Wacom Hi-uni DIGITAL stylus - Noris alternative

Looks like Wacom came out with their own version of the Noris called the Hi-uni DIGITAL:





More shots of the pen from a Japanese review:


Interestingly, Wacom even made a set of companion pencil brushes for ClipStudio Paint:



They look to be really pushing the 'analog drawing feel', which is nice. And they even published several shorter promo vids, showing the featured usecases in a bit more detail:





Overall, very impressed with the effort they are putting into marketing a simple stylus. Looks like Wacom really has refocused their direction towards their strength: tried-and-true, EMR drawing.

Since it's marketed specifically for the Wacom One, it should be UD EMR and compatible on Samsung S-Pen devices, EMR tablet PCs like the ConceptD 7 Ezel, and the latest crop EMR-equipped eReaders (Boox Note Air, SuperNote A6X, Remarkable 2).

It seems to be Japan-exclusive for now, priced at￥3,960 from the Wacom.jp store. However, international buyers can order it from Amazon.jp for slight discount at ￥3,600 + shipping.

All-in-all, a very nice Noris alternative, just as the old favourite is becoming much harder to find for us EMR lovers.

 

eraser?

 

I believe is tip only, like the OG Noris. It seems the design they were going for was near-exact reproduction of a Mitsubishi Hi-Uni pencil:



The article even contained this interesting tidbit about the material and dimension:

(translated)
"...the main material surrounding the digital core is made of the same wood as Hi-uni pencils. The painting and the sense of size are almost the same, but since there are many creators who start using it after sharpening the tip of the pencil too much, the pencil shaft is a little shorter length."

Pretty awesome they are using real wood instead of wood-plastic.

Also found two more promotion pages with short artist interviews, here and here.



Gotta say, I'm surprised at just how much of a marketing push Wacom is making towards independent illustrators in Japan.

They even maintain a list of every location and each Wacom tablet model carried by various department stores across Japan (with a note for locations doing live demos, like the Akiba Yodobashi Camera):

https://tablet.wacom.co.jp/shoplist/search.php?products[]=18

This kind of thing is very hit-or-miss usually if you're just shopping around for a hands-on experience with a particular device, so this is super helpful for artists; Wacom really stepping up its game. (Maybe because of Chinese tablet competition? )

 

that's a sexy pencil! I want one, I wonder if there will be a America's and EU launch for it eventually.
I always wondere/wished if Wacom would team up with Blackwing pencils for an extra sexy crossover! They are by far my favorite drawing pencil (I know I'm not exactly being original here).

 

How can a classic be unoriginal?

I can still remember using Blackwing pencils when I was young, and was sad when they disappeared from the market, and glad to see them come back.