Pressure-sensitive, Digital Pens Review

As a long-time Mac user, I gravitated to the two iPad Pros out of our test devices. Designed with the typical Mac aluminium case and black-framed screen, the two tablets look different than most tablets and are more eye-catching than the rest of our test devices. The two iPad Pros certainly win out on aesthetics and would suit the poser in the coffee house or at client meetings, although there is a price premium for Apple fetishists.

At first glance, both iPads look typically composed and practical, but after just a few minutes use I found my first limitation; no functional USB input. As someone who is not that tech-savvy, I have been storing my data externally on a hard drive for as long as I can remember, so the cloud is somewhat of a foreign word to me as I imagine it is for many other people too. Hence, I found myself at an impasse before I made my first brushstroke. Should I work on a device from which I have to email all my work to then transfer it to an external drive from another computer? I am already accustomed to the often unnecessary obfuscations of Apple products, but despite my exposure to them I can still get a little critical, so on to turning on the device.

The iPad is ready to use in no time and functions like an iPhone, which is something of a safe haven; I admit I am a creature of habit. Should I start by heading to settings or immediately activate the Apple Pencil and start drawing? My primal instinct won, and I tapped my finger on the display to open Notes; my fingerprint on a glass surface, the first of many I suspect.

Are my expectations of Apple too high? With the older iPad Pro 12.9 (2017) certainly as its slight misalignment of the stroke with the Apple Pencil feels striking. This does not apply to the new iPad though. While this drawback of the first iPad is relatively short-lived, it leaves a bitter aftertaste, nonetheless. The Apple Pencil has great pressure sensitivity and feels intuitive; the more I strain the pen, the thicker its stroke becomes. Likewise, when I relax my grip the lines become finer, and I can even create a reasonably acceptable dot work with my first attempt, such is the accuracy of the Apple Pencil. If the Pencil runs out of battery power, then you simply plug it into the charging port and wait a few minutes before starting up again. Somewhat unfamiliar to me is the surface of the iPad though even after repeated attempts at drawing; painting on glass is a feeling unto itself.

Apple has attempted to rectify the mistakes of the iPad Pro 12.9 (2017) with the iPad Pro 11 (2018, Wi-Fi, 64 GB), which it achieves in my opinion, particularly in the behaviour of the new Apple Pencil. Nevertheless, I will probably hardly implement the iPad in professional projects, but there remains a hitherto unreported issue for which Apple can do nothing, but it is essential for any creative, nonetheless. At the time of writing, there are still no full versions of Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, which are crucial to many a creative’s workflow. At least Photoshop should arrive sometime this year though.

There is still a question of size with the 11-inch version of the iPad Pro for me. It restricts me too much and is something that I would struggle to get used to.

When one talks about digital artistry, Wacom is one of the first names that comes to mind. I was recommended this device during my studies, and now, 10 years later, I sit with the standard and the luxury versions for this report. In short, the Wacom MobileStudio is a Windows tablet and drawing tablet with its own screen, while the Intuos Pro is a pure drawing surface that you connect to a PC or Mac.

The first thing I noticed with both devices compared to any of our other test devices is their drawing surfaces, which feel the most like paper. It is best to compare it to painting on uncoated and coated paper; the Wacom is definitely bleached wood-free. A pleasant surface combines with a wonderfully balanced pen to deliver a flawless transmission of my stroke onto the tablet.

In short, the Wacom tablets make digital painting feel fun. I initially tried sketching in Adobe Illustrator and later switched to Photoshop, which were both pleasing experiences to work in and without affecting my workflow. There is nothing to complain about either tablet except that their size makes them unsuitable for painting on the go, particularly compared to the other test tablets, which are considerably smaller, thinner and lighter. The constant fan noise is rather frustrating though, and the image quality is worse than on the iPad Pros. Both Wacom tablets feel more stable on a table or a flat surface than any other tablet that we tested.

There is no need to transfer files from the Wacom Intuos Pro to a computer too as it is already connected. I found it easiest to work in the mouse mode rather than the pen mode, but I still need to practice, practice, practice until I can draw without looking at my hand as I do so. That is fine though; it will just take a while until I feel acclimatised.

Finally, and briefly, we have the small Topjoy Falcon Convertible, which feels like painting on A6 paper with its foldable keyboard. Unfortunately, while its affordable pricing may tempt some people, it is unsuitable for creatives. Its screen is too small, while its included pen is inaccurate and its responsiveness leaves something to be desired. In short, the Topjoy Falcon is good enough for note-taking but little else.