XenceLabs Pen Tablet Medium Review

Conceptually, a tablet is a simple device similar to an oversized trackpad found on virtually all laptops. The difference between the dreaded trackpad and a tablet is that the former responds to touch, while the latter is operated by a special pen. This makes tablets much more precise since the fine tip of a pen is significantly smaller than a finger. As they do not respond to touch, tablets are not prone to accidental touches that are the greatest cause of aggravation for trackpads users. Unlike a stylus that provides fine precision when using a touch device, tablets record pressure and tilt of the pen, in addition to its position.

The top of the tablet, shown above towards the bottom, shows the power-switch, USB-C connector and slot of a Kensington lock that can be used to secure the tablet in shared spaces.

Installation & Configuration

Getting started with the XenceLabs Pen Tablet is incredibly easy and quick. The device can be connected via USB-C or private Bluetooth channel using its supplied dongle. For a wired connection, which is required to charge the device, either connect the supplied USB A-to-C cable directly from the top of the tablet to a USB Type-A port on your computer or use the included USB A-to-C dongle for a USB C-to-C connection.

NOTE The type of port used makes no difference since a tablet does not require much bandwidth.

Connecting wirelessly is just as easy. Simply insert the provided dongle into an available USB-A port. The tablet and dongle that come in the same box are pre-paired together, so they connect instantly. A driver must be downloaded directly from the XenceLabs website to control the tablet. There are currently versions for Windows and Mac OS. A Linux version is expected to be available shortly for a few relatively well-known distributions: RedHat, CentOS, Debian and Ubuntu. It is unclear if those drivers work with other hugely popular distributions such as OpenSUSE.

Once the driver is downloaded, installation is a straight-forward process that takes less than a minute. The tablet can be used immediately after. On Windows though, it is wise to reboot whenever a driver gets installed to avoid potential instability. This new tablet offers an unprecedented amount of flexibility which is accessed via a XenceLabs Settings Panel that starts up automatically. It is designed as a hub for all XenceLabs products. Settings for each device can be accessed simply by clicking on its name. Tablet users will see the tablet itself, the 3-Button Pen and the Thin Pen. Owners of XenceLabs Quick Keys will have an extra page of settings to configure them.

This Pen Tablet features an outstanding level of customization to adjust its response independently for each application.

Flexibility is important for artists as it allows them to fine-tune the tablet experience to their preferences. At the same time, this flexibility creates a steeper learning curve. XenceLabs provides a default configuration for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, plus a separate configuration for all other software. Device settings are changed independently for each application and more can be added manually. This is extremely useful since software respond differently and frequently have their own short-cuts. When fine-tuning, select the desired application each time before changing settings to avoid wondering why changing settings does not affect behavior.

The default configuration requires a good amount of pressure to draw, particularly with the 3 Button Pen, so that is probably the first setting to change. Unfortunately, that has to be done for each application separately since there is no global control. Settings are split per application and elsewhere. The settings panel also always opens on the other page, forcing users to switch application before customizing behavior.

Charging occurs automatically when the tablet is connected via a USB cable. A small slider on the top edge turns the tablet on or off to preserve battery-life when it is not in use, which is great for a wireless device. On a full-charge, the Pen Tablet Medium delivers over 16 hours of battery-life.

Hardware & Software Features

XenceLabs gave their Pen Tablet Medium a streamlined look. It is a very slim device with a wide-aspect drawing area surrounded by a minimal seamless border. Four lights indicate corners of the maximum sensitive area. This surface maps directly to a 16:9 display scaled uniformly. Each corner light corresponds to the matching corner of a standard computer monitor. This way, shape proportions are preserved from drawing to display.

By adopting a 16:9 aspect-ratio, the XenceLabs Pen Tablet Medium maximizes the proportion between the tablet and its sensitive area for most displays.

Over 98% of computer monitors and laptop screens produced in the last decade have exactly the same 16:9 aspect-ratio as the drawing surface of this tablet. There are displays with different aspect-ratios that are making a resurgence since last year. When the XenceLabs Pen Tablet Medium is used with a monitor having a different aspect-ratio, the drawing area gets letter-boxed to preserve geometry. This is the most sensible way to handle the disparity but corner lights become inaccurate since their location is fixed. They will rarely be far off though since the most common aspect-ratios other than 16:9 are 16:10 and 17:9. Slightly older monitors have a 16:10 ratio, while newer ones with 17:9 aspect started appearing to match Cinema 4K video resolution. Laptops tend to deviate more often than stand-alone monitors but artists rarely use those without an external display due to their lack of color-accuracy and limited size.

Although corner light placement is fixed, the XenceLabs Settings Panel can change their color and brightness. A neat feature of these corner lights is that they change color to indicate when battery-level is low. The software shows battery-level in percent increments to have a better idea when it is time to charge the tablet.

Three buttons are found centered near the top-edge of the tablet. These buttons are highly customizable but are intended for seldom used features. Their position was specifically chosen to avoid unintentional presses. In the absence of Quick Keys, users simply have to customize these buttons and deal with their positioning which causes the tablet to get covered by a forearm. It can get really awkward if those buttons are used as modifiers, so it is best to reserve them for independent features such as zooming.

