Mac Air compatible tablet recommendation

[Sunflower123]

I'm looking for a tablet/pen that will work with my Mac Air / Affinity Designer that is approx. 10"-12". I've been reading these forums and though Wacom seems like a popular choice, it appears there is some lagging with the pen...

Can anyone recommend some good solid tablet options please? 

[Blende21]

Tried an iPad with Pencil & Sidecar function of MacOS ?

[Sunflower123]

4 hours ago, Blende21 said:

Tried an iPad with Pencil & Sidecar function of MacOS ?

No, I am looking for something other than an iPad due to the cost.

[Blende21]

This argument is fine.

It has two sides: A graphic Tablet is cheaper, but dedicated to just this job. This job it does well, although tests I have read say the smaller (and cheaper) ones are quite restricted.

An iPad is more expensive, but multi purpose. It can serve as a 2nd Monitor as well (as I do when on my road warrior setup). Since the cheaper ones do support the pencil as well, it must not be a 4-digit-Pro model any longer.

[Cjohnson6]

Just today I received a Huion H1060p for my 2014 Mac Air. It is my first time with a tablet. I followed other recommendations and Huion seems to have a good rep.

Installation was quick and easy. So far it seems to work well. But it will take some time to get used to using a pen as an input instead of a mouse. 

Sorry I cannot provide any comparison to other tablets but it seems to work fine on an older Air

[Sunflower123]

3 hours ago, Blende21 said:

This argument is fine.

It has two sides: A graphic Tablet is cheaper, but dedicated to just this job. This job it does well, although tests I have read say the smaller (and cheaper) ones are quite restricted.

An iPad is more expensive, but multi purpose. It can serve as a 2nd Monitor as well (as I do when on my road warrior setup). Since the cheaper ones do support the pencil as well, it must not be a 4-digit-Pro model any longer.

Very good points, but still too expensive!

[Sunflower123]

34 minutes ago, Cjohnson6 said:

Just today I received a Huion H1060p for my 2014 Mac Air. It is my first time with a tablet. I followed other recommendations and Huion seems to have a good rep.

Installation was quick and easy. So far it seems to work well. But it will take some time to get used to using a pen as an input instead of a mouse. 

Sorry I cannot provide any comparison to other tablets but it seems to work fine on an older Air

Thank you good to know...and just to clarify, it works with Affinity Designer, right? Sorry I just don't see Affinity in the list of compatible software on Amazon. 

[Cjohnson6]

12 hours ago, Sunflower123 said:

Thank you good to know...and just to clarify, it works with Affinity Designer, right? Sorry I just don't see Affinity in the list of compatible software on Amazon. 

Yes I am using it with Affinity Designer. I have mapped the buttons on the tablet to Affinity actions which makes using the tablet  very efficient. Other than that just load the drivers, plug it in and it works with AD.

Do be aware when you are using the brush or pen tool that you can select the Controller button in the top context menu and select "Pressure" or "Velocity" etc to decide how AD will interpret the movements or pressure of the pen. Just a feature that is not obvious if you are coming from a mouse.

I can say after using it for a day that a tablet is a HUGE improvement over a mouse. So I have an interest in learning to draw. I am no longer confined to making drawings using the geometric shape tools. I followed some advice from a Youtuber to prctice drawing circles and lines on a tablet to improve skill and just after a couple hours of doing this I can say that it does improve your dexterity.

You can use the tablet and pen for controlling your computer as well. The pen is basically recognized as mouse input when you are not i a graphics program.

[thomaso]

16 hours ago, Blende21 said:

An iPad is more expensive, but multi purpose. It can serve as a 2nd Monitor as well

... but is limited to its small screen this way. Whereas a (screenless) pen tablet can be used for a monitor of unlimited size.

[Sunflower123]

23 hours ago, Cjohnson6 said:

Yes I am using it with Affinity Designer. I have mapped the buttons on the tablet to Affinity actions which makes using the tablet  very efficient. Other than that just load the drivers, plug it in and it works with AD.

Do be aware when you are using the brush or pen tool that you can select the Controller button in the top context menu and select "Pressure" or "Velocity" etc to decide how AD will interpret the movements or pressure of the pen. Just a feature that is not obvious if you are coming from a mouse.

I can say after using it for a day that a tablet is a HUGE improvement over a mouse. So I have an interest in learning to draw. I am no longer confined to making drawings using the geometric shape tools. I followed some advice from a Youtuber to prctice drawing circles and lines on a tablet to improve skill and just after a couple hours of doing this I can say that it does improve your dexterity.

You can use the tablet and pen for controlling your computer as well. The pen is basically recognized as mouse input when you are not i a graphics program.

Great advice, thank you!

[j3rry]

Just received my first Huion tablet (1060p new). Very easy to install and use, much better than my old Wacom Pen & Touch I had before. Works in the serifs suite and in Adobe PS/LR. Thanks for mentioned the Huion produkt. 

 

[Sunflower123]

9 hours ago, j3rry said:

Just received my first Huion tablet (1060p new). Very easy to install and use, much better than my old Wacom Pen & Touch I had before. Works in the serifs suite and in Adobe PS/LR. Thanks for mentioned the Huion produkt. 

 

OK great to know! Thanks.