Deco Pro Gen 2 review – XPPEN’s pro screenless tablet evolves

The XPPEN Deco Pro Gen 2 is a sleek upgrade on the first generation of their topline screenless drawing tablet. With a fresh design, a few different size options, and improved pen performance, it’s set to be solid and affordable pro-level alternative to more established brands. After a couple of months of use, that holds up. Let’s take a closer look in this review of the Deco Pro Gen 2.

Highlights

• X3 Pro pen tech – first stylus with 16k levels of pressure sensitivity
• Improved 3g of initial activation force
• separate shortcut remote
• sleek new design

Key Specs of the Deco Pro Gen 2

• Available in three sizes: M (9×6″), L (11×7″) and XL (15×9″)
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 16k levels of pressure sensitivity
• 3g IAF
• 60 degrees of tilt recognition
• Compatible with Windows, MacOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android and iOS

Inside the box you get the following:

• the drawing tablet
• ACK05 shortcut remote
• X3 Pro stylus
• Pen case with spare pen nibs
• USB wireless receiver
• 1x USB-A to USB-C cable
• 1x USB-C to USB-C cable

Tablet

The Deco Pro Gen 2 is quite different in design to the first generation Deco Pro from XPPEN (the first tablet I purchased for myself). The most notable change is the separation of the express keys from the main body of the tablet. Instead you get the ACK05 shortcut remote that well look at in a moment.

The model shown here is the Deco Pro MW Gen 2 which has an active area of 9 x 6″.

Instead of just being a flat slab, the lower edge of the tablet is actually slightly curved. They call this an X-Edge wrist rest, which is intended to make for a more comfortable experience for your drawing hand as it moves across the surface. While drawing or hitting UI elements in the lower portion of the screen, your hand doesn’t get the sudden drop off that is sometimes experienced on other pen tablets.

The matte surface has a very slight texture to it that offers some resistance while you draw. It’s smoother than the 2017 Wacom Intuos Pro which some people have found to have too much tooth for their preference. I would say that Deco Pro has it just right.

There are LED indicators to mark the corners of the active area and another to show if the tablet is charging or in Bluetooth mode.

What is retained from the first gen, is this brushed aluminum back that you sometimes get a glimpse of from the side. On the back you’ll also find 4 rubber strips to minimize the tablet sliding on your desk.

X3 Pro Stylus with pen case

The pen for the XPPEN Deco Pro Gen 2 is the X3 Pro Stylus. It’s the first to roll out with 16k levels of pressure sensitivity. It has a slight tapered design, with two buttons along the side, and an eraser on the back. And, as is standard, it is battery-free.

The rubber and shape of the pen is comfortable for those long drawing sessions. I don’t really use the eraser function on these pens and instead opt for a shortcut button to trigger it when needed.

I really like the pen case that comes with the tablet. It houses the pen, all your spare pen nibs and the USB dongle if you need it. The case has a satisfying ‘press-click’ mechanism that locks everything in securely for when you might be taking the tablet around with you.

Shortcut Remote

One of the key differences with XPPEN’s second generation of Artist Pro and Deco Pro lines is removing the express keys and dial from the tablet. Instead, you get a separate device: the ACK05 wireless shortcut remote. I like this move. It makes the controller a bit more versatile and ready to use for other applications when you tuck the tablet away.

The remote can connect through USB-C or with Bluetooth. I had trouble connecting the to my Windows11 laptop initially. Changing the Bluetooth Device Discovery setting to Advanced solved the issue.

There are ten individual buttons which can be programmed to your most-used shortcuts. The dial in the corner can have up to 4 different functions which you cycle through by pressing on the button in the center of it.

It’s a pretty simple device. It’s nice that it’s included for those who want it, but it won’t be replacing my more comfortable Tourbox Lite.

Getting started

Connectivity

The Deco Pro Gen 2 connects to your computer either by USB cable, or wirelessly through Bluetooth. The same button used to power the tablet on also puts it into Bluetooth pairing mode.

Interestingly, the Deco Pro Gen 2 also pairs with up to two devices. You can jump between them with switch at the back of the tablet. I haven’t seen this on a drawing tablet before, and perhaps it’s a bit of a niche thing, but I like that they added it. As someone whose job is testing painting software across different devices, I can actually see this being very useful for me.

The battery life of the tablet is expected to be around 10 hours when using it wirelessly. When you’re running low, you can just plug in and keep drawing while it charges.

Driver

Not only has the Deco Pro design evolved, but so has the driver with a fresh dark look. Here you can customize everything about the tablet, including the pen buttons, pressure curve, shortcut remote buttons, and the mapping of the tablet if you are using multiple monitors.

Be sure to download the latest XPPEN driver and uninstall any other tablet drivers before you get started.

If you tend to use different applications with different shortcuts, you can set profiles for each program.

Deco Pro Gen 2 drawing and painting performance

Alright, now for the important stuff: what is this like to draw with? I’ll be testing this medium-sized tablet on a 27″ monitor connected to my Windows 11 laptop.

Line test

The pressure response of the Deco Pro Gen 2 is really good. With that improved initial activation, I can hold the pen loosely at the back and still get a thin line appearing as I drag the pen along the tablet. Drawing varied line weights was smooth even when going from heavy back to light.

