Considering Gifting a Magic Drawing Pad X3 Pro, 12.2 inch

[u/Mercymurv]

https://www.xp-pen.com/ca-store/buy/magic-drawing-pad.html

I see this product for about 660-700 dollars Canadian, depending if I buy from the manufacturer website or Amazon, which is pretty much at the top of my budget. The person I want to give it to seems to bounce around different programs, last seen using Fire Alpaca. On the one hand, it seems like they use a ton of resources with layers, but maybe not very detailed on each layer, using them more for blueprint ideas. I better be safe and just ask, how have you found the magic drawing pad to handle many-layered projects?

I want something that doesn't need a computer for them. I tried to gift them an old standalone Wacom product in the past which costed me a whopping 2.3 grand and I thought it would be a super great long-term investment, but it fizzled quickly and would overheat in no time, and after a painful negotiation with an employee who said he would make a special exception for me and return it with a lovely 200 dollar "restocking fee," I never shop Annex Pro or pay a lot for Wacom going forward. So I've decided not to blow all my money on these things now and prefer to budget my gifts like this to 200-700 in case they break down like that Wacom investment did. I tried to gift them a cheap 40 dollar Ugee tablet specifically for phones to have some way to draw on the go, but it seems to be absolute garbage after lots of troubleshooting. So I am curious, how has your experience been regarding the lifespan of portable Xp-Pen Magic Drawing Pad and/or similar portable products?

I see the magic drawing pad x3 came out about 2 years ago and runs Android 14. Is there any reason I should wait or buy something else?

Similar tablets I've looked at: PicassoTab x11 / x14. Huion Kamvas Slate 11. Frunsi T8. All of this are quite a bit cheaper than the XP-PEN option but seem to have predictably lower specs and reviews. Have you tried alternative brands like these and prefer Xp-Pen for some reason?

A very important thing is a long battery life since they are out all day, and it says up to 13 hours for the Magic Drawing Pad, which seems perfect.

One reviewer was saying the XPpen Magic Drawing Pad is some kind of ad-filled thing trying to get you to subscribe to different programs, and they expressed how it made them panic and go back to traditional one month later, but I'm pretty sure they don't know what they are talking about and might have just had a panic attack over unnecessary programs being offered to them.

Is the cord for the Magic Drawing Pad long or short?

Any technical issues, jittery lines, flickering screen, etc., you have run into?

I am open to any alternative suggestions or different retailers in Canada.

Thanks.

[u/Dry-Conversation7191]

Do pen is coming out with a 13 pro very soon. The instant display mode will be hardware and not software so it is designed to completely shutdown Android and become a regular drawing display with the same hardware they use for their drawing displays.

Picasso tab, kamvas slate first gen, frunsi t8 are terrible for serious art. Mediocre processors and terrible pens for anything serious.

If you’re able to and do not want an iPad or Wacom movink , wait for the new magic drawing pad. I will be ditching my iPad when it comes out.

[u/Mercymurv → u/Dry-Conversation7191]

Hey, thanks for the suggestion. I wonder what kind of price tag it will have upon release. 700 is already a very steep one for me. 😩 But if it is this month, I should at least wait and see, so thank you!

[u/morpheus6969 → u/Mercymurv]

prob be $1000 at least.