I recently got a 16-inch UGEE UE16 for super cheap and it’s amazing! Here are some thoughts!
First, a little back story… I’ve been using a Wacom Intuos for about 5 years. I am extremely comfortable sketching directly into the computer with it. But I want to upgrade to a drawing tablet with screen as it’s more nature and intuitive.
Previously you would have to spend at least 600 to get into the base cintiq pen display from Wacom, and I have been wanting one of these for years but could never justify the cost.
The UGEE UE16 is the answer. I saw it sale $200 on Amazon and could no longer resist. I’ve been hunting for a tablet with a large drawing area so that I can draw comfortable.
Unboxing
Apart from the Ugee UE16 display tablet itself, the package comes with the usual cabling peripherals, plus some bonus extras.
Including Stylus, Single USB-C Cable, USB-C to A Cable, 3-in-1 cable, 20 replacement nibs, adjustable Stand and cleaning cloth.
Design and Build Quality
The overall design language of the tablet can be summarized as – simple and practical.
The tablet is plastic but has a nice weight and balance. It feels more premium than its cost.
Bezels are very wide, which gives your hands a place to rest when drawing at the edge of the screen, but also makes the tablet massive. It’s overall size slightly bigger than a 17″ laptop.
With four rubber feet on the back, There are no issues with the tablet sliding when lying flat.
Screen Size and Quality
The 15.4-inch IPS screen is really nice to work with its 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution resulting in the ppi just over 140 which didn’t make me feel like I could see every single pixel on the screen.
I also liked the physical size. 16 inches seems to be a perfect size for a device like this. It’s small enough to move around and store somewhere safe when it’s not in use. It’s also big enough to work on without zooming in and out all the time.
I don’t know a whole lot about color and profiles, but this does have 94% Adobe RGB color gamut and the colors do look accurate, and vibrant right out of the box.
With a good contrast ratio of 1000:1, it makes the colors pop and results in better picture quality.
When comes to the brightness – the display has a maximum brightness of 220 cd/m2, which is good enough for indoor uses, but it won’t be comfortable to use in a bright outdoor environment or direct sunlight.
The screen is fully laminated, , the parallax is unnoticeable. The matte screen film on the glass surface has a non-reflective coating that gives a slight bit of tooth texture and is much more comparable to drawing on paper.
Stylus Pen
The U-Pencil has 16384 levels of pressure sensitivity along with up to 60 degrees of tilt detection. Its reporting rate is fast and things appear on the screen with no visible lag.
The pen doesn’t have a battery, so there are no irritating changes. You can always draw without taking a break.
The stylus has a straight cylindrical shape and a narrow width comparable to a ballpoint pen or an apple pencil. For artists who like using thin styluses, this will make you feel right at home.
With Ugee U-Pencil not only do you get two side buttons, but you also get a pressure-sensitive eraser at the back.
Shortcut Buttons
The Ugee UE16 offers eight customisable shortcut keys. The brightness of the display can be adjusted using the buttons on the side of the tablet.
I love the customisable dial on the side. After setting the dial to change brush size, the convenience is a welcome addition to the drawing process.
Connectivity
If your laptop has a Thunderbolt4 port, The Ugee UE16 can be connected to the computer using a single USB-C to USB-C cable.
So far, I haven’t needed external power when connecting directly with USB-C. Even my phone could run it directly.
If your old computer doesn’t have USB-C port but only HDMI, the included 3-to-1 cable is needed.
When operating the tablet with the included 3-in-1 cable, you also need to plug in a USB type-A connector, or sometimes two.
The second one (red plug) is specifically for power, but you can often get away with just the black USB-A plug.
Driver and Tablet Settings
I’m on Windows 11 and installation was a dream I just plugged it in to my pc, downloaded & installed the drivers, restarted once and I was good to go.
The tablet settings are also pretty simple. One, you have the tablet area settings where you can define which monitor or what portion of monitor you want to use with your tablet.
Second is the hotkey setting where you can change the default shortcut button on the tablet to any button of your choice.
Third is pen setting, You can adjust the pressure curve of the stylus to customize the pressure sensing.
Drawing Experience
As an artist I am a hobbyist and not a professional in any means. Most of what I draw ranges from simple cartoon sketches to comic characters, and my own personal comic book related art.
So far I have only used it with Clip Studio Paint, Krita, photoshop & illustrator and it works great with those programs.
Using the Wacom Intuos tablet has a very mean learning curve, for me anyway. I practiced a lot to get used to it. The Ugee UE16, however, just feels more natural to me.
The display quality is great. color and images display wonderfully. I think FHD resolution on a 16-inch screen is okay, but if your work consists of editing high resolution photography/painting with a wider color gamut, then reconsider the higher models.
Pen/screen is really responsive. the paper-like screen surface feels very nice. i personally dislike drawing on slippery glass screens, so the matte, non-glare finish is really satisfying.
Drawing in Photoshop is pretty much as good as the wacom Intuos it replaced, the only exception being tilt recognition. It just doesn’t work quite as well, but it’s pretty rare I’m using a tilt-sensitive brush.
Otherwise, pressure sensitivity feels great. lines were straight with no jittering or stuttering and drawing test circles and curves was equally responsive and precise.
But I’d say I didn’t noticed the big difference when switching from 4,096 to 8,192 or even 16,384, the change is minimal and has no real impact on the way I draw.
The IAF is quite decent, but I don’t claim it’s the best ever. Still a bit higher than my wacom intuos.
So far I have not had any issues or real minuses. I haven’t ran into any driver issues either. The Ugee software is good, and Ugee’s customer support is amazing.
The 8 programmable buttons and rotating wheel on the side made the whole drawing process very convenient as well.
Value For Money
The UGEE UE16 pen display is a value king. I’ve never seen a 16-inch pen display at such price point before. Most 16-inch display on the market are beyond $300.
At this price point, You can only get a 12-inch XPPen Artist 12 (2nd Gen) or 13-inch Huion Kamvas 13 (Gen 3).
Conclusion
The Ugee UE16 is a solid drawing tablet with a 16-inch vibrant display, and responsive stylus, making it a great option for artists.
Overall, it’s a great choice for a beginner to intermediate digital artist looking for a more affordable option with good performance.
