Xencelabs Medium Bundle Review | The Art Of Razaras

Xencelabs Pen Tablet (Medium Bundle)
Review By Razaras

Xencelabs Pen Tablet is a hot new brand of a pen tablet with the tagline "New Alternative, New Inspiration"

What makes it unique? How practical is it? We'll see!

Many digital artists may be unfamiliar with the name "Xencelabs." Nowadays, there have been many competing brands of pen tablets over the years.

But Xencelabs is different and interesting. Xencelabs is a company researched and developed by ex-Wacom employees with the goal of creating the most intelligible and effective pen tablet for digital artists.

After using it for about a week, I can say that it has exceeded my expectations. Both in terms of material quality, design, and use.

Thank you very much to Digital friends Thailand's official distributor of Xencelabs pen tablets. For providing me a Medium bundle of Xencelabs pen tablets to review.

If you are looking for a new pen tablet or are interested in Xencelabs products, you may view all models and buy one by clicking on the link below.

Xencelabs Website: https://www.xencelabs.com/

Digital friends Website: https://www.digitalfriends.co.th/

Xencelabs Medium Bundle with Quick keys

Thai store:

https://www.xencelabs.com/product/xencelabs-pen-tablet-medium-bundle/

Global store:

https://www.digitalfriends.co.th/shop/pen-tablet-medium-bundle-with-quick-keys/

Specifications

Product Name: Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle with Quick Keys

Color: Carbon Black

Dimensions (W x H x D): 320.5 x 232.85 x 8 mm

Workspace: 10.33 x 5.8 inch / 262.4 x 147.4 mm

Aspect ratio: 16:9

Net Weight: 710.5 g

Hour per charge: 16 hours (2.5 hours charging time)

Cable included: USB type C to USB type A (Adapter provided)

Security: Kensington NANO Lock

Connectivity: Wireless or USB

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Pen models: PH5-A (3 Button Pen) / PH6-A (Thin Pen)

3 Button pen: 3 buttons + eraser

Thin pen: 2 buttons + eraser

Pressure levels: 8192 levels + 60-degree tilt support

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Quick keys remote color: Black

Dimensions (W x H x D): 6.2 x 2.46 x 0.47 inch / 157.6 x 62.5 x 12 mm

Net weight: 142g

Display: Text and symbols can be read horizontal or vertical

Custom: 8 per set. There can be 5 sets giving a total of 40 shortcut keys

Dial: Up to 4 (user can define)

Security: Kensington NANO Lock

Connectivity: Wireless or USB

Quick keys hour per charge: 25-53 hours (1.5 hours charging time)

First Impression

The Xencelabs Medium Bundle is packaged in a huge box. The seal arrived safely wrapped. The model name of the pen tablet is shown on the front. The back of the box contains details and features, as well as illustrations of the item within.

Unboxing

Open the box and you'll find a thank you note from the Xencelabs team, a drawing tablet, a pen's box, a quick keys remote, a user manual in many languages, USB cables, drawing gloves, and what I really like is a fabric sleeve for storing a pen tablet. Can be easily carried for outdoor use.

The things that come in the box are:

Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium
Xencelabs Quick Keys
3 Button Pen
Thin Pen
Pen Case
Dongle
USB Cable / USB-A to USB-C
USB-C cable L / USB-A to USB-C
Right Angle 90 Degree
Nibs (6 Standard)
Nibs (4 Felt)
Glove Medium
Adapter / USB-A to USB-C
Tablet Sleeve
Nib Extracting Ring
Quick Start Guide / Thank You Card
Warranty Booklet

Design and build quality

I'll admit that I'm really impressed. With the premium materials and design of Xencelabs, the texture of every device is very good.

The assembly work is strong and pleasant to use. This is considered the most important thing. It's no surprise that reviews from overseas are highly appreciated.

The Tablet

The tablet has an ergonomic design with a rounded bottom to support the wrist during use and reduce wrist pain while using it for a long time.

