Artist opinion: iPad Pro vs Wacom Cintiq – Review and Comparison

In the beginning, if you wanted to be a digital artist, getting a big bulky drawing tablet was your only choice.

But after the arrival of Apple iPads, they were seen as a worthy alternative to traditional drawing tablets.

The ability to carry them anywhere you go while still being capable of outputting professional results is what attracted so many artists towards them.

But they definitely have some shortcomings and limitations that people overlooked. 

So the question is, are iPads ready to replace traditional drawing tablets? and as an artist, should you pick iPads over Wacom drawing tablets?

In this Apple iPad Pro vs Wacom Cintiq comparison, we have done a detailed side-by-side comparison to find out which is a better deal, and which tablet should you pick as your next drawing device.

Apple iPad Pro – Wacom got some competition

As an artist, there are a couple of features you want in an ideal drawing tablet. They must have a great stylus, should be portable, have good battery life, and most important – have good drawing applications.

Apple iPad comes closest to home and has most of the above-mentioned qualities.

iPad is a very lucrative device and is capable of doing multiple tasks. This “jack of all trades” like property makes it a very appealing option and a great alternative to traditional Wacom devices.

In the last few years, Apple has been making major changes and improvements in its iPads.

They are faster – more powerful than ever and come in an incredibly thin form factor. It comes with the latest generation of Apple Pencil which is one of the best digitizers in the market.

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Wacom Cintiq Pro – Artist’s favorite tool

Wacom is a well know and very respected brand, and have been making digital drawing and writing devices for decades now.

Needless to say, they know their stuff well and it is clearly evident from their drawing devices.

Whereas iPads are more of a do-it-all device that is targeted to a wider audience. They can perform a wide variety of tasks, compared to Wacom Cintiqs are application-specific devices specifically made for artists, designers, and creative professionals.

Its design, features, and accessories are carefully made to provide a superior drawing experience to digital artists and make their tasks easier.

Cintiqs devices are just a screen with digitizer support without any extra bells and whistles. They come in different sizes which range from 13 inches, all the way up to 32 inches.

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Apple iPad Pro vs Wacom Cintiq – what to look for

iPad and Wacom Cintiq are two very different devices. How they work and the technology they use is very different from one another.

It is important to remember, choosing one device over the other is not only about its capability but also about your own requirements.

For example, think about the applications/software you use as a part of your workflow, and whether iPadOS has a good alternative for it. Also, do you really need the portability, is it important enough to lose the larger screen.

With that said, let’s dig into the details and compare some of the features.

Screen size – is a bigger screen better?

iPad Pro comes in two sizes – 11 inches and 12.9 inches. Some people like the smaller 11-inch model as it is more portable but most of the artists prefer the 12.9-inch iPad as it has a bigger drawing area.

Wacom sizes start with the Wacom Cintiq 13 with a 13-inch screen followed by Cintiq Pros with 16, 24 as well as a 32-inch screens.

Which one to choose

Everyone likes bigger devices but bigger is not always better, as the device increases in size you start to lose portability.

For example, if you travel a lot – you love the portability provided by iPads. Alternatively, if you work on a fixed desk setup, you can’t beat the drawing experience of a larger screen.

But even then – drawing on a 21 or 24-inch could be better than getting a 32-inch screen, as they are easy to manage and maneuver around. Plus they take up less desk space and are still big enough to offer a pleasant working experience.

Display quality and Resolution

Wacom device comes with full-color gamut-supported displays which are very accurate in terms of color production.

They are bright and vibrant and very comfortable to look at.

It comes with FullHD as well as 4K resolution.

On the other hand, iPads have a superior display than what you get with Wacom devices.

Their screen looks beautiful, colors are on point and they are bright enough to be used outdoors. Along with that, iPads have a true tone display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and come in 2732 x 2048 p resolution(12.9-inch).

The true tone changes the color temperature of the screen according to their environment, some people like it but most of the artists turn this feature off – as they don’t want any inconsistency with colors.

The 120HZ screen helps with making the apple pencil strokes feel smoother. iPads also have laminated screens with no parallax issues.

Battery life and Charging speed

iPads are portability-focused devices, so they are expected to have decent battery life.

As per Apple’s official statement, it can last for up to 10 hours uses on a single charge, which is actually very impressive considering how thin they are.

It takes 1 hour and 33 minutes to charge an iPad Pro from 0% to 80% with the help of a quick charger.

Wacom Cintiq does not have a battery and needs to be connected to a power outlet.

