Review: Ugee S1060W pen tablet

Review unit provided by Ugee

Ugee has just updated their S-series pen tablets with new colours.

I've actually reviewed the Ugee S1060 in 2021 and I had forgotten about that which is probably why I accepted to review this again, but it's the wireless version. Unfortunately, Ugee did not upgraded the wireless connection to Bluetooth so you'll still need to use the 2.4Ghz wireless USB-A receiver.

The current models and prices are as follows:

• S1060 - US $64.99
• S1060W - $69.99
• S640 - $44.99
• S640W - $49.99

The wireless models are just $5 more than the wired models so you might as well go wireless. The main downside is battery life is just 10 hours with the 1000 mAh battery capacity. If you draw more more than 5 hours each day, you may have to charge the tablet every two days.

The colours availble are Very Peri, Living Coral and Carbon Black.

Only two sizes are available, 10 x 6.27 inches and 6.3 by 4 inches. I recommend going with the larger one which will pair well with most monitor sizes. The small is kinda small. Price difference of big and small is $15.

Things included

• Pen tablet
• Pen (model not mentioned)
• 10 replacement nibs
• Nib remover
• USB-C to USB-A adapter
• Micro USB to USB-A adapter
• USB-A wireless receiver
• Manual and warranty card

When you first take the tablet out, there will be a protective film to peel off.

Design

The design is identical to the 2021 model. The only updates are the two additional colours.

The design is clean and simple. Build quality is solid enough.

On the back are two long pieces of rubber feet with good grip on the table.

There are 12 and 10 customisable hotkeys for the larger and smaller models respectively. The buttons have good feedback when pressed.

The drawing surface is more textured than other brands of pen tablets I've tested. It's likely for the pen tips to wear out faster due to the texture. 10 replacement nibs are included and replacement nibs aren't expensive though.

The drawing surface is also quite susceptible to fingerprints.

At the top of the tablet is a clothed pen holder, the USB-C charging port and power button.

This is the larger 10 x 6.27 inch tablet paired with my 16-inch laptop.

If you use the small 6.3 x 4 inch tablet, drawing a short stroke will translate to a longer line on the display.

The pen that's included does not have a model number.

The pen has support for tilt and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. It's not powered by battery so no charging is required. A replacement pen is US $15.99.

The pen's body is matte textured and has a good grip. It's a pen that's comfortable to draw with for long periods of time.

The pen has two customisable side buttons.

The pen nib has slight in-out movement when in contact with the drawing surface. Some artist may not like this movement and prefer firm tips. I'm alright with the movement. This does not affect drawing performance.

Driver

The drivers I've tested are Windows driver v4.0.1.220803 (1 Dec 2022) and MacOS driver v4.0.2.220914 (29 Nov 2022).

The Windows and MacOS driver have similar functionality except for the additional Windows Ink feature which you may have to toggle on or off to troubleshoot if pressure sensitivity is not working as expected.

This is where you can customise the two side buttons on the pen.

I usually have one pen button assigned to Switch Display and that feature works fine with dual displays.

Pressure sensitivity can be adjusted by moving the three control points for the curve.

Hotkeys customisation

It is also possible to create groups of shortcuts for specifc drawing apps you use. These shortcut groups will load automatically depending on which app is active.

There is where you can map the drawing area to your display's aspect ratio.

Here's where you can rotate the tablet orientation and save the tablet settings.

Drawing performance

The drawing apps I've tested are Krita, Medibang Paint Pro, Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop, Illustrator, Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer.

These are line tests created in Medibang Paint Pro.

1. Initial activation force is minimal. Thin lines can be drawn easily even with a thick brush selected. There's no jitter or wobble with slowly drawn diagonal lines.

2. Lines can taper smoothly and sharply.

3. Line transition from thin to thick to thin is smooth. These are also diagonal lines and no jitter/wobble is noticeable.

4. Lines with consistent width can be drawn easily by mainting consistent pressure.

5. Dots can be drawn by tapping the pen tip.

6. Hatching lines look alright.

Tilt sensitivity works fine. Cursor is able to follow the direction of the pen.

Overall drawing performance of the pen is consistent and predictable. The pen is accurate and sensitive. The lines are able to come out exactly the way I expect them to.

Tilt and pressure sensitivity does not work by default with Photoshop with or without Windows Ink. The fix is to create a Photoshop settings file to use WinTab functionality.

Drawing experience

Affinity Photo (Win)

Medibang Paint Pro (Win)

Clip Studio Paint (Win)

Android support

Connection with Android devices can either be wired or wireless.

When connected to my Samsung Tab S8 Ultra tablet, the cursor wasn't visible. And if the cursor is not visible, it's not possible to draw or write properly because you won't know where the cursor is before you place your first mark.

The USB-A to USB-C adapter is actually thicker than my Samsung tablet so the area near the USB-C port is actually lifted from the table. That's problematic because when you press down while drawing, it may bend that adapter.

With my Huawei MatePad Pro 10.8 (2021), the cursor is visible in the shape of a circle.

Both tablets have to be used vertically.

Ugee has provided a SettingTools APK file that you can install to enable landscape orientation with both your Android and Ugee tablet. However with APK 13 June 2022 version, the feature does not work perfectly. Both tablets can be used horizontally but only a portion, not the full width, of the Ugee tablet is usable.

Also note that there's no driver for Android so you will not be able to customise any hotkeys. Whether you can adjust the pressurve curve will depend on the drawing app you use.

And there is no way to check in advance whether cursor will appear with your Android tablet.

Conclusion

The Ugee S1060W looks good and provides fantastic drawing performance and experience.

The main downside for the wireless model is just the 10 hours battery life which Ugee should definitely improve in the future.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Affordable
+ Decent build quality
+ Good drawing performance (but see below)
+ Accurate and sensitive pen
+ Battery-less pen
+ 12 replacement nibs included
+ Wireless option available, at extra cost
- Additional steps are required to enable pressure with Photoshop (Windows)
- Pen feels plasticky but comfortable to hold
- Wireless model battery life just 10 hours
- Android support requires both tablets to be vertical

Availability

You can find the Ugee S series tablets on the Ugee online store

The tablets are also available on Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | ES | IT | JP)