Comparison: Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP vs Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus – 4K Drawing tablet

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Even though there is a huge abundance of drawing tablets available in the market, 4k tablets are still surprisingly rare.

So far, 4k drawing tablets were only available in larger sizes, making them out of budget for many artists.

For a long time, digital artists have been asking for an affordable 4k drawing tablet in a smaller, compact form factor.

With the arrival of Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus 4k, Xp Pen and Huion seem to have delivered what artists were looking for.

So far so good. But that brings us to the next question – which of the two tablets should you pick over the other.

There are so many similarities between these two tablets that it is difficult to differentiate between them by just looking at the features.

If you are someone looking to buy one of these tablets and are not sure which one to pick, this article is like a one-stop shop that will save you days of research.

In this Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus comparison, we will go through every single feature these tablets have to offer and point out all the not-so-obvious differences between them.

By the end of this article, you will know exactly – which of the two tablets will fit your needs better.

With that said, let’s have a quick look at the specifications of Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus

Features and specifications

The Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP is available in a single variant, where Huion comes in two models named Kamvas Pro 16 4k and Kamvas Pro 16 Plus 4k.

Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP vs Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus comparison

As tech journalists and artists, we have been covering drawing tablets for a long time.

During which we have noticed a pattern where Xp Pen and Huion simultaneously launch their new tablets trying to overcut each other by providing more and better features than the other.

This cutthroat competition has been great for us artists. It has not only brought down the prices of drawing tablets but also forced other tablets manufacturers, including Wacom to step up their game.

It is a similar story here with Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus.

Design and form factor

Both Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus and the Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP are physically very similar to each other.

On the front, you will find a big screen at the center surrounded by black bezels from all 4 sides – all covered under a single sheet of glass.

At the bottom, you have the Xp Pen and Huion branding respectively.

The back portion of the tablet is made of metal alloy that covers the back as well as the sides and meets the glass screen at the front.

This glass front and the metallic back design feel very premium.

The build quality on both these tablets is top-notch as well. They feel solidly constructed with nothing moving inside or squeaking on the outside.

It is also important to highlight, how incredibly thin these tablets are. Xp Pen measures 15 mm in the overall thickness and Huion has a thickness of 13 mm.

Drawing tablets from just a few years ago were twice in thickness compared to these two.

Which tablet has a better screen

When it comes to drawing tablets with screen, the quality of the display is what matters the most.

The screen is one of the biggest differentiating factors between Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus.

Even though their resolution is the same there are other major differences in their screens.

Resolution and Pixel density (how screen size affects sharpness)

As you already know by now, Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus come with a 16 inch 4k UHD screen with a pixel count of 3840 x 2160 pixels.

The advantage of having a 4k resolution on a 16-inch screen as compared to larger screen sizes is – you get better sharpness.

This can be better understood with the help of pixel density.

The Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and the Huion Kamvs Pro 16 Plus both have the exact same screen dimensions measuring 13.6 in x 7.6 inches (W x H).

A 4k display laid on a screen measuring 13.6 inches (width) by 7.6 inches (height) results in a pixel density of 282 PPI.

Color Accuracy

Color accuracy is one of the most important things to consider when getting a drawing tablet. Some even consider it more important than the resolution.

I remember working on a cheap laptop display with really bad colors, and when I finally upgraded to a monitor with better color accuracy – it was a breath of fresh air.

Color plays an important role and influences creative decisions. A display with inaccurate colors will result in you picking the wrong colors affecting the final outcome of your artwork.

These days for normal day-to-day use – anything above 100% sRGB color coverage is acceptable. Higher the color coverage, the more color-accurate the screen is.

• Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP – 124% sRGB
• Huion Kamvas Pro 16 4k – 120% sRGB
• Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus 4k – 145% sRGB

As you can see that Xp Pen Artist Pro 16TP and the base variant of Huion Kamvas Pro 16 4k have the same/similar color accuracy.

Compared to normal computer monitors, both these tablets have way better color accuracy.

But the real winner here is the Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus – as it comes with a screen that has 145% sRGB color coverage. 

There are only a handful of monitors in the market that have a comparable color accuracy as to this one.

The Kamvas Pro 16 Plus achieves this color accuracy with the help of its quantum-dot display. It also boasts of low blue light which greatly reduces eye strain.

Overall quality of the display panels on both these tablets is top-notch. There is no color shift noticeable when looking at the screen off-axis.

Contrast and brightness

Contrast and color accuracy go hand in hand. Contrast is the ratio between the difference in the luminance of the brightest shade to the darkest shade.

