Written by: Jin Fujisaki / Published: 2026-02-18
Many people can't stand the "tap-tap" sound of the Apple Pencil hitting glass. The moment you pick up the "Neo smartpen M1+", you'll be amazed. It weighs only around 17g. In appearance, thickness, and writing feel, it's exactly like an ordinary ballpoint pen you'd find at any stationery store.
But hidden inside the tip is a tiny optical camera. Simply removing the cap automatically powers it on (auto-on feature), and as you scribble away on paper, every stroke is saved as digital data. The refill uses the universal "D1 standard (4C standard)," meaning you can use replacement cartridges from Zebra or Mitsubishi Pencil. In other words, when the ink runs out, you can buy more at any convenience store. This is why it continues to be loved as a "stationery item" rather than a gadget.
| Invisible Dots on Special Notebooks Turn Strokes Into Data
image Kakaku.com
The pen's partner is a special notebook printed with microscopic dots called "Ncode." At first glance, it looks like ordinary paper, but the camera in the pen tip reads this dot pattern, recognizing exactly "where on the page" you're writing "what" — down to the coordinate level.
You don't need to keep the app open. Even if you fill up an entire notebook offline, everything is stored in the pen's internal memory. The moment you later sync with your smartphone, your handwritten text and illustrations are reproduced on screen as if you had written them directly on the device — and no matter how many times you witness it, it gives you goosebumps. "I don't want to touch my phone during meetings, but I want my minutes saved digitally." This is the only solution that grants such selfish wishes of the modern businessperson.
| Write in Your Planner, and It Appears in Google Calendar
image Neo Smartpen
The true brilliance of this pen lies in its integration with the "N planner." Write "13:00 Meeting" in the date field of your paper planner, and that text is recognized and automatically registered as an appointment at the corresponding date and time in Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar on your smartphone.
Just by writing on paper, your cloud calendar fills itself up. The age-old headache of "having to write in both my planner and my phone" is solved by technology. The readability of paper combined with the reminder functionality of digital — this is the only pen in the world that lets you have the best of both.
| Scribbles Become "Text." The Evolution of OCR Accuracy
image Neo Smartpen
"Handwritten text is inconvenient because you can't search it." That's a thing of the past. The OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature in the Neo Studio app has evolved dramatically thanks to 2026's AI technology.
Even messy, hastily scribbled notes are converted into text data with astonishing accuracy. You can also tag and search them. When you find yourself wondering, "Where did I write that idea?" — just search by keyword, and the relevant notebook page appears instantly. You retain the analog "feel of writing" while gaining digital "searchability." As a tool for getting thoughts out of your brain, nothing else comes close.
| Conclusion: Sell Your iPad, Buy a Notebook
image BESTITEM
The price is around 15,000 yen. Expensive for a ballpoint pen, but far cheaper than buying an iPad and Apple Pencil. And above all, paper doesn't send you "notifications."
Time spent facing a blank sheet of paper, undisturbed by social media pop-ups, deepening your thoughts. The Neo smartpen M1+ preserves that precious process as a digital asset, making it the gentlest prescription for modern people chasing efficiency. And don't worry if you forget to charge it. When that happens, you can simply use it as the "easy-writing ballpoint pen" it already is.