But Wacom has a device called MobileStudio Pro which is a standalone drawing tablet and has processors built inside like the iPads.

In terms of battery, it lasts around 3-4 hours on a full charge which is nowhere near what you get with iPad.

Drawing surface – matte or glossy

Wacom Cintiq is specifically made for being used with a stylus. Drawing with a plastic pen on glass surface makes the pen slip and lose control.

Wacom knows artists love a little texture on the screen. So they came with etched glass which creates slight resistance while drawing which gives more control over the pen and sounds like a paper.

Whereas iPads come with glossy screens which may not be ideal for drawing with a stylus but like many artists you could slowly get hang of it.

Or you can apply a matte screen protector like “paperlike (Amazon)“ which gives a similar paper-like feel and sound as the Wacom tablets.

Apple pencil vs Wacom Pro Pen 2 – Stylus comparison

Wacom Pro pen 2 and Apple Pencil are the two best stylus in the market and very similar to each other in terms of what they can do.

In spite of all the similarities, they work on very different technologies. Apple Pencil is an active stylus whereas Wacom Pro Pen is passive.

Pressure, Tilt, and Buttons

Wacom Pro Pen 2 has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity whereas Apple pencil does not mention any official numbers for pressure sensitivity.

Both stylus comes with tilt sensitivity which works flawlessly without any glitches.

The quality of the strokes, the accuracy, and the pressure variation are on point in both Pro Pen 2 and Apple pencil.

Apple pencil takes a slight edge in latency and speed. So, it is clearly evident that Apple Pencil and Wacom Pro Pen are equal in stylus performance.

The latest generation of Apple pencil comes with a touch-sensitive single button on the side face, which can be changed to a different shortcut.

Although you do not have the same programming options as with the Wacom stylus.

Wacom Pro Pen 2 has two physical buttons on the side along with an eraser at the back. These buttons are customizable and can be assigned different keyboard shortcut operations. They also allow you to customize the pressure settings to your liking.

Hovering Cursor

If you have used a Wacom Cintiq or any other pen tablet – you would have noticed a cursor that appears on hovering the pen above the tablet.

The cursor gives the basic idea of the shape and size of the brush. In iPads, no cursor or silhouette appears on hovering the apple pencil.

(The 2022 iPad Pro models (and later) have introduced cursor hovering features, but older models of iPad Pro do not support it).

Pen – Feel and Comfort

What sets the stylus apart is how they feel in hand. Apple Pencil is very thin and looks like a real pencil in terms of shape and size.

Some artists really love this low profile slender stylus but others don’t like it very much.

Wacom Pro Pen 2, on the other hand, feels much more substantial. It is wider and has ergonomic curves that help with better grip and comfortable hold.

Supported Apps and software

iPad has got better with time and has some of the very advanced drawing apps like Procreate, Clip studio paint, Affinity photo which is as good as their desktop counterpart.

But, iPads take a backseat when we talk about animation, 3D modeling, and sculpting apps. Although there are few apps on iPad such as Forger which is decent enough but still looks primitive when compared to the desktop software.

This is where Wacom Cintqs outshine iPads. They support every single drawing and modeling software whether it is photoshop, Krita, or Corel painter for making digital art or Full-fledged 3D modeling apps such as Mays, 3ds Max, or Cinema 4D.

Processing power, speed, and latency

In some tablets when you draw a line the stroke appears after few milliseconds on the screen.

This time delay is called Latency. Latency plays a big role in having a good drawing experience.

In the case of Wacom Cintiqs, the latency and overall fluidity of the device depends on the computer it is plugged in.

If you plug in your Cintiq with a low-power computer you will have latency and app freeze issues.

These things completely disappear once it plugs to a high-performance computer.

Wacom has its own Computer attachment for Cintiq Pro 24 called “Wacom Cintiq Pro Engine” which makes your Cintiq a standalone computer.

In spite of being incredibly thin – iPad, in general, have a very powerful processor. The latest iPad Pro 2018 is said to be faster than 92% of portable PCs.

This speed and power allow it to drastically minimize latency. The pen appears as responsive and real as an actual pencil.

Storage – Internal storage and external storage

It does not matter what storage capacity your computer has, you can always plug in a cheap external hard disk to Windows or Mac computers.

iPad, on the other hand, comes in four storage options – 64 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB and 1TB.

The higher storage options are pretty expensive. Till now Apple has refused to give support for external storage drives on iPads.

But recently Apple announced that iPads will start supporting external flash drives.

