Which tool is better for creatives – iPad with Apple Pencil Pro or tablet Wacom?
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Apple's new Apple Pencil Pro has two new features that make it a must-have for artists – — but is this enough to topple Wacom?
During the May Apple event, Apple announced a new line of iPad Air and iPad Pro. I thought they were pretty cool, but I didn't immediately want to buy them.
And then they introduced the Apple Pencil Pro. This hurt my resolve even more.
I was talking to Mike after the event and casually mentioned that now, with the introduction of Barrel Roll and Squeeze, Apple has taken a significant step in closing the gap between the iPad and the traditional graphics tablet. — and I support that.
These two relatively minor features don't mean much to the average iPad user. For users like Mike, who might as well use a hot dog as a stylus, for all their creativity and ability, they don't make any difference.
For creatives who primarily work on iPads, these are huge.
Apple Pencil Pro Features
Apple currently has four separate Apple Pencil models. This is a lot, but it is only temporary, since Lightning will go away sooner or later. If you're not sure what the differences are, I suggest checking out the comprehensive buyer's guide we recently published.
The Apple Pencil Pro, which was just announced, is most similar to the second generation Apple Pencil. It has several new features that make it worthy of the term “professional” marketing.
Barrel Roll allows users to rotate the Apple Pencil Pro to rotate brushes into specific shapes. This is a feature that is very popular among artists and is interestingly missing from some comparable Wacom products, particularly the Wacom One line.
Again, this may not seem significant to the average user. But it makes a big difference if you're switching between traditional and digital media. After all, traditional pencil artists spend hours preparing their pencils into specific shapes, solely so that they can rotate them to achieve different line widths and shapes.
The addition of Squeeze is great too. I love the idea of squeezing the Apple Pencil to open the context menu — it will definitely save time for those who use it.
During the event, Procreate developers showed how using compression you can open a menu that allows you to switch between a brush and an eraser, flip the canvas horizontally, and much more. This eliminates the need for users to navigate around the iPad looking for actions that might normally be hidden in menus.
The third feature, Haptic Feedback, is also very useful. Procreate showed how an artist used it to detect when a digital element had perfectly snapped into the center of another. While this seems small, it's another small feature that makes it easy to integrate into an artist's workflow and save time.
But it's worth asking: “Is this enough to justify spending money on an upgrade?” And this is doubly important if you already have a Wacom tablet.
I'd like to start by saying that this is not a “let's compare apples to apples” comparison. The Wacom tablet and the iPad are two completely different products that just happen to overlap. A car and a grocery cart have four wheels, but they can't be swapped even if they can get your groceries from point A to point B.
However, I will try to highlight where each product shines and where each product fails .
For this breakdown, I'm going to assume you're a creative person looking to purchase either a Wacom product with a screen or a new iPad that supports the Apple Pencil Pro.
The dangers of cost comparison on iPad and Wacom
When choosing two products, most people's instinctive reaction is, “Which is cheaper?” or “What gives me the most bang for my buck?” And this is not so easy to do between an iPad and a Wacom product — simply because they are just somewhat similar products.
Let's deal with this first — Buying an iPad isn't cheap. This is especially true if you need to upgrade to one of the recently released iPads and then purchase the Apple Pencil Pro.
Apple's new iPad Air M2
However, at the base price without trade-in, you can get the 11-inch iPad Air and Apple Pencil Pro for $728. If you need a little more screen, you can get the 13-inch iPad Air and Apple Pencil Pro for $928.
Of course, if you want an iPad Pro, you'll have to pay significantly more. But let's just assume you're not looking that far ahead yet.
The Wacom One 12, Wacom's entry-level 11.6-inch pen display, costs $309.95, but requires purchasing a pen and cable, bringing the cost to about $356.
Wacom One 13 Touch is the next size model, with additional touch features and a price of $599. That's still cheaper than even the base-level 11-inch iPad Air.
Wacom One 13 Touch
The Wacom One lineup, although good, is not ideal. As someone who has owned several Wacom One products, I can personally say that they are getting better, but I don't reach for them as much as I do my iPad.
But the situation is getting better – — and something even worse. The Wacom One isn't the only tablet display Wacom makes. And this is where the price line between the new iPads and Wacom tablets begins to blur.
If you want to get the Wacom Cintiq 16, which has higher pressure levels, a built-in kickstand, and overall better build quality than the Wacom One line, you'll have to fork out $799.95. . If you were determined to buy a Wacom tablet, I would recommend this one. Brian Patterson, another regular AppleInsider art lover, also has to agree.
I used Cintiqs. They are worth the investment.
