Long gone are the days when a professional-level pen display would cost you an arm and a leg. Thanks to innovative Chinese manufacturers, including Huion, who started out making graphics tablets, you can pick up high-quality pen displays for impressively attractive prices. The Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3) is a 21.5-inch model that comes in at a price that surprises even me, and I’ve reviewed quite a few pen displays.

We’ll go into much more detail throughout the review, but what I can say now is that it’s easily the best drawing tablet and best tablets for photo editing and photographers based on specs and price alone. With its 2.5K resolution, a 137 PPI pixel density, and a pen with 16,384 pressure levels with 60 degrees of tilt recognition, the Kamvas 22 is snapping at the heels of higher-spec pen displays in some, but not all areas.

This is a pen display that works seamlessly with both Windows and macOS, offering an ergonomic design thanks to the adjustable stand on the back of the device. It’s also the perfect pen display for photographers, illustrators, 3D modelers, animators, video editors, and designers. The biggest drawback for some people, however, may be the size of the Kamvas 22. It’s not small and requires quite a lot of desk space, and it’s certainly nowhere near as portable as 12-inch models.

Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3): Specifications

Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3): Price

The Huion Kamvas 22 Gen 3 was released in early March 2026 and costs just $599 / £649 / AU$999. Sure, it’s not the cheapest available, but for such a large pen display, it’s incredibly well-priced and will naturally attract those looking for the largest drawing area/screen they can afford on a budget.

In the box you get an adjustable and detachable stand, a Battery-free Pen PW600L, a Pen Holder cables, a power supply and other accessories. A nice touch is the calibration report that shows you the results of the factory calibration of the Kamvas 22.

Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3): Design & Handling

There’s no getting away from the fact that as soon as you get into the region of 20 inches, pen displays become large beasts that will eat up as much desk space as they can. The Kamvas 22 is no exception in this regard, and you’ll need a full-size office desk or a large working area to accommodate it alongside your computer.

I appreciate that dimensions aren’t always the easiest to visualize, but this beast sits at 20.78x12.78x0.63–1.44in / 527.7x 324.7x16-36.7mm, with a weight of 3.6kg / 7.93lbs including the stand. So, not only will you need that large workspace, you’re unlikely to want to carry the Kamvas 22 around if you work in different locations. To be fair, this isn’t marketed as being a portable pen display.

The overall design is fairly minimalist, for which I have no complaints because it makes the Kamvas 22 fit seamlessly on any desk or in any environment. It simply looks and feels like a 21.5in monitor that you can lay flat or tilt back at a number of angles using the adjustable stand. The stand can also be removed to reveal a VESA-compatible mount, allowing you to attach the Kamvas 22 to monitor mounts attached to your desk.

On the back, you’ll also find a bay of connectors: power USB-C and HDMI. This is neatly covered by a back shell to keep cables and your workspace tidy, and is held in place magnetically. The Kamvas 22 will connect to Windows and macOS computers and works perfectly when the Huion driver is installed. You can use the USB-C cable to connect the pen display to your Mac or the HDMI cable to connect the pen display to your PC.

The next feature on the back is one you’ll either love or hate: ambient lighting that runs around the back in a rounded rectangle. The idea behind this is to create atmosphere and complement the workspace, but only you can be the judge of whether it’s useful or not. For me, it’s fine, but not something I’d want to have on if the work was color critical. For this, there are two modes: Monochrome Mode provides 12 colors, while Breathing Light Mode provides lighting effects.

Like other large huion pen displays, there’s a slot on the top of the device where you can attach the pen holder, which grips your pen securely and conveniently when not in use. Alternatively, you could use the included desktop pen stand. This also comes with 10 spare pen nibs inside and unscrews to reveal them. With these, it’s unlikely you’ll need further replacements for years to come.

Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3): Performance

I found photo and video editing using the Kamvas 22 comfortable and intuitive, and enjoyed working directly on images for greater precision. The use of a pen also feels much more natural than a mouse and reduces the risk of RSI. Use of the pen is smooth thanks to the 90Hz refresh rate of the screen and 16,384 pressure levels with up to 60-degrees of tilt recognition.

This also delivers a huge amount of pressure control, where lighter and harder strokes are thinner and thicker, respectively. This is, of course, alongside brush control within the software you’re using. The Battery-free Pen PW600L is comfortable to hold thanks to its size and silicone grip, plus there are three customizable buttons on the side. The pen uses Huion's PenTech 4.0, which is their latest pen technology and helps to provide a smooth drawing experience overall.

Moving on to the screen, which is undoubtedly the key area of a pen display, this offers a 2.5K resolution of 2560x1440px and a 18.72x10.53inches / 475.39x267.40mm that equates to a 21.5in screen size. This can display up to 16.7m colors (8-bit), while maximum brightness is 250 nits. The latter may not sound bright, and it’s not when you’re talking about a screen for outdoor use, but this is really for indoor use, so it’s perfect.

The screen itself is made of Canvas Glass 2.0 with anti-glare and anti-sparkle. This absolutely works because when photographing the Kamvas 22 under continuous lighting, the on-screen image remained visible. The screen also achieves color gamuts of 99% sRGB, 90% Adobe RGB, 94% Display P3, 99% Rec. 709, as well as having a black & white mode.

A higher level of Adobe RGB would be better for photography, but 90% is still pretty good for the cost of the device. It’s also factory calibrated, and is claimed to achieve an average color accuracy of ΔE < 1.2. The factory calibration report is included.

The Kamvas 22 doesn’t come with a Huion Keydial mini Bluetooth controller or Huion Keydial Remote, which are customizable button and dial controllers for accessing software tools and shortcuts. There are also no controls or buttons on the Kamvas 22, either, beyond the power button.

This naturally helps to keep the price down, but for me, I like using my keyboard to access shortcuts, so the absence of a wireless controller wasn't an issue. You can, of course, purchase one separately if you would like one.

Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3): Verdict

The Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3) sets a new benchmark for large entry-level pen displays and provides a pleasant surprise in terms of specs and performance. Built quality isn’t as good as higher-end Huion models, but it’s still pretty good and realistically expected at the attractive price point.

The on-screen image is clear and sharp, while the 8-bt color depth brings photos and illustrations to life. It would be much better if the color gamut of the screen were larger, but it’s still pretty good, not to mention it’s the largest pen display you’ll find at this price point. If you want big on a budget, this could be the pen display for you.

Alternatives

The Apple iPad Air is back with a powerful M4 silicon chip, more Unified Memory, a faster Neural Engine, and a boost in memory bandwidth, making it an extremely capable alternative to the iPad Pro M5 in terms of raw power, which will surely make it a more formidable machine for photo and video editing, especially for those more taxing tasks such as AI-powered tools, multi-layer composites, and high-resolution video. And indeed, Apple rates this latest iteration as 30-percent faster than the previous iPad Air M3 and an eye-watering 2.3x faster than the still capable iPad Air M1.

A huge draw for creatives is the iPad ecosystem’s exemplary image quality and color accuracy. As we’ve come to expect, the iPad Air M4 is available in 11- and 13-inch variants, both with an LED Liquid Retina display, complete with Apple’s True Tone, which adjusts the display according to ambient lighting. A P3 wide color gamut, for accurate color reproduction. And full lamination, which reduces glare, improves touch responsiveness, and increases image quality.

Both variants feature anti-reflective coatings and support for the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), however, the 11-inch iPad Air M4 emits 500 nits of brightness, while the 13-inch model emits 600 nits. Beneath that sleek aluminum exterior, you’ll find an 8-core CPU and 9-core GPU that supports Apple’s second-generation ray tracing mesh shading and ray tracing for a boost in graphical performance, with Apple citing 4x faster 3D pro rendering in comparison to the iPad Air M1.

The aforementioned boost in power also extends to AI performance. Unified memory has been boosted by 50 percent, equalling the 12GB present on standard iPad Pro M5 machines with 12GB of RAM. Memory bandwidth has been increased to 120GB/s. And a 16-core Neural Engine is said to provide 3x faster performance than the M1 chip – good news for photo and video editors who rely on AI tools.

The iPad Air M4 also features Apple’s N1 and C1X connectivity chips – a first for the iPad Air series – for fast wireless and cellular connections, as well as Wi-Fi 7 support. The N1 enhances Personal Hotspot and AirDrop, as well as 5GHz Wi-Fi network connections, while the C1X boasts 30-percent less modem energy consumption than the previous iPad Air iteration.

As you’d expect, the iPad Air M4 runs on iPadOS 26, and beyond the Liquid Glass redesign, it brings with it a new windowing system and menu bar in a bid to provide a more streamlined workflow for more professional uses, as well as tweaks to folder management.

Groundbreaking camera specs are a rarity on tablets, nowadays, given the inherently awkward form factor. The iPad Air M4 has a 12-MP f/1.8 Wide camera with a 5x digital zoom, which can capture up to 4K / 60p video. The Center Stage front camera is 12MP f/2, and can capture full HD / 60p.

The iPad Air M4 is available in four colorways: Blue, Purple, Starlight, and Space Grey. Both variants are available with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB of storage. The iPad Air M4 starts at $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch model and $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 for the 13-inch model.

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Check out the iPad Pro M4 review to see how the latest iPad Air shapes up against this last-gen Pro model. Find out how I edit photos with an Apple Pencil and my iPad Pro. And if you're looking for a broad guide on Android, Windows, and Apple tablets, take a look at the best tablet for photo editing.

Every February, the world's phone and device makers descend on Barcelona for Mobile World Congress: a vast trade show where the industry gets to show off whatever it has been quietly building for the past year. Alongside the usual parade of new handsets, the event increasingly features tablets and laptops as manufacturers push to own more of the desk as well as the pocket. 

This year, Chinese brand Honor has arrived with two productivity devices that deserve serious attention from photographers and content creators who need reliable, colour-accurate tools on the move. I got hands-on with both of them, and I'm here to tell you they're worthy of consideration… even if you've never heard of the company that makes them. 

What problems are they trying to solve?

There's a particular kind of misery familiar to anyone who's spent a full day shooting and returned to the hotel or airport gate to start culling — only for the battery warning to appear within the first twenty minutes of editing. Honor is very much aware of this experience, and its two new devices feel like a direct response to it.

Let's start with the MagicPad4, because the headline figure is the kind of number that makes you want to double-check it. At 4.8mm thick, this is the thinnest tablet ever produced. Thinner than the iPad Pro at 5.1mm, and comfortably thinner than the iPad Air at 6.1mm. 

It doesn't in any way feel flimsy though, and there's a reason for that. The Crescent Structure chassis uses aerospace-grade composite materials that are 30% stiffer and 32% lighter than a conventional frame. Consequently, when I held the MagicPad4 for the first time, my reaction isn't just that it's thin. It's more that it feels deliberate; as though thinness was the entire brief, rather than a happy side effect.

The display, though, is where photographers will pay most attention. The 12.3-inch OLED panel delivers 2,400 nits peak brightness – the highest of any tablet currently on the market – alongside a 165Hz refresh rate and 3K resolution. 

For editing images or video on the move, the combination of brightness and colour accuracy matters enormously, and in the well-lit chaos of an packed exhibition hall, the screen held up impressively. Colours looked rich without tipping into oversaturation, and at 3.9mm the bezels are 49% narrower than the iPad Pro's, meaning almost none of the front panel is wasted on frame.

Honor has put effort into the eye-comfort side too, which is worth noting for anyone who spends long sessions in post-production. PWM dimming runs at 5,280Hz, a high figure that reduces perceived flicker at low brightness settings, which matters during late-night editing. TÜV Rheinland certification covers both low blue light and flicker-free performance, and Honor's AI Defocus Display technology is also onboard. 

Under the hood 

It felt fast in use, and again that's not surprising. The MagicPad4 is the first tablet to feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 on a 3nm process, and the 10,100mAh battery charges at 66W.

There's also a PC mode that activates when you connect a keyboard, switching the tablet to a desktop-style interface with floating windows, a familiar taskbar, and support for up to 20 open windows simultaneously. For photographers who carry an iPad for light laptop duties on the road, this is a compelling alternative to a "proper laptop"; and at 4.8mm, it takes up considerably less space in a camera bag. 

Honor also stressed the MagicPad4 can run OpenClaw, a locally-deployed AI assistant, making it very capable for a tablet when it comes to on-device AI processing. It's available to pre-order now, with retail availability from 3 March. Prices start at £599.99 for the 12GB RAM version in grey or white, or £699.99 for the 16GB version in grey.

A laptop that actually lasts

The MagicBook Pro 14 is the less eye-catching of the two devices, but arguably the more practically significant one. Updated for 2026, it pairs Intel's Core Ultra processor with a colour-accurate, touchscreen 14.6-inch 3K OLED display and a claimed battery life of 15 hours and 30 minutes, achieved through a substantial 92Wh battery. 

At just 1.37kg, it's light enough to carry all day without noticing. Honor was direct about the benchmark it's chasing: the MacBook Pro has long been the reference point for laptop battery life, and Honor claims the MagicBook Pro 14 not only matches it but also outperforms it on video rendering and file exporting tasks.

For photographers, the OLED display is the headline feature alongside the battery. LCD laptop screens, however capable, cannot match OLED for contrast and black levels, and both matter when making tonal decisions in post. The 3K resolution gives enough screen real estate for serious editing work without feeling cramped, and the touchscreen adds a useful extra dimension for those accustomed to tablet-style interaction. 

Honor confirmed the laptop integrates seamlessly with other Honor devices through its Magic Ring system, and supports file and photo transfer with iPhones and iPads via Honor Share — useful for photographers who shoot on Apple hardware but want to edit on the MagicBook.

Taken together, the MagicPad4 and MagicBook Pro 14 make a coherent pitch to working photographers and content creators: a tablet light and thin enough to always have with you, and a laptop that won't run out of steam before your shoot is finished. 

The tablet is available to buy now. The MagicBook Pro 14's UK pricing is yet to be confirmed. On the evidence of my hands-on experience at the event, both do what they promise — and the MagicPad4, at least, does it in a way that makes the competition look noticeably, measurably bulkier.

Xiaomi has unveiled its latest Android tablets – the Xiaomi Pad 8 and Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro – doubling down on performance, AI features, and “PC-level” productivity to take on the latest iPads, and even your laptop.

At the top of the lineup, the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, built on the latest 3nm process. Xiaomi claims major gains over the previous generation, with CPU performance up 81% and GPU performance up 103% compared to the Pad 7 Pro.

I still have my reservations about Android on tablets as a “laptop replacement”, but on paper, this chip positions the Pad 8 Pro as a high-end productivity and creative tablet rather than just another media consumption device.

The standard Xiaomi Pad 8 also sees a notable boost in performance. It runs on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 platform, on a 4nm process, which Xiaomi says results in a 32% faster CPU and 67% faster GPU performance compared to the Pad 7.

Xiaomi used excellent screens last time around, and it is sticking with them for another generation. Both tablets share an 11.2-inch 3:2 LCD display with a sharp 3.2K (3200 x 2136) resolution and up to 144Hz refresh rate, and Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support are included across the range.

Battery life does see a marginal upgrade. Both the Pad 8 and Pad 8 Pro feature a 9,200mAh battery, a 350mAh increase over the previous generation, despite retaining an ultra-slim 5.75mm chassis and 485g weight. However, charging differs between the two. The Pro model supports 67W HyperCharge, while the standard Pad 8 tops out at 45W.

While tablets are rarely bought for photography, both models retain the same cameras as the Pad 7 series, though the cameras are more ambitious on the Pro. The Pad 8 Pro features a single 50MP rear camera and 32MP front camera, compared to a 13MP rear camera and 8MP front camera on the standard model.

Both tablets launch with Xiaomi’s latest HyperOS 3 operating system built on top of Android 16. This version features a refined look, alongside upgraded split-screen layouts for multitasking, and an enhanced Workstation Mode. Xiaomi is leaning heavily into “PC-level” productivity, including a desktop-style browser experience and expanded multi-window functionality.

Aligning the Pad 8 series with the wider AI push across Xiaomi’s ecosystem, Xiaomi's HyperAI features, such as AI Writing, AI Speech Recognition, and AI Art, are also baked in. There are also standard Gemini AI features built into Android, including Circle to Search and Gemini Live.

Pricing for the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro starts at £529 for the 8GB + 256GB model, rising to £599 for the higher-spec 12GB + 512GB version. Both models will be available in the UK, Europe, and Australia, with US availability to be confirmed.

Launching alongside the tablets is an updated floating Focus Keyboard (£179), and both models support the new Xiaomi Focus Pen Pro (£89), a redesigned stylus with a button-less unibody design and gesture-based controls.

The iPad Mini sits in a slightly strange place in Apple’s lineup and has survived many a rumor about its cancellation. But Apple is still committed to the miniature iPad formula, with the latest model getting a boost up to the latest A17 Pro processor and Apple's latest AI-powered Apple Intelligence.

It’s still the smallest and most portable iPad, and while for years it has felt like the "cute" option for watching Netflix on a flight, rather than a serious creative alternative. But the A17 Pro, ripped from the iPhone 16 Pro, means the iPad Mini might have just become a much more practical field companion for creatives.

Compared with larger iPads and lightweight laptops, the mini brings a different kind of freedom. If you’re browsing the best tablets for photo editing for a travel-friendly device to sit alongside your camera gear, this is the iPad that makes the most sense.

Specifications

Price & Availability

Starting from $499, the iPad Mini costs a premium for a tablet this physically small. And that's before you add more storage, cellular connectivity, or an Apple Pencil. If you want a fully kitted-out Mini, you’re firmly into serious device money, which can feel jarring when you look at the screen size alone.

However, this isn’t competing with budget 8-inch Android tablets; it’s competing with larger iPads and even some entry-level laptops for creative tasks. The inclusion of the A17 Pro chip makes this closer in performance class to high-end mobile devices than to basic media tablets.

For photographers, that does mean smoother editing, faster exports, and fewer compromises than the previous generation of Mini. However, compared to the larger iPad Air and its more powerful M-series chip, you’re paying a slightly unfair portability premium here.

Design

This is one of the best-built small tablets I’ve ever used. The flat-edged aluminum body feels rigid and premium, with no flex or creaks – I've accidentally sat on it a few times, and it's been just fine. The size for me is perfect; the screen is bigger than my phone screen, but I can still hold it one-handed for long stretches while reviewing images, something I’d never say about a larger iPad.

The 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is sharp and bright, with excellent color. For photo work, it’s more than good enough for culling, editing, and social-ready exports. While it’s not OLED, I’ve found contrast and color consistency strong enough that I trust it for editing on the fly, especially when paired with the wide color support in iPadOS.

Button placement is simple: volume controls and a top power button with integrated Touch ID. The fingerprint sensor is fast and reliable, and I don't really mind that it doesn't have Face ID, as it avoids the awkward notch, although Apple should really start integrating the software-based face recognition common on Android for convenience.

USB-C is a huge win here. I can plug in card readers, SSDs, and camera cables without hunting for adapters, which makes it genuinely practical on shoots.

Apple Pencil support not only makes this the perfect notebook, but for marking up images, sketching, or doing precise mask work in editing apps, the Pencil makes the Mini feel much more like a pro tool. But the downside? It’s yet another cost on top.

Performance

The A17 Pro chip is what makes this iPad mini feel much more pro. It is not nearly the performance gains of the M-Series chips in the iPad Pro range, but app performance all feels very fast, and I rarely hit friction in day-to-day use.

As an 8-inch tablet with a phone processor, expectations should be tempered; this isn't going to become your one-and-only device, but it’s been quick at everything I have thrown at it. In Photoshop and Lightroom, RAW previews pop in fast, and I have edited and exported photos quickly on the fly.

Video performance is similarly good. Quick social edits on CapCut or Final Cut Pro run smoothly. Again, with an 8-inch screen, I wouldn’t choose this as my primary video editing machine, but for social cuts on location and quick turnarounds, it’s excellent.

The interface, as expected from Apple, is slick. iPadOS is intuitive, responsive, and well optimized for touch. Multitasking is fine; you can pin two apps side by side, or the latest version of iPadOS brings windowing to apps – but on a screen this size, I found there is little point as apps become too squished up to be useful. File handling on iPadOS is decent; it's easy enough to find files, but organizing files and folders could be simpler, and is still best managed on a laptop.

Battery life holds up well. Browsing, streaming, and note-taking easily get me through a long day, though sustained heavy tasks do drain it faster than casual use.

The single 12MP rear camera is solid for scanning documents or quick reference shots, but it's not going to challenge the phone in your pocket. There is another 12MP camera on the front, which is good enough quality for video calls. My only complaint is that the camera is positioned on the short edge, which, in landscape orientation, does make you appear to be looking off to the side in calls and not focused on who you are talking to.

Verdict

The iPad mini (A17 Pro) fills a gap between phone and laptop that, for creatives, makes a lot of sense. I prefer it on location more often than larger tablets simply because it’s so easy to carry and slips into my small camera bag.

This is a great media tablet, but for creatives, the display is excellent for field work, the A17 Pro chip keeps everything feeling fluid, and USB-C plus Apple Pencil support turn it into a great option for image review, note-taking, and light editing.

Its main limitations come from perhaps expecting too much, its screen is too small, and its processor is too underpowered for "proper" editing. But its practicality wins out here. If portability matters more to you than being a true laptop replacement, this is an easy recommendation.

Alternatives

The Redmi Pad 2 Pro offers a large display with medium to high-end specs but without the price tag often associated with professional tablets. With stiff competition from the likes of the Apple iPad Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, the Pad 2 Pro offers just enough high-end features to be considered pro-level while keeping the overall cost relatively low.

It provides a significantly larger and smoother display than the base iPad or Samsung FE models, making it the most cost-effective big-screen option on the market. As a result, it's providing stiff competition against the budget alternatives that currently sit in our guide to the best tablets for photo editing and photographers.

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 can handle light video editing in apps like LumaFusion or CapCut, but professional creators will be left craving more firepower. What the Pad 2 Pro lacks in raw power, it more than makes up for in its sheer endurance and screen-to-price ratio.

The bottom line is that the tablet serves fantastically as a workflow companion rather than a primary editing workstation. The 12.1-inch 10-bit display is excellent for reviewing high-resolution photos, and making basic edits with the expandable storage option being ideal for offloading 4K footage.

Specifications

Price

The Redmi Pad 2 Pro sits within the mid-range segment of the market, aiming to set itself apart with a large 120Hz display and a 12,000mAh battery. The base model (6GB/128GB) typically costs $329.99/£269, although it's often discounted, at times as low as £169. The superior model (8GB/256GB) costs $399/£299.

At these prices, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro is an affordable tablet with a reasonable level of performance. This sets it apart from the super budget-friendly alternatives, which would struggle with creative applications.

Design

The Redmi Pad 2 Pro boasts a set of high-end materials alongside a premium aesthetic that means you'd be forgiven for thinking you're holding an iPad. That's quite the claim considering its budget-friendly price. These types of tablets often utilize cheap plastics that lack rigidity, but Redmi has opted for a unibody metal construction that gives it a super solid construction. I even tried bending the display, and there was no hint of warping.

The aluminum chassis is designed with rounded edges and beveled sides, which results in an incredibly pleasant natural feel in the hand. This is even more impressive given its physical dimensions. 12-inch tablets are oftentimes heavy and bulky, but the Pad 2 Pro manages to strike a balance between offering a large surface area and a slim profile. At just 7.5mm the tablet feels super slimline, even when the keyboard is connected.

At the front there's an 8MP 1/4-inch, f/2.28 camera that is capable of recording 1080P video at 30fps. Then at the rear, Redmi provides an 8MP 1/4-inch, f/2 camera for 1080p video. That means whether you're utilizing the selfie or rear camera, you'll get full HD results. Better cameras exist, but if you're looking for a respectable set of lenses that integrate into the functionality of a tablet, then Redmi's offering is pretty respectable.

Moving onto ports, it becomes clear that Redmi has designed the device with a focus on utility and expandability. There's a USB-C port for charging and connection and, more surprisingly, a 3.5mm headphone jack. Considering many tablet and phone manufacturers have jettisoned the option, it's novel to see Redmi choosing to keep it. I'm a fan, though, as it allows me to keep that USB-C port free and use the dedicated audio port for audio editing and monitoring. With that in mind, there's also a quad-speaker system that delivers a balanced stereo experience.

Content creators will also love the dedicated microSDXC slot, allowing for storage expansion up to 2TB. Despite at least 128GB of onboard storage, users will quickly find spare space is in short supply. The frame also supports magnetic attachment for the Redmi Smart Pen, turning the side of the tablet into a docking station for the accessory.

Display

I absolutely love the 12.1-inch IPS LCD panel. It's bright (600 nits), clear, and so vibrant that any content, whether that be work or entertainment-related, jumps off the screen. At this price point you can't expect an AMOLED screen with its deeper blacks and higher contrast, but I was impressed by what the Redmi Pad 2 Pro was capable of.

The panel supports Dolby Vision with support for over 1.07 billion colours. It also features wet touch technology, which means its touch functionality still works when there's water on the screen. Don't get too close to the swimming pool, though, as it only has an IP53 rating.

It's certified by TÜV Rheinland for eye comfort, featuring Low Blue Light and Flicker Free certifications. I can testify to what a difference this makes for remaining physically comfortable during extended sessions of use.

The screen goes beyond a typical full HD resolution and offers up 2.5K (2560 x 1600 pixels), which is ideal for delivering extra clarity whether editing photos, monitoring footage, or streaming movies. It's also got an aspect ratio of 16:10, which I particularly appreciated when browsing long documents and working on large spreadsheets.

The 12.1-inch size is just about enough to work on without a second screen, although that would obviously be ideal, especially for enhanced productivity. That being said, I often found myself working with two apps side-by-side and found it boosted my workflows.

One of the details that sets this tablet apart from budget alternatives is the fluid 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. This means that scrolling is super smooth, animations are clearly presented, and gaming is responsive. I didn't test the tablet with gaming in mind, but on paper it certainly delivers for the hobbyist gamer.

Tablet Performance

As you can tell from the Geekbench scores, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor struggles compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 found in the OnePlus 15 and the Gen 4 in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. This performance difference, albeit between a tablet and two smartphones, just shows the gulf between flagship devices with the latest processors and this budget-friendly tablet from Redmi.

These results and my own experience of photo and video editing on the device confirmed my expectation that this tablet would only suffice for light creative duties and was light years away from replacing my dedicated workstation. No surprises there.

As disappointing as that sounds, we've got to be realistic. At only $300 / £229, the Pad 2 Pro was never going to deliver enough power for anything remotely demanding, but that doesn't mean it's destined for the pile of tablets that no one wants.

In fact, I actually really enjoyed using it. Having installed Lightroom and Photoshop Express, I found the tablet to be a reliable companion for basic editing on the go, showing off my work, and performing productivity tasks such as replying to emails and editing documents.

I was able to review, organize, and cull images with ease so that when I stepped back into my office, I could fire up my MacBook Pro for more serious edits. My only issue relating to workflow was that this is an Android tablet, so the process of media transfer and syncing wasn't as smooth as using an iPad.

The tablet boasts a huge 12,000mAh battery, which means I was able to take it to meetings without needing to worry about carrying a charger with me. The reality of having a less power-hungry processor also meant that the battery didn't drain anywhere near as quickly as some flagship alternatives.

Verdict

The Redmi Pad 2 Pro is a high-value alternative to more expensive professional tablets. By offering a premium unibody metal construction and a massive 12.1-inch 2.5K display, it successfully mimics the look and feel of flagship devices like the iPad Pro at a fraction of the cost. While it lacks the AMOLED technology found in top-tier competitors, its 120Hz refresh rate and 600-nit brightness set it apart from other budget tablets.

In terms of performance, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor is the tablet's primary compromise. While it handles everyday productivity, document editing, and light creative tasks with ease, it lacks the firepower required for professional photo or video editing. However, what it loses in raw speed, it gains in efficiency; the combination of a less power-hungry chip and a massive 12,000mAh battery results in exceptional performance.

Ultimately, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro is best viewed as a versatile workflow companion rather than a primary workstation. Its inclusion of a microSDXC slot for 2TB of expansion and a rare 3.5mm headphone jack underscores its utility for photographers and content creators who need to cull, review, and organize media on the go.

Alternatives

When choosing a pen display, like the XPPen Artist Ultra 16, its size on your desk and portability can be important considerations, and that’s before you’ve even considered the technical specs. As one of Digital Camera World’s pen display reviewers, I’m always sharing my thoughts as to what can be improved, and the XPPen Artist Ultra 16 may address my entire wishlist. This puts it in a prime position to be considered one of the best drawing tablets and one of the best tablets for photo editing and photographers.

The XPPen Artist Ultra 16 is a 4K OLED pen display that claims to offer a color gamut of 99% sRGB, 99% Adobe RGB, and 98% Display P3. It’s also Calman Verified for color and can produce 1.07 billion colors with an astonishing 100,000:1 contrast ratio. Calman Verified means that the display has high color accuracy out of the box, with the idea being that you can connect the display, install the drivers, and get to work instantly.

As a 16-inch pen display, the Artist 16 provides a comfortable working area and screen size without taking up too much desk space; this is something you have to accept with much larger 24-inch pen displays. The Artist 16 also offers pen sensitivity of 16,384 levels and 10-finger multi-touch capabilities. This means you can use either one of the two X3 Pro styluses or your fingers to draw and zoom into images.

With the resolution, OLED screen, and specs in general, the Artist Ultra 16 is fairly expensive compared to XPPen’s more budget-conscious entry-level pen displays. However, it is a high-end device. The question is, do you get the features and functionality you’re paying for? Let’s find out…

XPPen Artist Ultra 16: Specifications

XPPen Artist Ultra 16: Price

The XPPen Artist Ultra 16 launched on September 26, 2025, and costs $900 / £899 / AU$1,500, which is quite a high price for a 16-inch pen display. However, it has a 4K AMOLED Calman Verified screen with 10-finger multi-touch capability, making it a rather unique proposition at the time of writing, so it’s arguably priced competitively.

In the box, you get the Artist Ultra 16, an X3 Pro Smart Chip Stylus, an X3 Pro Slim Stylus Pen, case with nibs (X3 Pro Slim Stylus nibs x 4, X3 Pro Stylus felt nibs x 4), an ACK05 Shortcut Remote, a Bluetooth Receiver, 2x USB-C to USB-C Cables, a USB-C to USB-A Cable, a Power Adapter, a 3-in-1 Cable, 10x X3 Pro Slim Stylus nibs, 10x X3 Pro Stylus Standard Nibs, a ACS 16 Stand, a Cleaning Cloth and glove. This is everything you need to keep working for many years to come.

XPPen Artist Ultra 16: Design & Handling

The XPPen Artist Ultra 16 is a slick-looking device with a clean bezel featuring no controls whatsoever. The dial and shortcut buttons are all on the ACK05 Shortcut Remote, which can be connected to computers via Bluetooth or a USB cable. This controller features a dial and 10 buttons that can be customized with different keyboard functions.

The buttons are blank since they don’t have specific functions tied to them, so you have to remember what each one does once set up. Over time, the button functionality will become second nature, but at first, things can be hit or miss. For a pen display of this price and quality, it would be great to see buttons with mini screens that display their function, like the Logitech MX Creative Console, and present on other pen displays such as the Xencelabs Pen Display 16.

The pen display is also quite slim, which adds to its portability and provides a more modern look. There are no fans for cooling, so the Ultra 16 is silent during operation, and there’s ventilation on the back of the device for heat dissipation. When using the Ultra 16 on your lap, it’s worth being sure that the ventilation isn’t being covered by your legs to avoid the risk of overheating.

Build quality is excellent, and the Ultra 16 looks and feels like a professional device. Overall dimensions are 405x273x13.5mm / 15.94x10.75x0.53in with a weight of 1.53kg / 3.4lbs, putting it in the medium-size pen display category. The display comes with a basic stand for angled use, can be used flat, and at this size and weight, it can also be comfortably used on your lap if you prefer.

I tended to use it on my desk with my keyboard behind, using the stand to tilt the Ultra 16, and found this a comfortable way to work. I also used it connected to my notebook, resting it on my lap while I sat on the sofa. The ability to move away from what you might call a formal workspace and continue to work comfortably is great. And while this isn’t the smallest and most portable XPPen pen display available, it’s not so large and heavy that you can’t travel with it.

The screen itself offers a generous 344.2x193.6mm / 13.55x7.62in working area. The AG nano-etched glass also provides both viewing comfort and general comfort in use. Setting up the driver software is simple, and once you calibrate the input by clicking on reference points on the screen, you can take advantage of precise and accurate input. Calibration is essential because without it, the mouse pointer never sits directly below the stylus, but this only takes a minute during the simple setup.

