The iPad Mini’s smaller screen (8 inches diagonally) means it’s not as well suited to larger drawings, but its compact size makes it perfect for travel and use on the go. If you want a tablet that is super responsive and can perform detailed editing tasks quickly, get an M2-based model and as much RAM as you can afford. Battery life and charging options: All the latest-generation iPads have the same battery-life rating from Apple at 10 hours.
The newer M1 and M2 processors are incredibly efficient, but their added power means that sustained high load will drain your battery faster than sporadic, lightweight tasks on older iPad designs. That may not be much of an issue if you have older iPhones with Lightning connectors and have lots of handy chargers, but if you’re trying to move all your devices to USB-C, it won’t do.
The Apple Pencil is the best stylus for iPad users — here’s which to get and how to use it
For the first few years of the iPad’s life, companies released hundreds of different styluses that they claimed would make drawing and writing a breeze. Originally released in 2015, the Apple Pencil is a wireless stylus that’s specifically designed to work with iPads. It’s not much bigger than an average pen, and is great for drawing and taking notes. The Apple Pencil is a stylus — a pen made to use on digital screens — that can do anything your finger can do, but with more precision.
This means that you can more easily tap small icons, draw complex shapes, and write in your own handwriting. Art apps like Procreate and Clip Studio Paint feel entirely new when you have a good stylus to draw with — especially one with both pressure and tilt sensors. and VOEZ, which require the player to tap tiny buttons in time with music. iPad mini (fifth generation, released in 2019) Second-generation Apple Pencil The newer Apple Pencil, released in 2018, is compatible with every iPad that has a USB-C charger instead of a Lightning charger:
If you look at both versions of the Apple Pencil, you’ll notice that they look a bit different: The first-generation Apple Pencil is longer and made with glossy plastic, while the second-generation is matte and has a flat side so it doesn’t roll.
The one major feature that the second-generation pencil has is Double-Tap: If you’re using an app like Photoshop Sketch that supports the feature, you can double-tap near the tip of your Apple Pencil to switch back to the last tool you used.
If you have a first-generation Apple Pencil, unscrew the cap on its “eraser” end to reveal the Lightning connector, and plug it into your iPad. The second-generation Apple Pencil connects and charges by latching onto the magnetic connector on your iPad’s side.
You can check the battery on your Apple Pencil by swiping all the way to the left on your iPad’s home or lock screen.
The best iPad models for drawing in 2023
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iPad 9 (2021) artist review
The main update in the Apple iPad 9 over the previous generation is the use of the A13 Bionic chip (used in the iPhone 11), the increase in base storage from 32GB to 64GB and the front camera being an ultra wide that supports the Centre Stage feature where the camera will kinda follow you around. Just to give you the bottomline upfront, if you don’t already have an iPad, then yes it’s a good tablet to consider because it has fantastic drawing experience despite its underwhelming specifications (3GB RAM and 64GB storage).
The bezels are quite thick especially the top and bottom but they are quite functional as they give you the space to place your palm on the display without blocking too much of your view. User interface elements such as icons, buttons and text are large, and more comfortable to see compared to the iPad mini.
Audio quality is good but since stereo effect is not that great since the speakers are close together. The display is quite reflective and doesn’t have the anti-reflective coating found on the more expensive iPads. If you rest your palm on the iPad mini, you hand will block half the display. That and the UI elements and text on the iPad mini are too small for my personal preference. I am however unable to hold this tablet with just one hand for long periods of time while drawing though. As long as the pen tip is touching the display, you can draw a line even if you don’t apply any pressure. Drawing smooth tapered strokes is only possible with a stylus that has such a low initial activation force. Design of the Apple Pencil is cylindrical so make sure it doesn’t roll off the table.
The old one that I used to have has rolled off the table numerous times which resulted in the pen tip being chipped off, or the back cap having cracks. By the way, I no longer use any matte screen protectors for my tablets because I can’t stand the white “haze” created by the anti-glare. If you want to use a matte screen protector, I recommend SuperShieldz which you can buy from Amazon because it’s cheap and good.
The iPad display is not laminated so there will be a gap between the pen tip and the line beneath.
Apple Pencil has excellent note taking performance and is able to capture my handwriting accurately. This is actually a huge step up compared to the earlier iPads that shipped with just 32GB storage which leaves you with less than 20GB effectively.
