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This video is sponsored by Squarespace. I really like 16-inch tablets. It is one of my favorite sizes, and XP Pen has a new one out, so let's check it out.
Hello, my name is Brad. I review tech for creative professionals. And while this new XP Pen tablet is not cheap, I still consider it affordable. And they've packed in some cool little features here, which I think put it like a little bit above some of the just entry-level offerings. Let's take a look at what comes in this box.
We have the tablet itself, which is 16 inches, and it is a 2.5K display. That is 2,560 pixels by 1,600 pixels, and I do really like this because once you get up to 16 inches, you want something that's better than 1080p. You don't necessarily want to see pixels. Like all of XP Pen's devices, it's a laminated display, so there's no space between the glass and the screen below it. It also cuts way down on parallax, which is where your pen tip is offset from where your cursor is. And it's got some really good viewing angles, and it also has a really good color range.
Also included in the box is the pen, and it comes in this nice pen holder. And you can see here they've also added some extra nibs. Those gray nibs there are felt tip nibs, which add a little bit more texture when you're drawing on this textured screen.
We also have this little shortcut remote. There are no shortcut keys along the face of the device like you find on many XP Pen or Huion devices nowadays. Instead, they just include this remote control, which works fine. You know, it's got this little spinny wheel that clicks while you turn it. That's nice for zooming in and out or adjusting your brush size. All of these keys on there are completely customizable. They're they're fine, they're clicky. This doesn't feel like super premium, but it's a nice little addition. It's also wireless.
Inside the pen case, you're going to find the little adapter. That's a USB Type-A adapter, so you might need, you know, a dongle or something like that if you only have USB Type-C ports on your computer.
It also comes with cables. There is a USB Type-C cable, and that's all I need to power this thing, which is really nice. It does come with a secondary cable for example, if your USB Type-C port on your computer can't draw enough power to power the tablet, you're going to also have to plug this in using the power adapter that's included in here as well. This does not come with an HDMI cable or anything like that. You can connect it that way, but you're going to have to go to XP Pen and buy that three-in-one combo cable they used to include with all their devices separately.
The overall look and feel of this tablet is really nice. It's got these nice roundy squared-off edges. It's kind of got this brushed aluminum feel to the whole thing. Along the back, there are some feet that fold in and out, so you don't necessarily need a stand. I really like the angle that this puts the tablet at naturally. If you want it at a steeper angle or something like that, or if you want to use this as a secondary monitor that you set up at a 90-degree angle, you're going to have to invest in a stand of some kind. But just out of the box, I I thought the feet worked well. This is something that Wacom invented with their tablets a few years ago, and other people have been borrowing from them. And I don't know why Wacom's not been putting them on their tablets lately. It seems like a nice addition if you're not going to put a stand on the box. I like it.
They've also included a nice little slope along the front of the tablet. This is where your palms tend to rest when you're drawing a lot. So just having a nice soft smooth surface for your hand to glide across and not accidentally bump against that either moves the tablet or just, you know, kind of catches your hand while you're moving. This is a nice touch and it's thoughtful.
But let's get to the meat and potatoes of this thing. We got to talk about drawing. Before we do, I want to shout out our sponsor, Squarespace. Squarespace is where I host my website. This is where you can learn more about my courses or find out where I rank this tablet on my list of favorite drawing tablets.
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Alright, so let's talk about this pen. One of the big selling points to this pen is how many levels of pressure sensitivity it has. This thing goes all the way up to 16,000 levels of pressure. That is a lot. That's also overkill, but you know, if you can put it in your pen, you might as well.
This is also an incredibly well-weighted pen. It doesn't feel too light, it doesn't feel like all the weight is in the front or all the weight is in the back. It just feels really good. It's also completely battery-free. This is pretty standard in most Huion, Wacom, XP Pen pens anymore, but it's worth mentioning if you're kind of new to this. The top of the pen flares out a little bit, giving you some nice grip. In fact, the grip is kind of rubbery. One of the nice things about the rubber that they're using on these things now is it doesn't collect lint and dirt the way they used to. That's just a little thing, but it keeps your pen looking nice and crisp a lot longer.
Also on the back is a little eraser. This is also pressure-sensitive like the tip of the pen. So if you like that sort of thing in your pen, not something I ever use, but a lot of people love it, it's good to have it there. And of course, the two side buttons. There where you can go in and adjust them, customize them a little bit.
Apart from the levels of pressure, which I don't think matter too much, I really like how the pen performs here. XP Pen has done some adjustments to their screen. I think what they've done is they've used a different texture coating on it, which cuts down on the space between the pen and the sensors, which also cuts down on the amount of wiggle that the pen has when you're drawing slow angled lines, which for me in my line art is really, really nice. This is now on par with some of the things that Huion's been doing the last few years. So it's really nice to see XP Pen kind of just raise their game a little bit and really come through on that.
The other thing that Huion does talk a lot about in their marketing material is how good that initial activation rate is in their pen, and I would agree with that. I think the initial activation rate in these pens is fantastic. It's probably on par with what Wacom's doing. It's probably it's maybe a little better than what Huion's doing. It's kind of at the point where when you increase that number, kind of like the levels of pressure, you don't really notice the increases anymore because it was pretty good before. But again, if you can include it in your pen, you might as well.
Another thing worth noting about this tablet is if you're thinking, "Hey, I want to use this on my Android phone, is that something I can do?" Yeah, you totally can. I think as a bonus, like if you're plugging this into a Windows or a Mac computer and using it that way, and you're thinking, "Hey, occasionally I might want to use it with my Android phone," it's fine for that. It it works okay. One of the problems with using a tablet like this on an Android phone is that all of those apps are designed for touch, and this is not a touchscreen. So it gets a little bit wonky where you're pinching and zooming on your phone and then you're drawing on the tablet. I just don't think the apps are really optimized for an interface like this.
So what do I think about this tablet in general? I think it's pretty darn good. You know, when you're looking at something in this price range, you're getting up above that entry level, and some of the extra things they've added, specifically that higher resolution screen, that sort of thing really matters and really makes this tablet a step above and makes it worth the extra $200 you're gonna pay for this as opposed to their non-Pro version of this tablet.
It's also worth pointing out that Huion has something that is pretty much identical to this at about the same price. How does it compare to that? I think they're pretty much the same. I think you could really flip a coin and decide, "Hey, which one do you want to get? Which one do you want to go with?" Either way is a win. XP Pen has a nicer case. XP Pen has the fold-out feet. Huion has a slightly better remote. But then again, this is all really tiny little details. I think they're both fine.
But what do you think? Let me know down below in the comments. Thank you all for coming, and I'll talk to you in a couple of days.
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Ha.
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