(May 24, 2019) Update: I have updated this review with the new Drawing Tests section which I have recently started doing in my reviews.
The conclusion of this review is unchanged. I still recommend against small size tablets in general, but if you decide this is the tablet for you, then I have nothing against that choice.
The Huion H640P was released near the end of 2017 as Huion’s first ever tablet to use a battery-free pen. Up to that point, Huion had only offered tablets with recharging pens, so this was quite an exciting announcement for me.
Right away, I bought and reviewed the Huion H640P when it came out, but I noted quite a few issues with its drawing functionality such as non-linear pen pressure, wavy lines, and bad click sensitivity. This meant that the Huion H640P failed in aspects of its core drawing functions, which no drawing tablet should ever fail in.
However, all of that (finally) changed when I recently checked with Huion and found out that they had a firmware update for the Huion H640P which completely fixed the issues I had previously noted. Because this firmware update makes the Huion H640P so much better than before, I decided I needed to write a new review for it.
Anyways, with that backstory out of the way, onto the review!
The firmware update which addressed all my previous issues is version HUION_T173_181115 for the Huion H640P.
To check that your firmware version is up to date, open your Huion driver with your tablet plugged in, then on the “About” screen, press the keys Ctrl+V+E+R. The firmware version of your tablet should now be displayed.
To get the firmware update, you can send your tablet serial number, order number and your OS version to service@huion.com and they will send you a firmware upgrade package. Please make sure to follow the included instructions precisely to install it properly.
Side note: It would be great if Huion could find a way to give users firmware updates through their drivers, because the only way to find out about new firmware updates right now is by pestering Huion support, and no one wants to spend time doing that.
Please note!
-I am not a Mac or Linux user!! I only tested this tablet on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
-Prices may have changed since I wrote this review.
-Check when a review was written. Some aspects may improve or change over time, so it is in your best interest to concentrate on reviews which are less than 1 year old.
Table of Contents
- How good is this tablet?
- Specifications at a glance
- What’s in the box?
- Tablet drivers
- Drawing tests
- The drawing experience!
- Conclusion
- Places to buy the tablet
How good is this tablet?
Design choices: Very good!
-Nitpicks: Direction of L-shaped cable
Hardware quality: Quite sturdy!
-Nitpicks:
Tablet drivers: Well featured!
-Nitpicks: No anti-ghosting on shortcut buttons
Drawing test results: Really good results!
-Nitpicks:
Actual drawing experience: Fantastic!
-Nitpicks:
Overall: A very good tablet for 50 USD!
My verdict:
-This tablet is a completely worthwhile buy for anyone who is looking to get into digital art for a fairly cheap price.
If you are experienced with tablets and know you like the small size, then this tablet should work great for you.
My personal opinion is that beginners should try to get tablets with bigger drawing areas if they can afford to as they are easier to get used to and use, but this tablet is perfectly capable of drawing high quality art if you decide this is the tablet you want to get.
Specifications at a glance
Price: 49.99 USD (when this review was written)
Active Area: 6.3 x 3.9 inches
Pen Type: Battery-free
Pen Buttons: 2 side buttons, no eraser
Pen Pressure: 8192
Pen Tilt Sensitivity: None
Expresskeys: 6 Buttons
Multi-touch: No
Special features: None
What’s in the box?
The Huion H640P comes in a simple white box with a cool looking drawing printed on the front. The whole Inspiroy series comes with cool designs on their boxes like this, and I think they look great. Certainly shelf-worthy if they ever decide to try selling them in stores.
The things that come in the box:
- Huion H640P tablet
- PW100 battery-free pen
- Pen stand
- Tablet cable (USB type-A to Micro-USB)
- Pen nib replacements x8
- Driver installation CD shaped instruction card
- User manual
- “Thank you” card
The Huion H640P has a simple design with most of its surface being covered by a single sheet of plastic. It has a dotted border along two sides which gives it a unique design. The tablet itself is quite small overall so it will fit in basically any bag for taking it around with you.
The tablet does not flex much at all when grabbing both sides and doing a twist test. It is surprisingly hard for its thin size.
The surface of the tablet has enough texture to prevent your pen from slipping and losing control, but it is quite smooth. As a result, it will not eat your nibs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Is it like paper? No. Is it a good texture? Yes.
The underside of the tablet has the usual information sticker and four rubber feet. The rubber feet do a good job of keeping the tablet in place while drawing.
All the edges on the tablet have rounded corners. It is round enough that it does not dig into your wrist when working on the tablet.
The shortcut keys along the side of the tablet are very good and feel really nice to use. They have very good feedback when they are clicked and do not require much force to use. I think these are the best shortcut keys you will find on a 50 USD tablet.
One thing to note is that Huion shortcut keys do not have anti-ghosting capabilities. In other words, you cannot use two buttons at the same time. In most cases, this does not matter, but you should keep this in mind if it affects you.
The Micro-USB port on the tablet is located on the side of the tablet with shortcut keys. The USB cable itself is an L-shaped cable which bends upward.
As the cable is Micro-USB, that is the only direction the cable can be plugged in, so it may get in the way of some left-handed users.
There is a switch on the right side of the tablet which locks the shortcut keys when in the lock position. This physically disables the shortcut keys so that they cannot be activated.
If you don’t intend to use the shortcut keys, you can leave this in the “locked” position so that you don’t accidentally activate any functions.
The battery-free pen is made of a matte plastic with a semi-hard/semi-soft rubber grip. It has a nice shape with a bulge at the bottom of the grip to help keep your grip even more, even though the rubber already does a plenty good job of preventing sliding.
The center of gravity is much more towards the pen tip than the center. Most battery-free pens are known to be very light, but this pen has a decent amount of weight, most likely due to the rubber grip.
The pen is very comfortable to hold because it has a nice rubber grip. The pen is nicely weighted towards the front end so it doesn’t feel unbalanced when holding.
The pen buttons are flush with the surface of the grip, but they are surprisingly easy to find without looking because the plastic buttons feel noticeably different from the rubber grip. These buttons also click nicely and feel good to use.
The top of the pen does not have anything because it does not need a charging port.
The pen stand is a small plastic cone with a hole in the top. There is also a groove to place the pen on top of the stand sideways.
Oddly enough, the pen does not stand perfectly straight when placed into the stand. Is that a problem? No, it’s just something I noticed.
The bottom of the pen stand is purely plastic, so the pen stand does not have much grip on hard surfaces. However, the bottom is a matte plastic so it does not slide too much.
The inside of the pen stand houses the replacement pen nibs. The pen nib remover is built into the bottom of the stand with the instructions on how to use it engraved into the plastic on the bottom. For those who don’t understand the pictures, you stick your pen into the hole, lever it to the side a bit, and pull the nib out.
Tablet drivers
The tablet drivers are extremely easy to install. You don’t even need to have your tablet plugged in to install them! Just go download the latest version from huion.com and remove all other tablet drivers you have on your computer before installing it.