If you’re someone who draws daily (look at your current workflow), then it’s probably better to upgrade to 256GB of storage but that will cost an extra US $150. I remember seeing good discounts on iPads from Amazon near Nov 26 Black Friday and Christmas period.
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The ipad 9th generation is in my budget, but I don’t know if it could correspond totally to my expectations.
The best iPad for drawing in December 2023
And with older models still delivering on performance, drawing on an iPad Pro needn’t too expensive. More and more artists are opting for Apple products when it comes to digital art as the iPad is slim and portable, offering a fantastic professional alternative or compliment to the best drawing tablets. Why you can trust Creative Bloq Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.
Its compatibility with the Apple Pencil 2 means you get one of the best styluses available right now, while the display’s refresh rate of 120Hz ensures excellent responsiveness.
One small thing to consider is the size – the 12.9-inch offering is the largest in the iPad range and can feel pretty bulky if you’re not used to it. Unless you’re going to be doing a lot of professional drawing work, it is probably more computing and display power than you need, and in that case, a cheaper tablet on this list will likely prove to be the better choice. While the Pro models still reign supreme in terms of performance and display quality, the iPad Air has closed the gap by incorporating the same M1 chip found in the Pros, making it a powerful and more affordable option for digital artists. He noted that the screen resolution is comparable to the Pro models, and the backlighting is even and colour-accurate, making it a great choice for visual creative work, including drawing.
And some artists swear by a completely different drawing experience away from the bigger (and more expensive) iPad Pros. This model boasts a small but perfectly formed 8.3-inch Liquid Retina screen, which offers an impressive resolution of 1488 x 2266 pixels. In short, if you’re looking for a good-quality compact tablet for digital drawing, you won’t find a better option. Matthew also reviewed this one, writing: “It’s powerful enough to handle pretty advanced creative work, yet fits in a coat pocket,” which is just what some on-the-go artists need.
Apple gave the basic iPad a refresh in 2022, upgrading the chipset for better hardware for better performance and adding an improved rear camera. Much like the more expensive iPad models, this tablet includes True Tone support, which is Apple’s technology that adjusts colour balance depending on the quality of light in the room. Battery life is generally pretty good, and the new A14 chip provides a small but noticeable speed boost in operation. Whilst this slightly older model doesn’t sport the shiny new M2 chip, the M1 still packs a punch and can easily handle intense creative programmes.
In our iPad Pro 12.9-inch (M1, 2021) review our writer goes into more detail, and summerises by explaining how this tablet, “offers one of the best screens ever made, and as much power as a desktop PC. In personally prefer the larger screen for artwork, but accessories like the Astropad Slate can be used to expand the drawing area.
Our expert review: Average Amazon review: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Specifications Stylus support: Apple Pencil 2 / Apple Pencil Screen size: 12.9-inch Resolution: 2732×2048 pixels Weight: 641 g Dimensions: 280.6 x 214.9 mm OS: up to iPadOS 17 CPU: A12Z Bionic chip Storage: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB Rear cameras: 12MP, 10MP, TOF 3D LiDAR Front camera: 7MP, 1080p video Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon Reasons to buy + Still powerful and fast for most art apps + Can use Apple Pencil 2 + Display remains excellent Reasons to avoid – You may need to buy refurbished – Cameras feel dated At the time it felt a little underwhelming but in hindsight it’s a solid release that remains a powerful and fast tablet.
It’s lack of ambition on release actually ensures its a competent device in 2023 because Apple needed to get as much out of its A12Z Bionic chip as possible. The only thing to be careful of is the price, don’t pay over the odds, which means you may need to buy refurbished, is so, I’d recommend buying from Apple directly as they offer the same one-year warranty as a brand-new iPads, a new battery and outer shell and all the manuals. Ultimately, the best iPad for drawing is going to depend on the individual needs of the artist, and there’s no objectively right or wrong answer. As a rule, I either find the 11 or 12.9-inch displays ideal, so if you’re going to get a basic iPad the 10.9-inch model is preferred to the 10.2-inch, which is just a little small.
Processing power: Newer (and more expensive) iPads have faster processors, and are capable of handling more complex tasks without stutter or slowdown. Drawing is not the most intensive task that an iPad can perform, so this may well not be a factor – however, if you are working with super-high resolution files, then it’s going to be very important that your tablet can load and display them correctly.