The active area is 10.33 x 5.8 inches with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The surface is slightly matte. Above, under the Xencelabs logo, there are 3 shortcut keys that can be set. This design makes it easy to use for both left and right-handed people. (If the keys are not enough, you can add with Quick keys).

There are led lights in the four corners of the board that you can change color. The body is only 8 mm thin, the top has a USB-C connector and has a switch for wireless, and the Nano Lock. It can be used wirelessly for up to 16 hours per charge. The charging time is about 2 and a half hours.

Wireless functionality for both the tablet and the quick keys remote is easy just plugging the wireless dongle into your computer or laptop. If there is no USB-A port, you can use the included USB-A to USB-C adapter in the box. But the tablet and quick keys remote need to be charged first.

To charge the tablet and quick keys remote, just leave the USB plugged in like a smartphone. But the amount of battery must be viewed through the Xencelabs program only.

The Pens

The pen storage box uses high-quality materials to give a premium feel. Xencelabs comes in two different pen sizes, so you can choose according to your preferences: a “Thin pen” and the familiar “3 buttons pen”, a large pen. No batteries are required It supports 8,192 levels of pressure and can be tilted at 60 degrees as standard pen tablets.

Inside the pen storage box, there are 10 replacement pen nibs, 6 normal plastic nibs, and 4 nibs that provide a pencil-like drawing feel. You can use the included ring to pull the nibs to change the new one.

Quick keys Remote

Quick keys Remote has a black and white OLED screen, commands are clearly visible.

Comfortable to hold with a premium feel and strong assembly work.

There is a 2-year warranty. You can set more than 40 hotkeys (8 hotkeys, 5 modes). We can change the mode by pressing the button in the middle of the dial ring and the color around the dial ring will change according to the mode we choose.

There is a button to change the command set that can be set for another 5 profiles. At the bottom of the remote, there is an on-off switch for a wireless connection, it lasts up to 53 hours on a charge of approximately 1.5 hours.

Keyboard shortcuts can be set through the Xencelabs program, which can be set both vertically and horizontally. according to our usage style.

Xencelabs's software

The Xencelabs software has an easy-to-understand UI. It's not as difficult to use as you might think. To install it, you can download the drivers from the website.

https://www.xencelabs.com/sea/support/download-drivers/

Supports Mac OS, Windows, and Linux systems.

When we open the program, we will see all the devices connected to Xencelabs, the amount of battery of the tablet, and the Quick Keys Remote.

We can add the desired program by selecting the + sign on the top right.

Personally, I only use photoshop (the software supports all programs both 2D and 3D). You can set the buttons on top of the tablet. including the color of the LEDs on the tablet too.

Both pens have separate pressure settings, an eraser button, and a standard button on the pen body, with the thin pen having 2 buttons and the 3 button pen having 3 buttons.

Quick Keys Remote can choose to set up a profile. Can be detailed and has a lot of shortcut keys to set up.

From trying it for a while, it was found that If it's been used for a long time and if you can remember the remote pattern you might not have to press the keyboard shortcuts ever!

Usability and Performance

After about a week of use, The surface of the tablet was felt smooth while drawing. But if you use a matte nib it will give you a pencil-like drawing feel.

What has clearly been felt at the bottom of the tablet is that the rounded design really works! It helps not to have a lot of wrist pain when used continuously for a long time. The workspace is standard with a medium-sized 10 x 6-inch pen tablet, which is good enough for usability, and the Quick keys remote makes work a lot more fun and convenient (If you use it until you remember the pattern you set).

Conclusion

In the end, I prefer Xencelabs over the Wacom Intuos Medium that I've used.

The price is also considered similar (Xencelabs Medium Bundle with Quick keys price 13,750 baht/ $359.99) The high-quality material used, the design is good and the assembly work is not inferior to the top brand in the market at all. It is very interesting to see how interesting the next generation of Xencelabs will be!

If you're a digital artist and looking for a new pen tablet, Xencelabs is definitely a great option to consider.

For me, my main pen tablet is ready to switch to Xencelabs :D

Don’t forget to check the link below for more details!