XPPen Magic Drawing Pad Review

The tablet market seemingly has something for everyone, from budget sub-$200 devices targeting kids and light users, to expensive flagship tablets from Apple and Samsung, offering performance that surpasses some PCs and laptops. But what if you’re an aspiring or established artist looking for a tablet to perfectly translate your ideas onto digital paper without breaking the bank? Your best option may be the Magic Drawing Pad from XPPen, introduced at CES 2024. I had the early opportunity to review this device.

This is a sponsored article and was made possible by XPPen. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author, who maintains editorial independence, even when a post is sponsored.

Opening a Magic Box

The XPPen Magic Drawing Pad ships in an elegant box that contains a comprehensive set of accessories. Alongside the tablet, there is a stylus, a protective case, an SD card eject pin, and a USB-C charging cable. Notably, a power adapter was included, though it’s worth mentioning that this might not be part of the package in some regions.

The box also contained eight pen nibs for the stylus, accompanied by a nib extractor for easy maintenance, and a two-finger glove to eliminate accidental touches while drawing. As expected, there was also some reading material, including a quick-start guide and warranty card.

Upon holding the tablet for the first time, I was immediately struck by its remarkable thinness. Measuring just 6.9 mm, it’s nearly on par with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is only 0.5 mm thinner at 6.4 mm but costs significantly more.

The tablet’s weight was another pleasant surprise. At around 21 oz., it’s noticeably lighter than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which weighs around 1.5 lbs. This lightness is largely attributed to the use of plastic for the back cover.

In a market where plastic is often eschewed in favor of more “premium” materials, the choice of plastic for the back cover is well justified, as it not only makes the tablet more comfortable to handle, but also effectively eliminates fingerprints with its matte surface.

Specced for Creativity

At its core, the tablet boasts an ARM MT87771V/NZA Octa-core CPU, featuring two A76 cores, clocking in at 2.4GHz, and six A55 cores at 2.0GHz. In Geekbench 6, the CPU gets a single-core score of 790 and a multi-core score of 1,927. Leading Android devices are able to achieve scores that are more than two times better. There’s also 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage space, expandable up to 512 GB with a microSD card.

When it comes to graphics, the Magic Drawing Pad is equipped with an ARM G57 MC2 GPU from 2020. This GPU setup is common in many mid-range smartphones and tablets, and it has what it takes to provide a smooth user experience when using drawing apps, browsing the web, watching YouTube, or playing casual games.

If your interests include playing demanding 3D Android games, like Alien: Isolation or Asphalt 9: Legends, or using 3D design software, then the Magic Drawing Pad isn’t a tablet I would recommend. With a Geekbench 6 GPU OpenCL score of just 1247 (for comparison, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 found in the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra scores around 9000 points), it simply doesn’t have enough processing power to meet the intense graphical requirements of these games.

But for the artists, illustrators, and digital creators whose primary focus is on drawing, with an occasional side of web browsing and multimedia entertainment, the Magic Drawing Pad can be a reliable, lag-free companion.

A Clean Canvas

The XPPen Magic Drawing Pad launches with Android 12, which, feels a bit behind the curve, considering the recent release of Android 14 on October 4, 2023. Samsung has already updated its Galaxy Tab 8 and 9 series to the latest Android iteration, and it remains uncertain if XPPen will follow suit with the Magic Drawing Pad.

Despite this, the version of Android 12 that is preinstalled on the Magic Drawing Pad is pleasantly uncluttered and very close to a vanilla Android experience. There are a handful of preinstalled apps that enhance the user experience and make the tablet useful for drawing and taking notes right out of the box.

The one you probably aren’t familiar with is called NXTVISION. Its purpose is to enhance the visual experience by automatically adjusting image contrast and sharpness, improving shadow detail, and more, as you browse photos, watch videos, or play video games.

As far as drawing and note-taking apps, ibis Paint X is definitely the biggest highlight, as it comes with a three-month free membership. Also included are ArtRage Oils and MediBang Paint, with the former being a realistic painting app. These apps can be easily uninstalled if you wish.

Paper-Like Drawing Experience

The main thing that’s supposed to separate the Magic Drawing Pad from other large Android tablets is the drawing experience. In this regard, the tablet delivers in spades, thanks to its 12.2-inch X-Paper screen with a professional AG etched glass surface.

The screen has a 3:2 aspect ratio that does a fantastic job replicating the feel of real paper. While drawing, writing, or jotting down notes, the screen’s texture provides just the right amount of resistance so that you feel connected with the surface. However, this comes with a slight tradeoff, as the matte coating tends to dull colors slightly and reduces sharpness.

Another critical component of this drawing setup is the X3 Pro Pencil stylus. It’s a passive electromagnetic stylus, so it doesn’t require charging (unlike the Apple Pencil). The stylus is exceptionally light and well-balanced, and its 16,384 pressure levels allow for precise and smooth strokes.

There’s one button on the stylus, and you can customize it to quickly access frequently used functions without breaking the creative flow. XPPen provides eight extra nibs: four basic plastic and four textured. Switching between these nibs using the included nib remover tool is straightforward.

The nibs don’t wobble at all when inserted. The Magic Drawing Pad is able to accurately recognize the position of the nib even when it’s not physically in contact with the screen, and it displays its location as a small circle. I found this to be incredibly helpful when testing the tablet, as I always knew where my pen would land.

XPPen suggests the X3 Pro Pencil should be used whenever possible, as not all XPPen styluses are compatible.

Beyond Drawing

While the Magic Drawing Pad is primarily designed for artists and creators, its versatility extends far beyond just drawing, as it doesn’t lack any major hardware features.

You can take photos and videos using a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. While these cameras might not compete with the advanced optics found in devices like the iPad, they are more than sufficient for the purposes they serve on a drawing tablet, such as capturing quick snapshots for reference or video calling.

The tablet also houses four speakers that deliver an immersive audio experience. The sound quality is impressive, offering great loudness and clarity, which makes this tablet an excellent device for educational and entertainment purposes.

Regardless of how you use the Magic Drawing Pad, battery life won’t be a concern. The 8,000 mAh battery can make the tablet last through a whole day of regular use, and you can recharge it quickly, thanks to 18W fast charging. The tablet even has reverse charging capabilities, so it can work as a power bank to charge your phone or wireless earbuds.

Price

The Magic Drawing Pad costs $499.99, and the tablet has convinced me that the value it offers matches or even exceeds this price tag. One of its closest competitors in the eyes of many people will be the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which starts at $799.00 and doesn’t ship with a pen/stylus/pencil. This would push the price to being at least $300 higher than the Magic Drawing Pad, pushing the iPad Pro into a significantly more expensive category.

Final Thoughts

The XPPen Magic Drawing Pad is a wonderful digital canvas for those who want to create all kinds of content – from drawings to sketches to educational material – without spending the same money professional artists are used to spending. Hopefully, XPPen will support it with regular software updates that will eventually bring to its users a newer version (or two) of the Android operating system.