Once you’ve installed the driver, the icon shows up in your system tray, and there is also a shortcut to start the Huion driver on your desktop.
Although the installer doesn’t prompt you to restart your computer after it finishes, I wholeheartedly suggesting restarting your computer anyways to allow Windows to properly update the files necessary for the driver to run smoothly.
In the driver, you can configure your tablet shortcut keys, pen buttons, pen pressure curve, and work area. There’s also an option to save different profiles using the Export and Import buttons.
If you see a “Require Admin” button along the bottom of the driver when you first run it, click it to give your driver proper administrator privileges so that it can make changes to system files when necessary.
The Press Keys tab allows you to customize the functions mapped to your shortcut keys. As you can see above, the hotkeys menu has keyboard shortcuts, pen clicks, and some “switch” functions available.
Like I mentioned before, the Huion shortcut keys do not have anti-ghosting capabilities. In other words, you cannot use two buttons at the same time. In most cases, this does not matter, but you should keep this in mind if you think it well affect your workflow.
Every button will work at the same time as the pen nib though, including the pen buttons.
The Stylus Pen tab allows you to customize the pen buttons and the pen pressure curve. The pen buttons have the same amount of configuration as the shortcut keys.
Usually you will need to uncheck the “Enable Windows Ink” option to prevent Windows Ink from messing with your drawing. That said, some programs such as Photoshop usually do not work if it is not turned on, so play with that option as you see fit.
The Work Area tab allows you to customize the monitor your tablet is mapped to, and the size of the active area your tablet uses. Pick your monitor from the drop down menu, then click the Full Area button, and then click the Screen Ratio button to properly adjust your tablet area to match your monitor size ratio.
There is also the option to rotate your tablet input for left-handed use, but like I mentioned before, the USB-cable direction may be annoying for left-handed users.
Drawing tests
These pen tests are all done with the same settings for both the canvas and the pens. These tests are only done in Clip Studio Paint as that is the only program where I totally understand how to remove all unwanted variables.
If you are worried about whether this tablet will work with your art program, don’t be afraid to contact support to ask them directly.
-The canvas will always be a 3000x3000px 300dpi page (the above test page is a 3000x6000px 300dpi page, so just two pages stuck together).
-The test pens are mostly all 100px linear pressure curve pens. Pen pressure for size and/or opacity is enabled based on the test.
-The slow ruler line test uses a 10px no pen pressure pen to clearly show wobble and jitter. I also use a 50px pen pressure enabled pen to see the visibility of wobble/jitter with pen pressure is enabled.
-The IAF (Initial Activation Force) test uses a 300px linear pressure pen to show the thinnest lines possible, as well as demonstrate the IAF of the tablet.
1) Scribble Test – Grade: Pass
Test pen 1 – 100px – pen pressure: size
Test pen 2 – 100px – pen pressure: size+opacity
For my pen tests, I always start out with a few pen pressure scribbles to see if I can do some nice squiggly lines with increasing pen pressure. I also do some back and forth shading and some spirals with increasing pen pressure.
With the Huion H640P, I had no problems doing nice little scribbles going from thin to thick. I didn’t have any problems controlling my strokes and making both thin and thick lines was relatively easy. This tablet gets an easy pass here.
2) Slow Ruler Line Test – Grade: Pass
Test pen 1 – 10px – pen pressure: none
Test pen 2 – 50px – pen pressure: size
The slow ruler line tests done with a no pen pressure pen were very good at normal or upright pen angles, and only became unacceptably wobbly at the most extreme pen angles.
This tablet does not have pen tilt, so I think it is safe to assume that most people will have no reason to tilt their pen over past the “normal” pen grip angle. This means that we can safely ignore the wobble in the max tilt test.
This tablet gets a pass here.
3) Quick Hatching Test – Grade: Pass
Test pen 1 – 100px – pen pressure: size
The quick hatching test is to check whether the tablet keeps up with pen inputs. Usually, the only way to fail this section is if the pen is noticeably laggy and causes unwanted inputs like fishhooks at the beginning or end of the line.
As you can see, this tablet appears to have no problems with fishhooks. I also never noticed the cursor lagging noticeably, so it gets a pass here.
4) Short Release Taper Test – Grade: Pass
Test pen 1 – 100px – pen pressure: size
This test is meant to see the smoothness of the pen pressure taper when going from max to min pressure quickly. Basically, you press your pen down hard then flick to the side to see how smoothly the stroke tapers.
With the Huion H640P, the tapers look very nice and appear to have no problems with jaggedness. This tablet gets an easy pass here.
5) Pen Pressure Control/Transition Test – Grade: Pass
Test pen 1 – 100px – pen pressure: size+opacity
This section is to test the smoothness of the transitions in pen pressure.
-The circles at the top are one of Youtuber Brad Colbow’s tests. It is used to check if you can properly control the pen pressure all the way around a circle. If there is a pressure jump, some circles will feel impossible to control due to that jump.
-The lines at the bottom are slow strokes done with smooth increases or decreases to pen pressure in mind. The arrow points in the direction which the stroke was done, and the smoothness of the gradients show how smooth the pen pressure transitions.
In terms of the pen pressure control circles, I had no problems doing all the different circles smoothly. They showed no signs of pen pressure jumping.
I will give this tablet a pass here since there don’t appear to be any noticeable issues.
6) Initial Activation Force & Lightest Pen Pressure Test – Grade: Pass
Test pen 1 – 300px – pen pressure: size
This test tries to demonstrate the IAF of the tablet, and also shows the lowest possible pen pressure the tablet is capable of producing consistently.
IAF is the amount of force necessary to cause the pen to output a line. Ideally, your tablet will have an extremely low IAF where the pen will output a line with the least amount of force possible.
A high IAF causes issues such as light pen taps not registering as clicks, and the inability to sketch very lightly, both of which become quite annoying the more you experience it.
For this test page, the squiggly lines should begin right on the start line.
-If the line begins right on the start line, this indicates that the IAF is extremely low (low IAF is best) and the line just appears naturally without effort.
-On the other hand, if the line does not begin on the start line and instead begins further along the stroke, this means that the IAF is high so I needed to search for the IAF by increasing my force little by little until I finally started outputting a line.
An example of the ideal test page is the Huion New 1060 Plus (2048) IAF test page which I included above for comparison. Almost all the lines begin right on the start line meaning it has extremely low IAF, and the lines are almost transparent showing that the tablet is capable of drawing extremely light pen pressures.
The Huion H640P has a fairly low IAF which I could find right away more often than not. As you can see, I was usually able to get the lines to start on the start line.
The IAF is low enough that I never noticed it when tapping options or sketching lightly.
In terms of the lightest pen pressure, I could get pretty thin lines with the 300px IAF test pen. It certainly isn’t as amazing thin as the Huion New 1060 Plus (2048) IAF test page which is the ideal, but this thinness is very good and is more than acceptable.
