Two minute evaluate

What’s the Wacom One 13 Contact? This inexpensive drawing pill, launched by Wacom alongside a extra compact Wacom One 12 and a pair of screen-free Wacom One pen tablets, provides a small improve to the 2020 Wacom One – and will make an important starter drawing pill for an early-career artistic.

Sure, that’s a number of Wacom One’s floating round, however for those who’re after the perfect of the bunch, the Wacom One 13 Contact is the ‘One’ you’re after.

In comparison with the earlier mannequin, the 13 Contact provides a extra compact form and type issue – using the identical show and drawing space, however with much less wasted actual property across the display. Which means despite the fact that this can be a 13.3-inch show, it’s nonetheless comparatively simple to carry in your lap, at the very least for brief drawing classes.

The opposite most important improve is an optionally available touchscreen. Slightly than merely counting on a pen to navigate the pill, you can even use numerous gestures (10 complete) to scroll, pan, and zoom in the course of the artistic course of. What’s even higher is you could flip off this performance with a builtthere are-in toggle, in case you discover the added contact sensitivity distracting. 

A rise in brightness and distinction, too, means there’s sufficient purpose to improve from the older mannequin, even when the stylus provides the identical 4,096 stress ranges as earlier than.

Compact, easy, and with touch-sensitive gestures baked in, there’s loads of causes to offer the Wacom 13 Contact a glance.

Wacom One 13 Contact evaluate: Worth and availability

•  Record worth: $579.95 / £579.99 / AU$999.00 

The Wacom One 13 Contact retails for $579.95 / £579.99 / AU$999.00. So it’s about 50% dearer than the earlier Wacom One, or the smaller Wacom One 12 – each of which retail for round $399.95 / £399.99 / AU$699.99 and ship with out touchscreen performance. Because the flagship mannequin in a funds vary, it begins to encroach on mid-tier fashions, however continues to be a discount in comparison with the $1599 / £1,399 Wacom Cintiq Professional 16.

Nevertheless, it’s additionally doable to get a bigger drawing pill, just like the XPPen Artist 15.6 Professional, for much less money – alongside a extra pressure-sensitive stylus. In order that’s one thing to remember for those who’re buying round for probably the greatest drawing tablets. 

Wacom One 13 Contact evaluate: specs

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Wacom One 13 Contact evaluate: design

•  Slimmed-down casing and decreased weight 
•  Glass display and multi-touch toggle 
•  No kickstand 

The Wacom One 13 Contact appears and feels nice to carry, with the satisfaction of understanding it’s made with out petroleum-based plastics. 

In contrast to the earlier Wacom One, there’s no built-in kickstand, so that you’ll have to determine a special leaning resolution your self, or purchase a separate stand – however for individuals who want to carry a pill of their lap, or place it flat on a counter, you shouldn’t discover its absence.

The drawing space is 294 x 165 mm, the identical because the 2020 mannequin, however the outer casing of the pill has been effectively trimmed down – from 443 x 280 x 14.6mm to 336 x 222 x 12 mm – making the 13 Contact lighter, thinner, and extra moveable than its predecessor. There’s no kickstand within the newest mannequin, thoughts, which means you’ll doubtless need to put money into a separate stand or get used to dealing with the pill with out one – however for a slimmer profile and decreased weight, the trade-off could also be price it.

On the higher edge, you’ll discover two USB-C ports, with included cables. Nevertheless, you may join it on to your laptop computer with a single cable as a substitute of working two wires (one to the laptop computer, one to a separate energy supply) which helps maintain litter to a minimal. There’s additionally an influence button, a toggle for multi-touch functionality, a micro HDMI port, and a button for navigating show settings.

Wacom has ditched the plastic floor of the 2020 mannequin for a glass display, which provides it extra of a premium really feel even at this worth level, and total it’s laborious to inform this can be a funds purchase at a look – the display itself is smooth, whereas the white casing is inconspicuous and fewer vulnerable to fingerprints than a pricier metallic mannequin could be.

Wacom One 13 Contact evaluate: efficiency

•  Simple setup 
•  Improved, adjustable brightness 
•  Bigger finish for a Full HD display 

The Wacom One 13 Contact is fantastically easy to arrange. You need to ensure that to move to the Wacom web site and obtain the motive force related to your laptop’s working system, after which customise the stylus’ two buttons to your splendid specification, however then you have to be able to go.

The only USB-C connection is brilliantly easy, and it’s simple to regulate the show’s brightness and different image settings. This new mannequin provides a complete of 320 nits, in comparison with the 200 nits of the Wacom One (2020), which means there’s a significant uptick in luminance, correcting certainly one of our most important complaints in regards to the older mannequin. Photos are decently vivid and visual, and the distinction can also be up from 1000:1 to 2000:1, guaranteeing lights and darkish stand out clearly from one another, at the very least for a pill at this worth.

The Full HD decision is roughly what we’d anticipate for a funds vary, although it’s a disgrace to not see extra element on a 13-inch display – significantly lower than the 13-inch Macbook Air we’re scripting this on. Which means the Wacom One 13 Contact is enough for less complicated sketching, although could not have the pixel rely wanted for extra spectacular skilled commissions.

Wacom One 13 Contact evaluate: stylus

Wacom’s funds stylus is one thing of an achievement – a battery-free plastic pen that also provides 4,096 ranges of stress sensitivity and appears good doing it.

That latter level is right down to the customizable colorways you may select when shopping for from the Wacom web site – selecting the hue of the pen’s higher half, in addition to whether or not it comes with a small clasp to connect to a pocket. It’s additionally doable, in all pen fashions, to tie a skinny string or cable by way of the tip of the pen, which means you may tether it on to the sting of the pill and guarantee it by no means will get misplaced.

The stylus has two configurable buttons alongside its aspect, that are helpful for activating both the eraser operate, a secondary coloration, or navigating scroll and zoom choices in the course of the artistic course of. The pen comes with a pack of replaceable nibs, for when one begins to blunt after prolonged use.

It runs simply throughout the display, with the flexibility to tilt and apply extra stress for tougher markings; you’ll discover the distinction in comparison with a stylus that helps 8,00Zero stress ranges, however this ought to be sufficient for informal or early-career artists.

The stylus is easy, sure, and never improved over the 2020 mannequin that I can see, however is an easy entry level to the world of drawing pens with the added bonus of some coloration customization.

Ought to I purchase the Wacom One 13 Contact?

Purchase it if… 

You’re an early-career artistic
The Wacom One 13 Contact is easy, accessible, and straightforward to get began – with a sturdy display and succesful stylus. 

You wish to get interactive
The multi-touch functionality is the standout characteristic in comparison with different Wacom One fashions, letting you employ your palms to navigate the show alongside the stylus. 

Don’t purchase it if… 

You’ve the Wacom One already
The 13 Contact mannequin is an enchancment, however not essentially sufficient of a leap to warrant an improve from such a current iteration of the pill. 

You don’t want multi-touch
An enormous a part of the value tag is that touchscreen, so for those who’re glad with out it, you may need to take into account the smaller Wacom One 12 or a special pill vary altogether. 

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