XPPen Artist Ultra 16: Performance

With a 4K OLED screen, a color gamut of up to 99% sRGB, 99% Adobe RGB, 98% Display P3, and a contrast ratio of 100,000:1, the image produced by the Ultra 16 is fantastic as you’d imagine. It’s punchy and highly detailed, making it ideal for drawing, design work, and even more colour-critical photo editing tasks. The screen is also 10-bit and can produce up to 1.07 billion colors. Brightness is 350 nits, and there’s a 170-degree viewing angle. This is wide, and I never once had any viewing issues.

The Ultra 16 comes with the X3 Pro Smart Chip Stylus and the X3 Pro Slim Stylus, both offering 16K pressure sensitivity and 60 degrees of tilt recognition. These come in a handy storage case that doubles as a pen stand and stores the spare nibs, etc., for each stylus. Having two styluses available allows you to choose the one that’s most comfortable to you personally, and I found the chunkier X3 Pro Smart Chip Stylus most comfortable.

The X3 Pro Slim Stylus is indeed comfortable and feels much more compact in use. This, paired with the touch control allowed for what felt like a seamless workflow using both stylus and hand to navigate images when drawing and photo editing. For touch control, you can even customize zones to avoid accidental palm inputs.

There’s also a Floating Menu that can be initiated and customized with keyboard shortcuts or touch gestures. As the name suggests, the menu floats on screen. This is alongside the ACK05 Shortcut Remote, so you can use one or both depending on your preference.

The Ultra 16 is compatible with Windows, macOS, Chromebook and Android smartphones. It isn’t, unfortunately, compatible with iPhones because of the way they work. Plugging the Ultra 16 into my Samsung Galaxy Ultra opened up Samsung Dex, which provides a more desktop-like experience, and I was able to edit phone Raw files in Lightroom Mobile using a much larger touchscreen than my phone. It’s not essential functionality in my opinion, but it’s not a bad thing to have either.

XPPen Artist Ultra 16: Verdict

The XPPen Artist Ultra 16 is an impressive pen display that blends an excellent range of features with fantastic image quality. The 10-bit OLED screen produces vibrant images that are bursting with detail. Not to mention, a color gamut of up to 99% sRGB, 99% Adobe RGB, and 98% Display P3, Calman Verification, and the ability to produce 1.07 billion colors mean it can be used for color-critical work.

The pen and touch input, including 10-finger multi-touch with customizable zones, allows you to blend touch and stylus control for a much more efficient workflow. This isn’t a cheap pen display by any stretch, but it’s not the most expensive either, especially when considering what’s on offer. Plus, the build quality is excellent while the design is simple and stylish.

Alternatives

I just bought an iPad for 74 quid from Amazon Renewed – and it's honestly one of the best purchases I've made.

I had a quandry. I needed an iPad for a few photography-related things – firstly, I wanted something with a decent screen size to act as my digital portfolio rather than asking people to swipe a tiny phone screen. I also needed a tablet to work with my autocue software, for some content creation jobs I do.

However, these are pretty basic bitch requirements for an iPad – there's no way they justify spending 600 quid on a brand new model. (And yes, I needed an iPad rather than a cheap tablet because I'm trapped in Ye Olde Apple Ecosystem.)

So I took the plunge and bought a refurbished iPad from Amazon – because £74 was much more appropriate for my needs!

Yes, it's a basic bitch model – an iPad Air 2 with a mere 16GB of storage and it's WiFi only. But again, all I want it to do is display my photos and scroll some text; I've got my phone and my laptop for everything else.

I'm always a little apprehensive about buying refurbished products, especially electronics. But Amazon Refurbished gear has a generous returns period and, if worse came to worse, losing £74 wouldn't be the end of the world.

It turns out I worried for nothing. It came in the usual Amazon packaging, carefully wrapped, perfectly clean and in great condition. Being completely factory reset, I obviously had the "new car smell" experience of the Apple welcome and setting everything up from scratch.

The only downside is that, unlike when you're buying from companies like MPB.com, you don't see photos of the actual item you're buying. However, Amazon has a grading system to give you a decent idea of the condition of your product – and Amazon returns are easy, so you can always send it right back if you're not happy.

So, if you're in a similar boat and you want a cheap iPad for basic functions – or maybe you want a burner iPad for travelling or for the kids to use – I only have good things to say about getting one from Amazon Renewed.

Buy your own cheap iPad

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Want a modern, full-fat tablet? Take a look at the best iPads for photo editing, video editing and photography if you're an Apple user, along with the best tablets for photo editing from other brands.

Pen displays are fantastic for digital artists, designers and photographers because they provide direct input and unrivalled precision when drawing and editing photos. The XPPen Artist 12 3^rd is XPPen’s latest budget model, and one we can see will be fighting its way onto the best drawing tablets and best tablets for photo editing and photographers guides.

This 11.9-inch pen display features a 1080p resolution and is claimed to be capable of displaying 99% of sRGB, 97% of Adobe RGB and 97% of Display P3. This is impressive for what you can arguably call an entry-level XPPen pen display with a competitive entry-level price tag. At just $240 / £190, you can enjoy a more precise input for your design, artwork and/or photo editing.

This may be a budget model, but the X4 Smart Chip Stylus has an initial activation force of just 2g, a response time as low as 30ms, and 16,384 pressure levels with up to 60-degree tilt recognition. This puts it on par with more expensive XPPen pen displays in terms of input precision, which is impressive.

What I really like about this pen display is its size; it’s large enough to work effectively on, but it’s compact enough to be highly portable. So, not only can you use it almost anywhere, but it doesn’t take up much desk space. It’s not perfect, few things are, but let’s take a closer look at what the Artist 12 has to offer.

Specifications

Price

The XPPen Artist Pro 12 3rd launched on 20 October 2025 and costs a reasonable $240 / £190. This means it’s hugely affordable and that digital artists, designers and photographers can enjoy the benefits of direct input without breaking the bank.

In the box you get the Artist 12, an X4 Smart Chip Stylus x 1, 10x Pen Nibs, a Nib Replacement Tool x 1, a USB-C to USB-C Cable x 1, a 3-in-1 USB-C Cable, a glove, a cleaning cloth and a foldable stand. Higher-end pen displays from XPPen often come with two styluses and a case for spare nibs, etc., but this budget model keeps things simple and to a minimum while still giving you everything you need, so no case or stand is included.

Design & Handling

The XPPen Artist 12 3^rd is a fairly compact pen display with an 11.9-inch screen. Overall dimensions are just 327.2x189.1x12.0mm / 12.88x7.44x0.47in with a weight of 719g / 1.59lbs; this is a pen display you can comfortably use flat on a desk, on the included stand or on your lap. One thing I love about its size is that it doesn’t take up too much desk real estate, having reviewed some huge 24-inch pen displays.

Larger pen displays in the 16-24in range provide large screens that are great for working on, but the trade-off is always desk space and portability. The Artist 12 is a pen display you could comfortably travel with and use in multiple locations, which many people will find useful. Plus, the stand folds down to a small size, too.

Like most pen displays, the overall design is fairly simple, but at one end of the unit, there are two dials and eight customizable buttons. The X-Dial allows you to assign commands, such as to change brush size and zoom, while the buttons can be assigned with functions to improve productivity by reducing reliance on your computer keyboard.

These buttons are blank, so you do have to remember what functions have been assigned to them. This makes sense because they’re customizable, but it would be great if the buttons had mini screens that display their function, like the Logitech MX Creative Console. This would, I expect, drive up cost, so the Artist 12 would no longer be a budget option.

Build quality is excellent, and the buttons and dials have a quality feel when being pressed and rotated. The dials do have clicks, so you know you’re rotating them; the click is a little annoying, but it isn’t a dealbreaker. The Artist 12 is also nice and thin, which gives it a more premium look. One feature you will enjoy is the magnetic strip at the top of the display, where you can keep the stylus when not in use.

The all-important screen, as previously mentioned, is 11.9 inches with a working area of 264.0x149.0mm / 10.39x5.87in. The screen is AG nano-etched glass with an AF coating, which aims to provide a paper-like texture that effectively resists glare, scratches, and fingerprints. It absolutely achieves the last three points, but I’m not convinced it felt paper-like during use. It was, however, comfortable to use, and I have no complaints in this area.

The stand is also great because it folds almost flat, so it takes up little space for transportation, but once opened up, it supports the Artist 12 effectively. It’s a simple design, but it works well for its intended purpose. I’ve used competitor tablets with more robust stands, but they are larger and heavier than this one, so as always, there’s a trade-off.

Performance

The screen provides a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, and is claimed to have a color gamut of 99% sRGB, 97% Adobe RGB and 97% Display P3, with the ability to display 16.7 million colors. Brightness is 260 nits and makes the pen display comfortable to use, and the viewing angle of the screen is 170 degrees. The combination of the screen and stylus provide an excellent level of control overall.

The X4 Smart Chip Stylus is driven by the new X4 chip, which has an initial activation force of 2g, a response time as low as 30ms, and 16,384 pressure levels with up to 60-degree tilt recognition. There are also a couple of buttons that can be customized, but for most people, left and right mouse clicks make the most sense here. There’s no pen stand included, so you have to rely on the magnetic strip at the top of the display for pen storage, of sorts.

The image produced on the Artist 12 is excellent overall, offering great levels of detail when editing photos. The onscreen image is full HD, which complements the 11.9-inch screen. However, it must be noted that the screen lacks the sharpness of 4K pen displays. This did not negatively affect my photo editing or overall experience with the Artist 12, but it is important to mention.

In terms of input, I found the Artist 12 and the X4 Smart Chip Stylus comfortable to use with positive input when working with masks and selections in Photoshop. There were times when I wanted to view my monitor, and in this situation, I used the Artist 12 like a graphics tablet laid down flat on my desk, and moved back to it when I needed greater precision.

The Artist 12 features automatic DC dimming, where brightness is adjusted based on ambient light levels with the aim of providing greater eye comfort. I have to admit that I didn’t even notice this happening, so it must have been effectively matching ambient light levels to deliver optimal brightness.

Verdict

The XPPen Artist 12 3^rd is a great performer overall and provides functionality in terms of input pressure and sensitivity seen in higher—end XPPen pen displays. The 1080p resolution works well for the 11.9-inch display, and the auto-dimming feature matches ambient lighting effectively.

Despite the impressive specs for such an affordable pen display, the Artist 12 lacks the clarity, punch and general sharpness of higher-resolution Calman Verified XPPen displays, but don’t let that put you off. It remains an excellent pen display and one that doesn’t take up too much desk space. The screen doesn’t feel particularly paper-like, but it’s comfortable to use, and the etched surface doesn’t pick up fingerprints easily.

Alternatives

Apple’s flagship tablets have been inching closer to laptop-level performance, and the tech giant’s latest update aims to designate the iPad Pro as a portable production studio. Announced on October 15, Apple says the iPad Pro M5 is for “creative projects of any size” with faster performance and more multitasking capabilities.

The headlining feature on the 2025 update to the iPad Pro series is the new M5 chip, which Apple also integrated into the new MacBook Pro M5. iPadOS 26 is also behind a number of updates, while specs for the tablet's cameras and screen remain similar to the predecessor.

The new M5 chip is made with a 10-core GPU that integrates a Neural Accelerator into each core, a change that Apple says creates a significant boost in AI performance. On AI tasks, the M5 iPad Pro offers up to 3.5 times the performance compared to the M4 model and up to 5.6x faster than the older M1.

But the M5’s benefits extend beyond AI. The faster processor translates to more speed in the most intense tasks, as well as improvements in multitasking. In video editing, for example, the new iPad Pro M5 has up to 6x faster video transcode performance in Final Cut Pro compared to the M1 version and up to 1.2 times faster than the earlier M4 version. AI video upscaling in DaVinci Resolve is up to 3.7x faster than the M1 and up to 2.3 times faster than the M4.

Upgraded memory and faster access to stored files also translate to read and write speeds up to two times faster, thanks to memory that starts at 12GB (compared to 8GB) and goes up to 16GB on models with 1TB or more storage.

Apple tosses out phrases like “creative projects of any size” on the iPad Pro webpage, continuing the M4 model’s success with video editing and Multicam capabilities. Apple says the iPad can become a “versatile production studio” with the ability to connect up to four iPhones or iPads with Live Multicam in Final Cut Pro, along with the ability to shoot, edit, and share all from one device.

The iPad Pro M5’s camera array, however, carries the same specs as the M4 version, including the 12MP wide camera and compatibility with 4K ProRes video and Smart HDR stills. The selfie camera continues the 12MP Center Stage, which helps keep users centered on video calls.

Like the previous M4 model, the iPad Pro supports ProRes video at up to 4K and 30 fps, excluding the base 256GB model, and can upgrade that ProRes to 60fps when using external recording.

Apple describes the four integrated mics as “studio quality,” continuing the audio hardware from the M4 model.

Like the camera and mics, the specs for the new iPad’s display retain the specs of the predecessor, with an Ultra-Retina XDR display. Support for external monitors, however, has expanded to 120Hz, which could be a key update for video editing.

While battery life remains at up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi, the new iPad is fast charge capable with the ability to get up to 50 percent in 35 minutes when using a 60W or higher USB-C charger.

The cellular version of the iPad Pro gains a new C1X cellular modem designed by Apple, which the company says offers up to 50 percent faster performance and up to 30 percent less power consumption when using cellular data compared to the M4 iPad Pro.

The new iPad Pro ships with iPadOS 26, Apple’s operating system update announced in September. That includes a new menu bar accessible in some apps with a swipe down from the top. Background Tasks will give creators more insight by displaying the progress of exports and other intensive tasks running in the background.

The iPad Pro M5’s similar specs for the camera and display likely won’t sway many who have already invested in the M4 version, but the M5 continues to create a significant performance gap in models that are a few years old with the M1 chip.

The iPad Pro M5 will come in both 11-inch and 13-inch variants and is expected to begin shipping on October 22. Pre-orders have already opened, with the base model starting at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 / CA$1399.

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The XPPen Artist Ultra 16 pen display, which won a Red Dot Award for its design, has officially launched today. This flagship 15.6-inch tablet boasts XPPen’s proprietary next-gen touch technology, a 4K OLED screen, and is Calman Verified. The Artist Ultra 16 debuts the brand’s new Ultra series, and according to the Shenzhen-based outfit, “sets a new industry benchmark by combining professional-grade performance with versatile portability”.

Despite the midrange price tag, XPPen is firmly targeting professional creators with the Artist Ultra 16. The manufacturer touts headline features such as “ultra-responsive touch interaction”, a 4K OLED display with “exceptional color accuracy”, and 16K-pressure sensitivity. The “revolutionary” touch system, said to deliver “unprecedented creative freedom”, is called X-Touch. It supports 10-finger multi-touch for both Windows and macOS, and here’s the exciting bit, it’s designed to mitigate accidental inputs.

Anyone who’s used a touch-sensitive pen display before will know that, while they offer intuitive operation when zooming in/out or moving around the canvas, the user’s palm can occasionally conflict with stylus inputs. A drawing glove is a popular, but not infallible, workaround, and some tablets, such as the Xencelabs Pen Display 16 have combated this by omitting non-stylus touch inputs altogether. The XPPen Artist Ultra 16, then, is said to use customizable touch zones, so users are able to “effortlessly define their workspace by simply drawing on screen”. If it works, it could be a fantastic solution to an age-old frustration.

Elsewhere, the Artist Ultra 16’s 15.6-inch 4K OLED screen is powered by AMOLED technology, features a 100,000:1 contrast ratio, and 1-ms response time for “smooth, accurate strokes”. And of course, the display’s Calman Verified status means it will ship with a high level of color accuracy and that’s before you consider the 10-bit native color depth, a Delta E <1.1 rating, so you can expect almost no difference in color between input and display, and a wide gamut coverage of 99% Adobe RGB, 99% sRGB, and 98% Display P3.

As has become the norm with higher-end XPPen products, the Artist Ultra 16 comes with a pair of X3 styluses and a case for them to reside in: the thicker X3 Pro Smart Chip Stylus and X3 Pro Slim Stylus, both providing 16K pressure sensitivity and 60-degree tilt. The device also comes with the ACK05 Wireless Shortcut Remote, which features ten customizable shortcut buttons and a dial.

The XPPen Artist Ultra 16 has an aluminum casing and a slim profile, so it can slip into an appropriately sized rucksack. Shortcut keys and integrated palm rests have been ergonomically implemented to enhance comfort and precision.

Pen displays are a great solution for photographers whose work revolves around skin retouching, compositing, and/or dodging and burning. XPPen is one of the market leaders in the drawing tablet/pen display sphere, covering mid-range peripherals as part of the Hanvon Ugee Group, which is also the parent company of premium drawing tablet brand, Xencelabs. The XPPen Artist Ultra 16 is available now and retails for $899.99 / £899 (AU$TBC).

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Thinking of adding a pen display to your workflow? Here's how I edit photos with an Apple Pencil and my iPad Pro. If a 16-inch pen display isn't big enough, check out the Xencelabs Pen Display 24+. If you'd like a more traditional drawing pad, take a look at the Wacom Intuos Pro.

Samsung has refreshed its flagship tablet series with the new Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra. Announced alongside the almost flagship Galaxy S25 FE smartphone and a host of smart home tech at IFA 2025.

After a bit of time with the oversized Tab S11 Ultra, Samsung's latest flagship slate takes on the iPad Pro and iPad OS 26 with its huge screen and new desktop-like interface, with newly added support for virtual desktops and extended mode for external monitors. The tablet also overhauls the S Pen for the first time in generations, with the latest looking less like a pen, and more like a pencil.

In the flesh, one of the most striking aspects of the Tab S11 Ultra is just how thin it is, a move that mirrors the direction Samsung's taken with its stunning new Z Fold 7. After speaking with Annika Bizon, Mobile Experience VP of Product and Marketing for Samsung UK & Ireland, this move is an intentional response to customer feedback and Samsung research, confirming that thin is definitely in when it comes to tech in 2025.

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra price

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is the most expensive of Samsung's latest slates, with a punchy starting price of £1,199 / $1,199 for the 256GB option, £1,299 / $1319.99 for 512GB, and £1,549 / $1,619.99 for the 1TB option. If you want the 5G option (available in the UK only through Samsung direct), add £150 to all those prices, and all versions support microSD card expansion for easy storage boosting.

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra design and screen

The Tab S10 Ultra was already thin at 5.4mm, but the Tab 11 Ultra is an iPad Pro-matching 5.1mm. Despite its huge 14.6-inch screen, it's lighter than its predecessor, making the whole tablet feel like a slice of screen, an impression compounded by the slightly smaller bezels and selfie camera notch.

Available in two colors, Moonstone Gray and Platinum Silver, the Tab S11 Ultra has a glass front and an enhanced Amor Aluminum frame, and with IP68 water and dust resistance, can be submerged in 1.5m water for up to 30 minutes.

While past Galaxy tablets used an active stylus (which had a battery), the Tab S11 Ultra switches out to a passive stylus (no battery). That means Samsung has dropped some of the hover, clicker interactions for remote shutter release and other features, but it also means the tab stows magnetically on the top rather than the back, which is much more convenient.

The star of the Tab S11 Ultra show has got to be its huge 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ brightness, and a peak HDR brightness of 1600 nits, ultra-high for a tablet with a screen this big. The peak full-screen brightness of 1000 nits is paired with an anti-reflective coating that makes it one of the best tablets for comfortable outdoor viewing around.

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra performance and One UI 8

A new tablet, a new chipset and a new version of One UI, Samsung’s Android interface, and this year the Tab S series gets a feature I’ve been wanting for years, extended desktop support. Before diving into the interface, though, the specs are primed to keep everything running smoothly, with a MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chip matched with either 12GB or 16GB RAM. While the 16GB RAM spec is reserved for the 1TB version of the tab, I’ve been able to run three top-tier games split-screen with the 12GB RAM Tab S11 Ultra without any issues, leaving me very impressed with its multitasking and gaming performance on first impression.

Starting with 256GB storage, and going all the way up to 1TB plus optional microSD card expansion, the Tab S11 Ultra should give you plenty of space for your offline content and apps, and with a massive 11600mAh battery – 400mAh higher-capacity than the Tab S10 Ultra – it even doubles up as a power bank for your phone, while offering fast 45W wired charging.

As for OneUI 8 for tablets, it’s matched with Android 16 and Samsung promises seven years of software updates, making the Tab S11 Ultra exceptionally future-proofed across spec and software. The extended desktop support unlocks more PC-like interaction when plugged into an external monitor, allowing you to drag and drop windows across the tablet and display. The new virtual desktop feature, along with floating windows, also blurs the lines between laptop and tablet, setting the S11 Ultra up as a productivity workhorse.

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra keyboard folio

If you really want to unlock the potential of the Tab S11 Ultra for work, you’ll want to pick up a keyboard. Samsung makes two official options for its tablet series: a one-piece folio Book Cover Keyboard Slim (£199) and a two-piece detachable kickstand solution, the AI Book Cover Keyboard with Trackpad (£TBC).

For lap typers, the cheaper Book Cover Keyboard Slim is actually the better shout, with the tab secured to the keyboard more robustly – perfect for trains and rattly planes – but if you want the flexibility of using a kickstand without a keyboard, the AI Book Cover adds a trackpad to the mix and could be a better shout for watching and presenting. Any existing Tab S series owners will be sad to know that the past-gen keyboards aren’t supported by Samsung’s latest line of slates.

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra early verdict

On first impression, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra checks a lot of boxes – which it needs to considering its punchy price – and could be the first Tab S series upgrade that’s truly compelling since the original Tab S8 Ultra in 2022.

The upgraded power courtesy of MediaTek, improved interface that finally takes advantage of the big screen and extended displays, and the brighter, more immersive display matched with its lighter weight and slimmer profile all take the fight to Apple’s latest iPads and win in a few key areas.

If the Tab S11 Ultra is too big or too pricey for you, check out our best tablet of 2025 picks, and check back for the full review in the coming weeks.

The Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ Studio Series is a premium pen display that’s designed to compete with top-tier devices like the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24. Xencelabs only released its first pen display in 2023, before releasing the industry’s first 16-inch 4K OLED pen display the following year – the Pen Display 16, which I reviewed very favorably.

Well, this rising outfit in the premium drawing tablet sphere isn’t resting on its laurels, because the Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ Studio Series brings with it another industry first: it’s the only Calman Ready pen display on the market.

Calman is a color calibration software developed by Portrait Displays and, while many other pen displays support color calibration, Calman is industry-standard software that’s used throughout the creative industry from Hollywood to broadcast television.

This is good news for photographers looking to add a pen display to their workflow, because color accuracy is a big deal, especially if you’re working across multiple screens, intend to print your work or deliver commercial assignments.

Cheaper pen displays, while often offering a decent drawing experience, are rarely suitable for serious photo editing, because the color accuracy simply isn't good enough. The Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ Studio Series, then, is designed for digital creatives in general, so I’ve got high hopes that the display and drawing experience hold up. Let’s grab a stylus and get started.

Xencelabs Pen Display 24+: Specifications

Xencelabs Pen Display 24+: Price

The Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ Studio Series is priced at US$1,899 / £1,850 (Australian price to be confirmed), which is less than the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 and Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 Touch’s RRPs of US$2,199.95 / £2,009.99 / AU$3,679.01 and US$2,699.95 / £2,349.98 / AU$4,299.00, respectively. However, with frequent sales on the Wacom, prices can end up rather comparable.

Both Wacom and Xencelabs provide a wealth of accessories with their top-tier tablets, including the Xencelabs’ answer to Wacom’s ExpressKey Remote, the Quick Keys remote. But what I always appreciate about Xencelabs tablets is that you get two styluses: the 3 Button Pen and Thin Pen, so you can work with your preference of thickness.

You also get a proper tilting stand, which is an aftermarket accessory for the Wacom. All in all, the Pen Display 24+ Studio Series includes: Tilt Stand, Rubber Feet, Quick Keys and Wireless Dongle, Quick Keys Clip, Pen Case, 3 Button Pen, Thin Pen, 6x Standard Nibs, 4x Felt Nibs, Nib Extractor, 2x Pen Clip, USB-A to USB-C Adapter, Drawing Glove, Cleaning Cloth, AC Power Adapter, and all the cords and leads you could possibly need to suit your setup.

The Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ Studio Series doesn’t come cheap, but it’s competitively priced for what it offers.

Xencelabs Pen Display 24+: Design & Handling

The Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ Studio Series is an absolute behemoth of a pen display. It’s thick and heavy, and for a professional desktop pen display that’s exactly what I’m looking for. Even set upright at around a 65° angle (I wouldn’t trust it beyond that), I could happily tap, draw and shade. The Pen Display 24+ wasn’t going anywhere.

This is partly due to the Rubber Feet, which grip the desktop surface you’re working on and partly due to this big hunk ‘o tablet’s chonky form factor. It certainly isn’t designed to accompany you on the sofa, as you doodle while watching reruns of Modern Family.

Kudos to Xencelabs for the tablet’s robust Tilt Stand. Not only is it sturdy, it’s easy to adjust, which is especially useful as I found myself using the Pen Display 24+ as a second monitor when I wasn’t using the stylus. When doing so, I could simply press the latch and adjust the stand as needed.

The Tilt Stand is good enough that I see little reason to pick up the Xencelabs Multi-Axis Stand for Pen Display 24 (US$299.99 / £349), unless you require the strongest stand possible or one that can rotate into a vertical position.

However, I did encounter a problem that I think every Pen Display 24+ user should be aware of. The stand can be adjusted from 16° to 72°; the problem is that the flattest angle can cause the entire weight of the tablet to rest on a protruding display cable. In my case, I now have a permanently bent USB-C connector. Easy to replace, but I could have easily damaged the port. In short, be very careful when setting the pen display flat.

The 23.8-inch display is really nice. I’ve come to enjoy working on Xencelabs’ paper-like screens; they don’t have as much bite as some – what you like best is personal preference – but I think the Pen Display 24+ provides a very pleasant drawing experience, nonetheless.

The display’s output matches the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24’s core specs with its 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution, 1.07-billion colors, and 99% Adobe RGB color accuracy. But color is where the Xencelabs really excels, with 99% sRGB, 99% REC 709, 93% DCI-P3, and 82% REC 2020.

And of course, it’s the first Calman Ready pen display on the planet. This isn’t to be confused with some XP-Pen Artist Pro (Gen 2) tablets being the industry’s first Calman Verified pen displays. Essentially, Calman Verified devices have been pre-calibrated to Calman’s exacting standards.

Calman Ready devices are optimized for use with the Calman calibration software. This means the calibration process is both quicker and largely automated, while hardware that isn’t Calman Ready requires more time-consuming and potentially less accurate manual calibration.

There are pros and cons to both Calman Verified and Ready. Verified devices provide peace of mind, fresh from the box, so you’re ready to go. Ready devices provide a more accurate calibration that takes into account elements such as brightness and ambient lighting, but need to be set up.

Calman Ready devices also require users to purchase the Calman software and a compatible colorimeter (more on compatibility later). Chances are, a good deal of users won’t require Calman-level calibration, but it’s nice that it’s here, and it will be a huge boon for studio creatives working on big productions.

For most photographers, I think the Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ Studio Series display is good enough as-is. In my experience, it’s difficult to find a cheaper pen display with a screen that’s accurate enough for photo and video retouching. If you’re working on a budget, I think you’re better off opting for a traditional graphics tablet (aka drawing pad) so you can use a stylus while looking at your computer monitor.

If you’ve got your heart set on a pen display and you’ve got the budget, it’s easy to see where your money is going the moment you fire up the Pen Display 24+. Even against my MacBook’s Retina display, the colors held up very well.

The Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ is also compatible with HP Anyware. As it stands, the Xencelabs macOS driver does not support this function. That said, it is a specialist feature that the majority of creatives likely won’t use. HP Anyware is designed for remote creatives who need to access digital workspaces without a VPN, so you could, for example, connect to a client’s device via HP Anyware using your own setup and still make use of the Xencelabs Pen Display 24+.

The Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ Studio Series’ wealth of accessories means you should have everything you need to get started. Xencelabs has thought of every eventuality with a USB-A to USB-C Adapter and more cables than you’ll ever need. They’re decent quality cables, too. I couldn’t help noticing how the USB-C cable has the USB-C connector set at a right angle at one end, allowing it to connect neatly into my laptop.

The pen and Quick Keys clips enable you to mount both styluses and the Quick Keys remote onto the pen display itself. The Quick Keys remote is a wireless controller with a command wheel and various buttons, which you can customize to perform a variety of shortcuts.

The remote can be easily customized using the display’s setup software; you can even customize the Quick Keys for particular pieces of software. So it will operate differently whether you’re using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, for example.

I’ve said it before: the Quick Keys and its buttons do feel plasticky, but they get the job done and the command wheel operates smoothly. The remote also has a simple OLED screen that displays the commands, should you get lost.

There are 11 controls on the Quick Keys in total: the command wheel and central button, the ‘Set’ button, and eight shortcut buttons. Think of the eight shortcut buttons as a single set. The ‘Set’ button is used to toggle through five different sets (all customizable), providing forty shortcuts in total.

I much prefer using a remote to having shortcut buttons built into a pen display, where it’s easy to inadvertently nudge them and they cannot be moved, comfortable or not. As such, I love the flexibility of placing the Quick Keys where I want it for quick access.

You can even tell the setup software what orientation you want to use the Quick Keys remote to maximize comfort (great news for lefties). The remote also has a rubber backing, so you can rest it on the screen without fear of scratches.

I realize that I appear to be in the minority when I say I prefer a thin stylus like the Apple Pencil 2 / Apple Pencil Pro, as opposed to the classic thick styluses many drawing tablet users are used to. No matter, though, because Xencelabs provides both and they come in a nice case.

What I’ve actually found is that I like sketching with the thinner stylus and coloring with the thicker stylus. I also found myself switching pens during long sessions to help prevent my fingers from getting sore or cramping. Both pens are made from plastic, but they feel good in the hand and have a nice velvety grip.

Like the Quick Keys the buttons do feel on the cheaper side, but they’re functional. My preference is to disable stylus buttons anyway (no matter the brand), as I constantly find myself accidentally activating them.

Xencelabs Pen Display 24+: Performance

Setting up the Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ couldn’t be easier. You attach the power cable to a power outlet and your choice of cable between the pen display and your computer, and the tablet will fire up as a passive display, without a driver installed (it even connected to my iPad Pro).

This is very useful. A 24-inch pen display is a large presence on anyone’s desk, so instead of simply taking up space, when not in use, it can be used as a second monitor.

Xencelabs uses a single driver for all its tablets, so you only have to select the version for your operating system. I then connected the Quick Keys Wireless Dongle to my laptop and attached a USB-A to USB-C cable to the pen display and the Quick Keys remote to charge the peripheral. Once I had breezed through the setup wizard, I was ready to get started.

The Xencelabs setup software should be your first port of call. It acts as a command hub in which to customize the Quick Keys, styluses and pen display to your preferences. This includes selecting which color space you want if you’re not making use of the Calman Ready features.

And the colors are really good straight off the bat. By setting the Pen Display 24+ to sRGB and tweaking the brightness and contrast slightly, I was able to get it very close to my MacBook screen. I also performed an edit using the Pen Display 24+ entirely, and although the grading wasn’t exactly what I wanted, it was very close.

I think most photographers will get used to editing on this display very quickly, and thanks to the Virtual Tablet Mode (more on that later), it’s really no hassle moving your window across to your normal editing monitor to check that the grading is to your liking.

The biggest problem with the tablet’s Calman Ready status is that it’s technically Windows-only software with no dedicated macOS version. I say technically because you can get it to run via Apple BootCamp, or virtualization software such as Parallels, enabling you to run Windows on a Mac machine. But not only will you require a Windows license, this will only work if you’re using an Intel Mac.

At the time of writing, Calman is unable to run on machines powered by Apple’s silicon chips (M1 or later). This is unfortunate since a huge amount of creatives work on Mac and, indeed, the Pen Display 24+ works readily on Mac. The question is, does this really matter?

Well, for the vast majority of users, no. Calman is industry-standard calibration software and it doesn’t come cheap. Calman Studio is priced at $1,199 and Calman Ultimate, $2,995, and the Pen Display 24+ does boast very good color accuracy right off the bat.

In an ideal world, I would have preferred to have this tablet Calman Verified and not Ready, so it would boast Calman calibration fresh from the box. But Xencelabs is targeting high-end studio professionals here, and is currently the only pen display to do so, so I can certainly see the logic.

Although I haven’t tried it, you could opt for the older and cheaper Pen Display 24, which isn’t Calman Ready. However, at the time of writing, I can only find it around $100 cheaper, and although many of the core specs are the same, there are some differences here and there; it’s heavier for one, and covers fewer color spaces.