The rightmost button on the tablet defaults to switching between displays. This is essential for dual-monitor users to maximize the usable drawing area while maintaining the correct aspect-ratio. Pressing this button instantly remaps the tablet to the inactive display. It takes a little getting used to because tablets are absolute devices, unlike mice and trackballs that are relative. With the cursor near the upper right of one screen, switching display sends it to the upper right of the other screen proportionally to display size. Using a relative device though, the cursor generally moves with continuity between displays, which is much easier to follow.

Two pens come with the XenceLabs Pen Tablet Medium. The main distinction between them is ergonomic: One is thin, similar to a typical ball-point pen, while the other is 50% thicker. Both pens feature a sensitive tip that distinguishes between 8192 levels of pressure, a rocker that acts as two buttons, plus a clickable eraser button. The thick pen is called 3 Button Pen since it offers a third button, technically a fourth if you count the eraser, between the pen tip and rocker. Without Quick Keys, this extra button is a significant improvement. The tablet also recognizes the ±60° of pen tilt to affect painting.

As is typical for this type of pen, their tips are replaceable since they were out after extended use. The Pen Tablet Medium comes with 12 nibs: eight standard and four felt. Each pen arrives with a standard nib installed. This type glides completely smoothly over the tablet surface. Felt tips add a slight amount of resistance for a feel that resembles drawing on paper. XenceLabs provides a handy nib-extractor tool that makes changing pen tips easy. A sturdy case stores both pens, all nibs, the dongle and a USB A-to-C adapter.

Usability & Ergonomics

The drawing area on the Pen Tablet Medium is quite compact for having a relatively large drawing area that remains fully utilized with most computer monitors. This tablet is easy to hold and light enough to support with one hand or against your legs. Being wireless affords added freedom to place the tablet exactly where needed.

Pens have a smooth finish on top and are rubber-coated towards the tip. People generally prefer one size over the other but both are really well balanced and offer a nice grip. Pen buttons are easy to reach and located in very similar positions on both models. One has to shift slightly when switching pens since the extra button on the thick pen is placed between the pen-tip and 2-button rocker.

Drawing with the XenceLabs Pen Tablet Medium is incredibly smooth. Every stroke gets naturally digitalized with exact proportions. Sensitivity between the pen and tablet can be adjusted with an unprecedented level of flexibility. One can adjust how pen pressure is recorded by the tablet in terms of base pressure and response to increased pressure. The range of recognized pressure can also be restricted. This allows a pen to lightly touch the tablet without activating but requires more force to draw or make it sensitive to the lightest contact.

TIP Defaults are different for the Thin and 3-Button Pen and make the latter tiring to use and much less sensitive. Just move the lower-left square (above) on the pressure graph to the extreme corner to correct the issue.

The smooth surface of the XenceLabs Pen Tablet Medium makes it easy to draw for hours without getting tired after pressure settings are fine-tuned.

There is virtually no lag between from using the tablet compared to a typical pointing device. This is a major contributing factor to usability. Whether connected via a USB cable or wirelessly over Bluetooth, the Pen Tablet Medium responds equally quickly. Low battery does not diminish its performance either.

A drawing glove included with the tablet can be worn to reduce friction while drawing which makes the experience even smoother. This is a great bonus for people who use a tablet for hours at a time. The only ergonomic issue that was immediately apparent with this tablet is its limited number of buttons and their difficult-to-reach placement. There are to many common controls and modifiers to be mapped to just pen buttons. The Quick Keys, sold separately as a bundle, greatly compensate for this problem. See the right column (below on mobile) for a complete review of the XenceLabs Quick Keys.

The company is young and so are their drivers. During the course of this review we experienced a few minor intermittent issues which were mostly corrected by updating drivers. So, be sure to install the latest drivers.

Conclusion

The first product out of XenceLabs is truly a well-executed high-end tablet. The Pen Tablet Medium hits the mark with its smooth drawing surface that is both highly sensitive and very responsive, even wirelessly. Its lightweight build and relatively compact form-factor with minimal edges makes it particularly easy to handle. Since the tablet market is small and dominated by a single company, innovation has been slow for years. XenceLabs is taking on quite a challenge then which is bound to be good for all tablet users.

Drawing with this new tablet is a really smooth experience that is made more comfortable by a choice of pens. The standard tips glides over the surface for quick motion, while felt tips provide tactile feedback that feels very natural. Both pens are well-designed and easy with nice grippy texture towards the tip. With two or three buttons plus an eraser, pens themselves are as full-featured as any. The tablet alone though is rather restricted by its limited and inconveniently located buttons.

Optional Quick Keys are essential to improve efficiency of the Pen Tablet Medium. This wireless control makes a huge number of features accessibly in a small form-factor that is usable in any orientation. Its analog dial allows to adjust up to four values per application, while eight buttons provide access to 40 functions per software! What makes it incredibly useful is its built-in OLED display that labels every button. It even shows the that selected dial function for a few seconds when it changes. There is short lag when using Quick Keys that requires some habituation but this is an outstanding product nonetheless.

Both the XenceLabs Pen Tablet Medium and Quick Keys provide an incredible level of customization. Pen pressure control can be fine-tuned to match any preference and every button can be configured with a variety of application functions, mouse actions, keyboard modifiers and key strokes. Although occasional driver glitches occur, hardware quality is great.

The tablet and keys bundle can be highly recommended. This complete package includes plenty of accessories is bound to satisfy demanding digital artists. The XenceLabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle with Quick Keys is available directly from the manufacturer for $360 USD.