

The 2021 refresh of the iPad Pro 12.9-inch comes with the M1 processing chip, which was previously only found in Macs. Like a Mario Kart player who's so effortlessly crushing the competition they start doing donuts in front of the finish line, the firm's flagship tablet is simply miles ahead of the rest, and as such it comes with quite a price tag. But let's not get carried away here: in practical terms, 60Hz is more than enough, and the iPad Air 2022 is still one of the smoothest drawing experiences you can get right now – plus, you can watch Netflix on it when you're done drawing, which is not something you can do on a Wacom.Īpple is basically just showing off now.

Put the two tablets side by side with an Apple Pencil 2 and the different refresh rates will mean that you will notice the difference in terms of latency. The Pro also provides a much smoother refresh rate of 120hz rather than 60hz (more on all this very shortly), but it's also a significantly pricier proposition. Granted, the iPad Pro provides a superior display, with 600nits of brightness on the 11-inch version or a whopping 1,000 nits for the flagship 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It's got comprehensive colour support and even backlighting, with a maximum brightness of 500 nits. When we reviewed the Apple iPad Air (5th Gen, 2022), we found its display to be simply superb, with its a 2360x1640 IPS LCD panel that delivers 264 pixels per inch for excellent detail. This refresh of a popular iPad line boasts super-fast and super-smooth performance thanks to its new chip architecture, and the fact that you get Apple Pencil 2 compatibility means it's also one of the best drawing tablets. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider other tablets, it’s just something to bear in mind.įind out more with our Wacom Cintiq 22 review.Īpple has been hard at work over the past couple of years updating all of its products with its in-house M1 processing chips – and now it's the turn of the iPad Air. It just works really, really well.Īn advantage of Wacom tablets for students and those looking to break into digital art professionally is that it’s pretty much the industry standard, so learning to use one is a very good step to take. Wacom has been in this game a long time, and it’s hard to imagine an artist with any complaints about the Pro Pen 2.

Plus, it’s got Wacom’s ace in the hole – the Wacom Pro Pen 2, which boasts 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, as well as tilt sensitivity. And let's not forget that plenty of tablets, Xencelabs' included, don't have a screen at all. You can get sharper screens on other Wacom tablets, but they tend to cost more, and this model is all about bringing Wacom quality with an affordable price tag.
#Mac draw with mousepad full
It’s got Full HD resolution – not as many pixels as some newer, flashier tablets, but is more than enough for most people. With a 22-inch display, this is a serious tablet with a lot of room to play. As such, you’d still expect to see Wacom well represented on any list of the best drawing tablets, and one of its most popular models among artists is the Cintiq 22. For a long time, the company was pretty much the only serious name in drawing tablets, and it’s only recently that rivals have started to catch up. In any conversation about digital art, Wacom is going to feature heavily. Looking for more options? We also have a dedicated guide to the best tablets for students and the best drawing tablets for kids. Whichever type of tablet you go with, you can be sure that any product on this list has been reviewed, tested and recommended by our team. As such, they're well represented on our list. However, it's also worth considering mainstream tablets like iPads or Microsoft Surfaces, as these have advanced to the point where they're some of the most sophisticated tools artists can buy. We've made sure all the major tablet brands are represented here: so you'll see Wacom, Huion, XP-Pen and Xencelabs. These include graphics tablets, pen displays and tablet computers – if you aren't sure what these terms mean, you can scroll to the bottom of this page where we've put together a quick jargon-busting explainer of what the technical terms mean. We've made selections from all the varieties of drawing tablet. In this guide, we tested a range of tablets to pick out the absolute best drawing tablets you can buy right now.