Overall, the Huion H640P has very good low IAF and is able to draw very thin lines consistently. This tablet gets a pass here.
Overall
So all in all, the drawing test results are:
1) Scribble Test – Pass
2) Slow Ruler Line Test – Pass
3) Quick Hatching Test – Pass
4) Short Release Taper Test – Pass
5) Pen Pressure Control/Transition Test – Pass
6) Initial Activation Force & Lightest Pen Pressure Test – Pass
Ideally, all the above tests should have at least a “Pass-ish” for their grades because the most vital function of a drawing tablet is to draw properly and predictably. Failing any of these tests means that it doesn’t do that.
The drawing experience!
My actual drawing experience with the Huion H640P was very good, especially when compared to how it performed before the firmware update. The pen pressure worked fantastically, and the feeling of drawing on the tablet was very nice despite it being a small size tablet.
The surface of this tablet is fairly smooth, but it feels great to draw on. It’s also great that the pen has a nice rubber grip which makes it comfortable to use for long periods of time.
Due to the surface being fairly smooth, your nib will basically never wear out, and even if it does, you have 8 replacement nibs in the pen stand.
The stroke control of the pen is also very good, and I did not have a hard time controlling my strokes and making thin and thick strokes. It is really helpful to have pen pressure which you can actually control, and thanks to the firmware update, this tablet now reminds me of my favourite Huion H1060P tablet in a smaller package.
Conclusion
Overall, I can now completely recommend this tablet to anyone wanting to start out in the world of digital art. It has the drawing capabilities of my personal favourite screen-less tablet, the Huion H1060P, in a smaller 50 USD form.
My only problem with this tablet would be that it is a tablet with a small drawing area. I always recommend beginners to try getting a tablet with a medium size drawing area if they can afford to because it is slightly easier to get used to, but a small size can be just as good if you use it long enough to get used to it.
Basically, if you have considered all your options and decided that the Huion H640P is the one for you, I certainly have nothing against that choice.
Places to buy the tablet
Huion Store | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
People living in other regions should check their regions Amazon or see if the Huion Store ships to them.
If you have any questions about the tablet, feel free to ask me!
Digital Art Tablet Guides 
how can i get the firmware upgrade?
LikeLike
Hey there,
To get the firmware update, you can send your tablet serial number, order number and your OS version to service@huion.com and they will send you a firmware upgrade package. Please make sure to follow the included instructions precisely to install it properly.
Thanks for asking. I didn’t realize I forgot to include that in my rereview.
-Nikage
LikeLike
Oh thanks for replying, but what do you mean by order no. , I purchased mine on a local store and how long does it take for them to reply thanks.
LikeLike
Hey again,
I believe they will help you update the firmware even if you do not have an order number (otherwise, how would they help people who received a tablet as a gift and don’t have an order number, etc). Just send them a message about the firmware update and they should ask you for details to make sure they’re giving you the right one.
Huion support usually sends about 1 reply per day, although sometimes you can have up to 3 if you reply fast enough. Other details are that replies will also only be sent during Hong Kong work hours, and they do not operate on weekends.
-Nikage
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can you please give me the link to download the firmware instead? Because i have waiting for like a week and still don’t get any answer….
LikeLike
Hi there,
Sorry, I recently lost many files on my computer so I don’t have the firmware update file anymore.
I also haven’t been getting responses from my Huion representative for the last 3 weeks, so I really don’t know what’s going on with them right now.
Perhaps you could try the Huion Firmware Updater which is on their site (https://www.huion.com/firmware.html), although it appears it doesn’t support the Huion H640P yet. I think it’s worth a try though while you’re waiting for a reply from them. You should also send them another email to make sure they receive it.
Sorry I couldn’t be of help,
Nikage
LikeLike
when compared to the wacom intuos mini which is better?
LikeLike
Hey there,
When compared to the Wacom Intuos Small 2018 (CTL4100), the Huion H640P has the exact same capabilities when it comes to the most important drawing functionalities of the pen (with the newest firmware installed).
Aside from that, there are not very many important differences aside from the difference in tablet texture, pen size, and bundled programs.
For the texture, the Wacom Intuos uses a very rough and almost rubber-y texture which is supposed to simulate what it feels like to draw on paper. However, it is (in my opinion) a bit too rough in the newest Intuos version, and it wears through pen nibs fairly quickly.
On the other hand, the Huion H640P uses a very smooth texture with a small amount of texture. I believe this is a good texture because all rougher textures will eventually smooth out over extended use anyways, so why not start with a texture that will never wear out because it’s already smooth in the first place.
For the pen, the Wacom Intuos uses a thinner pen design. It is thick if you compare it to a standard traditional pen or pencil which you can buy from a local store, but it is thinner than most digital tablet pens available today.
The Huion H640P on the other hand uses the wide-barrel design which is very common among digital art tablets today.
Personally, I have found the wider design to be more comfortable, but this is a completely subjective matter so I have no idea what you would prefer. I believe that you will get used to both slim or thick designs by drawing regularly with it.
For the bundled programs, the Wacom Intuos comes with 1 or 3 (depending on where you buy it. Amazon.com gives you 3, and other places seem to give you only 1), whereas the Huion H640P does not come with any bundled programs.
My opinion about bundled programs is that they are not necessary, and any beginner looking to get started in digital art should save that extra money to spend on a program which they’re actually interested in in the future. There are plenty of great free programs out today such as Medibang Paint, Krita, Autodesk Sketchbook, etc, so there is no need to pay for any programs until you know you actually want them.
If the Clip Studio Paint license is what you are aiming to get from the Wacom Intuos, keep in mind that it is only a 2-year subscription, so you would be better off buying a full license separately instead (it is often on sale for 25 USD) unless you want both of the other Corel programs which come with the Wacom Intuos.
If the Wacom Intuos and Huion H640P are being sold at their standard retail price of 80 USD and 50 USD respectively, I would suggest the Huion H640P. If the Wacom Intuos is on sale in your region, or the Huion H640P is overpriced due to shipping to your region, then it becomes a matter of preference and which one you believe is better value for you.
Hope that helps,
Nikage
LikeLike
actually what I need is a heavier pen,
because I have wacom ctl 480 (2014) the pen feels very light and uncomfortable.
LikeLike
Hey again,
Ah I see, well I just tried holding the Wacom Intuos (CTL-480), Wacom Intuos 2018 (CTL4100), and Huion H640P pens and the CTL-480 pen was the lightest, while the H640P/CTL4100 pens were slightly (but noticeably) heavier. There is barely any weight difference between the H640P pen and CTL4100 pen, but the CTL4100 pen seemed to be an extremely minuscule bit heavier.