The drawing experience itself is everything that I’ve come to expect from a dedicated pen display, and the core experience is very similar to the Xencelabs Pen Display 16.

I’ve yet to try a pen display that provides a better drawing experience than an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. The responsiveness, fluidity, and accuracy out of the box are still pretty much unrivalled. But that’s not to say that the Pen Display 24+ provides an inadequate drawing experience. Far from it.

Lines are smooth with minimal jitter, and the pressure sensitivity is great. I did experience a little lag, but nothing too disruptive, and I couldn’t say how much of this was down to my MacBook playing catch-up. I had to calibrate the styluses, fiddle around with a few settings, and bump the smoothness up on Photoshop a little bit to feel comfortable, but make no mistake, this is a top-tier, professional drawing experience – far beyond what most photographers will ever need.

If your workflow includes a lot of dodging and burning, masking and skin retouching, nothing compares to a good pen display. And while the Apple Pencil might provide a more fluid experience, a dedicated device like the Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ comes with a plethora of advantages.

First and foremost, you’re not limited to iPadOS software and can benefit from using the best photo editing software that will run on your machine.

Secondly, working on a big 24-inch screen is far superior to working on a 12.9-inch tablet. And that’s before you include the quality-of-life additions that a premium tablet like the Pen Display 24+ brings with it. The ability to work with two styluses, which you can set up differently and effortlessly swap between. And the endless customization options via the Quick Keys remote, styluses, and pen display itself.

Like the Xencelabs Pen Display 16, the active area of the 24+ is not touch sensitive. This is a polarizing feature, and as somebody who’s used my fair share of pen displays, there are pros and cons with both touch-sensitive and non-touch-sensitive displays. The former is fantastic for moving around the canvas and zooming in and out instantly, but can prove problematic when your palm accidentally registers on the screen.

You can, of course, use a drawing glove, but these are typically very thin and can still end up inadvertently registering. The latter, on the other hand, is an absolute joy when you’re drawing, because you know you’re in full control, but zooming in and out and moving around the canvas, even with a device like Quick Keys, simply isn’t as intuitive as using a touch screen.

Given time, I think most artists can adapt to both, and with a big 24-inch screen that you’ll be resting your forearm on, I think Xencelabs has made the right choice here.

A neat feature on the Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ is the three LED circles in the top-right corner of the tablet. These are touch-activated buttons and can be programmed to perform various tasks.

By default, both the left and middle buttons bring up the Xencelabs Launch Settings window. The former goes straight to the ‘Home’ tab and the middle button brings up the 3-Button Pen settings. The far-right button enables Virtual Tablet Mode.

This clever feature enables you to work across multiple monitors without having to put down the stylus and move over to a trackpad or mouse. It does this by presenting your displays as a grid. I had a simple two-display setup with my MacBook Pro and the Pen Display 24+.

These were represented by two labelled rectangles in the center of the screen. If I hovered my stylus over the rectangle labelled ‘Built-in Retina Display’, it would take over the cursor on my MacBook, effectively operating like a traditional drawing tablet where you operate the stylus over a separate surface to the screen you’re working on.

The clever bit is that when I used my stylus to hold and drag a pop-up window on my MacBook display, as I dragged my stylus over into the Pen Display 24+ rectangle, the window passed over into it. And for more precise work, where you’re not dragging anything across, there’s a ‘Switch Display’ button that enlarges the rectangle so it’s easier to work on.

Personally, I think this is an ingenious solution to a frustrating problem.

Xencelabs Pen Display 24+: Verdict

Xencelabs has done it again. The Xencelabs Pen Display 24+ doesn’t feel like a product created by a company that only launched its first release in 2021 and certainly deserves a place alongside the very best premium pen displays the world has to offer. It’s not cheap, but it’s competitively priced.

From the raft of included accessories to the plethora of customization options, to the drawing experience itself, almost everything works exactly as you’d expect it to. Even if you’re a touch-sensitive stalwart, I think it’s possible to adapt to the Pen Display 24+ and if not, I would love to see a touch-sensitive Xencelabs tablet in the future, because this really is a great ecosystem.

My only real criticism is that macOS users aren’t getting this tablet’s full functionality. Xencelabs currently cannot support HP Anyware for Mac users and until Portrait Displays can release Apple silicon-compatible Calman software, the Calman Ready status isn’t accessible for a large chunk of creatives. Then again, your average working creative probably won’t lose any sleep over this.

The Calman Ready status puts the Pen Display 24+ in a higher echelon as far as color accuracy goes, but this will only be necessary for a select few studio professionals. For everyone else, the vast color accuracy options out of the box should suffice.

Alternatives

The Huion Kamvas Slate 11 and 13 are part of Huion’s standalone tablet range, which means they feature the core functionality of a traditional Pen Display, like the Xencelabs Pen Display 16, but run under their own steam, no laptop or computer required. Just like its standalone competitor, the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad, the Huion Kamvas Slate runs Android and grants access to the Google Play Store.

Ultimately, there’s not much difference between a standalone pen display and a consumer tablet and stylus. It largely comes down to a few quality-of-life upgrades and accessories, designed to enhance the drawing experience. Most notably, the Kamvas Slate has what Huion calls a Nano-Etched surface, a matte texture to provide a paper-like feel for extra comfort when drawing. The display is also fully laminated (also common among consumer tablets), which reduces the parallax from stylus tip to input, providing a more natural pen-to-paper drawing experience. The tablet is also bundled with Huion’s H-Pencil, a drawing glove (stops your bare palm from interfering with the touch screen), and spare stylus nibs.

The Kamvas Slate comes in two screen sizes, the Kamvas Slate 11 and 13. I got my hands on both and decided to review them together, due to their similar spec, the main difference being screen real estate. These tablets are not to be confused with the Kamvas Slate 10, which is the 11 and 13’s predecessor and Huion’s first standalone tablet. As somebody who uses an iPad Pro as a pen display, I was looking forward to testing the Kamvas Slate out and delivering my verdict. So, stylus in hand, let’s get to it.

Huion Kamvas Slate 11 & 13: Specifications

Huion Kamvas Slate 11 & 13: Price

Both the Huion Kamvas Slate 11 and 13 are priced competitively at $329 / £289 / AU$499 and $449 / £499 / AU$699, respectively, and that’s before you factor in Huion’s frequent sales. Buy an iPad and you’re purchasing the tablet itself, but Shenzhen-based companies such as Huion and XP-Pen do like to bundle devices with plenty of goodies, adding to the perceived value. Both tablets come with a case, stylus, spare nibs, drawing glove, USB power cable, and card ejection tool. Everything you need to get started.

The Kamvas Slate’s biggest rival is arguably the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad, which retails for $499.99 / £449.99 / AU$799.99. It also uses an MTK Helio G99 (the MT8781) with 8GB of RAM, but has a smaller 12.2-inch display and doesn’t feel quite as premium as the Kamvas tablets out of the box. You’d need to look at the iPad Air for an Apple alternative with 13-inch screen real estate, but that sits in a much higher price bracket, starting at $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 and doesn’t include an Apple Pencil.

Huion Kamvas Slate 11 & 13: Design & Handling

Huion’s Kamvas Slate is an affordable rather than cheap tablet, but even so, I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality when taking both the 11 and 13 out of the box. Their backs are aluminum, and beyond what feels like a plastic strip on the right side of each tablet, their surrounds are cool to the touch, indicating they’re an alloy, too.

A roughly 8mm border of relief means the screens don’t go right to the edges. This might be a negative on a consumer tablet, but it’s a neat touch on a pen display because it gives a little more room for the palm of your hand to manoeuvre when drawing, before it falls off the device. Desktop pen displays often have much thicker borders, and while that wouldn’t be suitable on portable devices like these, it does slightly increase the size of the area of the screen that feels comfortable when drawing, and that’s a good thing.

The Kamvas Slate 13 has circular camera modules on its rear. They’re rather large and protrude quite prominently, making the included case a must if you want to keep them scratch-free. I say modules, but one of them houses the 13-MP rear camera and the other, the LED torch/flash. I’m not keen on the size, when they could have been smaller, and the plasticky serrated border, which surrounds them, detracts from the otherwise more premium feel and aesthetic of the rest of the tablet. The Kamvas Slate 11 has a much more tasteful-looking camera module set into a rectangular arrangement. Personally, I would have preferred this on the 13, especially as both cameras (technically) are the same.

Huion’s H-Pencil feels very robust. I expected it to be light and plasticky, but on the contrary, it has a nice weight and doesn’t feel cheap. Huion says it has a metal finish, and while I believe this refers to the aesthetic and that it’s made of plastic, it’s a good-quality plastic. Don’t expect the premium feel of an Apple Pencil, but given the price point and the comparatively plasticky offering that comes with the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad, I’m impressed. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the Kamvas Slate’s screen.

Upon turning on the 13, I bumped up the brightness to 100% and couldn’t help but notice that it still looked a little muted. I then fired up Instagram on both the Kanvas Slate and my iPad Pro M1 to compare the difference, and it was stark. Whereas the iPad’s colors were vibrant and punchy, the Kamvas Slate’s were drab and muddy. Granted, the Slate’s 350-nit display pales in comparison to many consumer tablets, but the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad’s brightness is almost the same, and the colors look noticeably more vibrant and accurate. And indeed, the Kamvas Slate 11 doesn’t better the XP-Pen, but to my eye, its colors do look better than its larger sibling's (visible in the image below).

Part of what might be affecting this is the Kamvas Slate’s sensitivity to the angle at which it is viewed. It has an IPS (in-plane switching) screen, which provides more consistency at different viewing angles (square-on being optimal). Some drop-off as the viewing angle changes is to be expected, but the Kamvas Slates appear to be particularly affected. The result is a kind of vignette that I noticed almost immediately when firing the tablet up for the first time, and it’s more pronounced on the larger Kamvas Slate 13. As such, I cannot recommend these tablets for serious image editing because the displays simply do not deliver consistent enough results.

However, the Kamvas Slate isn’t designed specifically for photo-editing, and while color is still extremely important for digital artists, the screen won’t stop you from doodling on the go. After all, plenty of tablet users employ a hybrid approach, whereby they work between tablet and computer. I could see a creative using the Kamvas Slate to sketch while sitting on the sofa or on their lunch break, only to transfer their work for coloring at their desktop. Still, this isn't ideal.

It’s worth noting that while we’ve become accustomed to razor-sharp displays, each Slate's matte, paper-like screen does mean that the perceived resolution takes a bit of a hit, but that’s to be expected. Other pen displays fare similarly. That said, if you’re going to spend 10% of your time using the stylus and 90% of your time on Netflix, this probably isn’t the tablet for you. And yet, I do have to wonder if the Kamvas Slate’s paper-like display and anti-glare tech are contributing to the display's overall poor performance, but this is purely conjecture.

Huion Kamvas Slate 11 & 13: Performance

The MTK Helio G99 isn’t a powerhouse, but it runs smoothly for casual appointments. I worked on a multi-layer doodle in ibisPaint X and experienced little to no slowdown. I also edited imagery in Luminar: Photo Editor and Adobe Photoshop Express. Editing JPEG images in Luminar, with standard adjustments, felt very smooth and snappy. The clone tool took a couple of seconds to work its magic, and the first sky replacement took a few more, but once the sky had been masked, any replacements thereafter were quickly swapped in/out.

Adobe Photoshop Express was more taxing with a bit of lag, but still proved entirely serviceable. High-resolution RAWs challenged the tablet further, taking longer to load and causing significant slowdown when attempting more power-hungry adjustments, but basic adjustments were possible without too much hassle. However, this really isn’t the tablet for RAW and video editing. Sketching and quick JPEG edits are what fit its resume best.

Part of the charm of a standalone pen display is that you can make use of it as an entertainment device when you’ve got a little downtime. As such, I fired up FIFA Mobile, and although the menus were a little choppy, the game itself ran just fine. Unsurprisingly, the camera isn’t anything to write home about, but a standalone pen display’s camera is hardly going to be used for anything other than photographing sketches for tracing or snapping the odd image for copying/inspiration. And for that, the Kamvas Slate’s camera suffices.

The tablet is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the digital drawing experience. I compared it directly to its biggest rival, the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad, and found that the Kamvas Slate displayed more jitter when drawing lines. That is to say, sweeping lines looked slightly less smooth and displayed more micro-wobbles. This wasn’t hugely pronounced, but digital drawing is a game of fine margins, and this did hamper the drawing experience by comparison.

Another area where the Kamvas Slate didn’t perform as well as the XP-Pen was pressure sensitivity. Elevating pressure on the screen, Huion’s H-Pencil stopped registering before the XP-Pen X3 Pencil Pro. When lightly shading, the H-Pencil would reach a point where it would leave a series of dots as it stuttered between registering and not registering, while I could continue shading at the same pressure with the X3 Pencil Pro.

However, the Kamvas Slate did better the XP-Pen in the following two areas. Firstly, I experienced less parallax out of the box, and you can tilt the H-Pencil much farther than the X3 Pencil Pro before it stops registering, a boon when coloring or shading. Both tablets exhibit almost identical levels of lag when drawing sweeping lines, and while less lag is always better, this is something you get used to relatively quickly.

Ultimately, the H-Pencil feels better in the hand, thanks to its superior build quality and less parallax, but the X3 Pen Pro performs better where it counts most. Still, the drawing experience is serviceable for casual artists, students, or those on a budget, and the Kamvas Slate 13’s 4:3 aspect ratio does provide slightly more screen real estate than the XP-Pen’s 3:2 display.

As you’d expect, the 16:10 screen on the Kamvas Slate 11 isn’t as enjoyable to draw on as its bigger sibling. But if you’re looking for a highly compact standalone pen display, it provides something the XP-Pen doesn’t. I also enjoyed working on the Kamvas Slate’s matte screen. It’s got slightly less bite than many other pen displays on the market, but I enjoyed the feel when putting pen to screen nonetheless.

Huion Kamvas Slate 11 & 13: Verdict

Huion knows how to make a good pen display, which makes the Kamvas Slate 11 and 13’s shortcomings all the more frustrating. The display’s inconsistencies mean I cannot recommend this tablet to photographers or professional creatives, but for the casual artist or budget-conscious student who requires a portable pen display to sketch out ideas, take notes, or work in tandem with their desktop, these tablets still provide a service. The XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad delivers a better display and drawing experience, but the Kamvas Slate’s alternative screen sizes and the 11's cheap price point could prove the difference.

Alternatives

It appears we’re in the season for plenty of new budget tablet releases, and the latest to cross my fingertips is the Oppo Pad SE. This is a budget 11-inch model from the popular smartphone manufacturer, which could be one of the best iPad alternatives if you’re looking for a low-cost Android tablet.

Being a budget model, the specs are fairly basic, but there’s enough processing power to perform a range of tasks including entertainment, basic gaming and basic photo editing. The Oppo Pad SE is far from a productivity tablet, but it is reasonably agile when it’s not put under too much pressure.

The Oppo Pad SE is available in several different configurations, and the model sent for testing offers 128GB of storage, 4GB and WiFi connectivity. The 11-inch screen has a 16:10 aspect ratio, which makes the tablet feel compact and easy to hold in one hand when used in portrait and landscape orientations.

The screen is, however, only HD with a lackluster pixel density, so it’s not the most crisp offering at this price point, but it is nice and bright. The battery is something of a beast at 9340mAh, and offers 33W SUPERVOOC charging, so it does provide long life and fast charging when paired up with a charger of 33W or above.

Oppo Pad SE: Specifications

Oppo Pad SE: Price

There are several Oppo Pad SE models available with two different screens alongside a WiFi-only and WiFi plus LTE connectivity. The Oppo Pad SE is available in two colors: Starlight Silver and Twilight Blue. The model reviewed is the base model, which has the standard glossy screen, WiFi connectivity, 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. This model costs £219 / AU$399, but isn’t available in the United States.

When considering similar basic tablets in terms of specs, the Oppo Pad SE base model we reviewed sits at the more expensive end of the scale. This means that you can get the same for less elsewhere, often with higher resolution screens, but you may choose this tablet because you would like an Oppo model.

Oppo Pad SE: Design & Handling

Like most budget tablets these days, the Oppo Pad SE does a great job of masquerading as a higher-end device. It has a metal body that helps to produce the illusion, and it feels good in the hand, whether using the tablet in portrait or landscape orientations. The metal body is lightly textured, which offers a degree of grip and is useful if you plan on using the tablet without a case.

Despite the tablet’s comfort when used without a case, this will leave the device vulnerable to scratches on the metal body, possible damage to the rear camera that protrudes slightly from the body and also damage to the screen. The review model came in Twilight Blue, which is a pleasing colour visible on the sides and rear of the tablet, but this would be mostly hidden if the tablet is kept in a case.

This is an 11-inch model but with a 16:10 aspect ratio, so it feels like it’s quite compact compared to tablets with a 7:5 aspect ratio. This puts it at 10.04x6.55x0.29 in / 254.9x166.4x7.39mm with a weight of 18.7oz / 530g, which makes it comfortable to hold in one hand in portrait and landscape orientations.

Ports and controls on the device are limited, but you have everything you need with an on/off button on the top side of the tablet and a couple of sound control buttons on the side. Then there’s a USB-C port for charging and data transfer, a couple of microphones, front and rear-facing cameras and four speakers.

On the subject of the speakers, they’re pretty good and produce a pleasing sound that’s best in the middle and the trebles. Bass, like most tablets, even more expensive models, lacks depth. It’s not horrendous, but it’s not going to provide the sound quality you’d enjoy with wireless earbuds or headphones. The four speakers also provide a noticeable stereo sound, whichever orientation the tablet is held in.

The screen is one of the most important parts of any tablet, and while it is good, it’s not outstanding. Resolution and pixel density are lower than some competitor models, so although the screen produces a decent image, it lacks the clarity of higher resolution screens.

The screen is 11in / 27.94cm with an FHD 1920x1200px resolution rather than 2.5K. The pixel density is 207ppi with a 500-nit maximum brightness. The brightness is great and only 100 nits less bright than the higher-end OnePlus Pad 3. The refresh is adaptive at 60/90Hz. So, nothing amazing here, nothing too bad either, but certainly not class-leading.

The model reviewed also has the standard glossy screen, although there is a model with an Anti-Reflective Matte Display. This display is claimed to offer a paper-like reading and viewing experience with reduced glare from sunlight and indoor lighting, while being almost entirely fingerprint and reflection-free.

The reviewed model had the standard glossy screen, which is highly reflective and a fingerprint magnet. It’s a shame the matte screen isn’t standard. Other screen credentials include a low-blue light and flicker-free TÜV Rheinland certification. While Bedtime Mode automatically adjusts the brightness based on your environment.

Oppo Pad SE: Performance

The Oppo Pad SE runs the ColorOS 15 operating system that provides a smooth tablet experience with a few interesting features thrown in. You get a Personalized Kids Mode, which is great if you’ve bought the tablet for a child, and this is a common use for budget models like this. There’s Google Gemini AI Assistant built-in, plus there are some AI features for photo editing including AI Eraser, Enhance Clarity, Unblur and Remove Reflections.

AI Eraser works well to remove distractions, Enhance Clarity works well but is a bit like cranking up the Clarity slider, Unblur kind of works while Remove Refelctions isn’t good at all. The built-in photo editing controls are impressive and ideal for making minor adjustments, although the cameras are, characteristically for a tablet, mediocre at best.

Both cameras are 5MP and can capture video at 1080p 30fps and 720p 30fps. Tablet cameras always feel like an afterthought, and the Oppo Pad SE is no exception. The rear camera is superior to the front-facing camera as expected, and is adequate for the odd snapshot, but it’s likely to be severely inferior to your smartphone camera.

The tablet is guaranteed by what’s called ‘36-Month Fluency Protection’. Cutting through the marketing, this appears to be firmware updates for this period, designed to keep the tablet running as smoothly as possible. This, of course, wouldn’t cover slowdowns due to almost full storage, which always causes performance issues.

Battery life is good thanks to the 9340mAh battery that offers 33W SUPERVOOC charging. During testing, the battery only went down 50% over a couple of weeks of using the tablet for many, but not all days. Oppo claims a full charge can provide up to 11 hours of online video playback and up to 80 hours of online music playback. Then there’s a long potential standby mode.

Smart Power Saving Mode is claimed to provide up to 800 days of smart power saving. This is facilitated by powering off the tablet after seven days of inactivity. It’s a bold claim which is hard to believe. It’s possible to believe a long standby, although well over two years does sound optimistic.

Like many current Android tablets, the Oppo Pad SE can link to iPhones and iPads to share files, use phone data and mirror your phone’s screen. You can, of course, also connect to other Android devices. Whether or not you need this is another matter, but it’s certainly useful.

I played a few games on the tablet, and with the MediaTek Helio G100 processor and 4GB of RAM, the tablet was much more at home with less demanding games. I did try Call of Duty mobile using the on-screen controls rather than an Xbox controller connected via Bluetooth to see how it handled a more demanding game like this. It was playable, but it was far from the smoothest experience I’ve had playing this game on a tablet.

Oppo Pad SE: Verdict

The Oppo Pad SE does what many of its direct competitors do, and that’s to provide a tablet with an eye-catching design that belies its cost. It seems that the days of cheap-looking plasticky tablets are well and truly behind us. The overall experience provided by ColorOS 15 is smooth and pleasant, while the processing power allows you to perform the majority of tasks, although this certainly isn’t a productivity tablet.

The Oppo Pad SE sits at the more expensive end of the budget scale, coming in at a slightly higher price than comparable tablets. The screen resolution is also only FHD rather than 2.5K, which does make a difference when watching streaming services, especially. With this in mind, you can get more for less, but if you’re deadset on an Oppo tablet on a budget, this remains an option to consider.

Alternatives

Look, I'll be honest with you. I've been iPad-curious for years. But every time I get close to pulling the trigger on one of Apple's beautifully made tablets, I have what can only be described as a moment of clarity.

It's like I'm about to buy a Ferrari that can only drive in second gear. Sure, it's beautiful, sure it's expensive. But why would I hobble myself like that when there are perfectly good alternatives that let me use all the gears?

Take the latest iPad Pro. We're talking about a machine with the M4 chip – the same processor that powers some of the best MacBooks – crammed into a sleek tablet form factor with a gorgeous display and all the bells and whistles you could want. Yet somehow, Apple expects me to believe this computational powerhouse can't handle running macOS alongside iPadOS.

Just one change

Here's what I want, and it's not revolutionary: let me boot into macOS when I need to do real work.

Microsoft figured this out years ago with its Surface line (such as the Microsoft Surface Pro 9). Want to sketch and watch Netflix? Great, use it as a tablet. Need to compile code, run desktop applications, or do anything that requires the full power of a desktop? Boot into Windows and off you go. It's not rocket science; it's just good product design.

But Apple? They'd rather pretend that iPadOS is somehow equivalent to macOS while simultaneously crippling it at every turn.

The company has spent years trying to convince us that a mobile operating system with training wheels can replace a desktop OS. And frankly, I'm insulted by the attempt. It's like trying to convince me that a tricycle is just as good as a motorcycle because they both have wheels.

Ultimately, this comes down to money. Specifically, App Store money. Apple takes a 30% cut from every app sold through the App Store, and they're terrified that if they let macOS run on iPads, people might start installing software the old-fashioned way.

Think about it: if I could run macOS on an iPad, I might install Steam and buy games directly from Valve. I might download the Adobe Creative Cloud without giving Apple their cut. I might use Chrome as my default browser, or (heaven forbid) install software from the actual developers instead of through Apple's walled garden. The horror!

But here's where it gets interesting. Recent legal rulings, particularly in the EU, are starting to chip away at Apple's stranglehold on their ecosystem. The Digital Markets Act is forcing Apple to allow sideloading and third-party app stores. Epic Games is back on iOS in Europe. The brickwork of Apple's walled garden is starting to crumble.

If Apple is going to be forced to allow alternative app stores anyway, what's their excuse for not letting macOS run on iPads? The cat's already out of the bag – they can't hide behind "security" or "user experience" any more, when they're being legally compelled to open up their ecosystem.

Hope springs eternal

So here's my hope. Within the next two years, we see an iPad that can dual-boot into macOS. Not because Apple suddenly developed a conscience about user freedom, but because their legal department finally convinced their executives that the App Store gravy train is ending, whether they like it or not.

When that day comes, I'll be first in line to buy one. Because finally, finally, we'll have a tablet that doesn't insult our intelligence by pretending that a mobile OS is adequate for desktop work. We'll have a device that respects the fact that sometimes you want to touch a screen, and sometimes you want to use a keyboard and mouse and run real software.

Till then, I'll be over here with my MacBook, waiting for Apple to remember that computers are tools designed to empower users, not highly paid bean counters.

Tablets occupy a strange place for me now that smartphones are so powerful, and that much of what I do work-wise is best done on a laptop. Saying that, I do appreciate the lightweight and portability of larger and more powerful productivity tablets such as the OnePlus Pad 3.

The OnePlus Pad 3 is undoubtedly one of the best iPad alternatives available, and as a devoted Windows and Android fan, it certainly ticks the boxes for me. Although if you are an Apple user, it can be linked to Apple devices with easy file sharing, so you can incorporate it into an Apple ecosystem.

The model I reviewed features 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is reasonably priced. Adding on accessories, two of which will allow you to get more out of the tablet, does drive up the cost, however. The 13.2 3.5K screen with a refresh rate up to 144 Hz is an absolute pleasure to view for work and entertainment.

Most tablets are pretty mediocre when it comes to sound, and although the Pad 3 won’t be winning any audiophile awards, the eight speakers do produce impressive sound for a device of this size. Alongside the screen, this does provide pleasing performance, and we haven’t even considered the processing power and the OxygenOS 15 operating system yet.

OnePlus Pad 3: Specifications

OnePlus Pad 3: Price

The OnePlus Pad 3 comes in at a reasonable price for a tablet offering such high specs at $700 / £529 for the 12GB RAM / 256GB storage version. Australian pricing is to be confirmed. There is also a higher-spec 16GB / 512GB version in the UK, and that costs just £599, so it’s well worth parting with a little more cash for that additional memory and storage.

At the time of writing, there are deals available to choose one or two accessories for free alongside the tablet, but if you have to buy the keyboard case and stylus, things do begin to get expensive. The OnePlus Pad 3 Smart Keyboard costs a whopping $200 / £169, and the OnePlus Stylo 2 costs $100 / £99.

OnePlus Pad 3: Design & Handling

It’s all about the screen when it comes to tablets since this is their prime real estate, and the Pad 3 does not disappoint in this area. It’s not the largest screen available for an Android tablet, but at 13.2 inches with a 3.5K 3392x2400px resolution, a 315ppi pixel density, the LCD screen creates a stunning image.

This is further backed up by a 144 Hz refresh rate, 12-bit color depth that translates to 98% of DCI-P3 and a default brightness of 600 nits. This means that you can realistically edit photos in Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop alongside video editing in LightCut, etc., knowing that colors will be fairly reliable.

The screen size and 7:5 aspect ratio work well for having up to three app windows open at the same time. This is great for productivity, where you might want a web browser or PDF viewer open while also working in Google Docs or Microsoft Word.

With its aluminum all-metal unibody and thin 0.23in / 5.97mm design, the OnePlus Pad 3 is incredibly svelte for a 13.2in tablet. The bezel is also thin around the edges of the screen, giving the Pad 3 the modern look you’d expect from a high-end tablet released in 2025. To give you a point of reference, the USB-C port is just over half the depth.

A weight of just 23.81oz / 675g means it’s also not much heavier than 11in tablets, so it’s incredibly comfortable to carry, whether you opt for a folio case or a smart keyboard that doubles up as a folio case and stand. In reality, if you want to get the most out of the Pad 3, the OnePlus Pad 3 Smart Keyboard is an essential accessory.

The Smart Keyboard is about the same size as a 13-inch laptop keyboard, and having it attached to the tablet makes it perform more like a laptop than a tablet, thanks to the trackpad. But, of course, you still have a touchscreen, and OxygenOS 15 is a tablet operating system, so it sits somewhere between, like most larger productivity tablets with a keyboard case.

For typing, I found the keyboard comfortable to use, but like all tablet keyboards, the keys have short travel and feel a little mushy. It’s what you get with such a thin keyboard, but the overall typing experience does improve as you get used to the keyboard. AI is a significant feature of the Pad 3, and there is a dedicated AI button on the keyboard to launch Gemini AI.

The OnePlus Pad 3 is available in two colors: Storm Blue and Frosted Silver. The review unit was the former, and it’s so dark it almost looks black, so I had to check the box to be 100% sure. The rear camera is positioned in the top left corner with the tablet facing you, while the front-facing camera is unsurprisingly located on the bezel at the top.

There are eight speakers in total, which include four woofers and four tweeters. This helps to produce fantastic sound for a tablet. Where I often find myself saying that tablet sound lacks bass and depth, the Pad 3 undoubtedly provides both of these. This makes watching streaming services, listening to music and gaming a much more enjoyable experience.

OnePlus Pad 3: Performance

Power is a key element of the Pad 3, and the tablet uses the octa-core Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. OnePlus claims that this provides a 45% CPU boost and a 40% GPU performance increase. This is paired up with 12GB or 16GB of RAM, depending on which model you choose, and the 12GB RAM in the review unit made for a smooth experience when editing photos, editing videos and gaming.

For the latter, I connected an Xbox controller via Bluetooth, which was much more comfortable and precise than using onscreen controls. One aspect of the screen I loved during testing is the addition of Open Canvas, as part of OxygenOS 15, and was first seen on the Pad 2. This software allows you to have up to three vertical windows open at once.

Some skinned versions of Android aren’t great, but OnePlus has always done a great job, in my opinion, and OxygenOS 15 is a pleasant tablet operating system to use. Alongside Open Canvas, you get screen sharing, screen mirroring, control nearby phones and laptops, including Apple devices and file sharing. Many Android tablets are now offering Apple integration, which is great for those looking for an Apple alternative device that can be incorporated into an existing Apple ecosystem.

AI is an important feature of the Pad 3, like many devices these days, but it’s certainly not overwhelming and in your face. There’s the AI toolbox, which offers AI-powered assistance, including a toolbar where you can select things like translation and AI summaries, like those offered at the top of Google searches. The tablet also has Google Gemini AI built in, so you can open this up easily using the app icon or the AI key on the Smart Keyboard, if you buy it.

With productivity in mind, the 12,140mAh battery is quite a beast and I found it perfectly adequate for my typical kind of tablet use, which typically involves typing, photo and video editing, web browsing, entertainment and gaming. It could easily manage a day of near-constant use. OnePlus claims it'll play AAA games for up to 6 hours, short videos for more than 15 hours and long videos for over 17 hours.

For charging, the Pad 3 supports 80W SUPERVOOC charging and will charge 1-100% in 92 minutes, while 10 minutes will charge it 18%. I used my 100W charger, and it definitely was faster to charge than lower-end tablets with lower capacity batteries that I’ve used in the past. OnePlus also claims it will last for 70 days on standby, although this wasn’t tested since I didn’t have the tablet for that long and leaving it unused for that period of time would be strange, to say the least.

One thing that I did find strange is that there’s no SIM tray or LTE connectivity. It’s not the end of the world since we all have a smartphone and can set up WiFi hotspots easily for data, but this does seem like an omission for people who would prefer to have a dedicated 4G or 5G data connection for their OnePlus Pad 3.

OnePlus Pad 3: Verdict

The OnePlus Pad 3 is a delight to use thanks to its amazingly bright and detailed screen, not to mention the amazing sound quality for a tablet. OnePlus has done a fantastic job in the design department to produce a large tablet that’s thin and not too heavy for one-handed operation. And the power – the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and 12GB of RAM in the review model made everything incredibly smooth.

To get the most out of the Pad 3, you need to buy the Smart Keyboard. The stylus would also be useful for notetaking and sketching, as well as using photo editing apps, and these are both separately available. Buying one or both of these does drive up the cost of the Pad 3, which, for the tablet alone, is quite reasonable.

Alternatives

Smartphones are the smart devices we use the most, but tablets certainly don’t appear to be going anywhere, with many new models released each year. The Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2 is a slim and lightweight budget tablet from an established tech manufacturer, and potentially one of the best budget tablets available.

Budget tablets have come a long way, and many look and feel of a much higher quality than comparable models from 10 years ago. It’s fair to say that many, including the Redmi Pad 2, feature attractive designs with narrow bezels and metal bodies that belie their price. The two Redmi Pad 2 models available look identical, with just the RAM and storage being different, and the more expensive model offering LTE connectivity.

I reviewed the model with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, which logically provides a smoother experience than the slightly cheaper model with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The higher-end model of the two isn’t much more expensive, so if your budget can stretch a little further, it’s worth it for the extra memory and storage.

Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2 : Specifications

Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2: Price

The Xiaomi Redmi 2 is available in two versions and two colours. The price of the two is so small that for many people it will make sense to invest in the slightly more expensive model to enjoy more RAM, a higher storage capacity and LTE/4G connectivity.

The cheaper model with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage costs $179 / £169 / AU$288, while the version with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage costs just $215 / £219 / AU$347. These are attractive prices for tablets with a decent 11-inch 2.5K screen, LTE/4G connectivity for the more expensive version when a SIM card is installed and respectable performance across the board.

Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2: Design & Handling

The Redmi Pad 2 is a good-looking tablet; there’s no getting away from the fact that the narrow bezel and the all-metal unibody make this budget tablet look and feel more expensive than it is. The tablet is also available in two colours: Graphite Gray and Mint Green. The lightly textured metal does feel good in the hand and provides a degree of grip that’s noticeably different to the screen, but a case of some kind will naturally provide more protection and improved grip.

This tablet offers an 11-inch screen, but with a 16:10 aspect ratio, it’s more rectangular than many other 11-inch tablets. This works well when streaming TV shows and movies, but perhaps most importantly, it means the tablet isn’t too wide and is comfortable to hold in one hand for use in portrait orientation. This is great when using apps that work best in portrait format, such as social media apps, and when reading eBooks and news websites, etc.

With dimensions of 10.02×6.54×0.29in / 254.58x166.04x7.36mm and a weight of 18oz / 510g, you can immediately see that this is a well-proportioned and fairly lightweight device. It still manages to pack in four speakers, an on/off switch, a volume control, a USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

It’s not often you see a headphone jack these days – it does almost seem pointless in the world of earbuds, but why not? It is, however, positioned extremely close to the back edge of the tablet, which could put pressure on the cable if the tablet isn’t in a case and is just resting on your lap, bed or sofa. It’s a nice idea, but perhaps not the best execution; I’ll certainly be sticking to wireless headphones.

The Redmi Pad 2 features a generous 9000mAh battery, which Xiaomi claims provides up to 86 days on standby, 234 hours of music playback and 17 hours of video playback. I didn’t test the tablet to these extremes, but I was happy with the longevity of the battery when the tablet was used for web browsing, streaming, emails and app use, including Lightroom Mobile to see how well the tablet could handle editing smartphone Raw files.

For this type of standard use, the Redmi Pad 2 didn’t skip a beat, and I was able to scroll through YouTube Shorts quickly without any slowdowns or stuttering. It’s far from a serious productivity tablet that you could use to replace a laptop for many but not all tasks, but for everyday use, the processing power, screen and sound are more than adequate.

Despite not being a productivity powerhouse, the Redmi Pad 2 is compatible with the Redmi Smart Pen, which can be used for sketching in the included Mi Canvas app, an alternative drawing app from Google Play, for note-taking and for photo editing, etc. This is an optional extra and not an accessory that was included with the review unit, so I was unable to test it.

Whether or not you’d need the Redmi Smart Pen is very much a personal preference, but for this tablet I think it would only be worthwhile if you intend to sketch and draw. For all other tasks, using your forefinger for navigation is enough. If the tablet were more powerful and had a larger screen, a smart Pen would be much more useful, in my opinion.

Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2: Performance

Setting up the tablet is simple, like all tablets, although I did accidentally set up gesture rather than button control during the setup process. This was user error, and it was easy enough to fix this in the settings. The tablet runs Xiaomi HyperOS 2, which is based on Android 15 and Xiaomi's Internet of Things platform, Vela. It’s nothing out of the ordinary as an OS, but it can’t be faulted except for the absence of split-screen functionality for viewing two apps at once.

This combination does bring into play a host of AI-powered features, ranging from speech recognition to even unique calculator features. Do these improve functionality, or are they simply a jump onto the current AI bandwagon? Realistically, some are useful and others are pointless gimmicks. For example, AI Gesture Recognition allows you to add special effects during video calls using gestures - make of it what you will.

If you own a Xiaomi smartphone running HyperOS 2 you can enjoy several syncing options across the phone and tablet including call sync, network sync which utilises the phone’s WiFi hotspot intelligently and shared clipboard. The Redmi Pad 2 can also be set up for interconnectivity with Apple devices and linked to Windows PC, so it can be incorporated into your existing device ecosystem.

In terms of the installed software, there is some bloatware included, but you can hide these apps from the homepage if they can’t be uninstalled. There are also some popular apps pre-installed, including TikTok and Temu, installed already, which may save you time if you’d install them anyway. These can be deleted if not required.

When you compare this tablet to higher-end models released just two or three years ago, you’re getting some pretty decent hardware, including the 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in the more expensive model of the two.

The 11-inch screen is also excellent for a budget model at 2.5K / 2560x1600px with a 274ppi pixel density. It also offers a 10-bit colour depth, 1500:1 contrast ratio and a 90Hz refresh rate. Colours are great and the image is crisp, although viewing angles are minimal, so it’s best viewed straight on.

The screen provides a nice and clear image when using apps and watching streaming services, as well as doing some minor photo editing in Adobe Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop Express, etc.

The screen is highly reflective, and it can be difficult to view darker scenes in movies and TV shows. This is a normal issue with tablets, so it’s certainly not unique to the Redmi Pad 2. The screen is also a fingerprint magnet and smears easily, which also makes viewing difficult.

Adding to the enjoyment of listening to music and watching movies, the quad speakers support Dolby Atmos, and the sound quality is good overall. Sound is clear, and although the bass isn’t horrific, it certainly lacks depth.

To test this, I played DJI Shadow – Nobody Speak and Tool – 7empest on YouTube at full volume to try different music genres. Everything remained clear with a dominant midrange, so you can certainly enjoy loud music and movies, but don’t expect too much.

Tablet cameras are infamously poor, and the Redmi Pad 2’s cameras won’t be winning any awards; particularly the front-facing camera, which is the one you’d typically use for video calls. Both are also quite low-res, and cameras of a higher quality would be a welcome improvement.

The main rear camera is 8MP and can capture video at 1080p 30fps and 720p 30fps, while the front-facing camera is 5MP and can capture video at 1080p 30fps and 720p 30fps.

When comparing photos taken with the two cameras, the rear camera isn’t bad overall, but fine detail is mushy. The front-facing camera is pretty poor, and the same scene shows even more detail loss and a significant softness across the whole image taken in bright light.

Tablets have never and will never be a good option for photography, but the front-facing camera is important for video calling, and it could have been much better here.

Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2: Verdict

If you’re looking for a basic, low-cost tablet for general use, the Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2 will more than adequately cover your needs. This is especially if you go for the more powerful option with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The screen is great, and although the sound from the quad speakers lack depth overall, they can handle loud music without distortion and remain clear.

For the price, you’re getting a pretty good deal here, and while the Redmi Pad 2 isn’t up to the speed of more powerful productivity tablets with larger screens, it’s quite similar to more powerful tablets from a few years ago. So, if you’d like a tablet for entertainment around the house and on the go, the Redmi Pad 2 is worth a look.

Alternatives

While I don’t rate the Amazon Fire range as the best tablets for photo editing, if you’re going on a photography trip and want a cheap device you can slip into your kit bag so you can access your Kindle library, show people your website, or finally get around to watching Squid Game while you’re sat on a train or lying in a tent, you simply cannot go wrong with these Amazon Prime Day prices.

I’m talking £49.99 for the Fire HD 8, £84.99 for the Fire HD 10, and £144.99 for the Fire Max 11. Those are all stonking deals!

You might be surprised to learn that my pick of the bunch is the Amazon Fire HD 8. Since none of these tablets are really suitable for photo editing, they’re best off being used as a portable media center. The Amazon Fire HD 8 and its 8-inch screen, then, is highly portable and at £49.99 it won’t be the end of the world if it gets left in a hotel or dropped halfway up a mountain. If all you're looking for is a streaming device and a Kindle, you can’t really go wrong.

If you’re willing to pay a little more, it stands to reason that the newer Amazon Fire HD 10 will be supported for longer, increasing its longevity. It also has 3GB of RAM to the HD 8’s 2GB and a faster processor. As the name suggests, you get a larger 10.1-inch screen, which could be a positive or a negative; however, the resolution is better than the Amazon Fire HD 8.

The Amazon Fire Max 11 is Amazon’s flagship Fire tablet, boasting an 11-inch screen, octa-core processor with 4GB of RAM, 14 hours of battery life, and 8-MP front and rear cameras (the Fire HD tablets have 5-MP cameras). £144.99 is a fantastic deal, but do be aware that despite its flagship credentials, I don’t recommend it for photo editing. This is because you’re limited to the Amazon Appstore and cannot access Google Play, limiting the available software for this device.

As such, I think the Amazon Fire Max 11 is best suited for streaming, a bit of gaming and light admin tasks such as catching up on emails. However, if you’re looking for a tablet with a decent-sized screen and with more grunt than the Fire HD tablets, this is still a fantastic deal.

Remember the best prices for each is with on-board advertising - if you don't want that distraction, pay a little more to have that removed from the outset.

Check out these totally tweet bird feeder camera deals!

Xiaomi has launched a new Redmi Pad 2 generation of its accessibly priced tablet series with three different memory options, three different colors, and the option of 4G connectivity.

The 11-inch tablet with 90Hz 2560 x 1600 (2.5K) display (that's 274ppi if you can't do the math in your head) and quad speakers is targeted at entertainment applications, though the power and pressure sensitve 'Smart Pen' should make it perfectly capable of basic photo editing too.

The tablet runs Xiaomi HyperOS 2, an updated version of the company's operating system. It is based on Android 15 and Xiaomi's own internet-of-things platform Vela. This newer version has AI search, AI art, AI calculator and AI speech recognition features (including subtitle generation and interpreter).

The unibody style design has a metallic look in every color combination (graphite gray, mint green, or lavendar purple) and contains a 9000mAh battery which can illuminate the screen to 500 nits in normal mode or 600 in an 'Outdoor mode'). Xiaomi say this will give you "Worry-free all day battery life."

It weighs 510g (1.12 pounds) and the official dimensions are 254.58mm x 166.04mm x 7.36mm.

The processing is driven by a Helio G100-Ultra chip on a 6nm process, made of 2 A76 and 6 A55 cores and a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU – a mid-range and power-efficient GPU that might not excite gamers but should please many.

The memory is available in three options 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, or 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Storage expansion of up to 2TB by card is possible too.

In both cases, the cameras are 8MP with a 1/4-inch sensor and f/2 lens on the rear and 5MP with a 1/5-inch sensor f/2.2 lens on the front. Both have a pixel size of 1.12μm.

The device is already available in the UK for 4GB+128GB, £129 or £189 for the cellular (4G) version. The launch (for the rest of this month) comes with an additional promotional price via the company's own site – 10% off plus a pad cover and 22.5W power adapter. Step up to the 4G version and that launch bundle includes Remi Buds 6 and a pen too. See the deals on the UK site:

🇬🇧 MI.com UK – 4GB / 128GB Redmi Pad 2 Pad £169 £129

🇬🇧 MI.com UK – 4GB / 128GB + Cellular (4G) Redmi Pad 2 £219 £189

The new pads can be ordered now, charging a £1 deposit, but will not ship until around the June 13-18.

We don't have a US date for the tablets – indeed Xiaomi, the world's third largest smartphone manufacturer, does not currently sell tablets of any description in the USA even though a ban on Xiaomi was lifted by the courts in 2021 (the federal court called the blacklisting "deeply flawed," which might be of interest to DJI followers too).

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Check our guide to the best tablet for photo editing or – if you're not convinced by the option to save money – the best iPad for photo editing!

The OnePlus Pad 3 has landed. If you’re in the market for an Android alternative to the incredibly popular iPad Air, you may well be looking towards OnePlus' latest tablet to fill that gap. And while I’ll get to that monster CPU and battery in due course, perhaps the most obvious change from previous offerings is a redesigned rear camera.

The OnePlus Pad and OnePlus Pad 2 both sported a rather large lens situated near the center of their rear panels. That’s gone now in favor of a more conventional lozenge-shaped camera in one corner of the device. Available specs remain the same as the OnePlus Pad 2, though, with a 13-MP rear camera and an 8-MP front camera. The rear camera can capture video footage up to 4K 30p, and has electronic image stabilization and a digital zoom.

Under the hood, you’ll find Qualcomm’s flagship CPU, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, making the OnePlus Pad 3 the first tablet on the market to house this powerful chipset. And with options for 12GB or 16GB of RAM (with 256GB and 512GB of storage, respectively), this tablet has got the guts to complement it. According to OnePlus, the Snapdragon 8 Elite boosts CPU and GPU performance by 45% and 40%, respectively, while also providing a “massive reduction in power consumption.”

Speaking of power consumption, the OnePlus Pad 3 houses a massive 12,140mAh battery. To put that into perspective, the 13-inch iPad Pro M4 has a 10,340mAh battery. OnePlus is quoting up to six hours of “super high end AAA games”, more than 15 hours of short videos, and 17 hours of long videos, as well as 70 days of standby power. And in the highly unlikely event you pick up a OnePlus Pad 3, charge it fully, power it off and then never pick it up again for two years, I'm told it'll still power on! And for charging with an 80W SUPERVOOC, it’ll take 92 minutes to go from 1% to max charge, while it’ll reach 18% in ten minutes.

The OnePlus Pad 3 is the series’ thinnest tablet at 5.97mm. For comparison, that’s even thinner than Apple’s latest iPad Air (6.1mm). And to ensure it remains light and doesn’t flex, OnePlus says its all-metal single-piece body is made from a “different type of aluminium not usually seen in tablets”. But with such a thin body and such a powerful processor, you might be wondering if the tablet will run hot. Thankfully, the OnePlus Pad 3 is fitted with graphene-composite vapor chambers to dissipate heat. And while that might not mean much to those of us who aren’t computer engineers, OnePlus states that in one lab test, during an hour running a high-end mobile game alongside a competitor, the OnePlus Pad 3 was three degrees cooler.

This tablet boasts the series’ largest display to date. The 13.2-inch LCD screen has a 3.4K resolution, boasting more pixels per inch (315PPI) than the OnePlus Pad 2, a 12-bit color depth, and 96% color gamut. Like its predecessor, it can reach a 144Hz refresh rate and has a 600-nit brightness, with the ability to reach 900 nits in high-brightness mode. The OnePlus Pad 3 has eight speakers (four woofers and four tweeters), which OnePlus says have been strategically positioned to deliver “great quality audio, whatever you're watching”, and are said to adapt to the orientation of the tablet.

Anyone who’s used a previous OnePlus Pad or OnePlus phone will know that they run on the China-based company’s proprietary OxygenOS (based on Android). As you’d expect, the OnePlus Pad 3 comes with the latest OxygenOS 15, but it boasts a few exclusive tweaks to accommodate the tablet’s big 13.2-inch screen, and includes the ability to share, mirror, and control nearby phones and laptops (Apple devices included). The OnePlus Pad 2’s Open Canvas has also been enhanced for this latest iteration and is said to perform even smoother due to that mammoth CPU.

And beyond the tablet, OnePlus is launching an enhanced OnePlus Pad keyboard to suit the OnePlus Pad 3. The OnePlus Pad 3 Smart Keyboard comes with larger and more spaced-out keys, a range of command keys and an all-new AI button. The keyboard is adjustable between 110 and 165 degrees, is slightly lighter than past incarnations, continues to support NFC transfers and connects magnetically. The OnePlus Stylo 2 has also launched, along with 16,000 pressure levels, and has a leather-like texture.

OnePlus says it’s “worked on the connection between OnePlus Stylo 2 and OnePlus Pad 3, helping remove any unwanted accidental removals.” This second-generation stylus also boasts new interactivity with the OnePlus Pad 3. When the screen is turned off, a tap will navigate to the shorthand notes page, while swiping the stylus in the upper-right corner of the screen will allow you to annotate whatever is currently displayed. Finally, there’s also OnePlus Pad 3 Folio Case, which connects to the tablet magnetically, protects the OnePlus Stylo 2 via a magnetic buckle, and can be folded to provide 20-, 44-, 60-, and 72-degree viewing angles.

The OnePlus Pad 3 is available for pre-order now and retails for $699.99 / £599 (approx AU$1070). The OnePlus Pad 3 Folio Case retails for $49.99 / £59 (approx AU$77) and the OnePlus Pad 3 Smart Keyboard retails for $199.99 / £169 (approx AU$306).

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Check out the best tablet for photo editing and the best tablet camera. Plus, here's how I edit photos with an Apple Pencil and my iPad Pro.

It's no secret: even the best tablet cameras still aren't great. In fact, they're often… well, kind of embarrassing. While smartphone photography keeps getting smarter, sharper and more cinematic, tablets are stuck in a time warp. And for a device that can cost over a grand, I find that hard to swallow.

Before anyone rolls their eyes and says, "But who even uses a tablet for photos?", hear me out. In reality, tablets are no longer just oversized Netflix machines. In 2025, they're used for everything from remote working and video conferencing to note-taking, live sketching and even on-the-go content creation.

Photographers, students, designers, artists: we're all using tablets in ways that would have been unthinkable five years ago. So, why shouldn't the cameras be up to scratch?

After all, a lot of people use their tablet cameras for more than just QR codes. Teachers use them to document student work. Healthcare professionals capture images for patient records. Field workers collect visual data.

For these professionals and others, having to switch between devices disrupts workflow and productivity. Even photographers may sometimes find themselves in situations where the tablet in hand is the most convenient camera available.

Convenience, though, doesn't mean you'll capture high-quality images. Take the iPad Pro M4, for example. This sleek, powerful bit of kit has a 12MP Wide and 10MP Ultra Wide on the back, and a 12MP TrueDepth camera on the front. Sounds decent, right?

But when you compare that to the camera magic happening on the iPhone 16 Pro Max – with its 48MP sensors, deep fusion, night mode, and cinematic features – it's clear that tablets are still the poor cousins at the Apple family reunion.

And it's not just Apple. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is a stunner in every way – except its cameras. It packs a 13MP rear shooter and a 12MP ultra-wide front camera; perfectly serviceable, of course, but nowhere near the imaging prowess of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with its 200MP primary sensor.

Not good enough

Of course, megapixels aren't everything: what really matters are things like dynamic range, color accuracy and low-light performance. Unfortunately, these are also areas where tablet cameras fall short.

You end up with images that are soft, noisy or oddly flat, especially when the lighting isn't playing nice. And let's not even talk about how awkward it is to hold a big tablet steady while taking a photo, without looking like you're using a dinner tray to film a wedding.

To be fair to manufacturers, there are obvious challenges here. Squeezing a top-tier camera system into a thin, light tablet without messing with battery life, thermals or the overall design is never going to be easy. But when we're paying such eye-watering prices for a high-end tablet, it's not unreasonable to expect more than "good enough".

What I'd like

So what would better tablet photography look like? Perhaps it's time to demand dedicated camera modules that don't compromise the tablet's slim profile, or computational photography features specifically optimized for tablet use.

Manufacturers could even explore partnerships with camera specialists, similar to what we've seen in smartphones with Leica and Hasselblad.

Certainly, the old "But tablets are for media consumption" excuse doesn't hold water any more. Nowadays, professionals want devices that can do it all: sketch, edit, Zoom, shoot. And if we're already carrying a tablet for work or play, we shouldn't have to reach for a phone just to take a decent picture or shoot video.

So here's my polite plea: if you're developing the next beautiful, high-performance tablet, don't skimp on the camera. I'm not asking for a photo perfection on my iPad or Galaxy Tablet, just something that can hold its own when inspiration strikes and I have a tablet in my hand rather than a phone.

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The best tablets for photo editing and the best iPads for photo editing are still great for on-the-go post production. Even if the cameras are pure potato.

The AirPad Air series has long been the more affordable alternative to the Pro line that doesn’t quite throttle the features like the budget iPad model, but with the iPad Air M3, creatives are gaining a few key features including faster speed and graphics along with native support for ProRes video editing. Unveiled on March 4, the new Apple iPad Air M3 brings the mid-tier tablet a newer processor without touching the list price.

The iPad Air M3 isn’t a radical update but rather an incremental one, with the same design as the earlier version but a speed boost created by moving from the M2 to the M3 Apple-made processor. What is a surprise, however, is when Apple made the announcement. When Tim Cook teased “something in the Air” earlier this week, many analysts expected the MacBook Air. Instead, it’s the tablet that got a March refresh.

While the iPad Air M3 is more of an incremental update than a radically new tablet, the March 2025 launch brings a few key features for creatives. The biggest change over the older model is the move to that M3 processor right in the name, which Apple says is almost twice as fast as the M1 model.

The update also brings around 40 percent faster graphics, Apple says, compared to the M1. In a first for the Air series, the M3 variant also uses Apple’s more advanced graphics architecture that includes dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, which the company says translates into more accurate lighting and shadows on screen.

But the new iPad Air M3 also lists a ProRes engine in the specifications. While earlier models could support ProRes editing in third-party apps, the inclusion of a native ProRes engine should boost speed when working with the video files. The iPad Pro series has traditionally been the better choice for video editing in part due to that ProRes engine and, while the Pro series still carries an edge with the M4 chip, the Air M3 narrows the gap between the two with that integrated ProRes support in the media engine.

Oddly enough, while the M3 includes ProRes in the media engine, the camera specifications don’t carry support for shooting ProRes video, although iPads aren’t as well known for taking photos and videos as Apple’s smartphones. The camera specs for the iPad Air M3 line-up with the older M2 version with a 12MP wide-angle camera with an f/1.8 aperture and 4K at up to 60 fps. Compared to the Pro model, the Air series still lacks a portrait mode and ProRes recording, while the camera also doesn’t have a flash.

The M3 chip and iPadOS 18 brings an AI-based Clean Up tool to remove distractions in the native Photos app. Support for Apple Intelligence also includes Image Playground, Genmoji, and AI-powered Siri. Like the latest iPhones, the iPad Air M3 uses on-device processing for many AI requests while Private Cloud Compute doesn’t store user data for larger off-device processing.

The iPad Air M3’s battery life remains unchanged at up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi or up to nine hours on a cellular network, but Apple notes that, for the first time, the battery contains 95% recycled lithium.

The refreshed iPad Air also comes with a new Magic Keyboard, which includes a larger trackpad, a row of function keys, and a lower price point. The new keyboard lists for $269 / £269 / AU$449 for the 11-inch version and $319 / £299 / AU$499 for the 13-inch.

The iPad Air M3 announcement also comes with the release of a new budget tablet, the iPad A16, which is about 30 percent faster than the earlier budget iPad with the A13 Bionic chip. The new budget model lacks Apple Intelligence.

The iPad Air M3 will be available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage options and a choice of blue, purple, starlight or space gray. Pre-orders for the new iPad Air M3 are already open in 29 countries, with shipping and availability in physical Apple Stores expected to begin on March 12. The base 11-inch model starts at $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the Wi-Fi model and $749 / £749 / AU$1,249 with cellular. The 13-inch option starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,349, and $949 / £979 / AU$1,599 with a cellular network.

The base model iPad is also available for pre-order with an expected March 12 ship date and starts at $349 / £329 / AU$599.

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Pen displays are popular devices for visual creatives thanks to the precise input they provide with a pen and paper-like experience directly onto a screen. There are options available for every budget, and Huion is a midrange manufacturer with beginner to professional pen displays catering to most creatives. The Huion Kamvas 16 Gen 3 occupies the midrange of Huion's line-up, building upon the specs and features of the Kamvas 16 (2021).

In a digital world of increasing resolution, at least for displays, the Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) hits the middle ground with a 15.8-inch 16:9 ratio display with a 2.5K resolution. This produces a clear and vibrant image that we'll discuss in more detail later. Plus, with 16,384 levels of pen sensitivity, the pen display is a precise option for digital drawing and direct input for photographers and designers making it one of the best drawing tablets.

Pen displays are typically used by digital artists, photographers, retouchers, and designers. They improve on the level of control offered by graphics tablets thanks to their built-in screens that can be set as an extension of or a mirror of your main computer screen. Precise input is made directly onto the image with the natural comfort of pen to paper and greater precision than a mouse. The Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) costs $499 / £499 including a stand, so it's competitively priced against the competition, even if the specs aren't quite to the same level as all.

Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3): Specifications

Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3): Design & Handling

The Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) is a well-made and slick device that's incredibly comfortable to use on your lap, laid flat on a desk or table using the low-profile rubber feet to provide grip, or angled between 20 and 60 degrees using the included Huion Foldable Stand ST300. For me, using the Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) laid flat or at a 20-degree tilt using the stand was the most comfortable option, but this is just my personal preference.

The Pen display itself is 16.58x9.32x0.49in / 421.2x236.81x12.62mm with a weight of 43.92oz / 1245g, plus connection cables so it's a highly portable device, but for use on the go, you'll have to purchase a carry case separately. To be fair to Huion here, since many people will only use the Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) predominantly in one location, it makes sense not to include the carry case and leave it as an optional extra rather than increasing the initial cost of the pen display.

There are direct access buttons on one side of the Kamvas 16 (Gen 3), but I won’t say which side because the pen display can be flipped for right and left-handed use. Being righthanded, I naturally ensure the dial controllers and keys are on the left so my free hand can comfortably access them for a more streamlined experience.

Two dial controllers can be customized with one of three functions while six customizable keys can be customized according to the software being used. Software options available for customization appear in a list within the Huion driver interface and can also be added if not present. I had to do this for both Photoshop and Lightroom which is more of a hassle with Windows than Mac, but it's not difficult.

Since the buttons and dials are customizable, they are blank as with all pen displays, so you have to remember which functions have been assigned to each, and how these differ from one program to the next if you use more than one type of software. What's probably best for most people here is to assign modifier functions to the keys and perhaps brush size and zoom to the dials, while using your keyboard for keyboard shortcuts if this is the way you work.

This latter point may even be unnecessary for a pen display because when you're working directly on an image or canvas within the software user interface, in drawing or photo editing software, it's quick and easy to tap the tool you require on the Toolbar. Personal preference is key here, so you can ultimately work in the way that suits you best.

The battery-free pen is comfortable to use and lightweight, with three customizable buttons. It feels as lightweight as a pencil despite being bulkier, and I felt no discomfort using the pen for extended periods of photo editing. There's also a pen stand that unscrews to reveal 10 spare pen nibs and a nib clip. The Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) also comes with the cables you need to connect it to Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android devices, although you will need to have a USB-C port available so this is something to bear in mind.

Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3): Performance

The Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) undoubtedly provides a more precise input experience than a traditional mouse. Plus, the use of the pen on a paper-like surface of the screen is much more comfortable with a greatly reduced possibility of RSI, and that's before you even begin to consider the full benefits of working directly on the digital image you're creating or editing.

The battery-free pen uses PenTech 4.0 which provides 16,384 levels of pressure sensitivity with -60 to +60 degrees of tilt support. This allows you to create light and thin lines as well as bolder lines when greater pressure is applied. This is less important for photo editing than it is for drawing, although, as a photographer, once you get used to these sensitivity levels they allow for incredibly precise masking and respectable manual selections with the Lasso Tool. There are, unfortunately, no touchscreen capabilities.

When you first install the Huion driver and connect the Kamvas 16 (Gen 3), you have to set the working area and calibrate the pen with the screen. Without doing this there can be parallax, where the pointer and pen don't quite match up, so it's an essential step to achieving precise input. Once complete, you can use the Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) with no lag or jitter present when drawing.

The 15.8-inch IPS screen features a 2560x1440px resolution with a 186ppi pixel density, so there's plenty of detail with little to no blocking of software interfaces when compared to 1080p pen displays. The Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) screen uses an anti-glare coating which does work well and this was demonstrated when taking photos of the device using an LED studio light for illumination. There's also anti-sparkle, which is claimed to reduce graininess in the display, while the textured surface does indeed provide a comfortable drawing experience.

Despite being a matte screen, it is prone to fingerprints and palm marks which can be avoided using the included palm rejection glove, which also reduces friction. You can work without it and the on-screen image does cut through fingerprints and palm marks so it's ultimately up to you whether or not to use the glove; it's certainly much more useful when drawing than it is for photo editing since the hand is moved more for drawing.

Getting down to the pen display's color credentials, they're not at a professional pen display level but they're still respectable and the Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) can be used by and meet the needs of enthusiasts and professionals alike. The screen can be set to a maximum brightness of 220cd/m2 with a contrast ratio of 1000:1, so the on-screen image is bright and clear. It can produce 16.7 million colours covering 99% sRGB, 99% Rec. 709, and 90% Adobe RGB.

This means photographers wouldn’t want to complete any color corrections using the pen display, but it's more than adequate for drawing. The color mode can be switched in the OSD menu alongside the adjustment of settings including brightness and contrast. The tablet also undergoes a factory calibration and a report is supplied in the box. This doesn’t mean that you can't calibrate the Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) yourself, but it does provide confidence while potentially removing the need to calibrate for many users.

There is also a Pen Tablet Mode alongside Pen Display Mode, so you can switch between the two as desired. Although, when you have a pen display it makes most sense to use it this way. Out of the box, the default brightness and contrast settings are at 50% making the screen a little lackluster, but a small increase of both settings provided a greatly improved on-screen image that was to my liking.

Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3): Verdict

Huion, it has to be said, has produced a pen display that for me is the perfect blend of size, weight, and screen resolution, which is 2.5K. It's comfortable to use, doesn't take up too much desk space, and is easy to store when not in use. The color gamut could be wider for photographers, but it's not a problem if color-critical work is performed on a screen with a wider gamut.

For drawing and design work, the color gamut is absolutely fine and the 16,384 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt support of the pen allow for impressive levels of control. With a price of $499 / £499 including a stand, it's not the least expensive Huion pen display available but it is reasonably priced for the specifications and features on offer. It's not quite pro-spec, but it is good enough to be used in a professional environment.

Alternatives

The iPad is one of Apple’s greatest innovations – for years it’s been the perfect accompaniment to the MacBook or iMac – but it felt significant when Apple launched the first iPad Pro with an M-series silicon chip. The best iPad was finally powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with the best MacBooks. And yet – nearly four years later – the iPad Pro is still in no danger of challenging Apple’s computers.

But it’s not because iPads aren’t powerful enough, it’s because of the limitations of the iPadOS operating system. And while I have no idea what goes on behind closed doors over at Apple Park, I can’t help but wonder if iPad innovation has become something of a conundrum for the good folks at Cupertino.

The iPad Pro (M4) is the most powerful tablet on the market. After all, it’s packing Apple’s latest M-series chip. But for most usages, it feels a little like stuffing a Bugatti W16 engine into a Fiat 500. The fact is, Apple’s flagship iPad barely breaks into a sweat, because most applications, and iPadOS itself, simply don’t tax it enough. You see, macOS is much more complex than iPadOS.

It can run intensive ‘full-fat’ versions of applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. Gives users the freedom to download a much wider range of programs and plug-ins from all over the web. Provides access to full-fledged browsers – with browser extensions – that are not just a ‘reskin’ of the Safari app (which is essentially what happens on iPadOS). Connect to an infinitely larger pool of peripherals. And all while presenting a much more complex user interface and filing system.

For anyone wanting to perform more complex tasks, macOS is quite simply better than iPadOS. This has left many users lusting after macOS on iPad. But here’s the thing, macOS – as it stands – would be a disaster on iPad. It’s simply not optimized for a tablet interface. You can’t have your cake and eat it when it comes to touchscreen and mouse-and-keyboard functionality.

Microsoft learned this the hard way. I was an early adopter of the PC bigwig’s follow-up to its beloved Windows 7 and, well… Windows 8.1 turned out to be a Frankenstein-esque hodgepodge of desktop functionality optimized for touchscreen. Suffice to say, there’s a reason why subsequent updates walked back the touchscreen changes and brought the operating system more in line with Windows 7.

The knock-on effect of Apple fiddling with the iPadOS formula could be hugely damaging. After all, the iPad is very popular with casual computer users. People who do little more on their devices than browse the web, check social media, and stream their favorite shows are the core iPad audience.

What makes iPads so attractive to them is that they’re often much cheaper than an Apple computer and iPadOS is simple and intuitive to use. There’s no way Apple is going to alienate this crucial demographic. Nor should it. And besides, if macOS did make its way onto iPad, Apple’s touchscreen devices and Macs would be in direct competition with each other. Not good for business.

And here lies Apple’s conundrum. Progressively powerful iPad hardware updates have long outgrown iPadOS and most of its applications. But how can Apple put all that power to good use without overcomplicating the sleek and simple formula that made the iPad so popular in the first place? Well, I don't think there's an easy answer. But I do wonder if the iPad Pro is the key.

