When comparing Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs Wacom Cintiq 13HD, the Slant community recommends Wacom Cintiq 13HD for most people. In the question“What are the best graphics tablets?” Wacom Cintiq 13HD is ranked 1st while Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is ranked 2nd. The most important reason people chose Wacom Cintiq 13HD is:
The Cintiq 13HD's 16.7m color screen is capable of rendering vivid life-like images. This combines with an excellent resolution of 1920 x 1080 to make it a tool more than capable of handling the delicate and precise needs of illustrative work.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great pen support
The (included) Surface Pen has a very interesting set of features - it allows for 1024 points of pressure, has an eraser on top, and when you click the eraser it will open Cortana (Microsoft's new voice assistant). It's magnetized, so it will stick to the left side of the Surface. The Surface achieves all of this via its new N-trig technology (replacing the Wacom technology found in older generation models). There's also palm rejection technology, so whenever the pen tip it close to the screen is will ignore all finger or palm touches.
Pro Laptop-level specs
The Surface Pro 4 comes in configurations from core M up to a core i7. RAM starts at 4GB, and goes to 16GB. Storage caps out at 256GB of SSD storage, which should be enough for most users. These are all specs that can be found in most laptops - even beating out some budget-midrange desktop options.
Pro Good expandability options
The Surface has a USB 3.0 port that can be used for a mouse to be plugged in, or you can plug in a USB hub or Microsoft's own Surface Dock, which has 4 USB 3.0 ports, audio output, Gigabit Ethernet, and two HD video ports. The Surface Dock allows for as much expandability (or more) as most laptops out there. There's also a SD card slot if you need more storage (current SD card sizes range up to 200GB, although this won't be as fast as the internal SSD speeds).
Pro Great graphics for illustrations and artwork
The Cintiq 13HD's 16.7m color screen is capable of rendering vivid life-like images. This combines with an excellent resolution of 1920 x 1080 to make it a tool more than capable of handling the delicate and precise needs of illustrative work.
Pro Suitable for precision work
This device's screen has 2048 levels of pressure and tilt sensitivity. The device comes with a tilt stand that snaps on to the back and gives you three different angles to work with. This makes precision work, on the smallest details, easy. The Cintiq 13HD is easy to use and intuitive. Its pen feels comfortable and using it is fluid. The 10 different nibs provided allow for a greater range of brush settings, along with colored rings to be able to customize your pen and differentiate it from everyone at work.
Pro Customizable shortcut keys
The Cintiq 13HD has the EasyKey feature located on the side of the tablet. It is a 9 key remote that can be customizable to whatever shortcuts you need so that working is made a lot faster.
Pro Adjustable stand for comfortable use
The Cintiq 13HD's adjustable stand makes it easy to find the best angle for working. Both the inclination angle and height are alterable, so users can position the device in the most comfortable way possible.
Pro Supports connection to a wide variety of different platforms
It's prepared to connect to all the standard primary platforms and to most computers. It's equipped with USB 2.0 and HDMI ports. It also supports DVI, VGA, and DisplayPort, if additional adapters are purchased.
Its cable divides into three separate slots; a charger, a USB port and a HDMI. This makes it easier to work with as you do not have to bother about the various wires dangling from your device.
Pro Draw and erase as you go, before transferring to computer
The Cintiq 13HD has screen feedback is built in. That makes it an even more pleasurable experience because you can actually see everything you draw and erase it if you aren't too pleased with it before transferring it to your computer files.
Cons
Con Expensive
You can find a computer with similar specs for about half the price of the Surface Pro 4. You are paying a premium for the high-end build quality, for the engineering required to manufacture a fully portable computer, as well as for the high resolution touchscreen.
Con Lack of touch-focused apps
Windows has traditionally been a mouse-and-keyboard operating system. Finally, third party apps are starting to become more touch friendly, although it's a long, slow process. The Windows Store still lacks many big titles, which means the only option is to download the regular Windows version of most apps, which are rarely touch-friendly.
Con Can't be used on the go
The Wacom Cintiq 13HD is essentially an input screen. It will not work without connecting it to a computer and some sort of power source. This makes it really hard to use on the go and so other graphic tablets may be preferred.
Con Power cable is problematic and limits portability
Since the Cintiq 13HD is a display, not a true tablet, it does not come with an internal battery. During use, it needs to be hooked up to a power source, which is a portability limitation.
Your hand, additionally, ends up resting on the cable when drawing on that side of the screen. This may cause damage to the pins and will be a problem in the long run. Perhaps if they moved the port to the side with the EasyKeys or maybe widened the edge it would be less of a worry.
Con Stand can only be adjusted to fixed angles
This device's stand angle adjustment is not continuous, meaning users can only adjust it to fixed angles. This limits positioning and users may find this annoying: it's impossible to give it just a slight tweak of a few degrees to make it more comfortable.
Con Too few EasyKeys
Some users may find that the amount of EasyKeys is low, and that it would be useful to have some more, to avoid frequent keyboard reaching. However, this can easily be fixed by using multiple key functions.
Con Rubber stand is of low quality
The rubber stand provided feels cheap. It ends up snapping on with a very deceitful snap, as if something inside it broke, and tends to slip off on the greater angle. For the price this device costs, Wacom could've included something that was more sturdy and with better quality rubber.
Con Lagging issues on macOS
The Cintiq 13HD has a bit of a problem working on macOS. It begins lagging and, because of this, the experience isn't as fluid as it is on Windows.