If you have a high quality metal mechanical pencil or ballpoint pen, then I don’t think you will be able to find anything with that amount of weight from Wacom, Huion, or XP-Pen who are the three main tablet companies I know of. Battery-free pens are always quite light as far as I know, and even recharging pens are only a tiny bit heavier.
The heaviest pen I can think of from the top of my head is the Surface Pen from the Microsoft Surface series of 2-in-1 laptops, which is heavy because it is a battery-powered pen which uses a full AAAA alkaline battery inside of it.
Truthfully, I have never found a tablet pen to be so uncomfortable that it bothered me (I even liked the Wacom CTL-480 pen myself), so I can’t really help you when it comes to which pen will be more comfortable for you specifically. I think the best guess I can make is that, if you didn’t like the CTL-480 pen because of how thin it is, then the CTL4100 pen will probably be no different, and maybe the H640P would be worth a try instead since it offers a differently shaped pen.
-Nikage
LikeLike
Hi, I am a beginner and would like to know which is your opinion about some tablets, I wanted to know which is the best when comparing them and which gets the closest feel of drawing on a paper. Also I don’t know if to consider the tilt function as an important aspect since I’ve never tried it myself. They are: Huion New 1060 Plus, XP-Pen G640s, Huion H640p. It would be really helpful if you could also put them in order so in the end I also evaluate according to their price.
Thank you very much for your time!
LikeLike
Hey there,
If you are looking for the tablet which feels closest to drawing on paper, out of the 3 you mentioned I believe the XP-Pen G640s is the closest. It should have the roughest texture out of those 3 (I say “should have” because I have not tried that model myself. However, the other XP-Pen tablets I tried all have rough textures so I believe the G640s should be the same).
If you are just looking for “paper-like texture”, then the Wacom Intuos or Wacom Intuos Pro is probably the closest honestly, although XP-Pen is decent too.
With regards to tilt function, it is not particularly useful. At present, most people who have tilt on their tablet do not use it whatsoever. If you have it, you can try out things that involve tilt in the future once you are more familiar with digital art, but it is not a necessity for making art.
All I currently know about your requirements is that you want the tablet which is closest to drawing on paper. For those requirements, I would order the tablets you mention like this:
1) XP-Pen G640s
2) Huion New 1060 Plus
3) Huion H640P
However, if I were to list them from best to worst based on my preferences, it would be:
1) Huion New 1060 Plus
2) XP-Pen G640s
3) Huion H640P
This is because I value larger drawing area size of the Huion New 1060 Plus over the battery-free pen of the other two, and the rougher texture of the G640s.
My specific reasons are explained below if you are interested:
– The reason why I value the larger drawing area is because it feels easier to do more precise pen strokes with a larger tablet. You can get precise lines on a smaller tablet too, but you will most likely have to zoom closer into the canvas to get the same level of precision.
Personally, my hands are too big for a small size tablet and I feel like I am straining my hand to get precise lines on the smaller tablet, so I find the larger drawing area size to be a necessity for me.
– The reason why I do not mind a recharging pen vs a battery-free pen is because the Huion recharging pens are known to last for weeks on a single recharge. So basically, aside from having to recharge it every few weeks, it will be no different than using a battery-free pen.
Of course, battery-free pens are the “ideal” if you can get them, but I would personally prefer to have a larger drawing area with a recharging pen rather than a smaller drawing area with a battery-free pen if those were my options.
– What I have found with rough textures is that they will wear away over time, so eventually they will just end up smooth like how the Huion tablets are originally made. Texture also wears pen nibs away quite quickly if you draw frequently.
In my personal opinion, if the texture is just going to wear away and become smooth eventually anyways, I would rather just get a smoother tablet and get used to it from the start.
– The reason why the XP-Pen G640s is ranked higher than the Huion H640P is because it is cheaper (30 USD vs 50 USD on Amazon.com). Both tablets work well and neither has a significant advantage over the other, so I just rank the cheaper one as the “better” choice.
If you want the most “paper-like” out of the three tablets you listed, the XP-Pen G640s is the one which meets that requirement.
If you want my recommendation out of those three based on my own opinion and values, it would be the Huion New 1060 Plus.
Sorry about the long reply, but hopefully that answers your question,
Nikage
LikeLike
Hi, there. Would like to read your advice about my situation.
I am a beginner. Currently I am using Huion H640P and I find it good for my level. There are some things that I don’t like about it. Mainly that are the express keys – only 6 of them and that I can’t rotate the canvas – I need to use the keyboard for that and some more shortcuts. So I found this new tablet from huion – Huion HS610 – bigger, with twice the express keys and a touch ring. Can you advice me if it is a good upgrade or I should look somewhere else. Also if there any reason to switch to display tablet as I’ve never used one before. If so I have to stick with the cheapest ones, as I am on very tight budget – and I am not sure if the cheap ones are better option than the screen-less ones.
Thanks in advance for any piece of advice you can give me.
LikeLike
Hi there,
Have you tried reducing the shortcuts by using the “modifier shortcuts” such as Ctrl+Space (Zoom in/out in many programs), Ctrl+Alt (Brush size up/down in many programs), and Shift+Space (Rotate canvas in some programs)? If you check the shortcuts for your program, maybe there is something similar for rotate.
If you have done all you can to reduce your shortcuts and still do not have enough shortcut keys, then perhaps you would also like to look into this free Radial Menu program which I have been using: http://radialmenu.weebly.com/. It’s a bit complicated to setup at first, but once you figure it out, it’s really useful for someone like me who finds that even 12 shortcut keys aren’t enough.
This is just a suggestion for something free you can try out before spending money on a new tablet.
With regards to the Huion HS610, it is still not released and I have not tried it yet (but I do intend to once it’s out!) so I cannot speak on whether it performs well or not.
I am hopeful that it works just as well as my H1060P though, in which case having the extra touch wheel will certainly be nice in additional to the 12 shortcut keys. However, based on my experience with the Kamvas Pro 13 touch bar, the touch wheel may not be very customizable with the current Huion driver version. Maybe they improved it though, but I can’t be sure until I try it myself.
If I were to recommend an upgrade, it would be the H1060P since I know it works for sure, but perhaps the HS610 would work just as well (it’s cheaper too so it’s pretty compelling), I’ll just have to see when I get it.
I don’t believe a display tablet is a necessary upgrade, especially since it seems you are able to draw on your current screen-less tablet without problems aside from the lack of shortcut keys.
However, if you do want to try a display tablet, I would suggest getting either the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 or XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro (both are 400 USD) because they have very good screens compared to the cheaper ones, or the GAOMON PD1560 for 360 USD which has an acceptably good screen even if it’s not as good as the other two.
I am not sure if Huion fixed the wobbly line issue on the Kamvas Pro 12 like they did on the Kamvas Pro 13, so I can’t personally recommend it, but maybe that is also worth a look since it is functionally the same as the Kamvas Pro 13, but cheaper at only 300 USD.
