XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad Review

XP-Pen's first Android tablet get s a lot right starting with the pen and a textured screen. It's an exciting entry into the expanding Android tablet for art market.

Join this channel to get access to perks:

-----------------------------------------------------

Twitter:

Instagram:

Drawing Tech Top 10 lists:

My Drawing and video gear:

[neutrinostorm]

YES... My Magic Drawin Pad arrived on May 5th and the first thing I noticed was the pen offset, which is a little different when used in portrait or landscape orientation. One night later there was an update - version vFLDP(12-01). Now you can optimize the global cursor offset. "Settings -> Advanced Settings -> Handwriting is not aligned". Very nice because I want to use concepts and there is no in-app curso customization. I love this little thing! Thank you for this review. It was one of three YouTube videos about the magic drawing pad when it came to purchasing decisions.

[MichaelClaridaArts]

Brad...I just posted my review as well. I contacted the peeps over at XPPen with the same gripe about the cursor issue. They indicated it was calibrated to the tip at a 90 degree position as to facilitate left and right handed people. I asked about calibration as well...they indicated a possible driver update later. I literally went back and forth about the same issue. Also, I did use a pen from another device...and told them about it. They of course indicated that I needed to use the pen that it came with...but I really liked that I can use alternate pens. Anyway, this was a great device. small qwirks...but overall I am sure it will improve as we get updates. Love the channel. ike

[Hueventure]

For those wondering about calibration, there is an "Advanced features" setting which can allow you to manually calibrate the pen (maybe somewhere around -3 to -8 is a good range but, choose based on what is comfortable to you). You would have to update the tablet, if it doesn't come updated already. If you're buying directly from XP-Pen site, from this point, you might already have a recently updated one.

[nagarajankaushik]

You know Brad is getting old when he misses the opportunity to do the glove dance 😅😅

[davidsanders]

Hey Brad. I bought this tablet and think it's awesome. I found out how to calibrate the cursor also.
If you go into the advance settings and go to handwriting offset you can adjust the cursor to where it's directly under your pen using the arrows to the right. I hope this helps for anyone looking to buy this product.
One of the best purchases I made this year.
Also there is still a slight lag but you will never notice.
Love the kids. Keep doing what you're doing.
Oh and don't ever forget the glove dance.
It's a highlight ! Lol

[jaydee]

I think a killer feature would be to allow this tablet to also connect to a PC or Mac and work as a second monitor. Similar to what iPad does with Sidecar. That pen and mat screen would make it worth it as a budget/portable option. Great video as always!

[surrcram]

That offset cursor is unacceptable, especially if you're an artist who works with precise lineart. If they manage to fix it, I hope Brad shows it in a comparison video.

[Pluvias]

I've been trying this tablet and I noticed that the cursor offset is the worst in CSP (unfortunately), it felt better when I tested it in other drawing apps. So I tried a workaround by adjusting Touch Position in CSP's Preferences and it helped improve it a bit.
If this is a software issue that can be fixed in future updates like comments said then I can't wait for that.

[ToddDolce]

As seems to be the norm with XP Pen and Huion, ...I get 90% invested into pulling the trigger on ANY of their products and BAM....there arrives the "But" in Brad's review! This was no exception. The offset cursor is a DEAL KILLER and really should be for ANY artist!!! C'mon THAT!!!! Let the artist calibrate it to THEIR desired level of accuracy; NOT YOURS!

Kudos to Brad for being such a FANTASTIC reviewer with all of these products and looking at this from an artist's perspective! He has probably single handedly saved many of us thousands of dollars and hours of return hassles due to products that "just fall short" in real use applications. Thanks Brad!!!

[GartziaArtz]

With my unit I only had some offset with the X3 pro pen and no even near to yours, with the original pen of the tablet I don't have any parallax. I hope XP Pen fix it with a calibration tool.
Nice review as always!
Edit : They added a calibration tool in the last update

[billlarocque]

Brad, I hope you don't quit. Over the years the production quality and clarity of your reviews and coaching have greatly improved. But your basic "philosophy" of technology for graphic arts has been solid IMO. Most of my life I was a happy analog artist at night and and IT guy during the day. I was delighted when the two were united and have continued to evolve into a greater creative reality. Youtube is great from a viewer perspective, not so great, I understand, from the producer/creator role. Count me as one who would follow/pay you if you decide to leave because it's not fun anymore. You are best when you are enjoying yourself. Now, that's my 120 words.

[ChinZu]

It's the most perfect Android tablet for drawing for now. And it really born to be drawn. It's even better than iPad Pro in some aspects, especially with the variety of pen options. You're not stuck with just one model of Applepencil like the iPad Pro (only pressure sensitive pens count). Because for drawing, the weight, shape and grip of the pen affects everything, so having an options will make it suitable for everyone. What I think it lacks in comparison to the iPad is only processing power and an ecosystem in their software.
These releases make me eager to see the day they continue to raise the level of competition on their higher model. Maybe increase the processing power by using a flagship processor and a bright colourful 120 hz screen.
But all of this said would be no value if the cursor is not getting fix. Hope they fix this soon and enable ability to self-calibrate.😂

[vsimp]

This one seems considerably better than huions alternative. still think it's safer to go with Samsung, but this is definitely a valid option

[Thanatos--]

I appreciate all the reviews and the pace at which Brad churns them out but I feel like every two weeks I am more undecided as to what is the hands down best buy for a budget up to $500.

[colin_actually]

That's cool. Hope we see more drawing-oriented android tablets!

[CurseOfTheRaven]

I just ordered myself this tablet as I've been looking for ages and I do mean ages for a drawing tablet. I cannot wait for it to arrive so I can start drawing again. I usually draw via paper and it takes up so much space. So, finding this tablet after so many years of searching is perfect. I can't wait to officially go from paper drawings to digital drawings. I think this tablet is going to be a lot of fun.

[franciscodetonne]

Finally XP-Pen comes out with a standalone tablet, but they really need to iron out the kinks, like the cursor misalignment.
Regardless, I'm excited for this development.

[slickshewz]

Apparently there is an update out which allows you to calibrate the cursor, in the settings menu. Also, I'm surprised it's not talked about more, that this tablet is just the TCL NXTPaper 12 pro, with xppen branding on it. Everything down to the pen is identical. They even left the TCL NXT screen settings app on it. The only difference is the TCL version supports tilt 🤷‍♂️.

[fixthespade]

The cursor offset is an inherent flaw of a passive type stylus. The screen is reading the location of the copper coil in the stylus as opposed to the plastic tip, which is just there for a replaceable contact point. Samsung gets around it by having the little rubber capacative tip on the S-Pen, if you watch closely you can see the cursor shift slightly when you hover/touch the stylus to the screen. For PC tablets you correct it through calibration, for XP pen to not have that option ready here is a huge oversight to me. They've got plenty of experience with passive styluses, they must have known this would happen.

[werewolfe]

I'm using an iPad now, but I really liked the feel of the XP-Pen pen when I used it (I have one as my pc non-screen tablet). Now we just need procreate for android