XP-Pen Tablets: Complete Brand Guide & Best Models (2026)

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XP-Pen gives you more hardware per dollar than almost anyone in this category, and it makes its own lineup harder to read than almost anyone in this category. The complete drawing tablet buying guide settles the brand question; this guide assumes you have already shortlisted an XP-Pen tablet and now need to know exactly which generation you are buying.

That is not a small distinction. The catalog holds four product families — Star and Deco screenless tablets, Artist pen displays, the OLED Artist Ultra range and the Android-based Magic devices — plus a long tail of carryover models still sold new. The naming sorts none of it. Artist 16 Gen 2 carries an 8,192-level X3 Elite pen; Artist 16 3rd carries a 16,384-level X4 pen. Deco MW is X3 Elite 8K; Deco Pro Gen 2 MW is X3 Pro 16K. Artist 12 Pro Lite is the newest 12-inch Artist display and runs the oldest pen technology in the family.

This guide maps the catalog by pen generation and use case rather than by marketing tier, then narrows to the models worth buying at each level across screenless, display and standalone hardware — including the accessory and compatibility detail that decides whether a tablet is still useful in year three.

It is written for artists who have already chosen a computer and a drawing program: first-time buyers on a budget, illustrators working in Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint, animators and 3D artists who care about refresh rate and cursor fluidity, and anyone weighing a current model against a discounted previous generation.

XP-Pen's Philosophy — Specs First, Ecosystem Second

XP-Pen's commercial argument is measurable on a spec sheet. The budget Deco 01 V3 hands over a 10 × 6.25-inch active area and a 16,384-level pen. The flagship Artist Pro 27 Gen 2 pairs a 26.9-inch 4K panel at 120 Hz with Calman Verified colour, ten-point touch and two X3 Pro styli in the box. At nearly every tier XP-Pen includes what competitors charge for separately: stands, drawing gloves, spare nibs, and on the Pro displays a wireless shortcut remote.

The trade-off is not specs per dollar. It is ecosystem maturity — driver behaviour, pen-to-pen consistency and long-term predictability, which is the honest reason a studio standardises on Cintiq hardware. But the "XP-Pen is a cheap Wacom" framing stopped being accurate when the Artist Pro and Ultra ranges arrived: at 21 inches and up XP-Pen is selling calibrated, colour-managed professional displays with current-generation pens, and the decision becomes workflow preference rather than budget.

Two concrete strengths sit underneath that. XP-Pen publishes Windows, macOS and native Linux drivers — packaged .deb, .rpm and generic builds covering Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Red Hat, openSUSE and Arch/Manjaro among others. And the software list on current displays is broad and named: Photoshop, Illustrator, Clip Studio Paint, GIMP, Krita, MediBang, FireAlpaca and Blender, all of which run on the host computer rather than on a connected Artist display. Purchases through the US official store advertise an 18-month warranty; terms differ by region, so read the storefront you are buying from.

One structural warning before the model list. XP-Pen keeps current, regional and end-of-life products on the same official site. A product page existing is not evidence that a model is current-generation — US store visibility, launch material and driver support together are the reliable signals.

Understanding XP-Pen's Pen Generations — X3 Elite, X3 Pro and X4

Four stylus architectures run side by side in the current catalog. Legacy P, PA and PH pens sit on Star hardware and the older Deco and Artist models; X3 Elite covers the 2022-era Artist Gen 2 displays and the Deco M/L line; X3 Pro is the current professional ecosystem; X4 is the newest generation, currently shipping on three devices.

The 8K-versus-16K headline is the least useful part of that table. What a hand registers is activation force, nib travel, centre accuracy, cursor stability and the driver's pressure curve. X4's concrete gains are a 2 g activation threshold, 0.3 mm tip travel, ±0.2 mm centre accuracy and roughly 30 ms initial response; X3 Pro sits at 3 g and ±0.4 mm. Doubling a pressure count that was already 8,192 changes less than either number.

Where the naming actively misleads:

Pen compatibility is model-specific inside those generations, not only between them. XP-Pen's own compatibility guidance restricts some pen combinations on the Artist Pro 19 Gen 2 even though every stylus involved carries X3 Pro branding. Anyone replacing a lost pen should identify both the tablet model and the pen model — searching "XP-Pen stylus" and matching nib shape does not work.