If price is an issue, I’d recommend the older iPad Pro 12.9 inch (2020), which lacks the new M-chips but regardless is a solid tablet with a large display, runs the new iPadOS and supports Apple Pencil 2.
My personal favourites are the Astropad Slate, a large drawing stand that the iPad sits into to give it a larger work area, and secondly is Rock, Paper, Pencil (also from Astropad), this textured display cover offers a paper-like feel, protects your iPad screen and comes with hard-wearing Apple Pencil 2 nibs.
I’d suggest at least 128GB of storage, which means you can create large high-res files and ensures all apps can be used, from Procreate to Illustrator and ArtRage. The best pen displays, like the Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13, are close to iPad in that they can run software natively.
Best iPad for artists 2023
Sure, any iPad is great for watching your favorite streaming content, sending emails, reading books, and surfing the web. Depending on what sort of art you create, an iPad might even be a better choice than the best MacBook, since it’s so portable and has a highly responsive touch screen that works beautifully with the Apple Pencil.
Our team of Apple experts have years of experience testing all kinds of tech and gadgets, so you can be sure our recommendations and criticisms are accurate and helpful. It’s the most powerful tablet Apple has made so far, offering an even better display than before, M2 SoC, Face ID support, and plenty more.
The iPad Pro’s 12.9-inch display is a great canvas size for your art, whether you’re sketching, painting, or editing photos — all while still letting you be mobile. In our iMore review, we noticed that the Liquid Retina XDR display in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro offers incredible color accuracy and shows off HDR images and video in all of their glory.
That’s particularly useful when working with the Apple Pencil, as it means your strokes appear on the screen near-instantly, just like if you were using a real piece of paper. The 2022 iPad Pro works beautifully with the second-generation Apple Pencil when it comes to digital sketching, painting, and other artistic projects.
The second-generation Apple Pencil will recognize things like tilt and any pressure applied to the tip, also supporting palm rejection. It also has a small gesture area on its flat side, so you can double-tap to switch between your two most recent tools quickly. If you’re seeking an iPad as a supplement to your Mac rather than as a primary artistic tool, a smaller size might suit your needs better. The 11-inch 2022 iPad Pro is, predictably, similar to its larger counterpart, but we’ve split them into two entires as the size and display make them a bit different.
The 11-inch sticks with a regular Liquid Retina display, so the larger model offers slightly better quality when it comes to HDR content, vibrant hues, and deeper blacks. Both offer the same 10-hour battery life, cameras with Center Stage support, and the same iPadOS experience.
In an ideal world, we’d go with the bigger screen but if portability is important to you, this remains an excellent and powerful choice. When we reviewed the iPad Air 5, we found the 10.9-inch screen to be a good size for drawing and painting, while also being appropriate for photo editing. It remains a powerful processor that ensures the iPad Air 5 is extremely responsive and speedy, no matter what you’re using it for. That means you gain a display of better overall quality than a non-laminated one, with better images and a more vibrant range of colors.
4. iPad mini 6 (2021) The best compact iPad for creating on the move Our expert review: Today’s Best Deals View at Target View at Target Check Amazon Reasons to buy + New 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display + Apple Pencil 2 and Apple Pencil USB-C support + Up to 256GB storage + A15 Bionic + Better cameras with Center Stage Reasons to avoid – More expensive than previous iteration – Only starts at 64GB That means flat edges, smaller bezels surrounding the delightful 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, USB-C charging, and no more Home button.
The volume buttons have moved because the iPad mini 6 now supports the Apple Pencil 2, with the stylus magnetically attaching to the right side of the device.
Other new features include better cameras, now with Center Stage support for video calls, 5G connectivity on the cellular model, and the A15 Bionic chip that’s similar to that seen on the iPhone 13 lineup.
Perfect for travel while still allowing you plenty of flexibility with your sketches, the Apple iPad Mini 6 is the little tablet that truly could. It also has the A13 Bionic chip under the hood so it’s plenty powerful for basic drawing, sketching, along with watching videos, reading, writing, and other things.
The tablet offers a beautiful 10.2-inch LCD Retina display with incredibly sharp and detailed graphics and text. The big, beautiful Liquid Retina XDR display is not only the largest but also the most advanced in Apple’s lineup. It has the important features you’ll want, such as tilt and pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, double-tap to change tools, and Apple Pencil hover.
iPad Pro
Watch apps and widgets expand on the Home Screen as you move over them.