Hope that helps,
Nikage
LikeLike
Hi Nikage,
First of all, thank you for keeping up this wonderful site. I really think you should put up a donation system.
I have been using a Kamvas 13 Pro since a few months. I really like it (still has the wobbly line issue, haven’t tried the update yet) but I move around a LOT, on a daily basis. While the Kamvas 13 is as portable as it gets, its still a bit of work to set up- I sometimes find myself needing a simple traditional tablet.
I came from a Wacom Intuos 3 PTZ-630 (10 years) to a Wacom One Medium (1 year, don’t like the ergonomics of the pen). I current do have the Wacom One, but I can’t use it in while the Huion drivers are installed.
Hence I was looking at either a Huion H640P or an H950P. I personally am leaning towards the H640P for its smaller size with the idea that I can always have it in my bag. At the same time, I’ve never used a tablet smaller than the Intuos 3 PTZ-630, so not sure how well I can scale there. I use a 15.6 laptop and desktop with a 24 inch monitor. I imagine the smaller tablet would not be good for a large display.
I would have been fine with the H950P, but you had mentioned in your review how bad the wobbly lines are on it. A friend of mine recently purchased this- I tried it on my computer (mainly to see if will work well while the K13 drivers are onboard, and yes it did, perfectly) but didn’t get much time to actually test the performance.
What would you recommend?
Cheers
LikeLike
I have a Kamvas 13 Pro that I carry around on a daily basis. But I’d like something portable for those “couldn’t be bothered” days.
Which one would you recommend? H640p or the H950p? I like the 640p for its size, I fancy the idea that its super portable and can be in my bag all the time. The H950p has the larger drawing area which I prefer, but is generally just large.
I upgraded to the Kamvas pro from a Wacom One Medium (1 year) and an Intuos 3 PTZ 630 (10 years). Hence I’m used to the drawing area that’s identical to the H950p. Would H640p be too small?
I use a 15.6 inch laptop and a desktop with a 24inch monitor.
LikeLike
Hey there,
If it’s just between those two, I think you would be much better off with the Huion H950P because it has the drawing area size you are used to. It is very possible that the small size of the Huion H640P will not be comfortable for you to use due to you being used to medium size tablets, so I would not recommend risking that.
I have always considered any tablet that can fit in your bag beside your laptop to be “portable”, so in my opinion, there is no difference between a “portable” and “ultra portable” tablet because, in the end, as long as the tablet isn’t larger than your laptop, it will always fit in your bag beside it.
Personally, I don’t think it’s worth losing the precision and control of a larger tablet just to have a slightly lighter bag.
Edit: Oh sorry, I just realized your previous comment was flagged as spam and you gave me a bit more info there.
With regards to the wobbly lines on the H950P, I would recommend the H1060P if you are worried about that. I feel that the H950P is “okay” and should be completely usable, it’s just not “perfect” because of the wobbly lines, so I would recommend the H1060P if you’re willing to pay an extra 20 USD to avoid the wobbly lines but get a similar experience.
Also, from my experience, tablets of 8×5 and 10×6 inches feel basically the same, so it should not be difficult for you to adapt to the H1060P with your experience with medium size 8×5 inch tablets.
Hope that helps,
Nikage
LikeLike
Hi Nikage,
Thanks for that detailed reply. I have a much better idea of what to look for now.
I didn’t consider the H1060P considering how big its external dimensions are- almost the size of my laptop; it doesn’t ‘feel’ all that portable to me. But your argument makes sense, about the tablet being anyway smaller than the laptop, and its just one cable as well. I will be risking the precision if I go for something to small.
And yeah, for some reason my first post simply disappeared without any feedback, hence why I posted again (hadn’t saved the first one anywhere) in short. Strange to see both of them came up.
Thanks again.
LikeLike
hi nikage in the official page of huion says that the h640p are now compatible with android 6.0 could you do a test to know if it is true? Which one would you recommend H640p or gaomon s620?
LikeLike
Hey there,
I didn’t notice that they added Android compatibility to the Huion H640P. I’ll go see if I can get a firmware update from Huion to update mine. Thanks for letting me know!
However, from what I can see from the Android compatible tablets I currently have (the Huion HS610 and GAOMON S620), it seems like the performance of Android compatible tablets is the same for Android as it is on a computer. In this case, I would recommend the Huion H640P over the GAOMON S620 since the Huion H640P just performs so much better in terms of its pen capabilities.
-Nikage
LikeLike
I wanted to get myself a tablet… In a quiet a cheap price… I was originally going for h430p as it has now updated to support android devices… And then came across h640p… i used to draw in my phone so im okay with small spaces…but what would you suggest which tablet/s should i get for myself… Does h640p works good in an android device?
LikeLike
Hey there,
Personally, I think the Huion H430P is a bit too small for drawing on comfortably. It’s possible to draw with it, of course, but I think the Huion H640P is a lot better in terms of comfort and pen control (due to its slightly larger drawing area size).
I’ve found that the Android performance of tablets is the same as its performance on computer, so I believe the Huion H640P should perform very well on Android, just like it does on computer.
(Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to test this with my own Huion H640P because Huion hasn’t given me the new Android update for it yet.)
I suggest paying that slight bit more for the Huion H640P if you can. I think it will feel nicer to use overall compared to the Huion H430P.
I hope that helps,
Nikage
LikeLike
Thanks alot!!! Im glad i came across you… ^_^
LikeLike
Did u get the upgrade???
I got the tab today…. And.. im quite disappointed… Its not actually working properly in the mobile…. I ll try with another device… It might be too early to judge but is there a driver for android as well? Of some kind… Lol ..and it really feels weird as I’m used to drawing in my phone…
The main thing is… It is working, the sensitivity is quite good too..but the thing im having problem is with the curves…how should i explain this…its bending early than it should be?
LikeLike
Hey again,
No, I have not gotten the firmware update which allows for Android compatibility yet.However, I have heard from one other person who received the Huion H640P recently that theirs does not work with Android either.
I suggest that you contact Huion support to see what they have to say about this.
With regards to the curves “bending early”, unfortunately, I have no idea what you could be talking about. If you could get a screenshot or a video demonstrating the issue, that would be really helpful in identifying the problem.
You should keep in mind that a screen-less tablet will feel weird to use for a while until you get used to looking away from your hand while drawing. It may be a good idea to try practicing using it for a few more days and see if you still notice this issue after you’re more used to using the tablet.
-Nikage
LikeLike
The curve bending too early…
Hmm, it seems that The tablet were failed to get into Phone Mode and didn’t reduce the active area size already…
Usually, in Hs64 you Only need to press the reset/mode button (it’s one of the Shortcuts for at least 3 second until the light on the tablet flashes…
And for Hs610, since it has a lot of shortcut, you would need to press two buttons instead of one…
Then, for H640P, you must press either 1 or 2 button that needed. If you confused, you can try to remember what button is necessary to be pressed when you did Upgrade the firmware…
Thoose one/two buttons would be the reset button that would be useful in case the tablet didn’t get into Phone Mode when connected to Android phone….
