Xencelabs Pen Display 24 Review

And thank you Squarespace for sponsoring this video.

This is Xencelabs second product and their first screen based drawing tablet. They are adding in many of the bells and whistles you expect from a Wacom tablet but at a lower price. How does it do?

Use code: bradsentme for 25% OFF

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

Twitter:

Instagram:

Drawing Tech Top 10 lists:

My Drawing and video gear:

[segawalilac]

I had the chance to play with this at London MCM comic con in May. I also spoke with the staff, they're very proud of the anti-glare screen. There were strong spotlights at the convention centre, and the glare never got in the way in the 20 minutes I played with the machine. I have spotlights art home, and at certain drawing angles with the Cintiq Pro 16 2021, the glare can be a touch in the way. The pen experience felt nice and didn't feel drastically different to Wacom Pro Pen 2. The big question is how durable Xencelabs is, you hear stories of people talking about their Wacom from 15 years ago still working, my cintiq13HD lasted me 8 years and was fully functional when I retired it.

[billbowman]

Xencelabs put tremendous thought and care into their stuff. This thing looks fantastic and if their medium tablet is any indication, you can’t go wrong with this beast.

[pbft.j]

All I'll say is that my $200 kit, medium Xencelabs tablet + macro keys, is one of the MOST RELIABLE tech products i own. Genuinely. I can always trust that it will work and work well. Never have to mess with the drivers or anything. It's fantastic and even better than fantastic at that price. I would get that over something higher end just based on my experience with their products I own already. I've tried quite a few drawing tablets and the Xencelabs is the only one I haven't given away. They just work.

[blindOni]

I love the little customizable quick key I have one for my set up.

[rewanji]

Finally! A Serious Wacom competitor for above average pen displays by former Wacom engineers. It looks great and seems to perform as it should despite the apparent slight wobble - something that can be corrected in a future firmware upgrade. Apart from that I imagine it does have support for a VESA mount (not mentioned) or a pen stand? The side command text should really rotate depending on the orientation.

[YoungEnergizer]

Thanks Brad for yet another awesome review for us digital artist. It looks like Xencelabs made a winner here. I will pick the white Special Edition version when it becomes available.

[matzebob]

Just pulled the trigger on a Surface Studio 2 with the 1070 card. More than enough power for my small mischief doodles and light photo editting, but man, that giant floating screen is just tasty, especially at a 50% discount second hand :)

[Carritube]

it looks amazing, glad u got your hands on it Brad, I was curious how it pairs up, hope they make a 16in model soon

[billlindsay]

Overall decent review, and thank you Brad for reviewing this Pen Display, (you do put out very entertaining reviews), but I think you really missed the mark on a couple of points... 1) You mentioned in passing about noisy fans, which a good chunk of these displays have, but the Xencelabs Pen Display doesn't have any, YET the screen stays cool to the touch of my hand! To me, that's a HUGE benefit. 2) You also briefly mentioned it, again more in passing, but I've noticed that what you should have hammered the fact that it really doesn't matter what your lightsource is behind or above you anymore with the Xencelabs Pen Display. There is no glare. Again, a HUGE benefit that I don't see anywhere else, in any other device, including Huion or Wacom. On my old Cintiq Pro 24, I used to SEE ALL MY LIGHTS around me and when I was working on it, I had to turn my overhead lights off and close my curtains (okay, my curtains were always closed back then) But now, with this new Xencelabs Pen Display, my lights are on and my curtains are now open AND LIGHTING NO LONGER MATTERS! This is more next generation than you lead on, and more of a Cintiq Pro 24 competitor than Huion. I am a prosumer photographer, shot all my life and worked in this industry longer than most, (was Adobe's very first Photoshop Specialist, back in the early days of Adobe and no one really knew what Photoshop was), worked at Apple and Wacom, and I left Wacom after working there for 20+ years. Yes, I do now work for Xencelabs, (my choice), mostly because I see the vision and the changes to the industry that are occurring and Xencelabs is leading the way, not playing "me too". Find me another Pen Display that stays cool without any fans, or has no glare, even with sunlight coming in thru the window behind you!