Which iPad Is Best for Drawing and Digital Art? (Beginner to Pro)
The reason for this is that we are used to controlling the thickness and darkness of the lines by adjusting the pressure of the pencil. Even if you use a stylus, its rubber tip only replaces the finger, without providing any information about pressure. The line drawn with a pen is not only less wobbly (a good stylus will help you with this kind of control), but it also has a variable thickness. The term “graphics tablet” usually refers to a special pad or a screen that you connect to a computer.
This is XP-PEN Artist Pro 16TP, an example of a screen graphics tablet that you connect to a computer. But can an iPad, which is a general-purpose tablet, be as good for drawing as the devices designed specifically for art?
The surface of a graphics tablet is designed to recognize the signals from the pen and learn how strongly you press it. That’s why you can’t just take a pen from a graphics tablet and start using it on any touch-screen device—these two have to work in tandem.
It’s a special stylus, designed to look and feel like a real pencil, that only works with iPads released since 2015. The Apple Pencil also offers tilt sensitivity—which means that you can draw “with the side of the nib” to produce wider strokes (depending on the settings of the brush). In the past, tablet pens were often heavy and unwieldy because they had a cell battery inside. Today, most of them are battery-free, which means they don’t even need to be charged—they get their power from the contact with the surface of the tablet.
The 2nd generation Apple Pencil also offers one extra feature: it has an invisible button that you can double tap to quickly switch between the current tool and an eraser, switch between the current tool and the last used one, or show the color palette (as long as the app supports it). That’s why iPads have a functionality called palm rejection, which turns off the touch detection when you use the Pencil. This functionality is offered in all iPads supporting the Apple Pencil, but it may work more or less successfully depending on the app. To ensure any accidental strokes never happen, you can do two things: turn off touch detection in the app, or use a two-fingered drawing glove.
When you hover your pen over the surface of a graphics tablet, you can see the outline of the brush, so you can adjust its size before touching the screen. Many users don’t consider it a deal breaker, but it’s worth knowing that this extra artist-oriented feature is available in some models. In the world of traditional graphics tablets, you can choose from many sizes: from a modest 13″ to something as huge as 32″. That being said, you can be pretty happy with something as small as an iPad Mini, if your drawing process is based mostly on sketching.
When it comes to digital art creation, the quality of the display is probably just as important as pressure sensitivity. What matters is the relationship between the resolution and the size of the screen—1920 x 1080 looks crisp on a mobile phone screen, but not so much on a 50″ TV. Tech companies usually try to outdo their previous models when introducing a new product, increasing the resolution more and more. They decided that the human eye loses the capability to recognize the individual pixels (at a normal viewing distance) at a certain PPI.
In any case, the iPad Mini is the only model where you can expect a slightly sharper image quality. Most internet media is standardized for it, so if you use sRGB when creating your artwork, you can be fairly sure that others will see similar colors on their screens. Here’s the kicker: while the P3 screen may look better to you, your image is likely to be converted to sRGB when you share it online—so even people using the same iPad as you may not see what you saw during creation. The extra colors may make the iPad display look better during general activities, but it’s not as important for creating art as it might seem
Depending on the screen technology used, the black may be darker or less dark, and the white brighter or less bright. On newer models, you’ll find it called Liquid Retina, which refers to the rounded corners of the screen, but that doesn’t change much in terms of image quality.
The highest models, such as the iPad Pro 12.9 5th-6th generation, bring quite a big improvement—they sport a Liquid Retina XDR display with a superb level of contrast (1,000,000:1, which is supposed to make it look close to an OLED display). This can make the image look amazing, but you still need to keep in mind that after sharing your work online, most people will not see it the same way you did.