The iPad Pro is where that casual core iPad audience drops off. But apart from the larger screen – which is now available on the iPad Air (2024) – a few quality-of-life upgrades and the latest M-series chip, the iPad Pro has never quite lived up to its name and/or potential. What I’d like to see is a series of iPad Pro-only applications and/or the release of an iPadOS+ (or whatever you want to call it) with perhaps a little more macOS functionality without ruining the core simplicity of iPadOS.

Maybe we can have our cake and eat it after all...

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Wacom has rocked the best drawing tablets market by announcing a complete redesign of its flagship Intuos Pro range. The Intuos Pro is a mainstay of the best Wacom tablets and with its new chip and digitizer set, Wacom claims the tablet boasts its "most accurate pen stroke (...) and intuitive controls in an ultra-slim, compact design." It also features an improved battery life over the Intuos Pro 2017.

Wacom says the Windows and Mac-compatible tablets have been redesigned inside and out, with the most noticeable difference being physical controls positioned along the top of the tablet, rather than to one side, to better accommodate left-handed users. Another big update is the inclusion of the Pro Pen 3, found in the Cintiq Pro, Wacom’s flagship range of pen displays.

The Pro Pen 3 is said to provide Wacom's “most sensitive, accurate, and natural pen performance,” while it can be customized with different grips, button configurations, nibs, and even weight adjustments, and doesn’t contain any batteries, removing the need for charging. It's also Wacom's first professional creative pen tablet that will work with older Wacom pro pens or a stylus made with EMR technology from Pilot, Lamy, or Staedtler.

The new Intuos Pro tablets boast enhanced ergonomics, thanks to the repositioning of mechanical dials and ExpressKeys, again, designed to better accommodate both right- and left-handed users, while also being customized for use with specific applications. The medium and large tablets have ten ExpressKeys and two dials, while the small tablet has five ExpressKeys and one dial. Each tablet is also extremely thin. All sizes boast a very sleight 0.16-0.28in (4 to 7mm) graduated thickness, with a sleek magnesium-alloy back.

The new Intuos Pro range can be paired and charged with the included USB-C to A cable or via Bluetooth 5.3. A useful enhancement is the tablets’ ability to pair to two computers simultaneously, making it easier to switch from one device to another, while a connector button allows users to “switch between the wired connection and either wireless computer,” so you can bring a third device into the mix. Wacom rates the tablets to provide 16 hours of battery when fully charged.

The tablets come with free trials of Clip Studio Paint, MASV and Capture One, as well as access to Wacom's digital rights management tool, Yuify, so artists can protect their work via a micromark in conjunction with compatible software. The range is compatible with Windows 10 (or later) and macOS 13 (or later).

The tablets are set to launch in March and will be priced as follows: Intuos Pro Small, $249.95 (£229.99), Intuos Pro Medium, $379.95 (£339.99), and Intuos Pro Large, $499.95 (£469.99).

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If you're looking for a great drawing tablet you can take anywhere and are working with a small budget, I reviewed the One by Wacom very favorably. But if a pen display is more your style, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more complete model than the Xencelabs Pen Display 16. And if you're looking to add a drawing tablet or pen display to your own workflow for the first time, here's how I edit photos with an Apple Pencil and my iPad Pro.

OnePlus is known for delivering high-performance phones and tablets that are, well, extremely competitively priced, but in the main offer comparable performance to more expensive rivals. The OnePlus Pad Go falls within this profile perfectly to offer an 11-inch 2.4K tablet with LTE so you can install a SIM card for connectivity on the go alongside using WiFi when available.

This is a consumer tablet so it's not superpowered for productivity, although it can handle some more demanding tasks reasonably well, which we'll discuss later. But for everyday tasks such as web browsing, on-demand video, gaming, and general app use. Quite simply, for the average user, it's more than adequate and handles most apps with ease.

The Pad Go is a sleek and well-made tablet that looks and feels more expensive than it is. The main downside in terms of design is that it's only available in Twin Mint with no other color options. It's not the end of the world and when placed in a case it's unlikely you'd ever see the color of the sides and rear anyway, but it is a shame that it's not available in more neutral colors.

OnePlus Pad Go: Specifications

OnePlus Pad Go: Price

The OnePlus Pad Go Android Tablet 8 GB RAM 128 GB Storage LTE is available in the UK for an attractive price of £219. A case is essential for general protection and protection of the rear camera, and there's a OnePlus Folio Case in green available to match the tablet alongside third-party options. For an 11-inch LTE tablet with more than adequate performance, this is undoubtedly a great price.

OnePlus Pad Go: Design & Handling

The OnePlus Pad Go looks and feels like a quality device that belies its competitive price and can respectably compete with many more expensive rivals. Although, of course, not all, that's far from the end of the world given the price difference.

It features a svelte design that's 10.04x7.40x2.72in / 255x188x69mm with a fairly narrow bezel around the screen so you're not looking at acres of black when using the tablet. At 18.06oz / 512g it's marginally heavier than some rivals but remains comfortable to hold. The screen and rear are fingerprint magnets, so a case and screen protector will help to alleviate this while also adding protection.

The 11.35-inch / 28.85cm screen provides a comfortable viewing area with a 2.4K (2408x1720px) 260ppi resolution. It's certainly not aimed at gaming, but it can handle games well thanks to the 90Hz refresh rate, processor, and RAM. The image produced is bright and clear with the ability to display 96% NTSC with a 1500:1 contrast ratio and a 400nit maximum brightness.

A 4K OLED screen would be amazing, but that's not something we'll be seeing at this price point for some time. The Eye Care feature, which intelligently reduces brightness and reduces blue light at night is, however, a welcome feature that, like with smartphones, does make later use/viewing more comfortable.

I found the Pad Go great for watching on-demand movies and YouTube in bed, in the bath, and on the sofa, but what I did find was that darker videos were often difficult to view even under house lighting. This certainly isn’t a deal breaker, but it's something to be aware of if watching movies is a key reason for purchasing a tablet.

In terms of usage and productivity, there's no official OnePlus keyboard available for the Pad Go, so it's very much an on-screen typing affair. This is fine for writing the odd email, web searches, and messaging, but screen typing is never ideal for long periods so this isn’t a tablet that could become a laptop replacement.

That said, putting processing power to the test, I installed Adobe Lightroom Mobile and copied some Raw files to the Pad Go by plugging a portable SSD into the USB-C port. These were 12MP Raw files shot with a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone, so not the largest Raw files by a long shot.

The Pad Go handled these with ease and I was able comfortably to process images using the Lightroom Mobile touch interface. One point to note here is that the Pad Go hasn’t had multiple apps installed and uninstalled alongside other data, so you could say it's fairly 'clean' at this point. How it would perform a year down the line after extended use is anyone's guess.

Alongside, gaming and Lightroom, I also took myself into the YouTube app and quickly scrolled through YouTube Shorts to look for any delays. And I'm happy to say that scrolling was always smooth with no lagging, which can be an issue with cheaper tablets with lower-end processors and less RAM. It's far from a benchmarking test, but it's one that my teenage son believes is incredibly important.

OnePlus Pad Go: Performance

Like most tablets, setting up the Pad Go couldn’t be simpler and, as always, you’re guided through the process so it doesn’t take too long to set up the device. Once set up, you'll be inundated with updates so expect a little longer to get up and running fully, but these naturally improve performance and stability, so it's well worth doing this straight away.

With the MediaTek Helio G99 64-bit Octacore processor and 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, the operation is smooth overall and, as previously mentioned, provides more than adequate performance. The Pad Go runs on OxygenOS 13.2 which is skinned over Android 13 and provides an intuitive interface that makes navigating apps and settings pleasantly simple. There's also a split screen mode which allows you to view two apps at once, which works well if you'd like to view a couple at once.

Access to the tablet is secured by PIN, password, or pattern alongside face scan, but there's unfortunately no fingerprint scanner. This would be a useful touch, but at the price of the device, it's a small concession to make. On the plus side, the face scan works well and even recognizes me when wearing glasses, even though it was set up without, but it still doesn’t open for other people using face scan.

Both the front and the rear cameras are 8MP and can capture video in 1080p and 720p at 30fps. The rear camera also features Electronic (EIS). Despite this, image quality from the rear camera is far superior to the front with greater clarity, detail, and saturation. For video calls, however, the front-facing camera is fine, but not outstanding. The EIS is noticeable and is better for static video capture since when walking and recording some jello was visible on the screen.

Sound is in some ways similar. The Pad Go features Dolby Atmos Quad Speakers which do indeed produce pleasing sound. Sound is clear when watching movies and listening to music, but although it's certainly not 'tinny', it lacks the bass and warmth that would help to create a richer and ultimately more enjoyable sound.

Finally, we couldn’t finish without looking at battery life. Battery life isn’t advertised beyond the battery capacity of 8000mAh with 33W SUPERVOOC charging and up to 514 hours battery life on standby. In reality, the tablet charges reasonably quickly, and with between 30 minutes and three hours each day depending on what I was doing, it typically lasted six between charges. This was with the tablet switched on but in standby mode between uses, so fairly typical usage patterns.

OnePlus Pad Go: Verdict

All in all, I found the OnePlus Pad Go to be a useful and, indeed, more than adequate device for general use with no major slowdowns or stuttering during testing. Even working with 12MP Raw files in Adobe Lightroom Mobile worked well, although, with the 96% NTSC color gamut of the screen, I certainly wouldn’t want to focus on more color-critical work. But for basic Raw processing in front of the TV for social media, The Pad Go was perfectly adequate.

Despite not having a 4K LOED screen, the on-screen image is sharp and vivid, although as previously mentioned it doesn’t handle darker scenes in movies particularly well in more brightly lit conditions. This isn’t, however, a dealbreaker, and for the price it’s fair to say that the Pad Go represents good value for money, especially considering it's an 11-inch LTE tablet.

Alternatives

I, like a lot of photographers & content creators, am well into the Apple ecosystem, and for me the iPad is a wonderful device to have at my hands. The iPad Pro's amazing screen and M4 power make it a great choice – and the only reason I'm looking this time is that my last iPad Pro lasted sooooo long!

Apple has always provided surprisingly powerful chips in the all iPad series, so none are bad, which is why we have a guide for the best iPads for photographers.

As Cyber Monday has now started, the best deals are tending, slightly, I think, toward more computing devices and, well, you may not remember but Apple was once called 'Apple Computer' – so perhaps that's why iPad deals seem to be rising...

As well as refreshing the main iPads, Apple also just updated an old favourite of mine, the iPad Mini. Some people don't get it, but there are a lot of reasons for a smaller tablet – everyone has their own. I used an iPad Mini with my DJI Inspire 1 and 2 as the display, for example; much better than using a phone.

If the £500-ish of the new iPad mini seems a bit much, you could try getting something renewed?

I'm actually trying to decide which iPad I want myself right now; I've been making do with a first-generation iPad Pro which still works but will celebrate it's 10th birthday in the coming year.

That's quite a testament to the longevity of these products (I'd be surprised if any of the non-Apple 'best tablets' do as well to be honest), but it is reaching the point that the processor on board struggles.

That said, it STILL handles its main task with aplomb, and that is a 3D videogame. Admittedly the game in question is Minecraft, and it's my son who is doing the playing (when I can't tempt him out with one of the best drones for kids) but, still, bravo Apple. Honestly that is a long life for a device.

Not to mention quite a compliment to its robustness. I'm sure the M4 iPad Pro that currently tempts me is nearly as strong given what I've read, but perhaps I won't share it with an 8-year-old right away when the 10.2-inch base iPad has all the power he needs!

There is a cheaper option...

I don't love it, but there is a cheaper way to get something that looks a bit like an iPad – the Fire tablets. These Fire Max now boasts up to 2000 x 1200 resolution, you can get a stylus and you can even get an extra £10 off if (shudder) you're prepared to all the device to show you ads. I mean, I wouldn't get one myself, but I understand why people do:

I remember buying an early 'Nook'. It was – and its successors still are – the Barnes and Noble version of the Kindle. I don't think B&N are trying to sell to me any more, so it'll sit in my collection of weird niche retro-future gadgets (though, sorry, it's not as near pride of place as my Nintendo Gameboy or my Google Glass).

One thing that was very apparent at the time was that it was very much just for novels. As someone who is himself a bit techie – and who was one of the leading publishers of photography techniques books – that was a bit grating. It had been a lot easier to master publishing on the iPad!

All of which leads me to the point – tech has moved on. We now live in times where the device can have a little more oomph, and as photographers wouldn't it be nice to have a tablet-like device which could grant access to image files?

Sure, but all these things are in black and white, I used to think. Well, no, I'd seen color panels at a trade show, and then I saw BOOX also offered a Color variant of the eInk reader (well, a bit more actually...) so I got in touch to see if I could try one out.

One mix-up later and I'm opening the box of what was very resolutely a BOOX Note Air 3 (i.e. NOT C for color). "Oh well" I thought, "I'll set it up anyway – after all, a lot of pictures look good in black and white.

Now this is, to be fair, an entirely different tech to an eBook reader. This is much closer to being what I started to think of as a 'slow tablet' – made slower than an iPad by the use of electronic ink – the nearest we can reasonably get to real paper because it is reflective, like paper, rather than backlit (though there is a gentle backlight if you need it).

Under the hood, the Note Air 3 boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage, ensuring smooth performance even with demanding tasks. It's actually operating a version of Android 12 that provides access to a wealth of apps, expanding the device's functionality beyond just note-taking and reading.

It syncs to my iPhone using a BOOX app and perhaps my whole experience with what I'm told is the 'notetaker' product category would be a lot smoother if I was committed to the Google universe. (Ironically, at the office anyway, I am, but security rules from IT mean I can't read my emails with an external device!)

To the point. In photography land, anyway, I can open a variety of file formats (though, ironically for a book-like device, I shouldn't be too excited about font support). From someone looking to view photos in a kinda retro black-and-white way the 4096 shades should do the trick.

The tablet, isn't without its faults. There is meant to be a magnet to keep the stylus attached but, well, it doesn't really work.

You can buy the newer version of the BOOX Note Air now, and once you're using it you'll have access to the apps – though you also can't really expect them all to work because of the eink screen.

Amazon of course have some Black Friday weekend specials on their alternatives that they're being a bit more generous in discounting, but the system is a bit more closed. I don't think photographers will just want to take notes; the advantage of the Boox is that you can access a wider ecosystem – and your photos. Sure, it's not perfect, but then I only tried the black-and-white verson!

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is a very big-screened, high-end tablet that's perfect for photo edits, pen tasks, and watching widescreen content, but it is a very incremental update.

The Tab S8 Ultra introduced the oversized form factor to the Tab S line, the Tab S9 Ultra added water resistance, and the Tab S10 Ultra upgrades the display. Unless you own a Tab S8 or S9 Ultra and are looking to upgrade, though, that isn't a bad thing.

After all, Samsung's Ultra Tabs are still the go-to oversized premium Android tablets. They combine excellent software, design, and out-of-the-box pen support (ideal for Lightroom). Most of all, Samsung’s premium tablets are known for having the best screens around, also critical for photo edits, a highlight we really appreciated when testing the Tab S8 and S9 Ultra.

With the handful of competing tablets like the Lenovo Tab Extreme now past their prime, and the excellent OnePlus Pad 2 missing out on an OLED display despite packing flagship power, Samsung is still the Ultra-sized tablet maker to beat outside the Apple camp. The question is, should you pay top dollar for the S10 Ultra, or can you get away with spending less on one of its predecessors?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: Design

To say the Tab S10 Ultra has zero design upgrades isn't quite fair. It's a few grams lighter and 0.1mm thinner than the Tab S9 Ultra at 718g and 5.4mm thin. The tablet may be a waif, but it's still huge thanks to the giant 14.6-inch screen.

The tablet's Gorilla Glass front has also been updated to feature the same anti-reflective quality the flagship Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra supports, making it the best tablet we've tested in bright environments without having a matte display.

The Tab S10 Ultra's aluminum frame and back create flat sides and curved corners, making it easy to grip and not too sharp as the corners nuzzle into the hand. The heavy weight, however, will make it a bit much for extended one-handed and even two-handed use.

With IP68 water resistance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra can be submerged in up to 1.5m of water for 30 minutes without fear, and you can write on it using the S Pen underwater.

Dotted around the frame is a quad-speaker system tuned by AKG which sounds immense, an SD card slot, a USB-C port, and the power and volume buttons. The back panel has a dual camera and a magnetic charging point for the S Pen, and on the front is the screen, a notch for the selfie camera, and an under-display fingerprint scanner.

Available in Moonstone Gray and Platinum Silver, we tested the Silver option which fends off fingerprints better thanks to its lighter color.

Just like with the Tab S9 Ultra, the only area the Tab S10 Ultra falls short is accessories. Samsung’s official keyboard folio hasn't been meaningfully updated this year (it shares the same design, is backwards compatible, but now has an AI button), and isn’t particularly comfortable for typing on a lap.

Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPads and Lenovo’s Tab Extreme keyboard folio are much more fit for purpose. So, if you’re picking up the Tab S10 Ultra for productivity, ensure you do most of your typing at a table or desk.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: Screen

The Tab S10 Ultra's excellent screen has a peak brightness of around 930 nits when playing back HDR content, though its typical max brightness is nearer 400 nits.

This is nice and bright for a tablet this size, but isn't class-leading, with the new iPad Pro's OLED display taking the crown. While the Tab S10 Ultra doesn't seem to up the brightness, it does improve outdoor viewability thanks to the anti-reflective coating, which is a boon for anyone who plans on using their tablet outdoors.

Just like the Tab S9 Ultra, the S10 Ultra also has a 1848 x 2960 resolution, which equates to a pixel density of 239PPI. With its smooth 120Hz refresh rate, menus glide, and the widescreen 16:10 aspect ratio is a perfect pairing for 16:9 shows, especially when set against much more square iPads and their heavy letterboxing. In fact, watching content is when this slate really shines head and shoulders above the competition.

There's one downside to having such a great, reflection-free screen on the new Tab S10 Ultra: a standard screen protector will add all that reflectivity right back. In turn, you'll want to pick up a non-reflective screen protector if you want to retain one of the few upgrades the Tab S10 Ultra packs over its predecessors.

Our tablet picked up a few micro scratches in our time with it – we didn't have a folio to protect the display – and it also arrived for review with a deep scratch in the glass. This didn't detract from the experience but highlights the point – the tab may be IP68-rated, but it isn't indestructible, so factor in a protective case and a screen protector when you pick it up.

Just like the Tab S9 Ultra, the Tab S10 Ultra has a notch for the two front cameras. This keeps the bezel extremely slim, and falls outside the viewing window for 16:9 content and wider, so we didn’t find it interrupted our view.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: Camera

The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra’s cameras are modestly specced, as is the case with most tablet cameras, and there's no change to the hardware when compared to last year's Tab S9 Ultra. In turn, it will probably fit in your photography workflow by providing a display for your primary camera or editing photos captured on your smartphone, but won't be your dedicated camera of choice.

Starting with the camera specs, the Tab S10 Ultra has two on either side. Around the back is a 13MP primary camera and an 8MP ultra-wide. On the front are two 12MP cameras for selfies and video calls. The primary camera is good enough for a document scan and is the only camera on the tab with autofocus, with the rest featuring fixed-focus lenses.

As for the front camera mix, it’s great for video calls – in bright environments, it’s sharp enough for an HD feed – and all the cameras can shoot 4K 30fps video except for the ultra-wide rear camera. Drop the lights, and none of the cameras – front or back – hold up particularly well.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: Productivity

For 2024, Samsung's smartphones and tablets have been updated with AI features, including Sketch to Image, transcription, translation, and interpreting tools, as well as text generation features, plus Google's Circle to Search.

If you think you need to buy a new Tab S10 Ultra to get Samsung's AI features, the Tab S9 Ultra and S8 Ultra have both been updated to OneUI 6.1.1, which adds all the S10 Ultra's AI smarts.

As part of OneUI – Samsung's interface which sits on top of Android 14 – the Tab S10 Ultra features DeX, Samsung’s desktop UI. This creates a Windows-style desktop interface and takes full advantage of the tablet's oversized display, working especially well when using the S10 Ultra in a keyboard folio or with a keyboard and mouse.

You can also project this desktop experience to a monitor or TV by plugging it in, creating a dual-screen view, with the tablet displaying the standard Android UI.

Samsung's default Android interface isn't without its own multi-tasking strengths, with the taskbar making multi-tasking across three apps in a split-screen view very intuitive. While on smaller tablets and phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 6, this three-app split-screen experience is too cramped, on the giant Tab S10 Ultra, each app is still easy to navigate and has plenty of room to display.

Samsung’s pressure-sensitive S Pen is also a powerful creative tool. Whether using a brush with precision in a drawing app like Concepts or with the Heal tool in Lightroom, the S Pen’s 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and almost brush-like feel on-screen has always been a tonic to Apple’s hard plastic Pencil.

The main creative limitation of the Tab S10 Ultra is Android itself, more specifically, app support. While a lot of quality apps are available for it: LumaFusion, GoodNotes, and Concepts, for example, the iPad benefits from DaVinci Resolve, ProCreate, and other specific tools many pros will prefer.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: Performance

This is the first year Samsung has used a MediaTek chipset in a flagship device, so the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is powered by a Dimensity 9300+ matched with 12GB RAM at the starting capacities of 256GB or 512GB or 16GB RAM if you opt for the maxed-out 1TB versions. All three support storage expansion via microSD card.

With its upgraded power, the Tab S10 Ultra does an excellent job of 4K video edits and 3D gaming. Because of its extra size compared to a smartphone, the MediaTek processor has more space to stab cool, so it performs better in the tablet than in any phone we've tested it using. Able to play Wuthering Waves for hours and still keep frame rates around the 60fps mark, and the same for Genshin Impact, with both games' graphics settings maxed out, the tablet also scores almost 2,000,000 in Antutu, a great result for the gaming benchmark.

The interface glides, even when loaded up with multiple apps on-screen or when DeX is projected to an external monitor. It’s very impressive to get into a rhythm with the tablet, smash out a load of work, and realize it was all powered by a skinny slate.

The Tab S10 Ultra can charge a phone in a pinch with its huge 11,200mAh battery – you just need a USB-C to USB-C port. Three hours of gaming and about 20 minutes of additional screen on time will drain the battery by 50 percent, though watching content is much less demanding, and we were able to make it through a 14 hour long flight with a couple of films and episodes played back with about 35% battery remaining. With less intense use, we easily made it through a few days on a single charge.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: Verdict

Now that the iPad Pro has an OLED display, the Samsung Tab S8 Ultra, S9 Ultra, and now S10 Ultra are less unique and standout. What's more noteworthy is that Apple is beating Samsung at its own game – screen quality – thanks to the brighter tandem OLED display in the iPad Pro.

Where the Tab S10 Ultra edges ahead for 2024 is its screen aspect ratio. Being widescreen, it's much better for watching widescreen content on, looking stunningly immersive with minimal letterboxing for 16:9 and even 20:9/21:9 shows. Samsung's interface and DeX are also more malleable than Apple's iPad OS for multi-tasking and working with external displays, and Android's file management system is less finicky than that of Apple, so the Tab S10 Ultra is arguably a more flexible laptop replacement, especially for Windows users.

Where it loses out to the iPad, though, is its first-party keyboard accessory. Samsung's official keyboard folio isn't easy to use on a lap, and we much prefer using the Apple Magic Keyboard; Android also misses out on apps like DaVinci Resolve and ProCreate, as well as Final Cut and Logic, so some creatives will feel on the back foot switching from an iPad to this.

A final reason you might want to skip the Tab S10 Ultra is the fact it's such a minor upgrade over the Tab S9 Ultra despite being a very pricey one. Yes, the anti-reflective panel is great to have. Still, with no extra brightness, the same display and camera specs, virtually identical designs and UI experiences and battery life, as good as the Tab S10 Ultra is, it's anything but a no-brainer.

So, while the Tab S10 Ultra is the best Android tablet money can buy, anyone happy with a last-gen device could be well served with a lower-cost Tab S9 Ultra or even the two-year-old Tab S8 Ultra.

I own a 6th generation iPad which does an adequate job of letting me browse the web, check my email, and even edit the occasional Digital Camera World video review in iMovie. However, my iPad is now showing its age, as it doesn’t support the iOS Final Cut Pro app which was released in June 2024. I was therefore very happy when Apple loaned me an 11-inch iPad Pro (M4) so that I could test out iOS Final Cut Pro and its integration with the new iOS Final Cut Camera app (especially in relation to broadcasting live video from multiple iPhones to iOS Final Cut Pro on the iPad Pro - more on that workflow in the Performance section). Another exciting thing about testing the iPad Pro is that it is the first device to have an M4 chip powering it. I do my day-to-day video editing in macOS Final Cut Pro on a 15-inch MacBook Air which has an M2 chip. That’s still powerful enough to edit 4K movies in macOS Final Cut Pro, so I was therefore very keen to put the M4 chip through its paces in relation to video and photo editing. 

I tested the Silver incarnation of the iPad Pro, but it’s also available in Space Black. If I could afford one I’d go for Space Black as that fits the look of my iPhone 15 Pro Max, though the Silver iPad Pro does look great on the silver Magic Keyboard that I was also loaned for this review. I reviewed the cellular model which is the first time I’ve used an iPad that can connect to the web from anywhere. This was handy when I tested the iPad in a studio environment that didn’t have Wifi, as I needed to connect to the web to subscribe to iOS Final Cut Pro.  Oh - Apple also kindly popped an Apple Pencil Pro into my review kit, which I’ll cover in a separate review. 

iPad Pro 11-inch (M4): Specifications

iPad Pro 11-inch (M4): Design & Handling

The iPad Pro comes in two sizes - the 11-inch model that I’m reviewing here and a 13-inch version which is the thinnest product that Apple has ever created. Although not quite as thin as the 5.1mm deep 13-inch iPad Pro, the 11-inch model is impressively slim. Indeed at 5.3 mm it’s slimmer than my 8.25mm iPhone 15 Pro Max which was a surprise to me.  Like my iPhone 15 Pro Max, the iPad Pro has rounded corners. However, the iPad Pro’s edges are sharper than the iPhone’s and are almost bevel-free, which is a big contrast in design compared to the highly curved bevel on the edge and rear of my 6th generation iPad (which is also much ‘fatter’ at 7.5 mm - sorry to fat-shame my old iPad!). 

The iPad Pro’s M4 chip blows my ‘ancient’ 6th generation iPad out of the water when it comes to speed courtesy of its M4 chip, but what also sets the latest model apart from my old iPad is the iPad Pro’s Ultra Retina XDR OLED display. This kicks out 1,000 nits of brightness (or a peak of 1,6000 when viewing HDR assets), which is much brighter than my 15-inch MacBook Air’s 500 nits).  This makes 10-bit HDR Pro Res footage shot on my iPhone 15 Pro Max look amazing on the iPad Pro - with a striking contrast range of 2,000,000:1 that produces deeper blacks and whiter whites thanks to the combined light of two OLED panels. Thanks to ProMotion’s adaptive 10-120Hz refresh rate video footage looks smoother than ever. (At this stage in my review my fatter, slower, and duller 6th generation iPad is slinking quietly and forlornly out of the room). 

iPad Pro 11-inch (M4): Performance

Normally when I shoot a video review of a product for Digital Camera World I set up an iPhone on a wide shot and position another iPhone to get a close-up view of the product. After recording I then have to AirDrop the clips from both phones onto my MacBook Air and combine them into a Multicam clip in macOS Final Cut Pro. This can take a while, especially when I need to sync up the multiple takes to find my best performance. I can then tap keys to switch between the two iPhone-sourced camera angles in the timeline to jump cut from a wide to a close-up. This is a time-consuming workflow so I was keen to try out the iPad Pro’s ability to create a Multicam clip from the live stream of two iPhones running the new (and free) iOS Final Cut Camera app.

I popped both iPhones onto tripods and fired up the Final Cut Pro Camera app on each of them. I was able to send their feeds to iOS Final Cut Pro on the iPad Pro via Bluetooth. I placed the iPad Pro in my line of sight so that I could see the feed coming from the two iPhones. Normally I shoot ‘blind’ so using the iPad Pro as a monitor to show me the two iPhone camera feeds was very useful indeed. Occasionally I might move a gadget that I’m reviewing out of shot in the close-up view, but that didn’t happen now that I could see both camera angles courtesy of the iPad Pro’s OLED display.

As well as making my video review shoot much easier (I was recording a review of the Godox ML60II-Bi LED the iPad Pro sped up the editing process. I no longer had to spend time AirDropping footage from multiple iPhones to the iPad and then trying and combine them as a Multicam clip in Final Cut Pro (which can take ages if you’re dealing with multiple takes from different devices.)  The clips from both iPhones were already combined as a Multicam clip in iOS Final Cut Pro. All I needed to do was drop the Multicam clip into the timeline and then click on thumbnails to cut between the close-up and wide-angle footage. 

Editing in iOS Final Cut Pro was a pleasure on the iPad Pro. My iPad Pro review unit had 2TB of storage so I was happy to digitise the footage directly onto it. However, I was also pleased to use a USB-C cable to plug in the external SSD drive that I use when editing with macOS Final Cut Pro on my MacBook Air directly into the iPad Pro. I was then able to import footage from macOS Final Cut Projects into iOS Final Cut Pro projects on the iPad. After editing on the iPad Pro I could export the project (and all its Multicam media) directly to my MacBook Air and carry on editing using the extra tools in the macOS version of Final Cut Pro. 

Talking of Final Cut Pro the macOS version is available with a one-off purchase, but you need to subscribe to iOS Final Cut Pro for £4.99 a month. This may sway some editors to stick with editing on their Mac’s version of Final Cut Pro (which I’ll be doing once Apple takes back my iPad Pro review unit.)

Because I’m writing for Digital Camera World this review focuses on the iPad from a video maker and photographer’s point of view (I didn’t test games on it for example). As with all iPads the iPad Pro has a version of the Camera app. This boasts an optical 3x zoom for video shoots and a 5x zoom for stills (like the iPhone 14 Pro Max). 

The front camera feed looks fairly low-res and grainy compared to the FaceTime camera on my MacBook Air (M2). There’s also no option to shoot video in Cinematic mode on the iPad Pro Camera App. To be honest, I’ve never used any of the iPads I’ve owned as a camera (apart from FaceTime calls), so I don’t think this will change with the iPad Pro, which is much more effective at editing video rather than shooting it.

When docked with the Magic Keyboard the iPad Pro behaves like a mini laptop, and I enjoyed swiping on the Magic Keyboard’s trackpad to move a dot-shaped cursor around iOS Final Cut Pro’s interface to drag clips into the timeline and trim them, etc. I was also able to drag clips using the Magic Pencil and click it to undo an edit or summon a pop-up menu (more on that in my separate Magic Pencil review).  I could also of course tap and drag a clip using my finger on the iPad’s touch-sensitive screen, so I was spoiled for choice when it came to interacting with the iPad Pro.

iPad Pro 11-inch (M4): Verdict

If you’re a video maker who shoots on iPhone then the iPad Pro should prove an attractive purchase, especially if you need to sync multiple camera angles into a Multicam clip as you record them. HDR video footage will look amazing as you edit thanks to the Ultra Retina XDR OLED display. Photo fixers will also enjoy working with a display that makes their images look great - with a wide range of colors and tones on display. The M4’s 16-core Neural Engine should help you work faster when using AI-assisted apps. 

However for me, the iPad Pro is a luxury item as I can still get my photos and videos edited effectively on an M2 MacBook Air (which I’m still paying for on a monthly basis), but if you’ve got the cash then you know that you’ll be purchasing an 11-inch iPad Pro M4!

Alternatives

The XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad is the most recent pen display from the Shenzhen-based manufacturer and one that represents a bold move into uncharted waters. This is XP-Pen’s first standalone tablet. Unlike the best drawing tablets and pen displays, it isn’t a passive peripheral. Instead, it runs independently via an Android operating system. XP-Pen isn’t the only tablet manufacturer to release a standalone drawing device – the Huion Kamvas Slate 10 comes to mind – but the more premium price point and svelte form-factor make one thing abundantly clear. XP-Pen isn’t pulling any punches. 

The Magic Drawing Pad is clearly designed to offer an alternative to the consumer tablets that have traditionally dominated this fledgling market, such as Samsung’s S9 family of tablets and Apple’s iPads. It’s even a contender against the titan of standalone drawing tech, the Apple iPad Pro. And while it might seem unfair to pit this $499.99 / £449.99 device against industry-leading consumer tablet tech, the Magic Drawing Pad doesn't have to appeal to the masses like an iPad. It’s first and foremost a pen display. 

Add in XP-Pen’s ever-expanding heritage as a reputable brand within the digital creative sphere and this might not be the one-sided affair you might think. As a photographer, I’m particularly interested to find out how the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad competes with the best tablet for photo editing and photographers.

XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad: Specifications

XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad: Price

This little pen display’s MSRP is $499.99 / £449.99 / AU$799, and it can be found for slightly less on sale. It’s notably pricier than the Huion Kamvas Slate 10 ($249.99 / £259 / AU$399), but it boasts better specs across the board, including more screen real estate, higher resolution, larger internal storage, and more.

Equivalent Samsung and Apple tablets would arguably be the iPad Air (2024) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE/+. But it’s worth noting that by the time you add 256GB of internal storage (plus an Apple Pencil for the iPad), both the Air and FE+ are considerably more expensive. The S9 FE is right within the Magic Drawing Pad’s price range and boasts similar tablet specs, with slightly less screen real estate but more processing power and newer versions of Android.

Ultimately, the Magic Drawing Pad’s hardware might be at a disadvantage when judged against consumer tablets. But decent screen real estate, competitive pricing, and XP-Pen’s X3 stylus tech, level the playing field.

XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad: Design & Handling

The XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad is just 0.3-inches thick, but feels suitably solid in the hand. Its paper-like display isn’t as textured as some other pen displays – such as the Wacom Cintiq 16 – but given the standalone nature of the tablet, XP-Pen has found a good balance between comfortable drawing surface, sharpness and brightness. It also features XP-Pen’s AF (Anti-fingerprint) tech, and while I was initially worried my grubby little digits had managed to smudge it up relatively quickly, this wasn’t noticeable when the screen was on. 

It feels like the trim is plastic and the back of the tablet is alloy, but it’s difficult to tell. Regardless, it feels suitably slick and well put together. We’re becoming increasingly used to drip- and water-resistant tech, so it’s worth noting that the Magic Drawing Pad is not waterproof. If you’re enjoying an outdoor sketching session, make sure you pack it safely away at the first sign of rain.

The portable pen display comes with a surprising number of accessories, beyond the usual spare pen nibs and USB cable, you also get a nib extractor, drawing glove and TPU protective case. The latter is particularly useful, due to this pen display’s portable nature. It’s hardly the most flattering case you’ve ever seen, but it definitely serves a purpose. I for one felt much happier slipping the tablet into my rucksack, against a MacBook, having it on.

Some pen display users wouldn’t be caught without their trusty drawing glove, while others loathe them. But there’s no denying that gloves minimize touch-screen frustrations by preventing you from accidentally activating touch controls with the palm of your hand. You can turn off touch controls via the drop-down settings menu and toggling the ‘handwriting touch’ option. This means only the stylus can be used. However, I had no problem using the glove and enjoyed the ability to draw unhindered, while still being able to pinch the screen to zoom and move around the canvas while working. 

The X3 Pro Pencil is of a similar thickness to the second-gen Apple Pencil, but is noticeably shorter. Some creatives prefer the thicker styluses present with tablets such as XP-Pen’s own Artist 16 Pen Display, while others prefer a more pencil-like form factor. If you’re new to pen displays or drawing tablets, I personally think that thinner styluses are easier to take to – given their likeness to a traditional pen or pencil – but ultimately, this is down to personal preference. 

Regardless, this svelte stylus fits in with the Magic Drawing Pad’s portable M.O. perfectly. One side is flat, just like the aforementioned Apple Pencil, but sadly it doesn’t magnetically attach to the side of the tablet. The flat side does, however, prevent the stylus from rolling off tabletops. The included case does provide a slot in which to house the X3 Pro Pencil, but if you’d rather not use it, you’ve nowhere to store it. The stylus itself features one clickable function button and is lightweight. Its plasticky build doesn’t boast the premium feel of some styluses, but it does feel solid.

XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad: Performance

At its core, the Magic Drawing Pad is an Android tablet. And that means it’s capable of so much more than just digital drawing. Just like an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab, you can watch videos, read ebooks, browse the web, link up your smartphone, and much more. And while these functions are unlikely to be the reason why you’d want to pick up this device, they aid the tablet’s portability, since you won’t feel compelled to pack an additional tablet should you hit the road with it. It even has front (8MP) and rear-facing (13MP) cameras. This is extremely useful if, like me, you prefer sketching on paper, photographing the page, and tracing over the drawing when ‘inking’ on a pen display.

Side-by-side with my 2021 iPad Pro (5th-gen), the XP-Pen Magic Drawing tablet holds up well. Its brightness seems to compare to the iPad offering, with vibrant and punchy colors. Both devices boast roughly the same screen real estate in terms of length, but the XP-Pen’s 3:2 aspect ratio loses out against the iPad’s 4:3 in terms of width. Unsurprisingly, the iPad’s superior resolution of 1668 x 2388 is sharper than the XP-Pen’s 2160 x 1440. However, it’s worth noting that the tablet’s subtle softness on closer inspection is due to the screen’s textured surface. And this is where the XP-Pen really comes into its own. 

Drawing with this little tablet is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Glossy, slippery surfaces are a bone of contention with many creatives, when it comes to drawing on consumer tablets. And while you can pick up aftermarket, textured screen protectors, the quality can prove a mixed bag. There’s no denying that the feeling of drawing – especially sketching – on the Magic Drawing Pad is better because of its screen. Another upside of the textured screen is reduced glare and reflections. No screen holds up against direct sunlight, but you’ll experience fewer frustrations than working with a glossy screen. If sitting by a lake and drawing is your thing, the Magic Drawing Pad will fare better than a consumer tablet.

The Apple Pencil (2nd gen) is my favorite stylus I’ve used. I enjoy the pencil-like thickness, the texture, the tilt functionality and I’ve come to appreciate the weight. And although the X3 Pro Pencil doesn’t beat it, I think it’s a decent stylus for the price and portability of the package. The X3 Pro Pencil features XP-Pen’s existing X3 Pro Smart Chip tech found on a raft of tablets including the Artist Pro 16 (Gen2) and Artist 22 PLUS. XP-Pen calls it a ‘drawing-dedicated smart chip,’ and it’s situated inside the stylus.  

Ultimately, the X3 Pro Pencil is a utilitarian device. There’s no tilt functionality or touch controls, but its lightweight and svelte form factor is effortless to draw with. The function button does get in the way, so my preference is to disable it. I cannot find any way to disable it via the tablet’s settings. You just have to hope that the application you’re using allows you to. Thankfully, ibisPaint – you receive a three-month membership with the tablet – allows you to assign the button to a variety of functions as well as turn it off completely.

A big plus is that the stylus doesn’t require charging. I’ve lost count of how many times I've picked up my Apple Pencil following a hiatus, only to find it’s dead. The X3 Pro Smart Chip boasts a world-leading 16,384 pressure level. To put that in perspective, the Apple Pencil (gen 2) clocks in at just 4,096. In practice though – taking into consideration my modest drawing background – I found the two styluses difficult to separate here. 

One thing to keep in mind is the Apple Pencil’s tilt functionality, so when you’re applying very light pressure, it can sometimes seem that the X3 Pro Pencil isn’t registering when in actual fact, you’ve just tilted the stylus too far. When I applied more pressure, it was really hard to pick a winner. And yet, in a real-world test, I think I prefer sketching outlines on the Magic Drawing Pad. And that’s because the matte screen and pen combination really does feel great. Heck, it even sounds like you’re drawing if you’re sitting in silence. 

I’m also pleased to say that noticeable jitter isn’t an issue. Lines drawn are smooth and sweeping. However, the Magic Drawing Pad does exhibit notable lag when drawing slow, sweeping lines. Snake a steady line around your canvas and the line will stay a good cm or two behind. I also found that the stylus would stop working for a few seconds on the odd occasion. And although I cannot be certain, I’m wondering if that’s the tablet’s processor playing catch up. Both of these problems aren’t dealbreakers, but the latter in particular is frustrating when you're busy in the creative zone. Overall though, the drawing experience is great. But, here’s hoping the stability of the tech can be improved with a future update. Just like the – now fixed – offset problem.

You see, the tablet was criticized upon its release for the pen being slightly offset. And kudos to XP-Pen for not only fixing this problem, but introducing a Handwriting offset customization tab in Settings, so you can tweak it to taste. You still won’t find the configuration options you would on most standalone tablets – even one as simple as the One by Wacom – but the drawing experience is good enough that I didn’t feel a burning need to tweak. 

What interests us here on Digital Camera World is using drawing tablets and pen displays for photo editing. And sadly, that’s where the Magic Drawing Pad is lacking. And partially, through no fault of its own. You see, the tablet’s biggest problem – as far as photographers are concerned – is the Android operating system’s lack of editing apps. Photoshop, Affinity Photo, and Capture One simply aren’t available on Android. You can still use Photoshop Express and Lightroom, but a lack of layer-based editing in particular, makes tasks that drawing pads and pen displays really excel at – like dodging and burning – difficult. I also experienced lots of lag when editing a big Raw file on Lightroom. 

And where the glossy screens of other tablets hinder drawing, the Magic Drawing Pad’s matte screen really isn’t up to checking critical sharpness and making delicate tonal adjustments. Don’t get me wrong. The stylus does come in handy. It works well with Lightroom’s masking brush and you can certainly edit photos on this tablet. But at the end of the day, that’s not what it’s made for. It’s a digital sketchpad for digital artists. And in that respect, as a hobbyist digital artist, I think it’s a good buy, providing it meets your needs and you don’t already own a decent Samsung Tab or iPad. 

Internal storage is another area where the Magic Drawing Pad shines. You get 256GB, plus the ability to extend it via a microSD card (up to 512GB). This is great for photographers who require plenty of room to store big raw files. 

XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad: Verdict

I feel like the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad is most likely to appeal to aspiring/hobbyist digital artists and students who require a portable drawing device but cannot justify the price of a top-tier Samsung Galaxy Tab or Apple iPad. The tablet’s processor could be faster to prevent lag and I’d like to see more options to customize the X3 Pro Pencil in future updates. But crucially, the drawing experience is great. 

The thin stylus feels comfortable in the hand and the matte, textured screen is a huge step up from glossy consumer tablets. For drawing, I have no problem recommending the Magic Drawing Pad if you require portability on a budget. But for photo editing, Android just doesn’t boast the software that’s available on iOS. And while that beautiful matte screen is a fine tool for drawing, it’s not as suitable for photo editing. On the flip side, you do get a decent amount of storage for Raw files.

Ultimately, the XP-PEN Magic Drawing Pad deserves a four-star rating, because it delivers a great drawing experience in a portable package that’s more affordable than the Samsung and Apple alternatives. But it can't match the photo editing apps available on iOS, making iPad or a desktop pen display such as the XP-Pen Artist 16 more desirable alternatives for photographers.

Alternatives

Are you disappointed with your tablet's battery life? The new Armor Pad 3 Pro from Ulefone could be the answer. It packs an immense 33280 mAh battery that's around three times the capacity of the battery in an iPad Pro. Ulefone claims it's good for 181 hours of talk time, and 1812 hours (75.5 days!) of standby time. Thankfully there's 66W fast charging to get you juiced up relatively quickly.

Read more:
The best tablet for photo editing
The best tablet camera

As its name suggests, the Armor Pad 3 Pro is also built to survive abuse: it's aimed primarily at industrial and construction sectors, or anyone who needs a tablet built to military standard 810 certification. The Armor Pad 3 Pro is also IP68 rated, meaning it's both dust resistant and waterproof to a depth of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes. Other unusual tablet features include a built-in flashlight with 483 individual LEDS that provide 1100 lumens of light output. There's even support for an optional dual-camera borescope (inspection camera).

Surprisingly for a device which clearly isn't focussed primarily on photography, the Armor Pad 3 Pro still packs a 50MP main camera based around Samsung's GN1 image sensor. This 1.31-inch chip is used in some of the best camera phones like the Google Pixel 7 Pro, so with the right image processing, it's capable of great image quality. In the Armor Pad 3 Pro it can record 1080p video and is fronted by an f/1.95 lens with an 85-degree field of view. On the front of the tablet is a 32MP, 1080p selfie camera that uses a Samsung GD1 image sensor.

The Armor Pad 3 Pro is based around an 8-core MediaTek MT8788 System-on-Chip and features 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage. This is expandable up to 2TB using the microSD card slot. The tablet sports a 10.36-inch IPS display with a 1200 x 2000 resolution and 500-nit maximum brightness. In-keeping with the device's rugged credentials, the display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

But you don't get all that battery life without some compromise. The gargantuan battery inside increases the tablet's overall weight to a meaty 1.24kg - that's around 2.5x the weight of a standard 10.9" iPad. The device is also rather thick at 21.2mm, and measures 262 x 167mm length x width.

The Ulefone Armor Pad 3 Pro is available to order now, priced at $600.

Apple unveiled its latest iPad Pro and iPad Air models at the company's recent launch event, and both are now open for preorder. Below, I've compiled where you can purchase these new tablets, along with the top preorder offers available for the brand-new iPad Pro M4 and iPad Air M2, along with some amazing trade-in deals.

The newly announced iPad Pro (2024) comes in either 11-inch or 13-inch sizes, offering storage options up to a massive 2TB, with prices starting at $999 / £999 AU$1,699. While this is $200 more than the base price of the previous generation, the new model features the M4 chip, an impressive tandem OLED display, and doubles the standard storage to 256GB.  - so you're getting a lot more for the $200 price hike.

Meanwhile, the new iPad Air 6 is also available in 11-inch and 13-inch models, with storage starting at 128GB. Prices begin at $599 / £599 / AUS$999 or the 11-inch version and $799 / £799 / AUS$1,299 for the 13-inch – matching the pricing of the previous generation. However, this latest iPad Air boasts the M2 chip, providing up to 50% faster performance compared to its previous M1-chipped predecessor.

Both devices are currently open for orders via your favorite retailers and are scheduled to ship on May 15, 2024. Presently, they are available directly from Apple and on Amazon in the US.

Other retailers are expected to begin preorders soon, so keep checking back for the latest availability updates.

iPad Pro and iPad Air preorders in the US

iPad Pro and iPad Air preorders in the UK

iPad Pro and iPad Air preorders in Australia

Graphics tablet experts Xencelabs have introduced a new 16-inch pen display for photographers and content creators on the move. Last year the company brought us the Xencelabs Pen Display 24 for use in the studio, and now has introduced a smaller version which is capable of being carried around with your laptop - allowing you to draw and edit on the move.

The Xencelabs Pen Display 16 features a 16-inch 4K OLED screen - an industry first, and offering outstanding color accuracy from its non-reflective surface. It is just 12mm (0.47 inches ) thick and weighs just 1.21kg (2.67 lbs) - to create a slim-sized accessory that is smaller than your laptop.

“The Xencelabs Pen Display 16 is easily transported between work and home,” says Michael Thompson, Head of Product for Xencelabs. “If home is where you work, the display can go wherever creativity takes you – your favorite café or to a client presentation. For users who might have limited desk space or would like to add a conveniently sized pen display to their workflow, look no further than the Xencelabs Pen Display 16. It is the ideal multi-tasking companion to a primary display or work setting where multiple displays are being used,” 

The Pen Display 16 comes with two pressure-sensitive pens: the 3-Button pen, which has a wider barrel and three customizable buttons for placing commonly used keyboard shortcuts directly on the pen; and the Thin Pen, which is for those who want the feel of a real pencil or thinner brush. Both pens come with a pressure-sensitive eraser.

Two versions of the display are being sold. The Premium bundle comes with the Quick Keys remote, which allows you to program shortcuts for all the apps that you use. An OLED display on the remote allows you to see the name you have assigned to the shortcuts you have created. This bundle also comes with a Mobile Easel stand, which allows you to slope the tablet at two different angles on the desktop.

Other accessories, which also come with the more affordable Essentials kit, include  the two pens, a pen case and a carrying case.

The premium bundle goes on sale this month $1,249.00 / £1,199.00, with the Essentials kit following at the end of June for $999.00 / £969.00. An optional Desktop Easel with a VESA mount for attaching to articulating desktop-mounted arms will be available in the summer.

Check out our guide to the best drawing tablets, and our rundown of the best Wacom tablets

After a longer than usual wait, Apple made today a big day for the iPad, with both of the photographer's favourite models getting attention on the same day for the first time ever as the iPad Air series and iPad Pro series got major updates.

Many photographers will be very excited by the arrival of a layered Tandem OLED screen (which Apple is calling Ultra Retina XDR). It has up to 1,000 nits by putting two OLED panels atop each other (with peak brightness of 1,600 nits for HDR content). This offers darker blacks and power saving, which the company has taken advantage of by reducing weight and thickness in batteries. Apple have reduced the iPad to 5.1mm (5.3mm for the 11-inch), making it thinner than the iPod Nano, and given the screen a matt finish.

The new device is the first to be powered by Apple's M4 processor, which hasn't even made it to the Mac line yet. The 3nm chip has an "entirely new display engine," as well as 4 performance and 6 efficiency cores, plus 10 GPU cores. Apple say it'll be "up to" 4x faster than M2, or deliver the same performance as M2 with half the power, and boasts hardware ray-tracing acceleration.

The camera is still 12 megapixel, but gets an 'adaptive truetone flash' – the portrait camera is moving to the landscape edge like the iPad air (and every other laptop ever), and goes with a new magic keyboard that has a function row. It looks a lot like (and feels like, they said) using a MacBook.

These, though, come with a massive sting in the tail in the form of a price increase – the new. iPad Pro starts at 256GB at $999 / AU$1,699 11-inch and $1,299 / AU$2,199 for the 13-inch. They'll be available next week. 

Oh, and there's ANOTHER new Apple Pencil too. Apple Pencil Pro. It has a squeezable side and sensor, a haptic engine, a gyro sensor so you can roll it to select tools, and support for Apple's Find My, as well as charging on the side of the iPad Pro. (The pencil will work with the iPad Air too...)

The more cost-conscious choice in the iPad range has long been the iPad Air, which offered a lesser camera but still a meaty processor. One of the main reasons that creatives like photographers and videomakers had to turn away, however, was that Apple didn't offer a large-screen version. That, however, has changed, with the arrival of the a 12.9-inch version (potentially shooting the Pro in the foot for a lot of wiser consumers!)

The iPad Air is now powered by M2, with 8-core CPU / 10-core GPU, nearly 50% faster than the M1 version according to Apple. The front-facing camera is on the landscape edge, and Wi-Fi 6E and 5G is supported.

Has the event answered the real question, though, which ultimately remains "Will the iPad replace the laptop?" The problem remains that it's not really in Apple's interest to encourage people to buy one device when they could buy two.

So what updates has iPad OS got, if any? Well there are a customizable lock screen, interactive widgets, messages with emoji stickers, Stage Manager for overlapping windows (hmm.... now that sounds like a computer....) and Visual Look Up among new AI features, but it won't be until WWDC – a month or so away – that we find out if there will be anything to really use that trackpad with haptic feedback.

The iPad Air will start at 128GB storage, but stays at $599 / AU$999 base price, or $799 / AU$1,299 for the 13-inch version. There are storage options up to 1TB, too. 

Finally, iPad 10th Gen is being cut in price to a starting price of just $349 in the US only (and the iPad Mini remains untouched by today's news).

Pre-orders US:
Pre-order iPad Pro M4 or iPad Air 6 from B&H (US)
Pre-order iPad Pro M4 or iPad Air 6 from Amazon (US)

Pre-orders UK:
Pre-order iPad Pro M4 or iPad Air 6 from Apple (UK) 

Pre-orders AU:
Pre-order iPad Pro M4 or iPad Air 6 from Apple (AU)
Pre-order iPad Pro M4 or iPad Air 6 from JB Hi-Fi (AU)

Wacom has introduced the Wacom Movink, positioning it as the first OLED pen display tailored for creative professionals, digital artists, and design students. The Wacom Movink introduces a new Wacom Pro Pen 3 experience with a 13.3-inch full HD OLED display, and becomes the slimest and lightest pen display in Wacom's lineup.

Weighing just 420g and measuring 4mm at its thinnest point, and with a 13.3" OLED display made in collaboration with Samsung, it is the slimmest and lightest of all Wacom's pen displays, measuring 66% thinner and 55% lighter than Wacom One 13 touch. Designed for creatives seeking a portable solution, the Wacom Movink should be easy to slip into a bag for on the move, with Corning Gorilla glass to minimize scratches. The Movink is also compatible with optional accessories like the Wacom Foldable Stand for a quick setup when transitioning between various locations such as studios, meetings, education, and home setups.

The display has a Full HD resolution and 10-bit color, and Wacom promises exceptional color accuracy and deep blacks. For color-critical work, the display can show 100% DCI-P3 and 95% Adobe RGB coverage, with a Delta E difference of 2 or less, and has also been validated by Pantone and Pantone SkinTone.

Wacom claims the Movink offers the fastest response time of any Wacom pen display, along with increased pen detection height and no visible parallax, thanks to its OLED display. Paired with the dedicated Wacom Pro Pen 3, users can expect impressive pen sensitivity and tilt detection for a wide range of drawing techniques. The new pen features a slim pen tip and narrow carbon shaft nib, and comes with three replacement nibs included. 

The device also supports Wacom's Dual Pen Technology, offering compatibility with various digital pens, including older Wacom pens as well as third-party options such as Staedtler, Lamy, Dr. Grip, and more. The Movink also features advanced touch technology and customizable touch keys for setting up workflows to suit your needs.

It is also compatible with multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and Android. As long as your device supports 15W power delivery, all you need to connect the Wacom Movink is a single USB-C cable, eliminating the need for any additional adapters or connections.

The Wacom Movink will cost $749.95 / £729.99 / AU$1,299 and is available now from Wacom's store and other select retailers soon. 

Find out more about pen tablets with our guide to the best drawing tablets and the best Wacom tablets.

The last iPad release was in October 2022, over 540 days ago, in fact. Understandably, there is a degree of pent-up excitement in the run-up to the special keynote Apple event on May 7. 

Enthusiasts can attend the livestreamed event on apple.com or on the Apple TV app at 7am Pacific, 10am Eastern, and 3pm UK. 

Remaining characteristically mysterious about the contents of this announcement, eagle-eyed consumers must once again look for clues in the invitation graphics. 

A hand twirls a pen against a rainbow-hued abstract Apple logo including the colors green, yellow, red, blue, purple, and pink, leading some – including Forbes – to believe that this may indicate new iPad colors. 

Apple Pencil 

My colleague reported back in early March that Apple was likely to release another Apple Pencil this spring, and many speculators believe that this accessory is almost certainly going to accompany, you guessed it, another iPad. According to various reports this alleged Pencil might include a squeeze action to activate certain functions.

iPad Pro updates 

It would appear that Apple inadvertently let slip some of their iPad updates earlier this month when they released the code of the iPadOS 17.5 beta to developers. Website 9to5Mac seemingly discovered new display firmware for four new iPad Pro models: iPad16,3, iPad16,4, iPad16,5, and iPad16,6.

Based on their analysis these are the identifiers of the potential release of the next generation iPad Pro. The firmware suggests that these iPads will come with OLED screens.

iPad Air 

The update is also rumored to include the launch of the larger 12.9-inch iPad Air after accessory retailers ESR began selling cases on Amazon designed for a larger sized Air.

This larger iPad Air might be a direct rival to the heavier iPad Pro of the same size, increasing ease of use by reducing weight. Some analysts have also suggested that the iPad Air might come with a mini-LED display delivering brightness and visual quality to rival OLED, or at least close to it. This might be of particular interest to photographers looking for the iPad Pro screen sizes for image editing but reluctant to pay the price for other features of less use.

The leaked schematics hint to some sources including the Hindustan Times at a redesigned camera bump for the new iPad Air models. Rumor has it that a vertically-oriented camera could be on its way with new camera features and possibly even a flash, suggesting Apple is committed to improving the device's photographic capabilities.

Click here to read whether Apple products are really worth the price tag. 

I didn't pick up the Oukitel OT8 expecting to be blown away – it doesn't cost much more than an Apple Pencil after all – but I was genuinely surprised by what you get for your money. 

This isn't a natural competitor for the iPad Pro, even if the styling isn't a million miles away (should you choose to remove it from the included protective case). We're more in the territory of a Samsung Galaxy Tab A9, an 11-inch device though, even in a discount corner, that has rather less memory and an older version of Android for a bit more money.

On the other hand, of course, Samsung is a brand people have heard of (they made my fridge, and a lot of people's phones or TVs) and Oukitel, and let's be absolutely fair, isn't. All the more reason to check out a review.

What we've got is a device which runs the latest Android 13 and, since Oukitel simply don't have the clout, it hasn't been tweaked in any weird or confusing ways from the pure version – which means it's pure and straightforward. For many this is preferable than flagship devices with extra features that pose compatibility questions. The OT8 does, however, make a few proud claims next to the retailers, like Amazon, where you'll find it, so it's certainly worth assessing...

Build and handling

On opening the box, I had very mixed first impressions. The device arrived in a lovely white box, in that regard felt like a well-regarded fruit-themed manufacturer, but then as soon as I opened the box I found the lid of a plastic case that seemed a bit cheap. That was until I realised that the tablet was in fact already tucked in an included protective case made of rubberised plastic which also forms a stand; no keys so it's for entertainment only, but still useful.

Under this there was a tiny manual, a USB-C cable and a small-ish charging block. There was also a two-ended white pen with chrome-like bands around each top. One end conceals a real ball-point-pen which feels a bit naff but might be useful I suppose. Me? I don't like ot mix ink and tech too much. The other end is an alternative to finger-tapping the screen. It feels very light – no battery – but it's just in the box. It doesn't need charging and has no varying pressure sensitivity because it's essentially just finger simulator, but it does offer a different grip, albeit one which is stylistically inconsistent.

The main device has a simple rounded-corner design which will be almost suspiciously familiar to Apple fans – spoiled slightly by extremely inelegant camera protrusion and a lip of almost-matched plastic which, I presume, is to assist wireless. On the front is a IPS LCD panel which can manage 350 nits of brightness – fine if you're looking at it straight on; seems bright indoors, even – but at an off angle isn't very forgiving. Oukitel say there is eye-strain protection and I'm prepared to accept that.

My only real complaint about the body design is the excessive camera surrounds – especially gross since one is basically a fake around an LED flash. There is only one 13 megapixel camera which is perfectly reasonable, but why pretend otherwise? It's embarrassing. There is also a selfie camera in the middle top when held horizontally – nothing to write home about, but it does the job (at 720P), and can be set to face unlock.

I checked the Amazon listing and it described the selfie camera as 5MP and 8MP in different places – not very encouraging (the stills it produces are 2592 x 1944, which works out as 5.7MP). Worse still none of the promotional materials were clear on whether the RAM was 30GB, 6+24GB, or (as the device itself told me) just 6GB. Realistically 6GB is the truth – the ability to address up to 30GB including virtual RAM (some of the storage memory) certainly won't speed things up.

On the positive side, the speakers are rather good – there are four of them and they sound strong. Right in the lower-right corner if you're staying horizontal), actually in the corner, is a 3.5-inch headphone jack. That's a nice touch these days, and something that means you might be able to lend this device to the kids with some economy headphones. On this note, Wildvine L1 support means Netflix, Disney+ and similar apps all will work at 1080P, so at least entertainment is covered.

Performance

In my use of the tablet, there didn't seem to be anything to complain about when it came to responsiveness. That might not sound like an especially forthright piece of praise but that's that category we're in. I did run the Geekbench 6 app test, 366 single-core, 1180 multi-core. By comparison, a flagship phone like the Samsung S23 Ultra gets 1886/5000 on that test!

In use, the speed seemed adequate for most tasks, though to be honest you didn't want to be asking the device to be doing to many things at once. When using the camera app I did find the on-screen shutter button didn't always seem to work when I tried taking my indoor sample selfie.

The other case where the lack of grunt became apparent was if you tried sketching – something I wouldn't have noticed had they not throwin in the pen. The Geekbench 6 OpenGL score was 452, so don't expect gaming to be amazing either. In terms of photo editing the lag is the main irritation, so applying filters is OK but using any kind of brush-like tool is a pain.

Oh, I should add that, as a general entertainment tablet, the battery life is more than respectable – I got over 12 hours playing videos continuously on the default screen brightness, in line with the promises.

Sample images

This gallery shows that the main camera takes adequate pictures in daylight (or rooms with OK daylight), but isn't very good at handling 

The below sample is from the selfie camera. 

Verdict

Ultimately this is a decent package for the money but will frustrate photographers and other creators looking for a workhorse. Perhaps because it over-promises a little by including the pen, or more seriously suggesting that being upgradable to 30GB is the same thing as having 30GB of RAM there is the opportunity for frustration. Seriously, this kind of thing really annoys me, but the device can't really be blamed for the dubious marketing.

I also hate the horrible LED maskerading as a second camera, and the giant camera protrusion (that's building questionable marketing into the frame), but the camera also works, up to a point, and Android 13 even lets you take manual command of the settings if you choose.

If you go into this purchase with your eyes open and are just looking for a cheap tablet which will let you consume media and take photos in reasonable light then it will do the job. It will be useful for siting back and browsing through your Google Photos, playing Wordle, or handing to the kids. It's imperfect, but it's not at all bad for the money.

Alternatives

Apple's Magic Keyboard for iPad originally came out in 2020 and is designed for iPad Pro and iPad Air. It comes in two sizes, one for the 11-inch iPad Pro and the iPad Air ($299 / £319) and one for the iPad Pro 12.9-inch ($349 / £379).

The most expensive iPad case that Apple offers, it's both a cover and a keyboard. It's also the only case from Apple where the iPad seems to hover above the keyboard, rather than resting on it. This means you can adjust the viewing angle with more precision than say the Smart Keyboard Folio, which only has two viewing angles. 

I've been using the Magic Keyboard for iPad for about three years now, with my iPad Pro (2021), as well as with the newer iPad Air (2022). In that time I've used it for typing, doing daily tasks like browsing the internet, using photo and video editing apps, as well as sketching. I've also carried it around with me a lot, taken it on holiday, and even dropped it a couple of times. Here's what I've found...

Specification

Build and handling

The Magic Keyboard for iPad is a pretty sturdy piece of kit. Apple fails to mention its weight on its website but my version of the 11-inch iPad Pro/iPad Air weighs 1.34lb or 609g. This takes the weight of both the iPad Pro and the Magic Keyboard together to 2.39lb / 1,086g, which is pretty hefty for what's supposed to be a portable piece of tech. I don't have the 12.9-inch version to weigh, but others state it to be around 1.56lb / 710g, which means the weight of it plus the iPad Pro reaches a whopping 2.97lb / 1,351g.

The iPad Pro plus the Magic Keyboard are also pretty thick – measuring half an inch/1.5cm (the iPad Air plus the Magic Keyboard is very slightly thinner). Again, this doesn't really help the iPad's portability. It does help it withstand knocks though, and it didn't suffer any visible damage the couple of times I've accidentally dropped it.

The iPad attaches to the Magic Keyboard magnetically, and it holds firmly in place, seemingly hovering above the keyboard. You can adjust the angle of it up to 130 degrees, meaning it doesn't go all the way back so the iPad is flat on its stand. This means it's not ideal for things like sketching. 

There are only two colors available, black and white. I've got two white versions. The one that I've been using for just a few months is pristine, while the other is looking a bit grubby after several years of use. I'd personally go for black next time. It's a shame there aren't more colors available, particularly because the case covers up the purple hue of my iPad Air.

Keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard has a scissor mechanism, like in the MacBook Pros, and I find it pretty comfortable to type on. Whether or not you find the same will largely depend on how big your fingers are. The keyboard lights up in low lighting – a small design detail that I appreciate – and this can be adjusted in Settings if you want to turn it off for whatever reason. 

There aren't any function keys on the keyboard, so to adjust brightness, turn up the volume, and so on, you'll have to swipe to get the Control Center, or you can click the cursor on the right-hand side of the screen. Alternatively, you can program keys to take on these functions. I've never found this to be too much of an issue, but the newer Magic Keyboard Folio for the 10th gen iPad has addressed this by including function keys, which does suggest that the Magic Keyboard for iPad might get them too in future updates.

I find the trackpad pretty smooth to use although it can be a bit fiddly as it's so small. Once you learn the tricks for getting round the iPad (e.g. swipe up with three fingers to go home, swipe between open apps by swiping left and right with three fingers), it gets even easier and you don't have to keep switching between using your fingers and the trackpad. 

Charging

The Magic Keyboard for iPad has a USB-C charging port built into one side of it. This means that you can charge up your iPad while keeping the cable neatly out of the way, and without having to awkwardly dangle the cable from the middle of the right-hand edge of the iPad. This also frees up the iPad's USB-C slot for other accessories. This is definitely a bonus point for the Magic Keyboard.

Verdict

The Magic Keyboard for iPad is a solid piece of kit, but it may be too solid for some. While its heft means it protects your iPad well, it also makes it heavy, which makes the iPad less portable. 