Felt nibs follow the same logic. The current felt options map to specific styli: AD36 for X3 Elite, PD21 for X3 Pro Smart, PD22 for X3 Pro Roller, PD51 for X3 Pro Slim, PD52A for X4, PD04 / PD04B for specific Magic products, PD21D for the Ultra 14's Smart pen. There is no official felt nib for PA1 or PA2 tablets, and the Deco 640 does not accept one either.

Star and Deco — XP-Pen's Screenless Pen Tablets

The screenless line is where XP-Pen built its reputation: a slab, a cordless pen, and a price that undercuts a screen tablet by a wide margin. It is also the thickest part of the catalog, with three tiers that overlap on paper.

Deco 01 V3 — the screenless tablet to buy at the budget tier

Specs: 10 × 6.25-inch active area, eight programmable keys, P05D battery-free stylus, 16,384 pressure levels, 60° tilt, 5,080 LPI, ~220 RPS. Windows, macOS, Android, ChromeOS and Linux.

Price tier: $ (budget)

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Pros

• The largest drawing surface available at this tier, and area matters more for illustration than any pressure figure
• Battery-free pen with 60° tilt and eight hardware keys

Cons

• The 16,384-level pen is P05D-generation, not X3 Pro — it does not carry X3 Pro's activation or accuracy specifications
• Wired USB only, and the V2 and V3 share both size and name, so the model designation on the listing is worth reading before checkout

Verdict: The single best value in the screenless line. Ten inches of canvas with a 16K pen and eight keys is the right first tablet for anyone who draws at a desk.
Perfect for: Beginners and hobbyists moving up from a phone or a small tablet.

Deco Pro Gen 2 — the premium screenless tablet

Specs: MW 283 × 227.1 × 10.66 mm (9 × 6 in), LW 333 × 258.1 × 10.66 mm (11 × 7 in), XLW 435 × 313.1 × 10.66 mm (15 × 9 in). X3 Pro 16K stylus, 3 g activation, 60° tilt, 5,080 LPI, up to ~200 RPS, USB-C and Bluetooth 5.0, 3,030 mAh rated for 10 hours or more. Windows 7+, macOS 10.10+, Android 6+, ChromeOS 88+, Linux, with limited iOS app support on some connection modes.

Price tier: $$–$$$ (mid to premium)

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Pros

• Current X3 Pro pen ecosystem rather than a carryover stylus
• Wireless over Bluetooth with a battery sized for a full working day, in three canvas sizes up to 15 × 9 inches

Cons

• Owner feedback on the hover-cursor behaviour and the remote wheel is genuinely split — some report hover instability, others praise the pen, surface and build
• The 16K figure is the marketing headline; the 3 g activation threshold is what you will actually notice

Verdict: The strongest screenless tablet XP-Pen sells, and the upgrade path for anyone outgrowing a Deco 01 or a Deco M.
Perfect for: Working illustrators who want a large wireless tablet without buying a display.

Star G640 — the budget specialist

Specs: 6 × 4-inch active area, P01 battery-free EMR pen, 8,192 pressure levels, up to 233 RPS, 5,080 LPI, roughly 2 mm working profile. Windows 7+, macOS 10.10+, Linux.

Price tier: $ (budget)

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Pros

• High report rate in a small footprint, which is why osu! players gravitate to it
• Thin, light and inexpensive enough to treat as a second tablet

Cons

• No tilt, no shortcut keys, and a 6 × 4-inch area that runs out of room fast for illustration
• The P01 pen predates the X3 and X4 generations

Verdict: Buy it for rhythm games, signatures and annotation. For drawing, spend the difference on a Deco 01 V3.
Perfect for: osu! players and casual scribblers.