This is great news, it will allow you to save some bucks iPad upgrade based on storage capacity and make transferring and importing files easier.

Startup time – quicker the better

Sometimes you get a sudden idea and you want to immediately note down or start working on it. In traditional art, you simply pick a pen and start working.

When working with Cintiq, it takes a whole process to start your device and start working. This time delay is better in Ipad pro, you can just unlock the device and start working within a few seconds.

Accessories – Shortcut buttons, tablet stands and more

Drawing accessories help artists to customize their setup in order to make their day-to-day tasks/operations easy and convenient.

This is the department where Wacom takes the lead.

Wacom has a unique set of accessories like the Wacom Expresskey remote and 3D pen, tablet holder, and different tablet stands.

Ipad, on the other hand, comes with a keyboard accessory but no special shortcut button add-ons like Wacom Expresskey remote.

Over the last few years, we have seen many new art-specific accessories for iPad show up on the market, but the selection is still not as good as what you have with Wacom.

Final touches – Rubber pads and pen holder

There are minor things that can make a big difference. If you look at the back of Cintiq devices – all of them have heavy-duty rubber pads.

It stops the tablet from slipping off when using a flat on the table. Ipads do not have such pads and have aluminum at the back which is quite easy to slip on smooth surfaces.

Pen holders are other such things – Wacom Cintiqs always come with dedicated penholders.

There is no pen holder that comes with the iPad or the apple pencil, they use magnets instead. In newer Ipad Pro the stylus magnetically sticks to the side edges of the tablet.

Overall fluidity – Touch and palm rejection

iPads are a very well put together device. Everything from the hardware to software along with the operating system is top-notch.

It shows its real power in simple day-to-day tasks by giving a very fluid and consistent experience.

In drawing applications tasks such as zoom, move, and rotate are flawless no matter how big are the files. iPads also come with excellent palm rejection.

Wacom Cintiq Pros has touch options but it does not feel as smooth and responsive as in apple devices.

The tablet fails to identify touch inputs quite often and the palm rejection is nowhere as good. But at least you have the Expresskey remote or the keyboard shortcuts to save the day.

Portability – Priority or not

iPads are made to be portable whereas Wacom Cintiqs are made to stay permanently on a desk. If a massive screen is more important than being portable then Wacom Cintiq Pro (Amazon) is the proper drawing device for you.

Mouse support for iPads

Previously we did a little rant on Apple for not having mouse support on Ipad which even cheap Android phones have these days.

Now that changes with the recent update by Apple where they have enabled iPad users to use the mouse. Now the iPads support both Bluetooth and Wired mouse.

How to actually choose Between Wacom Cintiq and iPad Pro

All the features, advantages and disadvantages discussed above are to give you a detailed look at the two devices.

Making the right decision and selecting the right device depends on what type of work you do and how do you intend to use the tablet.

It is very easy to grab the shiniest device but it often leads to buyer’s remorse. Here is a couple of question you should ask yourself before pulling the trigger.

• What kind of work you do
• What you will use it for
• Apps and tools you use

If your work revolves around just making art and you do not have to go back and forth between different niche-specific applications than the iPad will suit your needs as it has really good drawing apps.

But if you are an animator or 3D sculptor or modeler than iPads do not have all the pro levels apps that you may need.

Future of iPads

iPads are slowly trying to capture the attention of digital artists and creating different tools and applications to lure them.

All the major desktop drawing applications are already creating their iPad-supported apps. The industry-leading application like photoshop is already being introduced to iPads.

So it is pretty safe to say that iPad is the future and traditional drawing tablets like Wacom have to really put in a lot of effort moving forward. But for now, iPads are nowhere near perfect and not ready to take over Cintiqs.

Here is what a Reddit user has to say –

Essentially I found the iPad Pro to be a great device for on-the-go sketching but nowhere near as useful as my Wacom and laptop.

Summary – Final thoughts

It is pretty clear from what we have learned so far – that Apple iPad (Amazon) is overall a better device than Wacom, but they are not for everyone. iPads are only recommended for people who make sketches and digital paintings.

It is a self-contained device that enables you to use it in coffee shops and other public places.

Along with drawing it also gives you other functionalities such as checking your emails, sharing your work on social media as well as taking photographs for inspiration.

For people with diverse skill sets who frequently tap into animation, modeling, character design, and use industry-standard software, Wacom Cintiq (Amazon) is a better device.

It gives you immense control and customization along with a much bigger canvas. They are more expensive than iPads but at the end of the day – totally worth it.