PN579X pen compatibility with XPS 9560

Welcome to the Dell Community  @Bloccato 

Dell Premium Active Pen (PN579X)

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/accessories/apd/750-abeb

This product is compatible with the following systems:

• XPS 12 (9250)
• Latitude 7275
• Latitude 11 (5175)
• Latitude 11 (5179)
• Inspiron 13 5000 Series (5378)
• Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5578)
• XPS 9365 2-in-1
• Latitude 3189
• Latitude 5285 2-in-1
• Latitude 5289 2-in-1
• Latitude 7389 2-in-1
• Inspiron 13 7000 Series (7373)
• Inspiron 15 7000 Series (7573)
• Inspiron 13 7000 Series (7370)
• Inspiron 15 7000 Series (7570)
• Latitude 7390 2-in-1
• Latitude 5290 2-in-1
• Latitude 3390 2-in-1
• Inspiron 15 7000 Series (7579)
• XPS 15 (9575)
• Latitude 11 (3190 2-in-1)
• Inspiron 13 7000 Series (7378)
• Inspiron 13R 5379
• Inspiron 15R 5579
• Inspiron 13 7000 Series (7386)
• Inspiron 15 7000 Series (7586)
• Inspiron 14 5000 Series (5482)
• Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5580)
• Precision 5530 2-in-1

Best regards,

U2

@Bloccatoso, does the active pen PN579X work or not with XPS 9560?

I just bought PN579X and I paired it with my XPS 9560 but it seems I cannot use it on the touch screen... No ink on the screen whatsoever... Could you help me? Thank you!

The 9560 is a touchscreen system.  It is not a tablet style system with a digitizing display.  So - it will not support an active pen.

The model that supports a pressure-sensitive pen is the XPS 9575.

Yes, it seems random how some touch-screen computers (mostly laptops) support the Active Pens and some don't. A cheap Inspiron does, while a newer XPS does not.

Pretty sure, what is happening here is (either or both):

a. All these "extra layers" mess with the panel's performance (clarity, colors, brightness, etc.). If layers/devices are slightly mis-matched, it decreases performance and causes abnormalities (I have observed this in person on a few/certain entry-level laptop models). It would be a step backwards (for a rarely used feature).

b. The other thing could be, is cost of the layers/devices. Most people buy mainly on price, and they like "cheap and good enough". 

I thought artists use Wacom ? Also seen them using Microsoft Surface-Pro devices. And if you haven't used a recent iPad (or any iPad-Pro) with an Apple Pencil ... I would suggest you at least try it (it's pretty sweet).

EDITED

If you go back through that list, one reason is the cost of the screen.  The active pen Inspirons tend to be a few hundred dollars more than an equivalent base model - and note in that list, there aren't many 15" systems.  The larger the panel, the more it costs.

The 15" Inspiron active display models are a select few - and I suspect that the cost of the screen is more easily offset with a system built largely of cheap plastic than metal and carbon fiber.

The most irritating thing about Dell's implementation is just how hard (among the Inspiron models) it is to figure out what does and doesn't support an active pen.  Two seemingly very similar models with the same number are differentiated only by whether or not the system comes with an active pen sticker on the touchpad.  Only with the XPS models is it easy to tell (because those models with active displays have different model numbers, so far all ending in 5 -- vs the touchscreen models with 0).