Smaller and legacy notes on the rest of the line. The Deco 640 (launched July 23, 2024) is the compact option with a 16,384-level P01-family pen and eight soft shortcut zones, and it is the one current XP-Pen tablet with no felt-nib option. The Deco mini7W V2 adds Bluetooth 5.0, a 1,000 mAh battery rated at roughly 13 hours and eight keys to a 7 × 4.37-inch area — the better laptop companion than the older mini4. Deco M/MW and Deco L/LW sit on X3 Elite 8K pens, not X3 Pro, and should be bought only when they undercut a Deco Pro Gen 2 by a clear margin. The first-generation Deco Pro (S/M/SW/MW) uses the PA1 stylus, which XP-Pen has not given a felt-nib option — a dead-end accessory ecosystem for a tablet that is otherwise still pleasant to use. The Star G960S and G960S Plus still offer a 9 × 6-inch canvas with 60° tilt and four keys, the Plus adding an eraser-ended PH2 pen, but both use PH-series nibs that do not interchange with P01 or X3. Star03 V2 (10 × 6 in, eight keys, up to 266 RPS) and Star06 (2.4 GHz wireless, six keys and a dial, ~16-hour battery) are used-market buys now. The Star05's pressure rating is listed inconsistently across XP-Pen's own pages, so verify before buying.

Artist — XP-Pen's Entry and Mid Pen Displays

Artist displays connect to a computer and draw on the screen itself. Three overlapping generations are on sale at once: Gen 2 models on 8,192-level X3 Elite pens, 3rd Gen models on the X4 pen, and the cost-reduced Artist 12 Pro Lite on PA2 hardware.

Artist 12 (3rd Gen) — the compact display to buy

Specs: 327.2 × 189.1 × 12 mm, ~719 g. 11.9-inch 1920 × 1080 at 60 Hz, ~99% sRGB / 97% Adobe RGB / 97% Display P3, ~260 nits, full lamination with anti-glare and anti-fingerprint glass. X4 Smart Chip stylus, 16,384 levels, 2 g activation, ±0.2 mm centre accuracy, 0.3 mm tip travel, 5,080 LPI. Eight keys plus the X-Dial. Full USB-C and 3-in-1 connection. Windows 7+, macOS 10.13+, Android 10+ with DisplayPort, ChromeOS 88+, Linux and Windows ARM. Stand and glove included.

Price tier: $$ (budget to mid)

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Pros

• The lowest entry point into the X4 pen: 2 g activation and 0.3 mm tip travel are a real generational step, not a spec-sheet doubling
• A bundled stand and glove at a tier where stands are usually extra

Cons

• 11.9 inches is a compact canvas for full-time work, and the panel is 1080p rather than 2.5K
• No touch input

Verdict: The best first pen display in the catalog. Buy the 3rd Gen over the 2nd Gen unless the older model is discounted hard.
Perfect for: Beginners, students and anyone working on a small desk.

Artist 16 (3rd Gen) — the mainstream display

Specs: 407.9 × 232.8 × 12.8 mm, ~1.355 kg. 15.4-inch 1920 × 1080 at 60 Hz, 99% sRGB / 98% Adobe RGB / 97% Display P3, ~270 nits, full lamination. X4 Smart Chip stylus, 16,384 levels, 2 g activation, ±0.2 mm centre accuracy, 5,080 LPI. X-Dial plus shortcut keys. USB-C and 3-in-1. Windows, macOS, Android with DisplayPort, ChromeOS, Windows ARM and Linux.

Price tier: $$ (mid)

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Pros

• A 15.4-inch work area on the current pen generation, with the widest colour coverage in the Artist tier at 99% sRGB
• The X-Dial gives scrubbing and zooming without leaving the canvas

Cons

• Isolated owner reports of fragmented lines and X4 nib or sensor behaviour after several weeks — anecdotal rather than a documented defect pattern, but worth a returns window
• Still a 1080p panel at 15.4 inches

Verdict: The default recommendation for a mid-size desk display. Compare it against the discounted Artist 15.6 Pro V2 before committing — that model trades X4 for X3 Pro and an old product name.
Perfect for: Illustrators and designers who want one display to do everything.

What to skip in this tier. The Artist 12 Pro Lite is the trap. It is new for 2026, but it runs an 8,192-level PA2 stylus with a 12 g activation threshold, 69% NTSC coverage, ±0.5 mm centre accuracy and a 3-in-1 USB-C connection only — Android is not listed at all. It is a cost-reduced entry product on older pen technology, not a cheaper Artist 12 3rd Gen. The Artist 16 Gen 2 remains a sound purchase only at a clear discount, because the 3rd Gen's X4 pen and X-Dial are meaningful generational changes rather than marketing ones. The Artist 13 (2nd Gen) is easy to confuse with the Artist 13.3 Pro and 13.3 Pro V2 in marketplace listings — check the model code. The Artist 10 (2nd Gen) is worth considering when desk space is the binding constraint: an independent test found tracking solid once calibrated and liked the matte surface, but a 10.1-inch canvas is the trade.