[KrishnaDraws]

Fantastic, insightful eview, Brad. I'm so happy to see Wacom having some real competition. It looks like Xenelabs is really paying attention to the small details, especially with the polished drivers. I am curious about two things: warranty and support. Also, will we see a long-term review?

[mastahpiece]

I remember watching Brads videos long ago. Good to see him around, and funny to see it's still Squarespace sponsorship hahaha

[MaheerKibria]

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion. But "drawing experience" is more than how well the pen tracks or how bright the display is and the little things matter more and are worth the extra money. So I would say unless you can afford the extra $600 get this or save up for the wacom. And even if you can't save up and buy this or the wacom. I have tried the entire range and there is a reason I stick to wacom and why this is the only one i would consider changing to and that is because in every other option I feel like I am fighting with the drivers and UI to get my work done. Wacom, Xencelabs and IPad with apple pencil are just about the only solutions I have found so far that actually allow me to focus on creating rather than work well enough but frustrate me because I can't figure out something I can do intuitively on the three I mentioned. Those three are a master class in great product design.

[ProximoK]

I just want that remote. That is a sweet remote.

[Loganimation_]

Thinking about saving up for this as a good alternative to Wacom's 4K lineup. Hard to beat the price + additional accessories.

[SoftwareManiacLSM]

Xencelabs is a great digital pen vendor. I went ahead and bought the $$$ Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 and I'm glad I did. The Press Keys is incredible and the Display 24 is great but just not enough for me to leave Wacom. Oh, their driver coexists with Wacom's driver (no other pen vendor can claim that). This is a good start and I hope they come out with a killer 2K 13/14 inch that would blow the Wacom One away!

[ViewtifulZeke]

Am I alone and crazy in that I kinda *don't* want my pen display be a touch screen?

[hypersigilmedia]

Thanks for the review Brad!
I pre-ordered this badboy from B&H back in April and I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on it. I'm upgrading from a Wacom Intuos Pro medium. It's okay, but the drivers seem really flaky sometimes and the touch feature is useless and in the way. I always turn it off. I also hate that the aspect ratio of the tablet doesn't match my screen so I can't draw a circle on it, even if I use a stencil. SO weird.
I've heard really great things about Xencelab's products and the user experience, especially their driver, and it seems like they're really focused on quality and not just riding on a known name. *cough, cough - Wacom*
I'll complete my comment by mentioning that Xencelabs' sales managers have personally called me on two different occasions now to answer questions that I've posted on their social media about this display tablet. That's pretty great customer service! I have high hopes.

[benjamina]

Great review. $1900 and line wobble is a huge deal breaker for me. It looks great, but if I pay that kind of money I want smooth lines and no wobbles. That's acceptable when I pay around $500 for a pen display, once we're getting at this price point it needs to be close to perfect. All the bells and whistles are cool, but don't make up for that shortcoming for me. Especially since the wobble is really noticable in your drawing, which normally isn't there. I'll stick to Huion, since that one doesn't give me any wobble at all and nice tight, smooth lines.

[fablewalls]

Ooooo.... I like it. I read in some of the comments that Xenceslabs is owned by Ugee so it must be the very premium brand among all the alternatives.
Is it worth an extra $600 / £600 over a 4K Huion where the drawing experience is apparently just as good? (I think no - £600 can buy me a lot of ice cream) 🤣🤣🤣

[kki_dev]

Hey, after seeing your review I ordered this Pen Display and well I think that was the best choice I did, I love it :D Such a great experience (hobby artist here :D)
So far everything is working great, driver has no issues at all, pens feel great, same as the wacom 2... having 330 cd sometimes is great, not using it on max but it's way brighter than huion kamvas 24 4k.. It's indeed pricy imho but I am happy I choose this one. I actually would love to have a touch screen :D maybe in couple years they'll add it... this is my first xencelab product and ye definitly convinced me from the quality... ahh, for those who read comments: This Display has no Fans, so no noise at all, but after approx. 45 mins of usage, it gets warm, NOT hot, just a littler warmer and it doesn't feel uncomfortable, however you'll notice it but it won't get hot even if you use it for couple hours.