The keyboard is decent, the trackpad works well and the angle is good as long as you don't want to draw on it. The only other issue is the price. The Magic Keyboard is certainly not cheap, but if you want to get more from your iPad, getting one (and swotting up on all the gestures) is one of the best ways to do this.

Alternatives

At the time of writing, the 6th generation iPad Pro (2022) is the best iPad that Apple has ever released, with the largest 12.9-inch model boasting a spec sheet that should make the competition blush: A wicked-fast M2 chip; up to 16GB RAM and 2TB SSD; Apple Pencil 2 compatibility; a Thunderbolt port; and a beautiful Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED display. This is a serious tablet with loads of power, a great design, and enough features for us to crown it as the best tablet for photo editing and photographers. So what's not to like? 

With the next generation of iPad Pro rumored for an early 2024 release (potentially sporting an OLED display and M3 chip), is the 2022 iPad Pro still a good buy, or are its days of tab dominance numbered? Let's get into it...

Specifications

Display

Though the two iPad Pro models share many features, one big difference is that the larger model sports a mini-LED, Liquid Retina XDR display with 2732x2048 resolution – and that's the one I'm testing in this review. The iPad Pro's ProMotion tech offers the fastest refresh rates of all the iPads, doubling up to 120Hz. What does that mean? Well, when I tested this tablet – soon after testing the entry-level iPad 10th Gen) – I had a buttery-smooth scrolling experience, with both gaming and streaming as silky as I've experienced on a tablet. It may not be a deal-breaker for you, and you may not even notice the difference if you don't have another tablet to compare it to, but if you do, it sure is a pleasurable experience. 

This display is also crisp and bright. Really bright. It will reach 600 nits brightness full screen with SDR content, and hit up to 1,000 nits full screen with XDR content, with up to 1,600 nits for highlights. What does this mean in practice? It means that the image will pop in a darker work room, and will try to compete with the sun outdoors. Drawing and web surfing outside on a fairly well-lit February midday, I found the iPad Pro more than up to the task of giving me a crisp, bright image at all times. Perhaps testing in the middle of summer, under direct sunlight, would offer different results, but in my testing, I was impressed with the brightness and clarity of the image on this tablet. 

And this brightness, as well as its mini-LED screen, is why I'm not too worried about the rumored release of the new iPad Pro (2024) making this 2022 model redundant. It's rumoured that the new tab will have an OLED display, but with the excellent blacks achieved with this tab's mini-LED technology, and its OLED-matching brightness – so what?! This display will still be a stunning feat of technology in a month, even a couple of years' time. 

When you get the Apple Pencil out (the new USB version in my case), sketching and doodling are really fun on the iPad Pro (2022). The stylus is precise, and if other reviews are to be believed, the Apple Pencil 2 is even more so. Offering tilt and pressure sensors, making an array of marks is easy and intuitive with the USB Apple stylus on the iPad Pro. I also love how the Apple Pencil magnetically clips to the side of the tablet – a far more secure connection than with the iPad 10. However, it won't charge while attached like the Apple Pencil 2 will.  

Camera

Although the iPad Pro (2022) could be used by photo and video editors, it's hard to imagine that any serious photographer would ever use the iPad Pro's cameras, other than for video calls and the odd cat capture! The iPad Pro is also way too expensive to be considered a 'family tablet', being passed around a family for casual browsing a snapping. Still, the two cameras on the 2022 model are still worth scrutinizing a bit. 

First off, both front and rear cameras can take pics in portrait mode, which makes sense as the front camera also unlocks face ID. Of course, some photography purists may despise that, but for amateurs, the faux depth of field hack could be a nice touch. The rear camera takes vibrant pics, with decent contrast and as much detail as you'd expect from an Apple 12MP camera. There's also a 10MP Ultra Wide camera, and a LiDAR sensor, meaning quick focus, something that I definitely noticed while taking snaps of my ever-so-shy cat outside.

The front selfie camera is also 12MP and also has Center Stage, so while you're on a video call, the camera will seem to track you if you move. In fact, it just cuts into the ultra-wide view that it has and so appears to be tracking you. In any case, it's a nice feature on a nice camera. But as with the iPad 10, I naturally just ended up using the iPad 2022 as a bigger screen to show photos that I took on other devices, not photos that I took with the iPad. 

Design & Handling

In 2024, some are calling for a new design shake-up to the iPad Pro, as it's sported straight sides for several years now. I think if it's not broken, don't try and fix it, and love the straight edges of the Pro. And not just for aesthetic reasons. When taken away from the Magic Keyboard, I often had the iPad Pro propped up on my belly, or on a bit of duvet/sofa/random material. I noticed that with the straight edges, it was much more likely to stay fixed for longer compared to my (very old) curved-side iPad, which was more prone to slip down. 

One massive detractor when talking about the design of the iPad Pro is the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil. Not that I don't like them, but that I like them so much, and find that they complete the full iPad Pro experience to such a degree, that I genuinely feel annoyed for the customer who will have to spend even more money on getting them separately to the already-expensive tablet. Although I still don't think the iPad can really compare to a laptop for the same money, it's pretty close with the Magic Keyboard, and with the addition of the Apple stylus, it offers a really unique, enjoyable user experience. But you'll need to pay around $300 more for that experience. And add another $150 if you want the Apple Pencil 2 as well. 

This review could so easily have been a full five stars, but seeing that the true potential of this tablet is only unlocked with two accessories that you have to buy on top of it, I don't see how I can give it full marks. 

Price & Performance

First the price. Right now, Apple is selling the entry-level iPad Pro 12.9-inch, which comes with the 128GB storage, for $1,099. If you want a bit more space, the 256GB SSD model will be $1,199 from Apple, but the best price that I've seen on this configuration is $1,049.99 on Amazon, during Black Friday last year. 

That is, even at the record-low, a pretty beefy price tag. When you add the cost of a Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, we're talking closer to a grand and a half. So, is the full iPad Pro 2022 experience worth that much? You can certainly get an excellent laptop that will run full-fat digital software for that money. But we need to look at the iPad Pro's performance to fully answer that question. 

Performance-wise, the iPad Pro 2022 is a bit of a beast. When I ran Geekbench 6 – a software that runs a series of timed processor tests – I got better results than I expected. Looking online, you'll find that the average single-core CPU benchmark for the iPad Pro 2022 is around 2,531 (the higher the number the better). My tablet scored 2,649. For context, this is the current best-scoring iPad on the market, beating the previous 12.9-inch Pro model that scored 2,260. It's also the best-scoring tablet on the market, beating Android competition Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 that achieved 'only' 1,946. The short version? This M2-chipped iPad is really powerful, and really quick at performing tasks.

What that means in day-to-day use is it glides through all minor tasks like browsing, streaming, and mobile games. And when you ask a little more of it, shooting and editing ProRes video with an app like FiLMiC Pro, for example, it performs excellently. When looking at digital art, the iPad Pro is an awesome tablet, but it's worth noting that you won't be able to run the full version of Adobe Photoshop on it. However, the Photoshop for iOS that it can run is still really impressive, and with the recent inclusion of the Generative Fill tool, plus Liquify and Drop Shadow, there is loads to do with this tablet in the photo manipulation and digital art sphere. 

It's not all about Photoshop either, with many pro artists having moved to apps like Procreate on the iPad Pro years ago. This model of the iPad is just a little bit faster, and a little bit more powerful for all such art apps. 

Verdict

I really like the iPad Pro, but the truth is, I probably wouldn't buy it if I were in the market for a new tablet. That's because it's just way too powerful and feature-rich for what I need from a tablet. That may be an obvious thing to mention, but I know many people who have gone out and paid the grand-plus for the 2022 iPad Pro, only to basically do office work and movie-watching on it. If that's what you're planning to do, head over to my iPad 10th Gen review. That's the tablet for you. 

If you're a pro, editing video, and photos, or simply have money to burn and want the best tablet experience for web surfing and movie watching, then at the time of writing, this is hands down the best option out there. Not just from Apple, but from any brand. 

But money is the big issue with the 2022 Pro. If you are going to use it to its fullest, you'll want the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil 2, and that'll cost you around $400 more on an already sizeable price tag. However, with deals events, such as Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday occurring annually, and with the new 2024 iPad Pro set for release soon, you may be able to get a bundle at a more reasonable price. 

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You’ve got an Android phone and a Windows computer and want a big-screened, high-end tablet for photo edits and on-the-go apps – an iPad seems altogether too Apple – so your obvious choice is a Samsung slate like the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. After all, Samsung is the go-to for premium Android tech, known for excellent software, design and pen support (ideal for Lightroom). Most of all, Samsung’s premium tablets are known for having the best screens around, also critical for photo edits, a highlight we really appreciated when testing the Tab S8 Ultra. 

Over the last year, though, the Android tablet space got shaken up. Lenovo’s Tab Extreme, another 14+ inch Android behemoth, was launched, and so too was the smaller OnePlus Pad, a much cheaper alternative. Even Google got in on the action, launching the first-ever Pixel Tablet, complete with a booming docking station.

Never one to back down from a challenge, though, Samsung’s loaded up the new Tab S9 Ultra with the very best Android tablet hardware and software. And with its latest update to OneUI 6.0, it also enjoys many of the same features as the new Galaxy S24 series and IP68 water resistance. 

But with a punchy price tag and a potentially awkward, oversized body, would you be better served with an alternative from Samsung or the competition, or is the Tab S9 Ultra a perfect photography companion?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: Design

Despite its massive footprint thanks to that 14.6-inch screen, the Tab S9 Ultra is super-slender at just 5.5mm thin (thinner than any mainstream phone out now). Before you think it’s a featherweight, it isn’t. Clocking in at 732g, it’s relatively heavy, so it isn’t comfortable for long bouts of one-handed use. 

Over the last few years, Samsung’s premium design has been a benchmark for Android phones and tablets, and the Tab S9 Ultra carries this quality forward. Its Gorilla Glass front and aluminium frame and back create flat sides and curved corners, making it both easy to grip and not too sharp as the corners nuzzle into the hand.

The only premium tablet with IP68 water resistance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra can be submerged without fear, and its you can write on it using the S Pen underwater.

Dotted around the frame is a quad-speaker system, an SD card slot, a USB-C port and the power and volume buttons. The back panel has a dual camera and a magnetic charging point for the S Pen, and on the front is the screen, a notch for the selfie camera and an under-display fingerprint scanner.

Available in Beige and Graphite, while we tested the Graphite model, the Beige option looks like it would fend off fingerprints a bit better and it also has a bit more of an ooh la quality to it.

As long as you’re okay with the size, the Tab S9 Ultra is a winning package from a design point of view. The only area it falls short is accessories. Samsung’s official keyboard folio isn’t particularly comfortable for laptop typing, so it isn’t ideal for a commute. Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPads and Lenovo’s Tab Extreme keyboard folio are much more fit for purpose. So, if you’re picking up the Tab S9 Ultra for productivity, ensure you do most of your typing at a table or desk.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: Screen

The Tab S8 Ultra’s excellent screen was only let down by a modest maximum brightness. This resulted in a mediocre view in direct sunlight, but the Tab S9 Ultra remedies this by with its brighter panel that peaks at a beaming 930 nits peak brightness. This might sound low compared to flagship smartphones, but tablet peak brightness is always significantly lower.

Bright and sharp, the Tab S9 Ultra is also has a 1848 x 2960 resolution, which equates to a pixel density of 239PPI. With its smooth 120Hz refresh rate, menus glide, and the widescreen 16:10 aspect ratio is a perfect pairing for 16:9 shows, especially when set against much more square iPads and their heavy letterboxing.

Samsung is one of the few tab makers that makes its own screens, so it’s little wonder the AMOLED display on the Tab S9 Ultra looks glorious, especially in darker areas and when playing back HDR content. There is a caveat, though. If you watch atmospheric, dark content in a bright environment, you may lose some detail in the shadows, but when watching indoors or in a darker space, no other tab can touch the Tab S9 Ultra’s rich, atmospheric quality.

The Tab S9 Ultra has a notch for the two front cameras. This keeps the bezel extremely slim, and falls outside the viewing window for 16:9 content and wider, so we didn’t find it interrupted our view.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: Camera

Tablet cameras are generally significantly lower-spec than smartphone cameras, so we will touch on the Tab S9 Ultra’s cameras without going into too much detail and focus more on ways the Tab S9 Ultra can fit into a photography workflow.

Starting with the cameras, the Tab S9 Utlra has two on either side. Around the back is a 13MP main camera and an 8MP ultra-wide. On the front are two 12MP cameras for selfies and video calls. The main camera is good enough for a document scan and is the only camera on the tab with autofocus, with the rest featuring fixed-focus lenses.

As for the front camera mix, it’s great for video calls – in bright environments, it’s sharp enough for an HD feed – and all the cameras can shoot 4K 30fps video except for the ultra-wide rear camera. Drop the lights, and none of the cameras – front or back – hold up particularly well.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: Productivity

Samsung pre-loads a few powerful apps on the Tab S9 Ultra to give creatives a jump start, bundling in a two-month trial subscription to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, as well as a full version of Good Notes for a year, and a half-price offer for LumaFusion video editor.

Running Android 14 with OneUI 6.0, the Tab S9 Ultra features DeX, Samsung’s desktop UI. This year, we have two versions of the interface, a Classic DeX and New DeX. While the Classic version is a full-blown Windows-style interface, the New version looks like familiar Android but adds resizable floating windows to the mix. These two forms of DeX are very powerful, with Classic DeX working perfectly when projecting to an external monitor – ideal for big-screen editing – and New DeX looking better on the tablet itself, particularly suited to the keyboard folio cover or a keyboard and mouse setup.

While DeX works better than anything else in the Android space for both standalone and monitor-connected productivity, the Lenovo Tab Extreme’s second USB-C port supports video input, and gives it a slight edge in a creative workflow, enabling it to double up as a second screen for your MacOS or Windows device. The Tab S9 Ultra is only a wireless second screen for Windows computers – so Lenovo's tab is more versatile.

Samsung’s pressure-sensitive S Pen is also a powerful creative tool. Whether using a brush with precision in a drawing app like Concepts or with the Heal tool in Lightroom, the S Pen’s 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and almost brush-like feel on-screen has always been a tonic to Apple’s hard plastic Pencil.

The main creative limitation of the Tab S9 Ultra is Android and, more specifically, app support. Yes, Concepts, Lightroom and LumaFusion are excellent. Still, with apps like Adobe Illustrator, DaVinci Resolve and ProCreate available for iPadOS, it is the better creative tool.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: Performance

Thanks to a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset matched with 12GB RAM, the Tab S9 Ultra does an excellent job of 4K video edits and 3D gaming. The interface glides, even when loaded up with multiple apps on-screen, or projecting DeX to an external monitor. It’s very impressive to get into a rhythm with the tablet, smash out a load of work and realise, it was all powered by a skinny slate.

There’s also plenty of storage on offer, with either 256GB, 512GB or 1TB internal storage and a microSD card slot, so you can bump that up by an extra 1TB.

Talk about multi-function – the Tab S9 Ultra can charge phone in a pinch with its huge 11,200mAh battery – you just need a USB-C to USB-C port. You’ll probably have capacity to spare with Samsung’s tablet easily lasting a few days or longer with modest use – an episode and some browsing here and there. For more intense workloads, expect one or two days out of it. It also charges up at 45W, taking around two hours to power up fully.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: Verdict

The Tab S9 Ultra has the best screen of any tablet we’ve tested, and the fact it’s water resistant makes it an obvious choice for anyone who needs a slate that can withstand the elements. Paired with your camera’s companion apps, it makes for an impressively oversized external monitor, and there are enough great photo editing and productivity apps for Android to make it the most capable Android tablet around.

There are some red flags to bear in mind before picking one up. This tablet is huge, so make sure the S9 Ultra is what you need, not the more modest, manageable Tab S9 Plus. The keyboard dock isn’t well-suited to resting on a lap; ergonomically, this isn’t a laptop replacement. Finally, even if you have a Windows laptop and an Android phone, you might still be better off getting an iPad, thanks to iPadOS’s superior creative app support.

If none of those caveats faze you, the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra could be the best tablet of 2024 for you and should add a brilliant, big-screened boost to your workflow.

Tablets seem to sit in a slightly strange place these days; they were once thought to be notebook replacements, but that’s long since been proven wrong. But they do provide a much more generous and inviting screen than a smartphone. The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is an 8-inch tablet that falls within the entry-level end of the market, with a screen size not much greater than a large smartphone and with performance that doesn’t quite match that of a flagship smartphone, so it’s a curious option.

That said, I have to confess that I enjoyed the size and dimensions of the HD 8 Plus. It’s not massively larger than my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and performance is mediocre in comparison. But as a device for web browsing on the sofa, watching movies in the bath, and general tasks, the screen certainly does provide a more comfortable viewing experience than using a smartphone.

Performance is adequate but not amazing, but for the average user the tablet is aimed at this probably won’t be an issue. Plus, it’s fairly inexpensive at $100 / £120 for the 32GB version or $130 / £150 for the 64GB version with adverts on the home screen. 

The without-ads option is negligibly more expensive ($115 for the 32GB and $145 for the 64GB). What you have to consider here is that competitor tablets offer larger screens, higher specs and provide access to the Google Play Store.

The major limitation of Amazon Fire tablets is that despite Fire OS being built on Android, they don’t offer access to the Google Play Store. Instead, you’re limited to the Amazon Appstore, which doesn’t provide anywhere near as many apps. But what Fire tablets do offer, is excellent access to Amazon services such as Amazon, Prime, Audible, and Kindle, so if you have a Prime subscription you can enjoy a streamlined experience in this area. Plus, major streaming apps including Disney+ and Netflix are available in the Appstore so while it is limited, you can access some of the most popular apps.

Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus: Specifications

Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus: Design & Handling

You can’t fault the overall build quality of the HD 8 Plus, and although the rear of the device is made of plastic rather than aluminum, the textured surface provides a comfortable and effective grip. It certainly doesn’t shout out high-end, and some similarly priced alternatives are made of better materials, but this doesn’t impact negatively in terms of user experience or performance. Just don’t expect a premium look and feel, because that’s not what’s on offer here.

The bezel around the screen is quite wide, which gives the HD 8 Plus a slightly outdated look when compared to higher-end tablet models, including the Amazon FireMax 11. It’s not the end of the world, and to be fair this wider bezel makes the tablet easy and comfortable to hold single-handed when reading books using the Kindle app. 

It’s the 8-inch size that works particularly well in this situation, providing a footprint similar to a paperback book. It’s also great for general entertainment because of its 7.94x5.4x0.38in / 201.9x137.3x9.6mm dimensions and light weight of 12.06oz / 342g. What’s more, in portrait mode when you’re holding the tablet upright like a phone, the virtual keyboard allows for typing with both thumbs which makes typing quick and easy if this is what you’re used to.

The HD 8 Plus has Bluetooth so you can connect Bluetooth headphones easily, but it’s nice to see a 3.5mm headphone jack, alongside the USB-C port which is used for charging. Charging time takes around three hours and with normal use such as web browsing, social media, and watching the odd TV show and Movie with streaming apps, I was able to get just under a week of use from a single charge with what you might call general use. The HD 8 Plus is compatible with Qi-certified wireless chargers which is useful if you have one, but the supplied adaptor and USB-C cable will be ideal for most people.

As previously mentioned, the biggest letdown of the HD 8 Plus is that it doesn’t have access to the Google Play Store, and app availability in the Amazon App Store is extremely limited. It’s great for devouring Amazon content, but if you would like a much larger number of apps a standard Android tablet would be a much better option and can cost a similar amount depending on what you opt for. Any apps that also provide browser access to their website can be accessed with the Silk Browser, so you’re not completely stuck here but browser access is far less convenient than an app.

Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus: Performance

Setting up to the HD 8 plus is incredibly easy, and like most modern smart devices you’re guided through the process so you can’t go wrong. You’ll need an Amazon account to log in to the device, which then allows you to access your account directly from the tablet, and works extremely well if you have a Prime subscription. If you don’t have an Amazon account, you can create one during the set-up process. But the heavy push towards Amazon’s subscription-based services does mean that if you’re not a subscriber to one of these, the Appstore limitations will be extremely frustrating.

The screen’s 1280x800px 189ppi resolution looks a little outdated with pixelation visible and a general lack of clarity when compared to devices with a higher resolution. Watching movies and TV shows is fine, but the image is far from as sharp and detailed as the higher-end Amazon Fire Max 11. If the resolution was higher, combined with the size of the tablet, the HD 8 Plus would be a much more attractive option.

The hexa-core 2.0Ghz processor is adequate for general use but it’s not blazingly fast; with several apps running, there can be noticeable slowdowns when scrolling so expect some lag and stutter. It’s not so problematic that you shouldn’t consider the HD 8 Plus, but it’s something to be aware of if you typically have multiple apps running at once – something I think most of us are guilty of without even realizing. This certainly isn’t helped by just 3GB of RAM, but overall performance is fine rather than fantastic.

Being a lower-end Fire model, the front and rear cameras are low-resolution with the main rear camera offering a 5MP sensor and 1080p video capture, while the front-facing camera is just 2MP with 720p video. Image quality is OK but nothing to shout about, although having at least 5MP on the front camera with the higher video resolution would be much better for video calls. Tablets aren’t really designed with photography and video capture in mind, so settings are limited, but this certainly adds to the slightly dated feel of the HD 8 Plus despite being the 2023 model.

Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus: Verdict

The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus positions itself awkwardly in a tablet market that remains as competitive as ever despite a plateauing of features and functionality. With a screen that’s not even Full HD, the on-screen image suffers from slight pixellation and a general lack of clarity; while the processor and RAM only provide adequate performance with slight lag and stutter noticeable.

For general web browsing, using streaming apps and Amazon services, the HD 8 Plus is absolutely fine and will cover the needs of many users. The 8-inch size of the tablet makes it extremely comfortable to use and it’s great for reading books with the Kindle app. But let’s not forget, if you’re not a subscriber to Prime or one or more of Amazon’s other subscription services, you’re not going to get the best from the tablet. Especially considering the heavy lean towards these services and the general lack of apps that are available in the Amazon Appstore.

The HD 8 Plus isn’t a poor tablet, but it does have a dated feel in terms of the overall design, performance, and screen resolution. Combine this with the above and you may well be better served with a standard Android tablet for a similar price where you can take advantage of the far superior Google Play Store where all Amazon apps are available anyway. Not to mention, you could get a higher resolution screen and slightly better performance overall.

Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus Alternatives

Amazon is well-known in the tablet world for producing affordable devices that maximize the benefits of Amazon Prime subscriptions. The Amazon Fire Max 11 is the most powerful and expensive Fire tablet to date, and it’s also the best. The Fire Max 11 is a 13th-generation 2023 model boasting a crisp and clear 11-inch screen and a contemporary design that makes the Fire Max 11 look and feel like a high-quality device.

Overall performance is perfect for everyday web browsing, watching videos using streaming services, and also for productivity tasks when paired with office and other productivity apps. But the major frustration with all Fire tablets, including the Fire Max 11 which is the flagship model, is that the Amazon Appstore is extremely limited when it comes to app availability; despite being built on Android, the Fire Max 11 has no access to the extensive Google Play Store.

This is going to be a huge hurdle for many potential users of the device because you’re limited to what Amazon has curated for you in terms of apps, and the App Store feels almost like a ghost town. However, if you’re a Prime subscriber or subscribe to Audible or Kindle Unlimited, the Fire Max 11 is by far the best Fire tablet for accessing this content alongside the likes of Netflix and Dsiney+.

Amazon Fire Max 11: Specifications

Amazon Fire Max 11: Price & Availability

The Amazon Fire Max 11 is available with 64GB or 128GB of storage and can be purchased device only or in one of several bundles. Plus, there are options for ads or to be ad-free on the home screen and it’s barely more expensive to go ad-free. The 64GB Fire Max 11, a device only with home screen ads, costs $195 / £250. The Productivity Bundle, which includes the Fire Max 11, Keyboard Case, and Stylus Pen costs $305 / £375 and is the bundle that was sent for review. It’s a good price for the performance of the tablet, but you can enjoy equally good performance with access to the Google Play store and many more apps with competitor tablets.

Amazon Fire Max 11: Design & Handling

The Fire 11 Max looks great with a contemporary design – it’s undoubtedly a smart-looking device that looks as good as more expensive competitor tablets. The body is made of aluminium while the screen is made of strengthened glass that’s claimed to be three times as durable as the iPad 10.9-inch 10th generation model. It all sounds promising, but the latter hasn’t been tested for obvious reasons, so we’ll have to take Amazon’s word for it.

Overall, it’s a Svelte design for a tablet of this size, and the Fire Max 11 is comfortable to hold with flat sides and curved corners. At just 17.28oz / 490g it’s it’s also fairly lightweight for a tablet with an 11-inch 16:9 screen. The bezel around the screen is nice and narrow which adds to the modern look, but also means most of what you’re looking at is the all-important 2000x1200 213ppi screen rather than a small screen surrounded by a thick black bezel, which is an outdated tablet design. So, that’s a generous amount of screen real estate when the tablet is 10.2x6.4x0.29in / 259.1x163.7x7.5mm.

The screen itself provides great image quality thanks to the resolution, producing a sharp and vibrant image whether you’re watching a movie or typing an email, etc. There are certainly no complaints in this area, and when used with the Keyboard Case, the back of the Fire Max 11 and the screen are protected from damage. This is a high-quality case that connects to the tablet magnetically, with the keyboard attaching to the pogo pin connection at the bottom of the tablet and the half-folding rear section to create a stand simply attaching to the back.

The Keyboard Case and Stylus pen both work exceptionally well, providing a more laptop-like experience with the multi-touch trackpad and physical keys for typing. The Stylus Pen allows you to write notes and draw depending on what apps you have for this, and handwriting recognition is impressive – it could read my almost unintelligible scrawl without any problems using a free note app.

The problem we have here is that we come roaring back to the limitations of the Appstore, where apps are almost blood-boilingly limited; imaging apps such as Photoshop Express, Snapseed, and Lightroom Mobile aren’t available. Not even YouTube or Instagram are available, although there are strangely some apps that can pull YouTube videos through. It’s a shame because the way that the Fire Max 11 performs overall suggests that it could handle these apps with ease. But apps that also have websites can be accessed with the Silk Browser, so it’s not all bad news here.

Amazon Fire Max 11: Performance

Setting up the Fire Max 11 is quick and easy, but you will need an Amazon account to sign into the device rather than a Google account. If you don’t have one, you can sign up during the set-up process. Within this process, you connect to your home WiFi, opt for photos to be shared to  Amazon Photos and activate Alexa etc. It’s pretty much a run-of-the-mill set-up, but once you’re in you have incredibly easy access to your Amazon Account.

In use, the Fire Max 11 provides a pleasant and streamlined experience thanks to the octa-core processor with two Arm Cortex-A78 up to 2.2Ghz and six Arm Cortex A55 up to 2Ghz. RAM is pitched in the midground at 4GB, which is less than flagship smartphones these days, but this combined with the processor showed no signs of weakness during what you would call average use. There were no slowdowns when running multiple apps and navigation was smooth, which ultimately provides a positive user experience.

The front and rear cameras are extremely basic with automatic controls and both feature low-resolution 8MP sensors by today’s standards, with the ability to capture 1080p video. The rear camera has autofocus, while the front camera which is most likely to be used for video calls is fixed focus. The front camera is arguably the most useful of the two with video calls in mind, although it certainly doesn’t hurt to have both front and rear cameras, even if they are extremely basic and low-resolution.

Battery life is advertised at up to 14 hours on a full charge, and during what I would consider to be average use, I was able to get a week’s use out of a single charge. The Fire Max 11 was left on standby when not in use, and I watched a couple of movies on Prime, watched a few YouTube videos, did lots of web browsing, wrote emails and made notes using the Stylus Pen. I tried to integrate the tablet into my daily routine as much as I could alongside my computer and phone, and it did prove useful but mainly for comfortable web browsing and entertainment on the sofa. The Keyboard Case was great when typing anything, whether resting the tablet on my lap or a table.

Amazon Fire Max 11: Verdict

The Amazon Fire Max 11 works extremely well as an entertainment device, especially if you’re a Prime subscriber, and even as a productivity device if you opt for the Keyboard Case. Microsoft Office and other Office apps are available on subscription but, unfortunately, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are unavailable, which are free to use and just as good as any of the paid options for most people.

It’s here that the main problem with all Amazon Fire tablets lies, including the Fire Max 11, that the highly restricted Amazon Appstore offers such a tiny number of apps compared to Google Play. And what makes it even more frustrating is that Fire OS is built on Android, so the two are compatible. Providing access to Google Play alongside the Appstore, in the way Samsung devices offer both the Samsung Store and Google Play, would be the perfect situation for consumers. But grumbles about the Appstore aside, you can still do many things with the Fire Max 11 and if an app also has a website, you can access this through the Silk Browser. 

There is a strong lean towards Amazon services that you can’t get away from, but overall performance is great with no noticeable slowdowns or lag when running multiple apps, and the screen is fantastic thanks to the size and resolution. Should you buy it? Well, if you’re happy with the limitations of the app store then you can’t go wrong because it’s a great tablet at a good price. But, if you want or need access to specific apps that are unavailable and/or have no website to access them, you’d be much better off with a standard Android tablet – it’s that simple. 

Amazon Fire Max 11 Alternatives

There's a lot to like about the 10th-generation iPad, which first hit stores in October 2022. From its sleek design – more comparable to the Air and Pro than previous iPads – to its A14 Bionic chip and 10.9-inch screen, the iPad 10 beats the previous generation in nearly all aspects, fully justifying its top spot in our list of the best iPads for students.  

Want it to function like a laptop? You can get the Magic Keyboard Folio with trackpad (for an additional price). Want quicker charging and better data transfer speeds? The iPad 10 ditches Lightning for USB-C port. And with improved main camera quality, and the selfie camera usefully positioned in the middle of the landscape bezel, it would seem that this is an iPad improved in all areas... but then there's the $449/£499 price tag!

So, has Apple lost sight of the classic iPad's original, affordable appeal? Or is it providing an iPad fit for modern users? Let's break it down...

Specifications

The first thing that you notice when looking through the iPad 10's spec list, is that it betters the previous 9th generation iPad in all areas. In fact, it looks a lot more like the most recent iPad Air than the classic Apple tab. Let's look at the stats in more detail... 

Display

There's no two ways about it, the iPad 10 looks beautiful, and has plenty more going for it than just aesthetics. The Liquid Retina display, which it shares with the iPad Air 5, offers crisp, detailed images, as a browse through 4K video online will show (picture above). With the home button being replaced for a touch ID button, there's a little extra display space compared to the iPad 9, which is noticeable especially when using the tab at close quarters. The bezels are more uniformly thinner than the 9 too.

Unlike the Air, mini and Pro, the iPad 10's display is not laminated. That means that there is a very slight space in between the glass and the elements under it. What that means in practice is that each swipe and tap will feel that little less immediate. But honestly, it's not something that you will notice, unless you've extensively used an Air, mini or Pro before, so for the majority of new iPad users, I don't really see it as a detractor.

With 500 nits brightness (the same as the iPad 9), you can certainly use it outside if required, though it's less than optimal. I took it out on a bright January midday to take snaps and use it as I usually would indoors. I was impressed that the display wasn't swamped completely by the outdoor light, though at times I did have to angle the tab to make out the picture. As you can see from the first photo below (taken on an iPhone 15 Pro), the display still gets across a clear image and decently represents colours. For context, the best iPad that Apple makes right now – the iPad Pro – offers around three times that brightness. 

Camera

When taking photos indoors, colours can be drained if not making the most of light, though detail is good enough (as seen in the Christmas tree and selfie shots above). Outdoors, with plenty of striking light, the camera picks up detail, achieves rich colours, and offers a nice crisp shot (the pebble and iPad shots above). So far, so 12 megapixels. But there's more...

The iPad 10 offers Smart HDR, an AI tech that helps you out with crappy lighting. Basically when you take a snap, the iPad will input the image at various exposures, and combine them to produce the best option for the final image. For a 12MP tablet camera, that's pretty cool.

The selfie camera, another 12MP compared to the iPad 9's 8MP, also holds a bit of a surprise. That's because it's positioned in the middle of the landscape bezel, making it better positioned for video chats, especially when placed on the Magic Keyboard Folio.

Of course, no one reading a Digital Camera World review would be thinking about buying an iPad primarily for its camera. However, it's a nice addition that can – if all things are aligned – produce decent results. As I use an iPhone 15 Pro, with its 48MP camera, for most of my quick pics, I ended up using the iPad 10 as a display for my photos. A handy step to choose the pics that I want to keep and print out.

Finally, it's worth noting that the iPad 10 shares the same main camera specs as the more expensive iPad Air 5. 