It refers to the adaptive refresh rate, and while it may make everything look smoother, it doesn’t affect the image quality or the objective speed of your work. It will make the nib wear out faster and will introduce a bit of noise into the image quality—but it can be an acceptable trade-off if your precision benefits from that. Reducing the glare of the screen can also count as a beneficial side effect of a matte protector. While they don’t affect the image quality, they make the iPad look worn-out when the screen is off
Luckily, none of the iPads have a problem with this—the parallax is not noticeable at all, so you’re going to feel as if you’re drawing directly on the screen! Generally speaking, the more powerful the iPad, the smoother and more pleasant the drawing experience. RAM, roughly speaking, defines how much information the iPad can work with at one moment. That’s why apps like Procreate set a hard lock on the number of layers you can have in your file, depending on its resolution. The faster and more powerful the CPU, the quicker and smoother the iPad is at executing tasks. There’s also the graphics processing unit (GPU), which takes care of the visual side of the tasks. If you don’t want to experience lags and instability, choose an iPad with a more powerful chip. Disk storage is another thing that could be upgraded according to your needs if you used a traditional graphics tablet connected to a computer.
Smaller storage won’t affect your workflow, as long as you remember to manage the older files regularly. High-resolution, multi-layered files can be pretty big, so make sure you have a place to store them—either on the iPad or somewhere else. And using drawing apps is certainly a pretty demanding task for the hardware, so you can expect it to drain the battery very fast (especially since 100% brightness is often necessary to see the colors correctly). Generally, Apple aims for ten hours of web browsing/video playback on each of the iPads, and the battery quality is simply adjusted to reach that goal.
Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular digital art programs, but it’s only accessible to you in its full power on desktop. But this isn’t really a problem because the iPad has its own apps, designed to work best within the limitations of its hardware. You can also find a growing number of brushes available online that have been created for Procreate and its specific capabilities. You can use them to create art in a minimalist style or to introduce more texture to your detailed artwork.
Digital painting can be overwhelming at times, but nobody said that you can’t use your iPad to create… pencil drawings! This set will help you produce beautiful sketches, whether for standalone artworks or as a base for a future painting.
There’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to things like this—all drawing apps offer similar functions, but they all have their own unique approach. It has a more accessible interface (all the important tools stay on the screen at all times, without covering too much space). If you want extra features (like clipping masks or a handy photo reference window), you can get them as a one-time payment (currently about $2). It welcomes you with a short tutorial to give you a quick overview of the features, and then you can just start drawing! The app is free, but there’s an ad displayed on top, which takes up a bit of space and can be distracting. You can remove the ads with a one-time payment of about $10, and a subscription of $2.99/month gives you a few extra features (like new filters, materials, and cloud access).
The tools are labeled, which makes the interface of ibisPaint X look less minimalist, but it can be very helpful for beginners. It allows you to use poseable 3D models for reference, and there are lots of assets (brushes, materials, patterns, and swatches) that you can get directly from a dedicated store.
If you’re used to the versatility of Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint will give you the experience you’re more familiar with.
You can also customize the interface—for example, make the layers panel stay on top, in any area of the screen you need! To test the app, you can download it and use it for free—but just like with CSP, you won’t be able to save your file. Its watercolor brushes, for example, create splashes of colors that keep flowing and bleeding into each other, even after you pick up the pen.
The colors mix naturally, like real pigments, so if you’re used to working with traditional media, this app may be more convenient for you than the others. If you have a Creative Cloud subscription, it’s likely that Fresco is already part of it—you just need to log in with your Adobe ID credentials.
Infinite Painter can be downloaded and used for free, but most of its tools (other than the most basic ones) are then locked behind the paywall.
All the iPads supporting the Apple Pencil are good for drawing, so as a beginner, you can choose any model from our list. As with any shortcut, it doesn’t capture the whole picture, so you should still compare the other specifications to see if the chosen model is a good fit for you. If you’re looking for a cheap iPad for Procreate, just find the cheapest used/refurbished model from this list, and you’ll be fine!
If you’re more interested in efficiency, check out the answer to the question “What is the best iPad for digital art?” As mentioned before, RAM directly correlates to the number of layers accessible in Procreate, so this (along with the chipset) should be the most important metric for you.
You’re going to improve faster by buying an older iPad and starting to draw right away than by waiting until you can afford one of the high-end models. All Apple products are good at what they’re designed for—just because new models keep appearing on the horizon, it doesn’t mean the older ones suddenly lose their capabilities.
As an owner of a 27″ Wacom Cintiq, I find my iPad just as capable when it comes to digital art, and I think that says a lot. One extra fun fact: it was created in Sketchbook, not Procreate—just to fight the popular assumption that you need Procreate to produce good digital art!
I know that when it comes to buying a new device, especially one as expensive as an Apple product, making the choice can be very stressful.
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