Artist Pro and Ultra — XP-Pen's Professional Pen Displays

Artist 13.3 Pro V2 — the entry point to X3 Pro

Specs: MD130FH, 390.4 × 249.98 × 12.9 mm, ~294.76 × 166.24 mm work area, ~1.139 kg. 13.3-inch 1080p fully laminated with an anti-glare film. ~99% sRGB / 89% Adobe RGB / 95% Display P3, ~250 nits. X3 Pro 16K stylus, 3 g activation, 60° tilt, ±0.4 mm centre accuracy, 5,080 LPI, ≥200 RPS. USB-C. Windows, macOS, Android, ChromeOS and Linux.

Price tier: $$ (mid)

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Pros

• The least expensive way into the X3 Pro pen, with foldable stand, glove and eight spare nibs bundled
• Broad OS support including Android over DisplayPort and ChromeOS 88+

Cons

• Anti-glare film rather than etched glass, which wears differently over time
• 89% Adobe RGB is the narrowest wide-gamut coverage in the Pro range

Verdict: The upgrade from a first-generation 13.3 Pro is the pen, not the screen — the panel dimensions barely moved between generations.
Perfect for: Illustrators who want professional pen behaviour on a compact desk.

Artist 15.6 Pro V2 — the value Pro

Specs: MD160FH, 442.91 × 279.91 × 12.9 mm, ~340.99 × 191.81 mm work area, ~1.447 kg. 15.4-inch 1080p fully laminated, ~99% sRGB / 96% Adobe RGB / 96% Display P3, ~250 nits. X3 Pro 16K stylus, 3 g activation, 60° tilt, ±0.4 mm centre accuracy, ≥200 RPS. USB-C. Windows, macOS, Android, ChromeOS and Linux.

Price tier: $$ (mid)

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Pros

• X3 Pro pen hardware behind a product name that predates the generation, which usually means a lower price than the spec deserves
• Wider Adobe RGB and Display P3 coverage than the 13.3 Pro V2

Cons

• No X-Dial — the Artist 16 3rd Gen offers the newer X4 pen and a dial for a modest step up
• 1080p at 15.4 inches

Verdict: The genuine trade-off in the mid tier is X3 Pro with an old name versus X4 with a current one. Decide on the price gap, not the generation number.
Perfect for: Artists who want a large X3 Pro display at a discount.

Artist 22 Plus — the large-screen value pick

Specs: MD220FH, ~547 × 364.67 × 33.4 mm, ~476.06 × 267.79 mm work area. 21.5-inch 1080p fully laminated, ~99% sRGB / 91% Adobe RGB, ~250 nits. X3 Pro 16K stylus, 3 g activation, 60° tilt, ±0.4 mm centre accuracy, ≥200 RPS. USB-C and HDMI, integrated stand. Windows, macOS, Android, ChromeOS and Linux. Launched November 6, 2023.

Price tier: $$ (mid to premium)

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Pros

• Over 21 inches of canvas on the current pen generation, with the stand built in
• The cheapest route to a genuinely large desk display in the XP-Pen range

Cons

• 1080p across 21.5 inches is visibly softer than the 2.5K Artist Pro 22 Gen 2
• No colour calibration certification

Verdict: Buy it for size per dollar. Buy the Pro 22 Gen 2 instead if resolution and calibrated colour matter to your output.
Perfect for: Artists who want a big screen and care more about canvas than pixel density.

Artist Pro 22 Gen 2 — the desk professional's sweet spot

Specs: MD220QH, 547 × 362 × 33.4 mm, 21.5-inch 2560 × 1440 fully laminated with nano-etched anti-glare glass, 99% sRGB / 99% Adobe RGB / 94% Display P3, Calman Verified with a Delta E under 1, ~250 nits. X3 Pro Smart Chip stylus, 16,384 levels, 3 g activation, 60° tilt, ±0.4 mm centre accuracy, ≥220 RPS. Adjustable ACS02 stand covering roughly 15–88°, VESA 100 × 100, USB-C and HDMI, ACK05 remote part of the workflow. Windows, macOS, Android, ChromeOS and Linux. Launched January 10, 2025.