Build & Handling

The iPad 10 is a beautifully designed tablet. I love the back detail and the straight edges that echo the most recent Air and Pro designs. It makes the iPad 9's curved sides seem old-hat. In hand, it feels the exact right weight. You don't want a tablet to weigh you down, or to feel like it could be snapped in two at any moment. You want to be able to easily hold and use the tab with one hand and the iPad 10's 1.05lbs nails this.

Another new detail in this model's build is that the home button of the 9 has been replaced with a touch sensor button, in the top right corner. As a right-handed person, this is great, and feels natural to open and unlock – when I'm holding it in portrait. When I'm holding it in landscape, it's a bit annoying... until I realize that you can capture your right index finger and your left thumbprint, which makes it really easy to access (again, as a right-handed person. Perhaps this will be annoying for lefties?)

If you know anything about lovely shiny tablets, you know that they pick up smears and smudges easily. The iPad 10 is no different, but nothing a lens wipe won't clear up. But as standard iPads are often bought as a house tablet – being passed around from parent to child – this is definitely worth being aware of. As far as I know, this is the case for all current iterations of iPads. 

Performance

The iPad 10's A14 Bionic chip offers a 6-core CPU, a 4-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. Great, but what does that actually mean day-to-day, and in context to other tablets?

Well, as discussed above, it means some pretty nifty AI tech for producing the best pics possible in the main camera. It also means that I can play a game like PUBG Mobile – a battle royal-style online game – seamlessly. And that goes for every app that I opened on it. YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Sketchbook... everything is very snappy and works excellently.

However, the 10 remains the slowest iPad of the current range (mini, Air, iPad, and Pro). The A14 is actually around three years old, and though this should not be a deal-breaker for most if you want an iPad that you won't have to replace for many years to come, the chip's age may become a factor. 

When I first streamed a show on the iPad 10, I was genuinely impressed with the speakers. Now that they're landscape on the 10, there was a fuller sound that I just wasn't expecting from a standard iPad. Don't get me wrong, they can't compete with any half-decent Bluetooth speaker. But I didn't have my JBL Charge 5 speaker to hand, so I watched my show happily, picking out all dialogue and the details of the soundtrack just fine. Sounds were distinct and not merged together, and though you won't get any meaty bass, these speakers can go fairly loud.

I also got to test the Apple Pencil USB-C – the second generation of the Apple Pencil 1. Though I won't review the Pencil here, I will say that it's a nice accessory for the iPad 10. Though you don't know when it's running out of juice, a fully charged Apple Pencil gives an ease of movement and command over the iPad 10 that's really enjoyable. Also, you limit those annoying smudges! However, the hand-to-type text feature (you scrawl words on the iPad, and it digitizes them into text) leaves a lot to be desired.

Verdict

Everyone that I know who owns a standard iPad (including my mum), uses it mainly for mobile games, browsing, reading news, and watching TV shows and films. I can't see that drastically changing with the iPad 10, and yet Apple seems keen on tearing its classic tablet apart from its budget origins. 

At $449 the iPad 10 is currently $130 more than the iPad 9 through Apple. In fact, you can get the iPad 10 for $399 and the iPad 9 for $249 over at Amazon at the time of writing. So you can get the older iPad for $150 less. But you're interested in the latest iPad, so why am I making this point?

Because I don't think the newer specs and features of the 10 justify the extra $150. For what I would be using an iPad for, the 9th Gen model would be absolutely fine. The display won't be as crisp, the colors a little less rich, and the blacks a little less true. But the standard iPad always offered an entry-level, budget tablet that did a handful of useful things really well. With the iPad 10, Apple seems to going back on that promise.

However, if you don't care about spending the extra cash, and you want a pretty fancy 'standard' tab, the iPad 10 is excellent.

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Graphics tablets have long been the preference of digital artists and photographers thanks to their precise input and comfort when compared to a mouse. Pen displays, which are essentially graphics tablets with a built-in screen, allow you to work directly on the image and are traditionally extremely expensive. Prices have, however, come down drastically in recent years, and the Huion Kamvas 13 is one of the more affordable options available.

The Kamvas 13 costs $239 without a stand or $265 / £209 with a stand (the UK version is only available in a stand bundle). As the name suggests, the Kamvas 13 offers a 13-inch display in a 16:9 ratio alongside a pen that provides many tilt and pressure sensitivity levels for a more natural drawing experience.

Pen displays are used by digital artists, photographers, and retouchers looking for improved precision compared to a mouse or even a standard graphics tablet because of the direct input to the image. Huion has been around for some time, occupying the mid-range in the world of graphics tablets in terms of cost, features, and functionality, so with its products, you can often enjoy a great balance of cost vs features and performance. 

The Kamvas 13 is one of Huion’s entry-level pen display models, so having owned a couple of the Chinese company’s graphics tablets in the past I had high hopes for what this offering could deliver. And while not perfect, I have to say that I was impressed with what Huion was able to deliver at such a competitive price point.

Huion Kamvas 13: Specifications

Huion Kamvas 13: Design & Handling

The Huion Kamvas 13 belies its entry-level specs and price in terms of design and build quality; being a well-made product that looks as good as higher-end models. Huion has undoubtedly done a great job here and it’s available in three colors: black, green, and purple. Plus, with eight customizable buttons that can have keystrokes or macros applied to them, you can make the pen display work for you. 

Being customizable, however, means that the buttons are blank so you have to remember what has been assigned to each. Over time, this naturally becomes second nature and with four of the buttons having raised braille-like dots, you can feel your way along the row of buttons fairly easily without looking away from the screen. The pen itself also has two customizable buttons which are easy to accidentally press so it’s best to keep the pen rotated away from your thumb and fingers.

The battery-free pen is comfortable to use and lightweight, possibly too lightweight, while also feeling bulky, but if this is a problem a Slim Pen is available separately. A pen stand is also included, which unscrews to reveal 10 spare pen nibs and a nib clip. The pen is, overall, absolutely fine and works well for both left and righthanded individuals, with the Kamvas 13 also being able to be flipped so that the buttons are on the left or right side depending on which hand you use to draw.

At 14.43x8.56x0.46in / 366.5x217.4x11.8mm with a weight of 34.56oz / 980g, the Kamvas 13 is a highly portable pen display that can equally at home being used at a desk, on your lap, or on the move. The screen dimensions are 11.56x6.50in / 293.76x165.24mm which provides a comfortable working area, although the 1080p does produce some chunkiness of the software interface while the image itself shows no flaws in this respect; it’s certainly not a deal-breaker, but the Kamvas Pro 13 does offer a 2.5K resolution if you’d prefer a higher-resolution screen.

The low-profile rubber feet on the back provide ample grip when the display is laid flat, although the optionally bundled ST300 Desk Stand, which was included with the review model provides six viewing angles ranging from 14.5 to 45 degrees to suit user preference, is a great accessory to have. There’s a minimal price increase for choosing this bundle over the base option, so it’s well worth it for the additional flexibility provided.

With such a portable size and weight the Kamvas 13 is ideal for photographers on the move, but it surprisingly doesn’t come with a carry case and one doesn’t appear to be available on the Huion website. Of course, you could find something that works perfectly for this, but it would be useful if Huion produced a dedicated carry case that could be purchased separately. That said, the low profile of the Kamvas 13 means that it could be slipped into the front section of many laptop cases.

In terms of connection to a computer, the Kamvas 13 comes with a 3-in-1 cable that plugs into the pen display via USB-C with two USB-A connectors and an HDMI connector for your computer. Worth bearing in mind if your computer doesn’t have an HDMI connection. Alternatively, you can connect the Kamvas 13 to a computer using a USB-C to USB-C cable, available separately, alongside a second USB-C cable connected to a USB-C charger for power.

Huion Kamvas 13: Performance

In use for photo editing, the Kamvas 13 provides a much more precise, natural, and tactile editing experience than using a mouse. Plus, it’s also much better than using a graphics tablet because you’re working directly on the image itself rather than looking at your monitor while using a pen and tablet with your hand which does create a small degree of disconnect.

This provides a more direct editing experience where tasks such as masking and creating selections are so much quicker and easier, not to mention the 8192 levels of pen sensitivity with tilt support up to +60 degrees provide a more pen-to-paper-like experience. These levels far exceed what a photographer or retoucher might ever need, and even some digital artists, but this level of sensitivity can only be a good thing and can’t be faulted.

The drawing experience is comfortable and precise with no lag or parallax between the pen and screen once the pen has been calibrated and the correct working area has been set. But while for drawing or masking the Kamvas 13 can’t be faulted with no lag or jitter, there is a small amount of lag when using sliders in Lightroom, for instance, where there’s a split second of delay between touching the slider with the pen and being able to move it. Accessing and navigating menus, however, doesn’t suffer from this lag.

The all-important screen is a comfortable size for working and although there’s no touch support available, this isn’t a problem for a pen display of this size. The screen has a color gamut of 120% sRGB with an 8-bit display of 16.7m colors, which is fine for general editing but color correction tasks would be better performed on a wide gamut monitor displaying close to 100% Adobe RGB 1998 if you have one.

The IPS screen features an anti-glare matte film with a brightness of 220cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 1000:1. But despite being a matte screen, it does pick up fingerprints, so the included palm rejection glove reduces friction when drawing and ultimately reduces hand prints on the screen. This is a single-size stretchy glove that covers the outer edge of the hand, the ring finger, and the little finger and does indeed help to provide a more comfortable experience.

Out of the box, with the default settings of brightness and contrast at 50%, the screen is a little dull, but a small increase of both settings provides a greatly improved on-screen image. It’s certainly not as vivid as my OLED wide-gamut laptop screen or my wide-gamut monitor, but I found it to be perfect for the tasks I was performing with the Kamvas 13.

The Kamvas 13 response time isn’t particularly fast at 25ms, but it works well for editing and drawing – it simply doesn’t need to be super fast. There are also several screen modes available including gaming and movies, although you wouldn’t use this display for gaming based on its size and response time. 

Huion Kamvas 13: Verdict

If you’re looking for a pen display that doesn’t break the bank but provides the features and functionality you need for photo editing and drawing, the Huion Kamvas 13 is undoubtedly a compelling option. 

The image quality is impressive for the price once brightness and contrast have been adjusted, and although the 1080p resolution produces some chunkiness of the software interface, the image being edited/created doesn’t suffer from this so it’s not a problem. Of course, a higher resolution would be welcome, but the Kamvas 13 just manages to get away with 1080p.

What’s more, while the Kamvas 13 doesn’t provide the screen real estate and image quality of its higher-end sibling, the Kamvas Pro 24 4K, it’s a highly portable pen display that works well with desktops and laptops because it doesn’t take up much space. This is the main trade-off when considering larger models, although the smaller screen can tip the balance.

A great advantage of the relatively low price is that you can invest in your first pen display without breaking the bank to see how you get on. There’s also a clear upgrade path if you decide you like the experience and would prefer a larger and higher-quality display.

Huion Kamvas 13 Alternatives

The iPad Air (2022) is Apple's mid/top-level iPad. It's got better tech credentials than the iPad or the iPad mini, but it doesn't have the power of the iPad Pro. It's priced in the middle of the iPad generations lineup too, starting at $599/£699 for the 64GB version with WiFi. 

Apple is known for its well-built, well-designed tablets, and the newest iPad Air, released in March 2022, is no exception. Apple fans will delight in the gorgeous Liquid Retina screen, the fun colorways, the simple yet elegant design, and of course, the super-speedy M1 chip. Compared to the iPad Air (2020) with its A14 chip, this is one nifty tablet, and I found it more than capable of handling my daily tasks, without so much as a stutter.

The iPad Air is almost a year old now, which is getting on a bit in Apple terms, but I still think it's a really decent option for many creative professionals. Paired with one of the best iPad keyboards and an Apple Pencil, it'll be the right iPad for many people. 

To test this iPad, I used it as my main tablet for around a month. I took photos, and videos, and tried out photo and video editing, and I also used it for streaming, sketching, and browsing the internet. 

iPad Air: Specifications

iPad Air: Build and handling

The 2022 iPad Air is not a big departure from the previous version, in terms of design. It's got the same fairly thin bezels around its 10.9-inch Liquid Retina screen (2,360 x 1,640 px). There's no Home button, so you have to swipe up to get to the home screen and the Touch ID button (there's no Face ID on this model) is housed at the top of the tablet. 

Overall, the screen is big enough for most daily tasks and is comfortable for browsing the internet and viewing movies and series on the go – though you'll likely want one of the best iPad stands to hold the tablet in place. It has 500 nits brightness, which is decent for viewing and editing photos, and it does display some beautiful deep blacks and overall shows pretty impressive colors – though more serious professionals may prefer the 600 nits of the pricier iPad Pro 11-inch (2022) or the 1,000 nits of the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2022).

My only gripe with the design is that when holding the tablet, it's not always obvious where the top of it is, so I found myself searching the sides for the Touch ID/volume buttons on more than one occasion. This problem is solved if you have the iPad Air in a case, such as the Magic Keyboard. 

It's also easier to know where the top of the tablet is if you have an Apple Pencil attached to it. This version of the iPad is compatible with the Apple Pencil 2, and the newer Apple Pencil USB-C, both of which magnetically attach to the top of the iPad (note that the Apple Pencil 2 charges there, while the Apple Pencil USB-C needs to be charged separately).

iPad Air: Performance

I have the now super-seeded version of the 11-inch iPad Pro (2021, M1), and I found the iPad Air (2022) to be comparable to this tablet in terms of performance. This isn't hugely surprising as they both have the M1 chip. 

Both are capable of handling a number of apps open at the same time, and you can stream, create images with several Layers in Procreate, edit some images in Affinity Photo, and browse the internet all at once without the iPad getting at all hot or bothered. It's also good for gaming, and you can even create 3D models in it. 

This is all well and good, but it's worth considering what you'll be using the iPad for. Will you actually be making the most of it, or would you be better off with a cheaper, lower-spec tablet that you can use for photo editing on the fly, and not much else?

It's also worth noting that you are limited by the capabilities of the iPadOS. Sure, you can split screen and technically you can multi-task, but will you really want to on a screen of this size? While testing this iPad, I found that for some tasks, like filling in spreadsheets or doing a lot of copying and pasting, it was easier to open up my laptop and do the task there instead. So that's worth bearing in mind. Whatever Apple claims, this iPad isn't about to replace your main machine or is unlikely to.

Battery life is not bad. Apple says it should last nine or ten hours (nine if you're using Cellular data and 10 otherwise) and I found it lasted around seven hours when looping a video (using WiFi). Charging was fairly speedy, though not amazing, with the tablet going from 0 to 100 in just under three hours. 

iPad Air: Camera

I can't imagine many serious photographers are using their iPad to take photos, but it's good to know that if it comes to it, then this tablet's camera works fine. The rear camera is 12MP wide with a f/1.8 aperture, and a 5x digital zoom. It'll capture HEIF and JPEG, but not RAW. I found it works mostly well and can cope with low lighting, although the image becomes a little grainy when you really zoom in.

The newer iPad Pro, in comparison, has two cameras and a Lidar sensor, so that's the tablet to buy if you want 3D scanning and are really serious about using your iPad for photography.

The front-facing camera is 12MP ultra-wide, with an f/2.4 aperture and a 122-degree field of view. This means it works with Apple's Center Stage feature, where the camera follows you around the room when you're on a video call. Whether or not you'll want to use this feature is up to you, but it can be useful if you want to multi-task and move around a room when on a call, and want to stay in shot.

It's worth noting that Apple has placed the front-facing camera on the top of the iPad, when in portrait mode. The problem is that many people use the iPad in landscape mode when they want to make video calls, meaning that it looks as if they are not looking at the person they're talking to. You may or may not find this annoying, and Center Stage is no doubt supposed to fix this. Note that this issue has been rectified in the new iPad (10th gen), which has the camera along the side of the iPad.

iPad Air: Verdict

Overall, the 5th generation iPad Air is a very capable tablet, which is suitable for a range of uses, whether that's browsing the internet, drawing, or taking or editing photos on the go. It works especially well with the Apple Pencil, although that will cost you extra ($79 or $129 depending on which version you buy).

The iPad Air is slightly let down by its storage options, there's only 64GB or 256GB available with this model, so if you know you want to download a lot of apps then you may find something like the iPad Pro, with its wider range of storage options, is more suitable.

The iPad Air is fast, it looks good and it's comfortable to hold. The camera is decent enough for snapping on the go and the colors are accurate enough to make it ideal for photo or video editing, although the iPad Pro 12.9-inch offers a superior mini-LED LCD panel. Some may also prefer the bigger screen of a laptop or bigger tablet for these tasks, or perhaps even a 2-in-1 machine.

Overall, whether the iPad Air is right for you depends on what you're going to use it for, and whether you'll be making the most of that snappy M1 chip. If you can afford it and you want more storage and a better camera you may want to future-proof your purchase and go for the iPad Pro (2022), you'll want the 12.9-inch version to get the top specs. If you want the same camera as the Air but don't mind so much about the chip, then the standard iPad (10th gen) may be all you need. If you want an all-rounder, then something like the Robo & Kala 2-in-1 may be more suitable.

iPad Air Alternatives

Drawing tablets like the One by Wacom are a refreshing and surprisingly intuitive alternative to hunching over a trackpad for hours on end. And while they’re traditionally considered a mainstay of digital illustrators, they can enhance the workflow of photographers who regularly work with brushes for tasks such as frequency separation, and dodging and burning.

The best Wacom tablets boast thousands of pressure levels, shortcut buttons and super-slick pens. But the One by Wacom trims the fat in favor of a no-frills approach that’s ideal for drawing tablet newbies or anyone who values robustness and portability in favor of the latest bells and whistles. 

I reviewed the One by Wacom's small variant, but if the compact 8.3 x 5.7in dimensions are simply too small, you can also pick up the exact same model in a larger 10.9 x 7.4in medium variant. If you’re looking for a desktop digital illustration workhorse, this might not be the drawing tablet for you. But if you're a photographer or simply not willing to shell out big bucks on the best drawing tablets on the market, then here’s the lowdown on this nifty little slate… 

One by Wacom: Specifications

Size: (Small) W 210 x L 146 x D 8.7 mm / W 8.3 x L 5.7 x D 0.3 in
(Medium) W 277 x L 189 x D 8.7 mm / W 10.9 x L 7.4 x D 0.3 in
Active drawing area: (Small) W 152 x L 95 mm / W 6 x L 3.7 in
(Medium) W 216 x L 135 mm / W 8.5 x L 5.3 in
Resolution: 2540 LPI
Connections: microUSB to USB-A
Pen pressure levels: 2,048
System requirements: Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.10 or later, Chrome OS 87 or later (Kernel 4.4 + required)

One by Wacom: Key features

There’s a reconstituted chic to the One by Wacom’s simple, cardboard packaging. The width and length aren’t far off the tablet’s own dimensions and the minimalist aesthetic is appealing enough, yet provides reassurance that the bulk of this incredibly affordable tablet’s budget has been spent where it matters most. Inside you’ll find the tablet and pen, a Wacom-branded microUSB-to-USB-A cable, a trio of replacement nibs and a nib-removal tool. 

The quick-start guide is a sparse leaflet with largely pictorial instructions and a link to a page on the official Wacom website, with easy-to-follow setup instructions and links to Windows and macOS drivers. Handy tutorial videos are also available, should you have trouble setting up or installing the device. Once installed, you can use the intuitive Wacom Center to set up the tablet and pen to your personal preferences. 

No drivers or installation wizards are required for compatible Chromebooks, making this tablet an excellent workaround for those using company or school computers that block software downloads.

The tablet itself couldn’t be simpler. There are no shortcut buttons – like the four ExpressKeys you’ll find on the standard Wacom Intuos series tablets – but there is a cloth tab to hold the pen when not in use. You’ll find two buttons on the pen itself, which are mapped to right-click and scroll by default, but can be changed to perform a number of functions including erase and undo.

One by Wacom: Design

Latest Cintiq Pros aside, drawing tablets rarely look as sleek as, say, the best camera phones on the market… But whereas the XP-Pen Deco Pro and Huion Inspiroy Dial 2 look aesthetically dated, the One by Wacom won’t detract from that shiny new Macbook Pro. That’s not to say it’s particularly handsome looking, but in a world where minimalist tech is king, the clutter-free design looks suitably 2023. The only element that goes against the grain is the bright red base, which is neither attractive nor intrusive. 

The simplicity of this little slate does make its already solid build feel notably sturdy. There’s no display to crack or buttons to break. It reminds me a lot of the Amazon Kindle. Just like a well-worn notepad or sketchbook, it’s meant to be shoved into a rucksack or kit bag and used. It's this utilitarian design that makes the One by Wacom so attractive from a content creation standpoint. If you’re an illustrator or professional retoucher, looking for a serious drawing tablet that will never leave your carefully curated desktop setup, you’d be much better off looking at a pen display or a premium tablet like the Wacom Intuos Pro.

But if you’re a photographer who’s keen on introducing a drawing tablet into your workflow for the first time or the type of content creator who travels light and values portability above all, then the One by Wacom’s small and sturdy design is a tantalizing prospect. 

The microUSB-to-USB-A cable does hamper the tablet’s portability slightly if you require a USB-C adapter to connect it to your computer. And the lack of Bluetooth connectivity will make it slightly less enjoyable to use on the go, in airports and coffee houses, but its absence is understandable given the pricing.

Picking up the pen for the first time was surprising due to its extremely lightweight. The plastic also feels cheap, and the two buttons aren’t particularly reassuring. This is clearly where Wacom has decided to cut corners and given the sturdy nature of the tablet itself, it seems a sensible sacrifice. 

One by Wacom: Performance

If you’re new to the world of drawing tablets, expect a learning curve. Traditional drawing tablets aren’t as intuitive as pen displays. Putting pen to screen is always going to better replicate putting pen to paper than drawing on a blank tablet, while you view your progress on an upright screen. That said, with practice, anyone can become proficient with a standard tablet. After all, some truly incredible digital artists have been using them for years.

Once you’ve installed the One by Wacom’s necessary driver – or simply plugged in the tablet if you’re working on a Chromebook – you can begin using the device. While a drawing tablet really comes into its own when you’re using brushes in photo editing or digital illustration software, they can be used to navigate your computer just like a trackpad or mouse. You tap the surface of the tablet to ‘click’ and by hovering the pen up to roughly 2cm above the tablet’s surface, the cursor will track your movements. In Mouse mode, lift the pen any higher and it will cease to move. You can then move the pen anywhere on the active area of the tablet and set it down to continue where you left off (I'll get to Pen mode later).

the Wacom Center’s Pen and Mapping settings allow you to customize the pen and tablet's operation. Here, you can change the height at which the pen will still move the cursor. By default, the slider is set in the middle position. Set it to the lowest end and the pen needs to be almost touching the tablet’s surface to register with the cursor, but at the highest end, it really doesn’t seem much different to the default setting.

You can also adjust the acceleration and speed of the cursor. The higher the acceleration, the more responsive the pen feels, so I set it to its highest setting. The speed of the cursor relates to how far it will move in relation to your gestures. At its highest setting, the cursor will shoot from corner to corner – having only moved the pen a couple of inches – while at the lowest setting, you’ll run out of tablet long before you reach the opposite corner of the screen. 

If you’re working on a portrait-orientation document, would like to digitally flip the display to suit your dominant hand, or need to position the USB port on the opposite side of the tablet, you can alter the orientation or flip the device in the Mapping settings. It really is worth taking the time to experiment with all of the pen and mapping settings to find the right setup for you. This will soften the learning curve and make the entire process much more comfortable and enjoyable in the long run. 

Perhaps the One by Wacom’s most obvious spec shortcoming is that it only offers 2,048 pen pressure levels. That’s nearly half the levels of the Wacom Intuos Small and Medium tablets, while being well beneath the pressure sensitivity of other tablets, such as the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium’s  8,192.

If you’re picking up a drawing tablet predominantly for illustration then the step up to an Intuos tablet might be worthwhile. However, if you simply want to try out a drawing tablet for the first time or are a photographer whose usage won’t go beyond edits such as retouching and dodging and burning, I don’t think this is a dealbreaker.

You can also get more out of those pressure levels by customizing the sensitivity of the pen through the Wacom Center’s Interactive Pressure Profile curve. This allows you to alter how hard of soft you have to press to register the varying levels of sensitivity. While this is a more advanced customization option that most users of this entry-level tablet will likely avoid, the ability to alter the curve and immediately preview the changes by drawing lines in an adjacent box, does make it less complicated than it sounds. 

When it comes to the One by Wacom’s pen itself, too often I found myself activating the easy-to-depress buttons by mistake. This is compounded by the lack of any kind of grip; the plastic makes it too easy for the pen to spin between your fingers and make contact with the buttons. You can at least disable the buttons in the Wacom Center, but it is a shame to lose this functionality. 

When drawing, it’s important to set the Mapping settings Mode to Pen. This means the active area represents your computer screen. If you lift the pen off of the tablet completely and set it down elsewhere in the active area the cursor will jump to that point on the screen. This makes for a much more free-flowing drawing experience. When actually sketching out lines the tablet performs well. Lines drawn at a decent pace sweep nicely across the screen with any kind of jitter only appearing at very slow speeds. The tablet keeps up with even the fastest physical strokes too. Sure, some input lag is to be expected, but it’s barely noticeable and doesn’t impact the drawing experience.  

I use an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil 2 to produce digital drawings and although it’s a fantastic setup, the most noticeable drawback is the lack of that classic pen-and-paper feel. The One by Wacom feels really nice in that regard. The tablet’s surface is suitably papery and when paired with the pen’s nibs, the drawing experience is really enjoyable. Marks will appear on the tablet’s surface extremely quickly, but this is to be expected and they shouldn’t impact performance.

The One by Wacom’s small and medium variants match the active area present on the Wacom Intuos small and medium tablets. The general consensus when purchasing a drawing tablet is that bigger is better and I couldn’t agree more; if this is your only tablet and you’re a digital illustrator. If you’re purchasing a second tablet or are a photographer looking to shake up your editing workflow, then I think the smaller One by Wacom is at least worth considering. Sure, you’ll run out of room and have to reset your hand position frequently. But the diddy size and affordable outlay make this the perfect tablet to stuff into your kit bag and work with on the go.   

One by Wacom: Verdict

The One by Wacom doesn’t boast the best spec list in and around its price range, but it stands out for its pen-and-paper-like quality, raft of customization options, and the main tablet’s robust build. While similarly priced drawing tablets feature more pressure levels, the overall drawing experience is very good. The featherweight plastic pen really is the only notable shortcoming, but something had to give at this price point. The small size won't be for everyone, but you can always pick up the larger ‘medium’ variant. If you’re a photographer or digital artist looking for a portable drawing tablet to throw into a bag and take anywhere, or somebody who’s picking up a drawing tablet for the very first time, the One by Wacom is a great choice.

Read more: Find out about other graphic tablets and pen display options in our guide for the best drawing tablet, or check out the best Wacom tablets

Wacom just has announced two powerful new additions to its top-of-the-range Cintiq Pro family. These new pen displays, the Wacom Cintiq Pro 17 and Wacom Cintiq Pro 22, now include the revolutionary technology introduced with the Pro 27 making, it easier for photographers, retouchers, animators and designers to create beautiful, color-accurate works of art. 

Once you start using a drawing tablet in your editing or creation workflow, it’s hard to go back – and those with built-in screens make it even easier to see exactly what you’re doing. The Cintiq Pro 22 boasts a generous 21.5-inch display, providing more screen real estate for those who require it, while the Cintiq Pro 17 offers a more compact 17.3-inch screen for people who may need to use it at different locations. 

• Check out the best Wacom tablets, including cheaper models perfect for beginners

Both tablets feature stunning 4K resolution and can display a breathtaking 1.07 billion colors. They offer exceptional color coverage, including 100% Rec. 709 and 99% DCI-P3 coverage – the color gamuts frequently used in video, film, and broadcast production. 

Both products are also Pantone and Pantone SkinTone Validated, ensuring accurate representation of the full spectrum of human skin tones, reducing the necessity for a secondary color reference monitor in color-critical workflows. With HDR Gamma support featuring hybrid log gamma and perceptual quantization, you can display and edit realistic HDR footage. 

The Pro Pen 3 can be configured to suit your needs with customizable weight grip thickness, pen buttons and center of balance. After all, no two designers are the same and what works for one may not work for another. 

It has over eight thousand levels of pressure sensitivity and three side switches where you can allocate shortcuts. The super responsive pen can sense even the smallest of movements and, with improved tilt recognition, you can edit with more fluidity than ever before. Included are ten nibs, five standard and five felt, plus a nib removal tool. 

Each display includes eight ExpressKeys along the back corners, to which users can program quick actions such as pen pressure, panning or zoom. Both the Cintiq Pro 22 and the Cintiq Pro 17 come with an Easy Stand, but you can also attach it to your favorite stand or desk mount thanks to the Vesa 75 mount. For maximum flexibility and versatility, the Cintiq Pro Stand can be purchased separately. 

Widely regarded as the best in the business, Wacom’s dedication to innovation remains steadfast by setting the industry standard in drawing tablets and enhancing the workflow of professional creatives. The Wacom Cintiq Pro 17 is now available in the US and UK for $2499.95 / £2349.98 while the Cintiq Pro 22 will be available in December 2023 for $2999.95 / £2849.99. 

Not all tablets have a screen but the best monitors for photo editing will ensure accurate colours and a sharp image.

The Wacom Intuos Pro Medium tablet is a  true game-changer when it comes to photo editing. As well as being a useful tool for graphic design and illustration, it makes retouching images a lot more efficient so you can get through them faster. The extremely responsive Pro Pen 2 feels like an extension of your hand (once you get to grips with using it) and the texture feel of the nib on the tablet's surface has just the perfect amount of glide. 

Wacom Intuos Pro Medium: Specification

Wacom Intuos Pro Medium: Key Features

The Wacom Intuos Pro Medium has transformed my photo editing workflow, allowing me to achieve subtleties in both digital drawing and beauty retouching.  With customizable buttons on the pen and a set of customizable buttons and menu wheel on the tablet you can quickly and easily change the brush you using, the size, double click, zoom in, undo an action and so much more - all depending on how you have it configured.  

The generous active area of the tablet is perfect for photo editing tasks and drawing. I can work on intricate details without feeling constrained, while still having enough space to make broad strokes and adjustments. Buttons on the tablet itself can also be custom-configured to shortcuts you use the most such as undo or erase and the wheel can be used to zoom in and out of an image or scroll up and down.

One of the huge benefits of the Intuos Pro is that it’s completely wireless (unless of course, you need to charge it, in which case it can be plugged in via USB-C). I can sit back and edit comfortably from a distance, which has greatly improved my overall posture and comfort during longer editing sessions. The battery life is impressive, I still get surprised at how long I can edit without worrying about recharging and is usually around the 10-hour mark (not that I have ever edited for that long in one go).

Wacom Intuos Pro Medium: Build and handling

The Intuos Pro Medium's sleek design and ergonomic build ensure a comfortable and natural feel while working on my photos. The responsive touch surface and customizable ExpressKeys provide a seamless and intuitive editing workflow, allowing me to effortlessly navigate through editing software and access my frequently used tools with a simple touch or press. 

One of the standout features for me is the intuitive Pro Pen 2 that's included. It feels like an extension of my hand and offers incredible accuracy and very little lag which I've found on cheaper tablets.  Straight out of the box with the default settings, I found it to be slightly too sensitive but you can change everything from the tip feel to the tilt sensitivity and the pressure sensitivity which adds another layer of realism and makes using the pen feel very natural.

Wacom Intuos Pro Medium: Performance

The tablet's pressure sensitivity is very useful especially when using the tablet for drawing purposes as it does a good job of replicating traditional art materials. 

You can shade and sketch as if you were using paper - the areas you want darker you simply press harder. This feature is a game-changer for retouching and enhancing images with precision so whether I'm dodging and burning, fine-tuning colors, or working on intricate details, the Intuos Pro Medium responds flawlessly to the pressure I apply, resulting in a level of control that's unmatched by a mouse or trackpad.

Wacom Intuos Pro Medium: Final Verdict

When it comes to streamlining and speeding up your photo editing, the Wacom Intuos Pro is the perfect accomplice. Whether you’re a professional photographer or just getting started, the Intuos Pro offers a range of tools and versatile custom options that make it a solid choice - especially for the price.

Its exceptional build quality, intuitive touch controls, pressure-sensitive pen, and wireless capabilities combine to offer an unparalleled editing experience. If you're serious about enhancing your photos and taking your editing skills to the next level, this tablet is an absolute must-have. It has transformed the way I approach editing, and I couldn't be happier with the results I'm able to achieve.