Wacom Mobile Studio Pro
This powerful tablet brin brings full-fat features to creat creatives, but it isn’t right for ever everyone
SCORE ★★★★
PRICE 15.6in, £2,667 (£3,200 inc VAT) VA from estore.wacom.com
D
on’t be fooled by the Wacom name: this is a portable workstation, not a drawing tablet. With a £3,200 price for this 15.6in, 4K version (and £2,400 for the 13.3in, 1440p model), this pen computer is a long way from a mainstream device.
Both models come with a Wacom stylus that attaches via a travel case you can mount on the side. The pen is much thicker than the Apple Pencil, but doesn’t need to be charged and is packed with quality: note the 8,192 pressure levels and rubber grip. It helps that the screen has a matte finish, which provides a texture similar to paper.
That makes it ideal for sketching and illustrating, aside from a slight lag. That’s despite a hefty Intel Core i7-8559U CPU, Nvidia Quadro P1000 graphics (Intel Iris
Plus graphics in the smaller model) and 16GB of RAM. At least it ran Adobe Photoshop and Blender with little fuss, but don’t push it too hard away from a plug as it lasted for between two-and-a-half and four hours in “real world” usage.
I don’t recommend resting the device on your lap as the underside can get toasty. This is greatly reduced when you use the height-adjustable stand that comes with the device, but you can’t perch this on your knee as you would an iPad. It doesn’t help that this 15.6in version weighs 2.1kg, even if the 13.3in edition is a friendlier 1.4kg.
Both models share a similar design, with two sets of programmable buttons on the left of the tablet with a circular button between them. That circular button has navigational buttons surrounding it, and the middle section doubles as a fingerprint scanner and a Windows Home key. On the opposing side, you’ll find a distinctly average 5-megapixel -megapixel camera with an 8-megapixel xel camera on the underside. There are three USB-C ports on the side closest st to the Wacom logo, two of which support port Thunderbolt 3. You can connect nnect additional displays to the Mobile obile Studio Pro via either of the Thunderbolt derbolt 3 ports, including other graphics s tablet devices. You can also use it exactly as you would any other graphics tablet by pairing it with a desktop PC.
The display splay covers 85% of the Adobe RGB gamut, which is less than the 99% of the Wacom Cintiq Pro but still impressive, but with a peak brightness of around 300cd/m2 it will seem dim when used outside. Thankfully, that matte finish mentioned earlier helps with reflections.
So the Wacom Mobile Studio Pro has its niggles, but if you need access to creative apps on the go and want the convenience of a graphics tablet at the same time, then it’s hard to beat.
SPECIFICATIONS
4-core 2.7GHz (4.5GHz boost) Intel Core i7-8559U 16GB RAM 4GB Nvidia Quadro P1000 graphics 512GB SSD 15.6in 3,840 x 2,160 touchscreen IPS display 5MP front camera 8MP rear camera 3 x USB-C (2 Thunderbolt 3) SD card reader Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth 5 Windows 10 Pro 418 x 21.2 x 262mm (WDH) 2.1kg 2yr limited warranty