Price tier: $$$ (premium)

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Pros

• 2.5K resolution at a size where it counts, with calibrated 99% Adobe RGB and an included adjustable stand
• Current pen, current connectivity and the ACK05 remote without buying the flagship

Cons

• 5.55 kg with the stand means a permanent desk position
• 250 nits is fine for controlled lighting but not for a bright room

Verdict: The rational professional purchase in the XP-Pen catalog. Everything above it costs considerably more for size, refresh rate or touch rather than for image quality.
Perfect for: Desk-bound illustrators and concept artists working to print or client colour standards.

Artist Pro 27 Gen 2 — the flagship

Specs: MD270UH, 681.3 × 423.8 × 44 mm, 7 kg, ~596.7 × 335.7 mm work area. 26.9-inch ADS-IPS at 3840 × 2160 and 120 Hz, 5 ms response, 350 nits, 1.07 billion colours, 99% Adobe RGB / 99% sRGB / 97% Display P3, Calman Verified with Delta E under 1, luminous etched glass. Ten-point X-Touch multi-touch. X3 Pro Smart and Slim styli, 16,384 levels, 3 g activation, ±0.4 mm centre accuracy, 5,080 LPI. USB-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, 3.5 mm headphone and DC inputs. Windows 7+, macOS 12+, Android 10+ over DisplayPort, ChromeOS 88+, Windows ARM and Linux, with touch subject to OS requirements.

Price tier: $$$ (flagship)

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Pros

• 4K at 120 Hz with calibrated wide-gamut colour and a 350-nit panel — the parts that actually change day-to-day work
• Ten-point touch plus an included adjustable stand, at 7 kg it is a permanent installation

Cons

• A 27-inch footprint and 7 kg chassis rule it out for anyone without dedicated desk space
• The 16K pressure headline is the least relevant upgrade in the package

Verdict: The flagship, not the default. Buy it when the canvas size and refresh rate solve a problem you actually have.
Perfect for: Professionals replacing a large Cintiq-class display.

Artist Ultra 16 — the portable professional

Specs: MD160UH, 405 × 273 × 13.5 mm, 1.53 kg, ~344.2 × 193.6 mm work area. 15.6-inch AMOLED at 3840 × 2160 and 60 Hz, 99% Adobe RGB / 99% sRGB / 98% Display P3, native 1.07 billion colours, 350 nits, full lamination with anti-glare and anti-fingerprint glass. Ten-point touch. Dual X3 Pro Smart and Slim styli, with Roller support documented in the ecosystem. 16,384 levels, 3 g activation, ±0.4 mm centre accuracy. Two full-featured USB-C ports. Windows, macOS, Android over DisplayPort, ChromeOS, Windows ARM and Linux. Launched September 26, 2025.

Price tier: $$$ (premium)

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Pros

• 4K AMOLED with touch at 1.53 kg, which no desktop Pro display can match for portability
• 350 nits and 99% Adobe RGB make it usable for colour-critical work away from the studio

Cons

• One detailed owner report describes touch as occasionally finicky and sensitive to resets and power setup — an anecdote, not a defect pattern
• No built-in shortcut keys; budget for an ACK05

Verdict: The best high-end portable option XP-Pen sells. Choose the Pro 22, 24 or 27 only if the display never leaves the desk.
Perfect for: Travelling illustrators and anyone hot-desking between studios.

