Best portable tablets for digital art (2024 edition)
Below's my list of recommended tablets with pen support that can be used for creating digital art. The recommendations are based on the full reviews I've created this year, and also last year.
To make my life easier since I've reviewed so many tablets, I'll arrange the choices according to price, and then give you my top three recommendations. Each tablet actually has a long list of pros and cons, but for this article I'll just list the three main pros and cons for each product. If you want to see the full review, just visit the text reviews.
Oh, when Apple products are mentioned, note that you may be able to get them at lower prices from Apple refurbished store online.
USD 100 - 200
Samsung Tab S6 Lite
The 10.4-inch Samsung Tab S6 Lite (2024) (2022 model's review) is currently selling at USD 199 on Amazon USA. This is the tablet with the best pen performance in this price range. There is option to increase storage from 64GB to 128GB, but it's probably more worth the money to get a microSD card instead.
Main pros and cons
+ Pen is included
+ Good pen performance
+ Samsung OS has many features
+ Laminated display
- Processor is not that powerful, but more than powerful enough for drawing
- 4GB RAM, 64GB storage but there's microSD card slot
USD 200 - 300
ugee UT2
The 10.4-inch ugee UT2 (review) comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage with a microSD card slot. Pen performance is better than I expected although not as good compared to other more expensive tablets. Price is USD 229 on ugee online store, or USD 199 on Amazon. You do get better specs than the Samsung Tab S6 Lite (2022), but Samsung S Pen has better performance.
Main pros and cons
+ Pen is included
+ Decent pen performance
+ Matte glass laminated display
- Processor is not that powerful, but more than powerful enough for drawing
- Not many features with the OS
- Palm rejection does not work well
USD 300 - 400
Samsung Tab S9 FE+ and S9 FE
The 10.9-inch Samsung Tab S9 FE (review) comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Price is currently USD 299 on Amazon. This gets an easy recommendation from me because it's better than the Samsung Tab S6 Lite in almost every way, and you get more value for money compared to the iPad 10.
Main pros and cons
+ Pen is included
+ Good pen performance
+ Samsung OS has many features
+ Laminated display
+ Crazy long battery life
- Processor is not that powerful, but more than powerful enough for drawing
The 12.4-inch Tab S9 FE is USD 399 on Amazon. This is a good option if you want a bigger tablet. Note that the 10.9-inch tablet is still a big tablet, it's just the 12.4-inch is bigger.
If you don't mind secondhand or renewed units, the 11-inch Samsung Tab S8 (review) with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is just USD 326 on Amazon. This is a fantastic tablet at a fantastic price.
iPad 10 (2022) with Apple Pencil 1
iPad 10 (2022) (review) comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Price is USD 279 on Amazon currently and Apple Pencil 1 is another USD 69. So the total is USD 348. This is a capable entry level tablet with good pen performance.
Main pros and cons
+ Good pen performance
+ Apple App Store has many drawing and graphic design apps
- Pen is sold separately
- Pricey for the specification you get
- iPadOS takes up 15GB storage
- Display is not laminated
USD 400 - 500
XPPen Magic Drawing Pad
The XPPen Magic Drawing Pad (review) is a 12.2-inch tablet that comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Price is USD 429 on XPPen online store. Drawing performance is pretty good but not as good as the iPad.
Main pros and cons
+ Pen is included
+ Decent pen performance
+ Matte glass laminated display
+ 8GB RAM 256GB storage
- Pen has no tilt
At this price range, you can also get the iPad 10 mentioned above but with 256GB storage. So the price will be USD 429 + 69 for Apple Pencil 1.
OnePlus Pad from 2023 (review) is currently USD 388 on Amazon but the pen is sold separately. I mention the tablet here only to tell you not to buy it because the company can't be bothered to make pen tip replacements for sale.
USD 500 - 1000
There are many good tablets in this price category so I'll just recommend the ones that I think offers the best value for money.
The Apple M2 iPad Air (2024) (review) was just released but it's actually the M1 iPad Air (review) that's worth the purchase. You can find a refurbished model with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage for USD 529. The 2024 model would be USD 699 which is noticeably more expensive. And the best thing about the M1 model is it is incredibly powerful so you're not really missing out on anything. Apple Pencil 2 is currently USD 114 on Amazon.
Main pros and cons
+ Good pen performance
+ Beautiful laminated LCD display
+ Good battery life
- 2-way speakers
14.6-inch Samsung Tab S9 Ultra
The 11-inch Samsung Tab S9 (review) comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and is currently USD 595 on Amazon. This is comparable to the M1 iPad Air in terms of value. It is difficult for me to recommend one of the other so do check out my full reviews to compare the full list of pros and cons.
You can also consider the Samsung Tab S10+ if you have more budget.
Main pros and cons
+ Pen included
+ Good pen performance
+ Laminated OLED display
+ Good battery life
+ 4-way speakers
USD 1000 - 1500
At this price range, we are looking the latest and best tablets in the market, namely the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 series and Apple M4 iPad Pro. Prices are from USD 849 on Amazon for the 12.4-inch Samsung Tab S10+ with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and for the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro it's from USD 899 on Amazon.
11-inch M4 iPad Pro
I don't think you can go wrong with either tablets for drawing. And if you want something bigger, there's the 14.6-inch Samsung Tab S10 Ultra and 13-inch M4 iPad Pro. They are new so they are pricey. If you don't need the latest, you can save a lot of money by getting the previous generation tablets.
Microsoft Surface Pro 11
The 13-inch Microsoft Surface Pro 11 (review) comes with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. Price is USD 899 on Amazon. The pen and keyboard case are sold separately and they are expensive. The main selling point of the Surface Pro 11 is it runs desktop software. If you already have a computer, it's probably better to get an Android tablet or iPad because they have better pen performance.
Other options
The LincStudio S1 is a 13-inch Windows tablet that comes with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. Pen and keyboard case are. Price currently is USD 999 on the company online store.
Main pros and cons
+ Good pen performance
+ Windows OS
+ Matte glass laminated LCD display
- 4 hours battery life
- Runs hot
The Huion Kamvas Studio 16 is a 15.8-inch Windows tablet that comes with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. This tablet probably has the best pen performance among all the tablets listed above. Price currently is USD 1444 on Huion online store.
Main pros and cons
+ Excellent pen performance
+ Excellent colour accuracy
+ Big display
+ Matte glass laminated LCD display
- 4 to 5 hours battery life
- Runs hot
- No auto brightness
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