(I’m late, right ? I’ve read this whole comments… and when I see a Hs64 review, the second person notice the same bending-too-early or Horizontal-active-area problem you got. Then the first person reads the manual, and press the reset button to make the tablet gets into Phone Mode… And it works again)
LikeLike
Hi….
Im sorry that was a really bad explanation… Im really bad at it 😛
Yes i ll try contacting them… Thank you ^_^
LikeLike
Hello again 😅
Yeah i contacted them…they asked me to buy their otg adapter from them 🤦🤦🤦 i wouldn’t have bought it if i new that…. Anyways im getting used to it on my pc….
Using krita…. My pc is old so it supports the older versions of it….
Any news about your update?
LikeLike
Hey there,
Ah, of course they would suggest that you buy their OTG adapter. Why did I not see that coming?
Unfortunately, they have not yet given my email a reply so still no news on my side regarding a solution.
Do you mind if I ask you which firmware version your Huion H640P is on? (Just to compare with mine)
You can find that out by going to the “About” section in the Huion driver and pressing the keys Ctrl+V+E+R all at once. Or you can download and run the firmware updater from huion.com and tell me the firmware version it gives you on there.
For reference, mine is firmware version HUION_T173_190326, or version 190326 in the firmware updater.
If yours has the exact same firmware version as mine, then buying a Huion OTG adapter probably won’t solve the issue since I have the Huion OTG adapter and my Huion H640P is not working on my Android phone even with that.
Anyways, at this point, I feel like you can consider returning the Huion H640P for a full refund and instead get the Huion HS64.
It’s the same size of tablet, but it was officially released with Android support alongside the Huion HS610 (and the Huion HS610 actually works on my phone), so the Huion HS64 will most likely work with Android without a problem unlike the Huion H640P (and H430P) which only got Android compatibility added to their features lists recently.
I think you should be able to get a full refund for your purchase because the tablet is clearly not working as advertised, and you wouldn’t have bought it if you had known that it didn’t work properly with Android despite the product page saying that it does.
I’m really sorry for suggesting the Huion H640P to you before confirming that it works with my own phone. That is most certainly my mistake.
I hope you can come to a fair agreement with Huion with regards to either a return, or getting the Huion H640P to work without them forcing you to buy their OTG adapter.
-Nikage
LikeLike
hello
i have read some review stating that many application still don’t support huion tablet
is there someone know the list of application that already supported?
LikeLike
Hey there,
I believe Huion tablets support basically all “major” programs for drawing such as Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Krita, Medibang Paint Pro, Paint Tool SAI, Sketchbook, etc. I am not quite sure about compatibility with photo-editing programs, 3D modeling programs, or other drawing programs which are less well known, but the “major” drawing programs all seem to work with Huion tablets as far as I’ve heard.
If you use a program which is not really a “major” program, your best bet would be to ask Huion support directly whether the tablet you’re interested in works with your program or not.
-Nikage
LikeLike
Hello there!!! Im sorry for taking so long to reply…. I didn’t know how to check…lol but i got it…180802 is the version….
And i cant return it cuz i bought it through amazon… And i kinda used it…so im actually using it on my pc…. And the funny thing is… When i mailed them about this…the tablet does not even detect in my phone anymore… 🤷
And im actually having second thoughts about it… Like i should’ve just bought a stylus for my phone lol xD…. And dont be sorry its me who bought it….so…dont blame yourself…i should’ve searched more….
LikeLike
Hey again,
If you bought the tablet through Amazon, you should be covered by Amazon’s A-to-z Guarantee under the situation of “You received an order that was different than expected and submitted a request for a return.”
You bought the tablet for the Android support that it advertised, but it didn’t have working Android support. That’s most certainly an order that is different from what you expected.
If the product was instead “Fulfilled by Amazon”, then you just need to send Amazon the return request directly instead of contacting Huion for the return.
Yes, if you have a phone like mine (Samsung Galaxy Note 4) which has pen support, then maybe it’d be more convenient to just buy a stylus for it rather than getting a tablet which you have to carry around. Honestly, I don’t really like the pen pressure on my Samsung though, but it’s probably still worth checking if your phone has stylus support.
-Nikage
LikeLike
Yeah! I used to have note2…so im new to this pressure sensitivity thing cuz it doesn’t have much in that…. in this u have to press hard to get a bold stroke…and im scared that it would destroy that nib(would it?)
And its okay…. I have used it enough now…so i probably cannot return it 😅 and im trying to get used to the pc….it is quite difficult…but i ll try….if in future I ever buy a new tablet… Then u have to helo me out again 😆
LikeLike
Ah, I see! Don’t worry, pressing harder won’t wear out the nib because the Huion H640P has a really smooth texture. You should also have 8 replacement nibs, so you don’t need to worry about ruining a few anyways.
Yes, I’ll try to help you pick another tablet if you ask again in the future. I hope you have a decent time using the Huion H640P until then!
-Nikage
LikeLike
Hey Nikage, thanks for your re-review and your advice to contact Huion for firmware support. I also wanted to use it for my Android tablet and my firmware was stuck on a really old one from about 2 years ago. After contacting them, they suggested I’d get the OTG adapter (even though it’s no different than ones I already have) and that the “firmware will come with it” which I found doubtful. I ordered it anyway but hadn’t arrived yet. Meanwhile I did ask again for a firmware update, and got the HUION_T173_190326 version. It worked with my android tablet (Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Plus) and my phone (Samsung Note 9), without Huion’s OTG adapter. I’ve cancelled this order now. 😀
LikeLike
Hey there,
That’s great to hear that it’s working for you! I’m actually having problems with getting my own H640P to work with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (using the Huion OTG adapter which I got with the Huion HS610). It’s pretty old, but technically still within the Android versions (6.0.1) that are supposed to be compatible.
Unfortunately, my Huion contact hasn’t replied to me since roughly 3 weeks ago, so I’ve had absolutely no luck getting it to work, even though I also have firmware version 190326 as well.
Just out of curiosity, did you get a firmware update package from Huion, or did they tell you get it through the new Huion Firmware Updater available on their site at https://www.huion.com/firmware.html (which you probably didn’t, considering it says it doesn’t support the H640P yet)?
I actually got my 190326 update through the previous version of the Huion Firmware Updater, before they updated it to ver 1.1.1.10 which doesn’t recognize my H640P anymore. If you got a firmware update package from Huion, do you mind sharing the download link with me? I get the feeling they might have fixed the issues over the last few weeks but just haven’t notified me, so I’d like to try your firmware update if you still have it.
-Nikage
LikeLike
By the person above…. My firmware us old? How do i get the new one??? Let me know too if u get the link 😆
LikeLike
To get H640P works with Android 6.0 or later system, you need to update the firmware. To get this firmware, you need to purchase an OTG adapter on our authorized store. There will be a download link attached to the adapter.
