, or use one in each hand. It’s also compatible with a number of existing Quest apps: Adobe Substance Modeler, Gravity Sketch, PaintingVR, Arkio, Engage. OpenBrush, GestureVR, ShapesXR, and Elucis by RealizeMedical.
The MX Ink works with the Quest 2 and Quest 3, as well as “future headsets” per Logitech’s press release. Meta is expected to release a more affordable version of its Quest 3 mixed reality-capable VR headset in the fall, possibly at the same time as this stylus. At $130, it’s practically the same price as Apple’s Pencil Pro, but unlike the Pencil Pro, this actually works as as 3D tool in mixed reality. Maybe Apple will make its own in this space eventually, but for now, Logitech and Meta are in the lead for XR art peripherals.
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