Notes on the rest of the Pro range. The Artist Pro 14 Gen 2 (14-inch 1920 × 1200, X3 Pro, ACK05 ecosystem) is still a strong buy when it sits well below the Ultra 14 — its 85% Adobe RGB coverage is the weakest in the family and it now sits below OLED in the hierarchy. The Artist Pro 16 Gen 2 delivers a roomy 2560 × 1600 canvas with 99% sRGB and 97% Adobe RGB, but reviews of the fixed stand angle and the lack of touch are fair criticisms; reports of jagged lines in Clip Studio Paint have in at least one case been traced to a CSP rendering preference rather than the hardware. The Artist Pro 19 Gen 2 pairs a 4K panel with dual X3 Pro Roller and Slim styli, an integrated 19° stand and VESA 75 — but XP-Pen does not treat every X3 Pro pen as interchangeable with it, so verify the pen before ordering a replacement. The Artist Pro 24 Gen 2 exists in two distinct forms: a 4K 60 Hz model with 300 nits and a 14 ms quoted response, and a 2560 × 1440 model running at 165 Hz over USB-C or DisplayPort and 144 Hz over HDMI. Buy the first for image quality, the second for animation, 3D work and viewport fluidity. Recent owner reports of image retention on some 4K units are worth checking before buying open-box. The Artist 24 FHD is the size-per-dollar option at 23.8 inches, but 1080p at that diagonal is dramatically softer than the Pro 24 Gen 2 4K, and the P05R pen sits two generations back. The Artist 22R Pro remains on sale with 20 shortcut keys and two red dials — the pick only for artists who genuinely live on hardware shortcuts, since its PA2 pen and connectivity are legacy. The Artist Pro 16TP's 4K panel and touch were compelling when it launched and are now covered better by the Ultra 16. The Innovator 16 still receives current drivers, but Artist 16 Gen 2 and 3 and Pro 16 Gen 2 have overtaken it in pen performance and connectivity; if you find one used, confirm the PA5 pen and the original 3-in-1 cable are included, because both are model-specific.

Magic — XP-Pen's Standalone Android Tablets

Magic devices run without a computer. That makes them genuinely different products, not cheaper displays, and it changes what you should expect from their lifespan: a host-connected Artist display stays useful for years because the computer supplies the software environment, while a standalone tablet's processor and Android version become part of the hardware's longevity.

Magic Drawing Pad. Launched January 22, 2024. 12.2-inch X-Paper matte display, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, 8,000 mAh battery rated for roughly 13 hours, 33 W charging, ~590 g at ~6.9 mm. X3 Pro Slim / Pencil-family stylus, 16,384 levels, 60° tilt, 3 g activation, ±0.4 mm centre and ±1.5 mm corner accuracy. Newer configurations add DP-IN functionality. Original units shipped on Android 12, and owners report no major Android upgrade since, with XP-Pen support attributed to chipset limitations — a real consideration if you rely on Android apps that keep raising their minimum OS.

Two hardware revisions exist, with different stylus pairings (the older 9494 / PD04 and a newer 1221 / PD51-family), so verify the exact revision before ordering a pen or nibs.

Price tier: $$ (mid)

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Verdict: Buy it for the paper-like drawing feel and the freedom from a desk. Do not buy it expecting a five-year software runway.
Perfect for: Sketching away from a computer, and artists who want a matte surface without a screen protector.

Magic Note Pad. Released March 19, 2025. Roughly 182 × 259 × 7 mm at ~495 g, with a ~148 × 236 mm work area at 1920 × 1200 and 90 Hz, ~95% sRGB, full lamination, ~400 nits. Android 14, 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage, 8,000 mAh battery with 20 W charging. X3 Pro Pencil 2 (PD04B family), 16,384 levels, 3 g activation, ±0.4 mm centre and ±1.5 mm corner accuracy, 5,080 LPI. Its Android 14 base gives it a more modern software starting point than the original Magic Drawing Pad. Treat it as a note-taking and sketching device rather than a desktop display replacement.

Magic Pro 13. Announced at IFA on September 4, 2026 and not yet released. It is positioned as a two-in-one: a standalone Android 16 tablet that also works as a connected drawing display, with a 13-inch-class 3K panel at 120 Hz and an X4-generation stylus. Retail configurations, pricing and regional availability had not been published at announcement, so it is a product to watch rather than to buy.

XP-Pen Accessories — Pens, Nibs and Remotes

The accessory ecosystem is where most XP-Pen buying mistakes happen, because compatibility follows the stylus model rather than the tablet family.

The X4 pen is not a universal upgrade — it works with the Artist 12 and 16 3rd Gen, not with older X3 or PA-series tablets. The X3 Pro family is not uniform either: the Smart (PD21), Roller (PD22, which adds a programmable scrolling barrel control) and Slim (PD51, a thinner roughly 10 g body) variants share 16K and 3 g ratings, but XP-Pen's compatibility lists restrict some combinations on individual displays.