A screen with a higher contrast ratio is able to display deeper black and brighter whites, improving the overall picture output, making it look more vibrant and lively.

The Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus 4k comes with an excellent contrast ratio of 1200:1, compared to 1000:1 on lower-tier Kamvas Pro 16 4k and Xp Pen Artist Pro 16TP.

On the flip side, The Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP has a slighter higher max brightness of ~250cd/m2.

In comparison, both variants of Huion have ~220cd/m2 of max brightness.

Now with the max brightness of 220 to 250cd/m2, none of these tablets are ideal for being used under direct sunlight or a very brightly lit room/studio.

With that said, you will be very comfortable using them in normal lighting conditions.

Display Lamination

Both the Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP as well as Huion Kamvas Pro 16 (Plus) 4k comes with a laminated display.

What are laminated displays?

– A screen is made up of several layers (like… display layer, touch sensing layer, top protective layer) stacked on top of each other.

A laminated screen has all these layers laminated (bonded) together.

This results in better picture quality as there is no air gap in between to reflect and diffract the light coming out of the screen.

This also makes the display unit thinner, improving the accuracy of the stylus.

Surface Texture and Surface Finish

The nibs of styluses are made of plastic.

When you draw with a plastic stylus on a glass surface, the stylus tends to slide too much. This is obviously not ideal.

To counter that, the top surface of drawing tablets comes with a textured surface.

Just like paper, textured surfaces on drawing tablets have microscopic irregularities that provide slight resistance to the stylus – improving its handling.

It also results in a satisfying scratchy sound and sensation when drawing, improving the overall drawing experience.

The Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP uses a layer of textured plastic film to get that textured finish.

To achieve the same effect the Huion Kamvas Pro 16 and 16 Plus uses superior etched glass.

Etched glass on Huion has surface texture embedded directly onto the glass using an advanced chemical etching.

This is more resistant to scratches from the stylus and does not wear out on prolonged uses.

On comparing the two, the drawing surface on Huion Kamvas Pro 16 (plus) feels superior because of its more scratchy texture.

For some reason, Xp Pen has decided to go with a less aggressive texture than they usually do, resulting in a smooth texture with very little bite.

The surface texture also determines the surface finish (reflectivity) of the screen.

The Huion Kamvas Pro 16 and 16 Plus comes with a matte finish anti-reflective screen, which is ideal.

With Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP – you get a reflective screen, which some artist does not like.

Which tablet has a better stylus? (Xp Pen PH2 vs Huion PW 527 comparison)

Both the stylus comes with a similar set of base features, but they are different in terms of design and performance.

XP Pen PH2 as well as Huion PW 527 are battery-free styluses and works by wireless transfer of energy from the tablet surface using EMR (electro-magnetic resonance).

The biggest advantage of EMR based stylus is – they do not need to be charged, ever.

These types of styluses are also lighter than other styluses due to the absence of batteries inside.

Both the stylus comes with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity along with up to 60 degrees of tilt sensitivity.

Other than that, their report rate and latency are similar measuring 220 reports per second with 25ms of latency – these are some good numbers.

Design and ergonomics

The design of XP Pen PH2 and the Huion PW 527 is slightly different from each other.

The Huion PW 527 has is divided into two halves. The front half has a grippy material on the outside for a better hold.

There are two programmable buttons located on the side of the stylus. The buttons are slightly raised above the pen surface to help you locate them with the touch of your fingers.

To further distinguish between the buttons, the front button has a raised dot.

The back half of the Huion PW 517 is made of normal plastic and offers no extra features.

In comparison, the Xp Pen PH2 has a single programmable button at the side. Instead of the second button, it has got a pressure-sensitive eraser at the back – which some artists prefer.

The Xp Pen stylus has no silicone grips. Instead, it comes with a textured plastic which is equally comfortable and nice to hold – if not better, and provides adequate grip.

Xp Pen PH2 as well as Huion PW517 has a tapered design, where the tip of the stylus is thicker and it gradually tapers towards the back.

This shape provides better ergonomics and makes the stylus comfortable to use and hold on prolonged drawing sessions.

Performance of the stylus

Both Xp Pen as well as Huion has been making styluses for a long time, and have been slowly improving with every iteration.

So no matter which stylus you pick, you will be fine.

With that said, comparing the two styluses the Huion PW 517 takes the lead by a small margin.

It has a better initial activation force – making it respond better to light touches.

Other than that the pressure response it good on both the styluses and can be customized as per your preference in the pen settings.