I did notice some very slight line wobble with slow diagonal lines, which could be due to unsteadiness in my own hand. This is easily knocked out with out some minor smoothing or stabilization. Drawing lines at a normal rate though, it really wasn’t noticeable to me.

Tilt works really well too for those more chalky-like brushes, or those that might have the brush rotation controlled by tilt.

One thing is worth considering if you are using a large monitor. The size of your tablet relative to your screen plays a big role in accuracy and control. This is especially important if you are into doing neat line work rather than painting. With a smaller tablet, the relatively small movements of your hand and pen translate into large movements on the screen. With that in mind, I’d suggest at least the Large version of this tablet for a 27″ display.

Sketching

Getting to real use, sketching on this feels good. I’m easily able to get more light lines without needing to adjust my brush size. That 3g initial activation force is key to this. While it’s not as good as Wacom’s 1g IAF on the Pro Pen 2, this gets very close.

Using the felt pen nibs adds quite a bit more friction for a more controlled and toothy feel. Some people might prefer the smoother pen movement with the standard nibs though. Personally, I don’t mind either one but tend to prefer felt nibs in general.

Painting

For the painting test I’m using Rebelle 7 Pro and switched to the X3 Pro Roller stylus discussed in the next section. As with CSP, the pen response was great, and both the pen and the shortcut remote had no issues with the switching between software and applying the appropriate settings for each.

I also drew online with friend in Magma, with a specific settings preset for Chrome, and everything worked normally.

I didn’t specifically test the battery life of the tablet, so I’ll have to update this as I go into the second leg of this painting. So far though while using it wirelessly, I have not noticed any increased delay or latency when compared with a wired connection, thanks to Bluetooth 5.0. The tablet was connected directly to the computer without the need for the Bluetooth dongle.

Another pen option: the X3 Pro Roller

XPPEN are pushing their stylus game as well by introducing a scroll wheel into the design another compatible pen. I haven’t seen a scroll wheel on a stylus since Wacom’s airbrush pens. The X3 Pro Roller is an optional purchase that drops the eraser, and shifts the buttons back to fit the narrow wheel.

In the driver, your device will pick up when this different pen is used. The scroll wheel can be set to one of four preset functions (scroll, rotate, zoom, and brush size) or you can set your own keys for each direction. You could even set one of your buttons to switch between roller functions.

Personally, the wheel is unnecessary, though still an interesting addition. The button placement did take me some time to get used to though. I’ve come to expect my front button to be under my index finger for quick and easy colour switching with the eyedropper. But now the wheel is in that position.

Mobile phone/tablet compatibility

Perhaps it’s an unlikely use case, but the Deco Pro is also compatible with Android devices and selected apps on iOS/iPadOS. Where this could be useful is if you have a decent mobile tablet without a pen, and you’d like to draw in this sort of computer configuration with it set up on a stand while you sketch out your ideas using a screenless drawing tablet.

There is a settings APK file on the XPPEN website which will allow you to adjust the rotation of the tablet to use with your Android device. Unfortunately, that is the only setting available in the app and you cannot customize the tablet any further than that.

Here I have the Deco Pro Gen 2 connected to the Magic Drawing Pad and using Infinite Painter. The shortcut remote appears in the corner there but that only works with Windows, MacOS or Linux.

If you are looking for a wireless shortcut controller for Android or iPad, check out the 8BitDo Micro

Concluding thoughts

I think that this is a great evolution of XPPEN’s original Deco Pro and the Gen 2 offers ample versatility in the the size options, and the improved pen experience. Shifting the express keys and dial off to a separate device means orienting the controller to my preference and I can still use that for other applications while I’ve put my tablet away.

The drawing experience certainly has been an enjoyable one, and the tablet earns the Pro in it’s title while still remaining affordable at $140. Based on my time painting with this, I have no reservations about recommending it.

For an intermediate-level artist, or perhaps a professional with a tighter budget, I would say that the XPPEN Deco Pro Gen 2 is a great choice. For more beginner artists, you might want to consider something a little cheaper though like the non-Pro Deco M.

Deco Pro Gen 2 versus Intuos Pro

This is a bit of a difficult question. The quality of the Deco Pro is, in my opinion, really high. Wacom has certainly earned it’s reputation for well-designed and reliable products. The price difference is significant though, and I’m not sure that the Intuos Pro really offers enough more than the Deco Pro to justify paying more than double the price. The Intuos Pro does have multitouch support, which can be nice for navigation, but I have typically turned this off in favour of standard keyboard shortcuts for this when using a screenless tablet.

Something that Wacom does have though is the reliability of the drivers. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered any weird quirks in behaviour when using a Wacom tablet, and this is definitely something that is important for working professionals.

With the Deco Pro Gen 2, I did sometimes get strange mapping when unplugging/switching to Bluetooth mode, and occasionally it would recognize my stylus as a different supported one in the settings. These are really minor though, and a quick hop into the driver settings to set something isn’t a big deal to me.

Here’s my review of the 2013 Intuos Pro for a look at that. Of course, it is much older, but can be picked up for a good price second-hand.

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