This is what they mailed me when i asked about it!
LikeLike
Hey there,
I was told that they were having compatibility issues with Samsung phones (some work, some don’t). It seems they are still working on fixing it at the moment.
To see if your firmware is up to date, email Huion and they should help you figure out whether your tablet has the latest firmware or not. You should be able to get a firmware update download link from Huion without buying the OTG adapter. They will probably ask for information like the S/N number on your tablet, order number on the site you bought it from, etc.
-Nikage
LikeLike
Aaah thanks alot!!!
Im glad i found you…. Lol idk what i would’ve been doin if not for u being here and helping us….
LikeLike
Hello…
Aaah im soo soo frustrated… After you said I mailed them then they send me these firmwares to update it….but they don’t detect my tablet…and then they send me that firmware link from there official website..the device name is blank and says no updates available 🙄🙄 i mailed them again they asked me to check whether the huion thing saya its connected and try changing computer and usb cable 🤐🤐🤐🤐🤷🤷
LikeLike
Oh my goodness, that is such a trainwreck. I’m so sorry to hear this happening to you..
I would help troubleshoot if I could, but I really can’t help with firmware issues. I really hope your Huion rep can get it together and start actually helping you.
LikeLike
I hope so as well 😂.
And the most frustrating thing was… After all this when i went back to amazon its now recommending me xp tablet with the same features… And with those free otg adapters as well 🤦🤐…
Well i did mailed them saying are they actually goin to solve my prob or not… Im still waiting for their reoly cz it was weekend.
LikeLike
Hey there!! I just learned about being able to use my tablet on Android from this blog and it works wonderfully and I have you to thank for that! Saw in one of your comments you were looking for the firmware. How can I send it to you?
LikeLike
Hey there,
I’m glad you’ve been able to get it working!
Do you use a Samsung Galaxy Android phone, or a different brand? The last email I got out of Huion was that their Android compatibility wasn’t working with a bunch of Samsung phones, but I haven’t heard anything from them since.
Unfortunately, us users can’t make firmware update/sidegrade packs, so you can’t send your firmware version directly to me.
However, you can check your firmware version by opening the Huion driver then clicking the keyboard keys Ctrl+V+E+R all at the time same in the About section. A new line of text should show up with the firmware version your tablet is running.
Just the information about which firmware version you are on should be helpful for anyone who reads these comments and wants to know what firmware version to try and ask Huion for.
-Nikage
LikeLike
just want to inform that with latest firmware HUION_T173_190326 now it can work flawlessly on my samsung galaxy note 4 (stock android 6.0.1) and now its smoother on my xiaomi mi max prime (android 9 with cusrom bootleggers), but still no luck on my vivo z1 pro with stock android 9, i conclude that whether it will work or not is depends on the firmware on the phone side not the fw of the h640p i guess
did use generic otg, not official huion one (brand: Vention )
summary:
HUION_T173_190326
galaxy note 4 (stock rom android 6.0.1) …………………..work
mi max prime (cusrom android 9 bootleggers)……….work smoother than on note 4
vivo Z1 pro (stock rom android 9) …………………………….not working
LikeLike
Thanks you very much for sharing this info!
LikeLike
hey maybe the otg connection is turn off Vivo’s os turn off the OTG connection by default meanwhile in most Samsung devices is turn on (passively)
LikeLike
hello Mark Evan,
so happy to find out that it is as your suggest OTG is turned off by default, i have to switch it on first in the phone setting.
kinda weird because all of my other phones and tablets is always active by default and even there is no option to turn it on or off, its just there by default
now it run smoothly, very smooth,
thank you so much for the enlightment Mark 🙂
LikeLike
we have Galaxy J6 on android v9 working well with the new firmware HUION_T173_190326. OTG didn’t connect without the firmware update (done on a Windows PC). working ok for any App on the Phone, e.g. Huion Sketch, Bamboo, but you can also move around the phone to switch apps, etc.
LikeLike
Hey Nikage,
Just wanted to ask a quick opinion. I have a H1060P that has been serving me well. However I wanted something more portable, one that would always sit in my laptop bag and was looking at the H640P / H430P / HS64. These wouldn’t be my main drawing devices, but mostly for quickly selecting stuff with the lasso / touching up stuff / sketching. I’m a lefty using a right handed mouse so doing the first 2 things aren’t easy.
Which one would you recommend?
LikeLike
Hey there,
If you are looking for a tablet for left-handed use, I would say the Huion HS64 would be the most suitable. However, the Huion H640P could work just as well.
On the Huion H640P, if you were to flip the tablet for left-handed mode, the cable will end up sticking out towards you (because it’s an L-shaped micro-USB cable, which isn’t reversible like a USB type-C port). But then again, you could just disable all the shortcut buttons on the Huion H640P and use it in right-handed mode without problems.
Between the Huion HS64 and Huion H640P, I would suggest going for the cheaper one in your region, or pick based on which you think looks cooler/nicer.
I wouldn’t suggest the Huion H430P because it’s just too small compared to your usual Huion H1060P. It would probably feel very awkward and hard to use because it’s a big size jump from your Huion H1060P.
-Nikage
LikeLike
Thank you for the quick reply! You’re one of the few reviewers online to stress on the direction of the cables. And you are right, it is really important. I use the H1060P turned upside down and the cable comes right towards me. I always have to fight it and keep it from invading the drawing space. And this is also very dependent on the desk or space I’m working at.
That bit already sort of eliminates the H640P for me I guess. Ordered the HS64 right after your reading your reply.
Keep up with the great work btw. I must emphasize that you are very sensitive to the needs of readers in a very specific way.
LikeLike
I’m glad I could help. I hope the Huion HS64 works how you need it to!
LikeLike
I just received the HS64 and was immediately disappointed by one major flaw – the noise! This tablet makes the most absurd noise when drawing on it. I guess its to do with the rough surface, unlike the H1060P. Have already requested return on this device. Can’t do with this
I guess I don’t have any other options for now – like you said, the H640P has the cable issue. It might be sharing the same surface as the H1060P though.
LikeLike
Hey again,
I’m sorry to hear that the texture on the Huion HS64 wasn’t for you. It’s unfortunate that Huion is heading into rougher textures because I really liked their smoother textures, but I suppose the smooth texture feels odd to most beginners so Huion is catering to them.
Yes, the Huion H640P has the exact same smooth surface texture as the Huion H1060P, so no worries there.
If you aren’t using the shortcut keys on the Huion H640P, perhaps you should try disabling all of them in the Huion drivers and using the H640P in right-handed mode (so the cable points away from you). The buttons are flush with the surface, so they shouldn’t get in your way as long as they’re disabled. Just as an idea.
-Nikage
LikeLike
I’m unable to reply to the same chain, so I’m replying here. Was about to ask if it was possible to use an XP Pen and Huion tablet at the same time- I like the look of the G640.
