XP-Pen Artist 14 Gen 2 Review

This is the first tablet that I've used where the pen has over 16 thousand levels of pressure sensitivity. But I think the real win with this tablet is how much of the jitter XP-Pen has been able to remove from their pen.

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[fixthespade]

Small correction, it's a 1920x1200 16:10 display, which is good, a little bit more space than the usual 16:9 1080p models.

[gmcubed]

We're past the point of diminishing returns on increasing the pressure sensitivity, it's as useless as bits are now in measuring video games, what we need now is less lag (maybe even have the predictive algorithm thing that iPad uses) and waviness.

[_ahorus]

Omg I’ve waited for this review!!! Your videos on art tech are genuinely always helpful and lead me to the purchase perfect for me every single time !

[hexaldecima]

Jumping from 4096 to 8192 pressure level--I can tell the difference when doing line art on my manga.
Now I want to try this new one.

[oswros]

Thanks for the review, Brad. I want to buy one of these, but I hope they will have a larger-screen version of that one soon.

[franciscodetonne]

I bought a XP-Pen pen display (Artist 10 Gen 2, small thing, pretty solid) and I have to agree that no one is going to notice the 16k levels of pressure. I think the vast majority of digital artists are ever truly need up to 1024 levels.
Personal opinion, pls don't cancel me.

[thesevenpens]

Can you comment on the amount of anti-glare sparkle on the display? Especially in comparison to the other pen displays you have used.

[chimeron]

What about tilt sensitivity though? That was the main difference I noticed besides wobble where they weren’t quite as good as Huion. Huion and Wacom had better tilt a while back, but xp-pen from what I’ve seen in the past has issues cutting out.

[didi]

Please review the one without the screen that also has 16k pressure levels! Love your reviews btw, keep the amazing work

[bykeegames]

I really hate the part where brad complain about the pressure level. of course you wont be able to tell. your art style uses hard thick solid lines so this level of pressure wont really matter to you. but for artist like me who has and art style that uses different line thickness/width. higher pen pressure is really a time saver cause I don't have to change the brush/pen size whenever I draw. I can just use 1 big size and draw with it from start to finish because I can just press light on the pen to produce a thin lines and if I want thick line I can just put a little pressure on the pen. so just because it's not useful to you "because you're not even utilizing it" doesn't mean it's not useful for everybody else. I'm using an pen with 8k pressure and my pen size is always at 200 and I don't have to change it to produce different line thickness. so that 16k pressure means I can leave my pen size to 400 and produce more different line thickness with it.

[KiloGraham]

I like the rubber feet, the change to a remote and the aspect ratio. overall the design looks really smart or mature.

but the lines look like they favor being micro thin or lipstick thick with little build up.

[SheeplessNW]

I like that they include felt-tip nibs now. But as the owner of an older XP-Pen display with the PA2 pen, it's frustrating that those nibs aren't compatible with the older pens (and the X3 pens aren't compatible with pre-X3 displays).

[sadev]

a laminated screen does not equal having no space between pen and screen. its less. its the tiny gap there used to be . thats less. but the glass over the screen/display itself is still there.
that thickness of the glass is the distance the pentip is away from touching the actual screen

[niveketihw]

It sounds like they doubled the levels -- and they did -- but basically it went from 13 bit to 14 bit -- so perhaps it would be more appropriate to say it was a 7.7% increase (14 divided by 13) in sensitivity rather than a 100% increase (16K divided by 8K).

Drive-by-wire throttle systems for cars and trucks, which measure the throttle pedal position and actuate the throttle bodies based on that position (but also several other factors) have increased in resolution. I believe the current state of the art is 14 bit -- 16K levels. 14 bit is probably overkill and I doubt anyone but a professional competitive driver could tell 8K levels (13 bit) from 16K levels (14 bit). But what's MORE important is the polling rate -- how often the measurement is taken -- and the system's ability to understand the delta -- how quickly the level is changing (i.e. how quickly or gradually you're requesting more throttle with your toes), along with how many other factors and nannies intervene to change the instructions to the throttle bodies. Linearity and latency are also a lot more important than having thousands of levels. Anyway, it's interesting to me that for pen displays the levels are touted but the polling rate is less prominently marketed.

I had a digital guitar effects expression pedal in the 90s that had only 8 bit measuring -- 256 levels -- and the polling rate was slow. It wasn't great. But once you get above, say 11 bits -- 2, 048 levels -- and a decent polling rate like 200 Hz -- I think you reach diminishing returns where the marketing may look like a bigger number but it's not giving back very much additional granularity. The level where this occurs is surely different for pen displays, automotive throttles, and guitar fx expression pedals, but the diminishing return aspect is real in all cases.

[IndigoRichard]

Ooof! Double check that ending there Brad. Start at 7:32 🤦‍♂️
(Long time fan just giving you a heads up)

[ajwalker]

Thank you for this review. For whatever reason, I've always been more partial to XP-Pen over Huion, not sure why. I think it's because I like their graphics tablets more. 🤔 That said, I would love to get a review of the new XP-Pen Deco Pro (Gen 2 ) series when you get a chance 😁

[richardennis]

I'm happy with opting for the Huion, much due to your reviews. Thanks

[keyboard_g]

16k levels of pressure honestly sounds like BS. Can a tip cover between 1 and 16k pixels for it to matter?

[SarahSmith-zefp]

If I didn’t already own a XP Pen 13.3 Pro and a 22R Pro, I wouldn’t hesitate getting this one. I haven’t tried any other brand but an iPad to draw on, so I suppose what I don’t know won’t kill me.😂
I recommend XP brand for anyone starting out, I bought one to start up my Squigglesmith Illustrations hobby and I love both of my XP Pen devices.
I do wish I could have both devices connected up to my laptop though. Not have to disable one and upload the other program when I go out and about with the 13. That’s a bit annoying and time consuming. But other wise I’m rather pleased and think this one that your reviewing looks rather good. 🙌🏻👍

[D_pablo]

xp pen shouldve released a 4k tablet instead of adding 16k levels of pressure