Review: Frunsi RubensTab T11 budget drawing tablet

Review unit provided by Frunsi

Frunsi RubensTab T11 is a USD 219 Android tablet that includes a pen and is marketed as a drawing tablet. The tablet runs on Android 12, has 4GB RAM, 64GB storage (with microSD card expansion) and a 10-inch IPS LCD. The specs are quite minimal but this is a budget tablet.

My expectations for this tablet isn't very high because I have previously reviewed a rather similar tablet with a product name that's inspired by an artist who's really into Cubism.

Here are the specs:

Here are the specs:

• Display: 10-inch IPS LCD
• Resolution: 1920 x 1200
• Processor: Mediatek MT8183 (8 core @ 2Ghz), Mali-G72
• Battery capacity: 5800 mAh
• Battery life: 5 - 7 hours (tested)
• Bluetooth: v5
• Wifi: 2.4 and 5Ghz
• Storage: 64GB
• RAM: 4GB
• MicroSD card slot: yes
• Camera: 2MP front and 5MP back
• Ports: USB-C and micro HDMI
• OS: Android 12
• Google Play Store: Yes

Bottom line
The tablet is good enough for casual drawing, for kids or teenagers, but the drawing performance is not at the level required by professional artists. As for general performance, the tablet runs smooth enough without annoying lag. It's a budget tablet so you should really manage your expectations. Battery life is around 5 hours at maximum brightness which is satisfactory. Drop the brightness down to 70% and battery life is around 7 hours.

If you want better drawing performance for the same price, you'll probably have to go with pen displays that have to be connected to a computer.

Items included

The items included with the purchase are:

• Tablet
• Case
• 2 gloves and 1 artist glove
• Pen with battery included
• Nib remover and replacement nibs
• Dust brush
• Charger
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• Manual

One year warranty is included.

Design

Design of the tablet looks alright, just like a budget tablet. The colour support for the 10-inch IPS LCD looks limited and as a result the colours look slightly washed out, but it's not a deal breaker considering the price point of the tablet. Brightness seems sufficient as long as you're not drawing under direct sunlight.

The display has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels and on a 10-inch display the visuals look sharp enough with no visible pixelation (unless you look really close).

There is colour shift and drop in brightness when tablet is viewed from the side. This isn't a big issue since you'll be looking at the tablet from the front anyway.

The pen is quite smooth on the glossy surface so it will take a while to get used to the drawing experience.

The display is not laminated so there's a gap between the line and the pen tip. Parallax is actually not a big issue since the display size is small. Parallax is more of a problem on larger displays due to how far the pen is away from your direct vision. I was still able to join my lines properly without much difficulty.

The exterior is mostly made with plastic and build quality is solid without flex. The back of the tablet is matte textured. It's just that the overall design feels a bit cheap, but it is a cheap tablet.

The display comes with a glossy screen protector that's already applied.

Ports included are for the USB-C for charging and data transfer (USB 2 speeds), micro HDMI, 3.5mm audio and microSD card. I did not test the micro HDMI port because I don't have the right cable.

The speakers are stereo. Volume isn't that loud and at maximum volume there's slight distortion. Audio quality is clear enough but sound slightly hollow. Bass is lacking.

The tabet is not too thick which is nice.

It's nice to have a case included even though the case feels kinda cheap with a tacky surface texture,

The case provides full protection for the tablet but it also makes the tablet much thicker and heavier.

I actually prefer to use the tablet without the case because it's slimmer and lighter.

Behind the tablet is a stand with magnets at the bottom to "lock" the deployment angle.

There are a few angles you can use and the lowest angle is quite comfortable and stable for drawing.

Performance

The processor is the entry level Mediatek MT8183 (8 core @ 2Ghz) and 4GB RAM. It's fast enough for general use such as web browsing, watching videos, drawing. Multi-tasking works fine as long as you don't push it too hard.

Pen

Build quality of the pen is solid and it has a nice weight to it. The pen is powered by one AAAA battery which is replaceable by unscrewing the back of the pen.

The pen has no side buttons.

The pen supports palm rejection and pressure sensitivity although there's no mention on the number of levels. There is no tilt sensitivity.

The pen tip is the hard plastic type. And since the pen tip is quite smooth on the display, I don't expect the pen tip to wear out that quickly.

Drawing performance

These are line tests created with Medibang Paint Pro.

1. Diagonal lines drawn slowly has noticeable wobble or jitter. Initial activation force is slightly higher so you will have to press down slightly to get a line.

2. Lines are able to taper sharply and smoothly. Diagonal lines drawing quickly will appear smooth.

3. Line transition from thin to thick looks smooth enough. Note the diagonal line wobble.

4. The pen is able to maintain consistent width by applying consistent pressure.

5. Dots can be drawn easily.

6. Drawing is affected by the wobble and jitter of diagonal lines.

The main downside of the pen is diagonal lines that are drawn slowly will have noticeable wobble and jitter. And this is affect accuracy since this will affect diagonal lines and curves.

There are two ways to make diagonal lines smoother. First way is to apply software smoothening if that feature is available with your drawing app but this will result in more latency (line trying to catch up with your pen tip). The second way is to draw faster. But the thing is sometimes you want to draw slower because you want the accuracy, but when you draw slower the lines are wobbly and that affects accuracy.

The default drawing app pre-installed is Sketchbook Pro. The tablet is running on stock Android 12 and comes with Google Play Store so there is a huge variety of drawing apps you can choose from such as Medibang Paint, Infinite Painter, Concepts, HiPaint, Clip Studio Paint and more.

This sketch was drawn with Infinite Painter app.

The line art was drawn rather quickly so the lines are quite smooth.

The tablet and pen works fine for quick sketching.

This was also drawn with Infinite Painter. That's my daughter who refuses to play chess with me.

This was drawn with HiPaint.

This was drawn with Concepts.

Some lines were drawn more slowly and they have noticeable wobble and jitter affect the line art. When the lines are too wobbly, I had to undo and redraw the lines with faster speed.

With this tablet, you have to know the limitations to the pen and workaround them.

Depending on the app used, there may or may not be cursor shown.

Conclusion

The general performance of the tablet is satisfactory. This is a budget tablet so don't expect to play graphics intensive games. The performance is definitely adequate for web browsing, watching videos and drawing.

The tablet is good enough for causal drawing but not for creating professional art. This tablet is for causal users and those with a limited budget. It works fine as a digital sketchpad or as your first foray into digital art. The main challenge with drawing is dealing with the wobbly diagonal lines and how smooth the pen tip is on the display.

If you want better drawing performance, for the same price, you'll have to get pen displays which have to be connected to a computer unlike this tablet which can be carried around conveniently.

As for whether it's worth the money, you can decide.

Pros and cons at a glance

+ Solid build quality
+ Okay design
+ Good display size for drawing
+ 1920 x 1200 resolution is sharp enough for a 10-inch display
+ Lightweight and portable, but much thicker with installed case
+ Pen, case, nib replacement, glove included
+ Tablet case can be deployed at angles for drawing
+ Pen has pressure, tilt and palm rejection
+ Drawing performance is good for casual uses but note the downside (-)
+ No bloatware installed
+ Decent performance for budget tablet, not for intense gaming
+ Screen protector already applied
+ USB-C port for charging
+ Affordable pricing
- Colours on LCD display not as vibrant compared to more expensive tablets
- Display is not laminated
- Speakers sound slightly hollow
- 5 hours battery life at maximum brightness, 7 hours with 70% brightness
- Slow diagonal lines have noticeable wobble/jitter

Availability

This tablet is available on Amazon USA.