Wacom Cintiq 13

A pro-level graphics tablet at an entry-level price.

Straight out of the box, the display on the Cintiq Pro 13 is striking, attractive, and well-balanced, making it comfortable to hold. Professional designers or those who dabble in digital art should take note, albeit for different reasons.

The top right side of the 13.3-inch 1080p display features a set of minimal touch controls and there are three USB-C ports on the sides (one left and two right), and the back features a nifty 20º pop-out stand for desktop work. And then, inevitably, you need to chain it to your desk with various cables. Depending on the setup, that means you could be forced to work with a power cable plus signal-out to Wacom Link Adapter, then USB and Lightning cable snaking to your machine. That nest of cables isn’t ideal and frankly feels entangling.

In fairness though, it does become bearable once you start to work with it. After getting the 13 Pro set up as a second display to our Mac, we instantly created workflow efficiencies, be it shifting reference material onto the smaller screen to avoid app switching, to diving into photo retouching and digital art with the fantastic 8,192 level pressure-sensitive pen. After moving, twisting and zooming pics around the Cintiq Pro’s screen using multi-touch, it became so natural that it felt odd shifting back to a mouse for digital art.

Now, we know we’re really comparing two types of fruit here, but if you need a heavylifting design machine to back creative tasks, the Cintiq Pro 13 aptly serves as a great workflow tool. However, if you’re more after a simple tablet for drawing or digital art, the iPad Pro might be a better (and more flexible) alternative.