Apple iPad versus drawing tablets

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Overview

Even though an Apple iPad is not technically speaking a drawing tablet, it can serve the same function as a standalone drawing tablet in many ways.

And many people find that their iPad when combined with the apple pencil serves that need well enough that they don't need to get a separate drawing tablet.

What do people prefer?

Some people prefer using apple iPads

Some people prefer using drawing tablets

And some people prefer using both. For example they might use a (non-standalone) drawing tablet for most of their art but when they're on the go perhaps in a bus or traveling then they use their iPad because it's much more convenient.

Comparisons

In this document, I compare iPads to these two kinds of non-standalone drawing tablets:

  • pen displays (drawing tablets that have a screen)

  • pen tablets (drawing tablets that do NOT have a screen)

Standalone use

  • iPads are standalone devices. You can use them without being attached (wired or wireless) to a computer.

  • Pen tablets - Cannot be used standalone. They require being connected to a computer. Some require a wired connection. Some require a wireless connection.

  • Pen displays - Cannot be used standalone. All pen displays require a wired connection to a computer.

Pens

A big amount of the drawing experience is due to how the pens work. See this comparison: Apple Pencil versus EMR pens

Pen hover

Pen hover support is the ability for the pen to move the pointer without touching the surface of a device. For some people this is a convenient but not critical feature. For some artists this is very very important more here: Pen hover.

  • Hover support for an iPad is dependent on the specific combination of iPad model and Apple Pencil model

    • Older iPad Pro models models do not support pen hover regardless of which Apple Pencil us used.

    • Some newer iPad Pro models do support pen hover

  • All drawing tablets support hover with their pens.

Pointer lag

Pointer lag is how far behind the operating system pointer is behind the physical tip of the pen. It is always better to have less pointer lag.

  • Apple iPads with the Apple pencil 2 have incredibly little pointer lag

  • Apple iPad pointer lag is comparable to a pen tablet

  • Apple iPad pointer lag is noticeably less than pen displays

Parallax

iPads and pen displays are subject to parallax. An apparent visual inaccuracy due to the display panel being a small distance away from the surface the pen touches. The smaller this distance the smaller the parallax effect. Less parallax is better. More here: parallax

In 2023, most pen displays have good or very good (meaning low) parallax. But the iPads have even less parallax than even the most expensive pen displays.

In my opinion, even the the iPad is better at having less parallax, the improvement is not so great compared to most modern pen displays that I would make a purchase decision on. You'll only see the difference for older less premium pen displays.

Anti-glare sparkle

Anti-glare sparkle (AG sparkle) is a kind of colorful rainbow noise that occurs due to an anti-glare treatment. More here: anti-glare sparkle.

  • iPads have very little / undetectable amount of AG sparkle.

  • Pen displays have AG sparkle to various degrees. But none have as little as Apple iPad.

Anti-glare treatment

Pen displays have two ways of reducing glare: etched glass and AG film.

Apple iPads by default do not use etched glass. But in recent years Apple offers iPads with an option NANO TEXTURE (i.e. etched glass) treatment. I've never used or worked with this surface.

Slippery screens

ON normal glass, pen will feel a bit slippery while drawing.

For pen displays , the etched glass or AG film will add some texture and grip to the surface and then pen will not slide.

Apple iPads without the Nano Texture do feel a bit slippery. Some people use 3rd party screen protectors on their iPads which also add a bit of grip.

Size & Active Area

The active area of drawing tablet is the region on the tablet that detects the pen. For a pen tablet, the active area is identified by markings on the surface. For a pen displays and iPads the active area is exactly the same size as the screen.

Measuring diagonally, the difference devices vary in sizes

  • Pen tablets - from 7" (small) to 11" (medium) to 15" (large).

  • Pen displays - from 13" (small) to 16" (medium) to 24" (large). And there are many other sizes such as 22" and 27" and some are even 32".

  • iPads are only available in smaller sizes: usually only 11" to 13"

Some people really prefer drawing on a big screen on their desk so they use pen displays for this reason. For example at my desk I prefer drawing on a 22" pen display.

When drawing on-the-go, the ipad size is quite convenient.

Apps

The application ecosystem is quite different between drawing tablets and Ipads. With a drawing tablet do you use applications that run on desktop operating system such as windows or MacOS. But with an iPad you'll only be using applications that can run on iOS.

So if you're trying to pick between an iPad and a drawing tablet you should first identify which applications are critical for you.

  • Some apps are available on iOS and desktop OS's (MacOS, Windows)

    • Examples:

      • Clip Studio Paint: Windows, MacOS, iOS

      • Infinite Painter: Windows, iOS

  • Some applications are either not available on the iPad at all

    • Example: Rebelle, Firealpaca

  • Some applications only have a "lite" version on iPad

    • Example: Photoshop only has a "lite" version available on iOS

  • Some applications are of course only available on the iPad.

    • Example: Procreate

Notes

Videos

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