Oh.. Just noticed in your review of the G640 that that too is super rough. Damn. I guess I have no other option than to get the H640p.
Thanks a bunch for your time Nikage!
LikeLike
Hey again,
The answer to your question about whether Huion and XP-Pen tablets will work at the same time is no, they will not. (They might work if you don’t install the Huion and XP-Pen drivers, but I assume the drivers are necessary for the best performance from each tablet).
Also, installing both Huion and XP-Pen drivers on the same computer and using the tablets one at a time will also not work because the Huion and XP-Pen drivers will fight each other for control over the Windows pen control file, causing unwanted behaviour and usually ruining drawing performance.
No problem, glad I could help!
-Nikage
LikeLike
I was between huion h640p and veikk a50. which one would you prefer?
LikeLike
Hey there,
If it’s only between those two, I would prefer the Huion H640P for its pen performance and the VEIKK A50 for its larger drawing area size.
Personally, if it’s something around the 50 USD price range, I would say the XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 (60 USD) would be a more “balanced” choice in terms of both pen performance and drawing area size.
-Nikage
LikeLike
Hi Nikage 🙂 I rlly love ur blog and I actually find it helpful.. since recently I’m into digital art.
I’ve been using my old samsung (android) 8″ tablet for digi art till now and wanna try to draw on my 15″ laptop instead! Since I’m still a student I can’ afford much w my allowance.. I wanted Huion H950p at first, but I think it’s a lil bit more than what i can afford.. And now I’m wondering between Huion h640p (since it’s a smaller ver than 950p and I’ve been hearing good things abt it) and Xp-pen Star 03 (for it’s bigger active area)~~ Can you recommend me which one I should buy? Or any other model around that price?
LikeLike
Hey there,
Thank you very much, and I’m glad my website has been helpful!
Personally, I would always recommend a medium size tablet for drawing (the size of the Huion H950P or XP-Pen Star 03) because the extra size helps a lot with controlling your cursor for smaller details. With a small size tablet, you can do the same amount of detail, but you will often need to zoom in closer to the canvas to get the same amount of control.
Unfortunately, there aren’t very many medium size tablets that I can recommend that are cheaper than the Huion H950P
Here are a few tablets you could take a look at, although they probably all cost roughly as much as the Huion H950P:
-XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 (not the V1 because that one was quite bad)
-XP-Pen Deco Pro S
-Huion HS611
-Huion H320M
I recommend taking a look at your region’s Amazon and looking at the daily deals section. I often see Huion’s tablets on sale in the daily deals (the Huion H950P is often on sale there), so it’s possible that one of them will be available there for around 15% off which might make it within your budget.
I hope that helps,
Nikage
LikeLike
Thank you so much for replying 😭 I didn’t expect to get a reply at first..
I’ll try to look at ur recommendations then 🙂
LikeLike
Hi umm, Quick question please.
I am really confused about which tablet to buy as I am on a serious budget and they all cost 80+$ in my country, the thing that is really concerning me is that most amazon reviews keeps stating how their tablets died for no reason after the warranty !! this is really not Okay, I can’t spend 80$ and watch my tablet die.
Tablets that I have in my country within reach are
H430P Huion
XP-PEN G960 Star
any thoughts ?
LikeLike
Hey there,
From the two tablets which you mentioned, I would recommend the XP-Pen G960 because the Huion H430P is too small to draw with comfortably (in my opinion).
I think it should be noted that the reason why it looks like most reviews on Amazon are negative is because most people do not write reviews for the products they purchase on Amazon if they do not have problems with it. Because of this, the people who have problems with their tablets will leave the most reviews, while the people who have a good/decent experience usually do not leave a review, making it look like the product is mostly receiving bad reviews.
Of course, this is just my opinion, so you should be the one to decide whether it’s worth the risk or not to buy the tablet with negative Amazon reviews.
I would just like to mention that none of my Huion/XP-Pen tablets have broken yet, so I personally think they are fine, but it’s up to you to look up reviews everywhere and decide for yourself whether they are actually worth buying from.
-Nikage
LikeLike
Is the Parblo A640 V2 a good alternative to this tablet?
LikeLike
Hi Nickage,
I really appreciate your journal. Like you I also couln’t find much information on Wacom alternatives until I found your webpage. I’m actually not looking for a tablet to draw with it, but because I have heard it is a good alternative to a mouse in order to avoid wrist injuries. I edit video for many hours, and I am almost always working on multiple screens. My question is, can you set the Huion (or other Wacom alternatives) to work over multiple screens or use one of the bottons to switch the screen which is mapped to the tablet? Any tips you have in this regard would be very much appreciated.
Thanks a lot again!
Robbin
LikeLike
hi there! my wacom of how many years finally died on me, so I was considering getting a replacement one soon. however, with my budget severely limited, my options for now are either the huion or the xp-pen (the ones with no display, just a tablet)
I wanted to ask, which of the two would you recommend most in terms of longevity? because I used my intuos pretty heavily on a daily basis, so I was wondering if either of the two makes tablets that withstand that much use and can last for years. and considering there are people who have said in reviews online (mostly on amazon) that the pen/cord dies within a few months, hopefully that isnt a majority experience and just some factory defects.
LikeLike
Hi there,
Unfortunately, I can’t really speak on the longevity of the tablets aside from “they feel sturdy” since I only have 1 body and I can only really use 1 tablet at a time.
I am also fortunately (or unfortunately) the type who generally has good luck with getting non-defective products, so I haven’t had any defective products from Huion or XP-Pen which would make me think one is less durable than the other.
So far, the only long-term tablet I’ve used is my favourite Huion H1060P which I’ve had for roughly 3 years (of which ~1.5 years was heavy usage). The Huion H1060P is still alive and working, and the only issue so far is that the upper pen button sometimes doesn’t respond to clicks. I also once gouged the drawing surface accidentally so I bought and applied a replacement surface sheet from Huion’s store.
My usage is generally: Plug in tablet, use tablet for a few hours (generally 3-6 hours), unplug and put aside. This means that the cable and port has somehow survived many plug/unplug cycles. Even in the case that a cable or pen dies, it should be covered by the warranty if it’s within the first year.
Which reminds me that XP-Pen has something written on their site about a 1 year 6 month warranty, but only if you buy from their official store at http://www.storexppen.com. I also looked up Huion’s warranty just now and it’s written at the very very bottom that theirs is a “1 year product protection plan”.
To sum things up, I really don’t know how well the tablets will hold up beyond ~2 years. I believe most should last for 2-3 years at least, and whether you get Wacom, Huion, or XP-Pen, you’ll have a 1 year warranty. But beyond that? I really can’t say. A lot of it comes down to how well the inner electronics hold up and probably also how unlucky you are.
Sorry I can’t provide you with a more clear cut answer.
-Nikage
LikeLike