Nibs. XP-Pen sells model-specific packs, commonly 40 pieces for standard plastic families, and the assumption that one XP-Pen nib fits all is false. Felt nibs come in 20-piece packs and give more drag with faster wear; the compatible codes are AD36 (X3 Elite), PD21 (X3 Pro Smart), PD22 (Roller), PD51 (Slim), PD52A (X4), PD04 / PD04B (specific Magic products) and PD21D (Ultra 14 Smart pen). PA1 and PA2 tablets have no official felt option, and neither does the Deco 640.

ACK05 wireless shortcut remote. 127.55 × 70.49 × 10 mm at 75 g, 1,000 mAh and a rated ~300 hours, with 11 shortcut keys and wired USB-C, Bluetooth dongle or Bluetooth 5.0 connection. Wired and dongle modes cover Windows 7+, macOS 10.10+ and Linux; direct Bluetooth needs Windows 10+ or macOS 10.10+. It is close to mandatory for the Artist Ultra 14 and 16, whose chassis carry no banks of physical keys.

Stands. ACS15 Ergo tilts roughly 20–90° and is rated around 10 kg; ACS18 is the compact stand for the Artist Pro 19 Gen 2; ACS05 is a portable six-position stand covering roughly 18–45°. Any pen display without an integrated stand — the Ultra pair especially — needs one, and the large Artist models already ship with theirs.

Cases and protection. ACJ08 (~295 × 185 mm) fits small Deco and Star hardware; ACJ09 (~380 × 245 mm) takes Deco 01, Deco Pro S, Deco L / LW and G960-class tablets; ACJ02 suits the Artist 12 family including the 12 3rd Gen; ACJ03 covers 15- and 16-inch displays. Screen protectors are model-specific, and the etched-glass Pro Gen 2 models do not need one. The AC08 glove comes in S, M and L, is ambidextrous and is a low-risk addition on any frosted or etched surface.

XP-Pen vs Wacom — The Honest Comparison

The pattern is consistent: XP-Pen gives more active area, more pressure levels and more bundled hardware per tier. Wacom still wins on what a spec sheet cannot express — driver refinement, pen-to-pen consistency and predictable behaviour over years of updates.

The pressure number is the weakest argument on either side. Wacom's current line tops out at 8,192 levels and remains the professional reference; the difference between 8,192 and 16,384 is far less consequential than activation force, nib travel and cursor stability, which is where X3 Pro and X4 actually improved.

Driver reliability is better framed as troubleshooting complexity than as a defect. XP-Pen publishes Windows, macOS and Linux drivers covering Windows 7 through 11 and multiple mainstream Linux distributions, and its own manuals give a repeatable checklist: remove other tablet-brand drivers before installing, restart afterwards, run the latest driver, enable Windows Ink when pressure works in the driver panel but not inside the art application, and recalibrate when the cursor mapping drifts. Following that sequence resolves most of what gets reported as "XP-Pen drivers are bad."

Linux is genuinely supported on many models through .deb, .rpm and generic packages. Parity is not guaranteed — touch input on newer devices can be restricted to Ubuntu 20.04 and above, and desktop-environment behaviour varies by distribution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

XP-Pen's catalog rewards anyone who reads it by generation rather than by name. The Deco 01 V3 remains the best value in the screenless line, the Deco Pro Gen 2 is the one screenless tablet worth real money, the Artist 12 and 16 3rd Gen are the sensible entry and mainstream displays on the current X4 pen, and the Artist Pro 22 Gen 2 is the model most desk-bound professionals should actually buy. Above that, the Artist Pro 27 Gen 2 and the OLED Ultra pair are genuine professional hardware rather than value plays, and the Magic line is a different product category entirely.

Two rules keep the decision clean. First, identify the pen generation before the panel: X3 Elite, X3 Pro and X4 are not interchangeable labels, and neither are the styli inside them. Second, treat availability as a signal — the same official site lists current, regional and discontinued products together, so a page existing tells you nothing about whether a model is still the right purchase.

For the wider context before you commit, the complete drawing tablet buying guide covers every brand and budget, the beginner tablet roundup narrows the first purchase, the compatibility guide checks your operating system before you buy, and the guide to discontinued Wacom Bamboo tablets covers the same legacy-versus-current question from the other side of the market.

→ Check the current price of the Artist Pro 22 Gen 2 on Amazon