Of course, these are “pen displays”, which also assume that you have some kind of computer and, for an additional fee, can use any art program you need. For Wacom pen displays to work, you must be physically connected to your computer — The iPad doesn't have this problem.
However, Wacom has a solution for this problem – — Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16.
Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16
This is an all-in-one mobile computer that lets you run all (Windows 10)-compatible leading software right from devices — no additional computer required. It is equipped with Windows 10 Professional, an Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia Quatro P1000 and 16 GB of RAM.
Of course, it weighs almost five pounds, has a limited storage capacity of 512GB, and costs $2,499.95.
iPad M4 with nanotextured glass, 2 TB of internal memory and Apple Pencil Pro costs only $2,528 — Another $79.
So, again, price is not where you should start your search, but it's worth putting it in your head.
iPad and Wacom — Portability
The iPad wins. That's all. Okay, I know I can't be that brief.
I haven't been able to get a fancy new iPad this cycle, but I do have a 2020 iPad Air that I adore. I'm probably the least loyal to Apple out of all the AppleInsider employees — It's no secret that I'm relatively new to macOS and somewhat of a Luddite when it comes to smartphones.
But I unabashedly support the iPad team — and the main reason for this is its portability.
I have several bags that can fit my iPad if I want to carry it around town from cafe to cafe. It weighs almost nothing and is just as happy to keep me company at the table as on the sofa or bed. I don't go on a trip without my iPad — it would be unthinkable.
As stated above, the Wacom One and Wacom Cintiq require a connection to a computer to operate. If you have a laptop, this is not ideal, but it is doable. However, if you only have a desktop, you're out of luck.
And if you buy one of those fancy Wacom MobileStudio Pros for $2,500, it weighs five pounds. My iPad Air weighs 1.01 pounds and my MacBook Air weighs 2.8 pounds — this means that when combined, my two devices weigh less than one Wacom device.
My iPad Air has never gotten in my way, and if you're a creative person who likes to work in different places, this is very important.
iPad and Wacom — Software
This category is probably the most important and where the two devices differ the most. This is where you need to think long term.
As for the amount of software, I sincerely believe that — at least for now — Wacom is slightly ahead of the iPad. There are many amazing desktop art programs available such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Rebelle, Blender, Maya, Krita, Corel Painter, Clip Studio Paint — This list has no end.
And if you're someone who works in the creative industry, chances are you'll be working with a lot of desktop software. This may be a good reason why you decide to stay with Wacom.
Or perhaps you already have enough of these programs and you're not sure if you're ready to move into the Apple ecosystem or upgrade to a newer Wacom product.
That's not to say there aren't some amazing art apps on the iPad. It does. In fact, I'd say it has one of the best drawing apps: Procreate.
Procreate on iPad
Countless artists use Procreate exclusively. It's a lightweight program that costs $13, is incredibly intuitive to use, and has a lot of fantastic extras. My tattoo artist and I joke that when you have Procreate, you have a secondary hobby — buying far more sets of Procreate brushes than you'll ever be able to use.
And Procreate isn't the only app killing it on the iPad. Although Adobe had a rocky start at first, it has really made an effort to make Photoshop, Lightroom, and Illustrator work great on the iPad — and Fresco seems better every time I use it.
Don't like the idea of paying a subscription fee? Affinity Photo and Designer for iPad are also very good.
I haven't personally used Shapr3D, but I've seen a lot of people do interesting things with it.
And to be honest, even though I work on an iPad in a team, it doesn't cover 100% of my workflow either. When it comes to digital painting, I prefer to use an iPad. I'm still old school when it comes to photo editing — I do all of this on my iMac using Photoshop, although I don't use a graphics tablet for photo editing.
When choosing, you need to think about what software you will spend most of your time with.
Which is the right choice? It's up to you.
Ultimately, whatever you choose will depend on your personal preferences. Both are great products. Both can easily fit into the average creative's toolbox.
If you are an independent or hobbyist artist, I would recommend the iPad Air M2 and Apple Pencil Pro. It takes up about the same amount of space as a sketchbook and throwing it in your bag for when inspiration strikes is fantastic.
Plus, it still has all the features of an iPad. You can use Messages, surf the web, and spend a ton of time on Discord or YouTube. And Delta is also a solid retro gaming platform.
If you happen to get a friend's iPad and the new Apple Pencil Pro, I implore you to try it out and see if you like it.
If you are a student — or a future student — For anyone planning to work in any professional industry, I would ask someone in that industry what they offer.
And if you're an industry oldie with plenty of desktop software and a handy Wacom Cintiq, you can probably just use your Cintiq — but most likely you already knew that.
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