The pen accuracy and response time on both the stylus are great as well.

Pen holder and stylus accessories

Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus comes with a fairly simple doughnut-shaped pen stand.

As shown in the picture above, it allows you to safely store your stylus in a horizontal or vertical position.

The pen stand opens up to reveal a storage space that holds 10 spare nibs for the stylus.

These nibs last a long time (6 months or more depending on your usage), so it will take you years to use them all up.

The stand also has an integrated nib remover tool at the back which helps with the easy removal of nibs.

In addition to the pen stand, the Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus also comes with a soft Huion branded pen sleeve.

Next coming to the Pen holder of Xp Pen.

Earlier Xp Pen usually comes with a cylindrical tube-like pen holder, but this time around – their pen holder has changed.

The Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP comes with a very classy-looking and high-quality pen case.

The outer case opens with the help of a click mechanism and slides out completely. In the inner section, you will find the stylus and 9 extra pen nibs neatly arranged in padded compartments.

There are a number of grooves in the padded foam for easily taking out the contents of the case.

You will also find a nib remover tool built into the case.

Overall the Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP pro pen case looks professional, feels great, and provides better protection to the stylus.

Touch Sensing on the Xp Pen – The key feature

One of the key features of the Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP is its support for touch input.

The touch support on this tablet totally compensates for the lack of physical shortcut buttons on the tablet.

With touch, you can easily perform actions such as zoom, pan, scroll, rotate as well as general touching and dragging. This results in a much more engaging and enjoyable drawing experience.

Touch on a drawing tablet is not a new thing. Some of the high-end Wacom drawing tablets already come with touch support.

But the touch response on those Wacom tablets was so bad that it was practically unusable.

Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP is the first traditional display-based drawing tablet under 1000 bucks that comes with touch support. And guess what – their touch response is actually really good.

These modes give you added flexibility and customize your touch input however you like.

With that said, some of these modes are not supported on some operating systems. Here is the official list of touch support on the different operating systems.

On further software updates, the compatibility is expected to get better.

Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus 4k on the other hand comes with no support for touch input whatsoever.

This is a missed opportunity for Huion and sticks out like a sore thumb when comparing the two devices.

Connectivity and placement of ports

Both the tablets come with two USB-C ports for connectivity.

The ports on Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus are present on the right side of the tablet, whereas Xp Pen has ports on the top of the tablet.

If you have a good look at the provided cables, you would notice – Huion comes with straight USB-C cables which stick out from the side.

Xp Pen on the other hand comes with an L-shaped USB-C cable that does not stick out from the top and looks neat. With that said, their HDMI cable is straight and sticks out.

In addition to two USB-C ports, Xp Pen also comes with a Kensington lock, which can be useful.

No matter whether your PC/ Laptop has a newer USB-C port or the older generation HDMI and USB-A port, both Huion and Xp Pen provide adequate cables to get you covered.

Accessories – What’s included in the box

Here is everything you get in the box of Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus 4k.

Comparing the accessories the first thing you nice is the Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus comes with high quality metallic foldable tablet stand.

With Xp Pen you do not get any tablet stand in the box. But you can always get a third-party tablet stand of your choice.

The second observation is how well Xp Pen has managed its cable setup.

Huion’s box is bloated with multiple cables while still having a similar cable setup and connections options as of Xp Pen.

Driver and tablet settings

For added controls, you can head over to the driver settings.

The Driver allows you to adjust the display settings including color settings and display temperature controls.

In addition to that, it also helps you manage displays when working with a multi-screen setup.

They also allow you to easily reprogram buttons in the stylus and change its pressure sensitivity curve.

The driver interface of both tablets is very user-friendly so you will have no problem making any changes.

Summary – Which of the two tables should you actually pick

When we look at these tablets individually, both Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus feel like a complete package.

So, no matter which tablet you pick – you are getting a good drawing experience out of both of them.

With that said, there are definitely some differences between the two.

To help you recall we have consolidated all the main differences between both these tablets at one place.

Well, there are minor little differences all around the tablet, deciding between the two devices all comes down to their displays.

Xp Pen Artist Pro 16 TP support for touch input is its main selling point, but you do compromise by getting an interior drawing texture and a reflective screen.

With Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus you do not get touch support but everything else is taken care of really well. You get an etched glass, great texture, and unbelievably good color quality and contrasts on the screen.

If I have to choose between the two, I would go for the Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus. (But that may be because I have a touchscreen laptop)

Which one would you pick? and why? Do let us know in the comments below.