Our Verdict
With the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K, Huion is making it clearer than ever that the graphics tablet market has premium options outside of its largest rival, Wacom. The large size and immense weight of this drawing tablet might put off some entry-level consumers, but for those who will appreciate the additional real estate, this 24-inch 4K display tablet has some incredible benefits.
For
- High-quality 4K drawing surface
- Multiple connection options are available
- Great color support (100% sRGB, 95% Adobe RGB)
Against
- Extremely heavy for a display tablet
- The included stand is restrictive
Why you can trust Creative Bloq
The Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K is the latest addition to the Huion family of drawing tablets, joining two existing devices within the Huion 24 family of products, the 24 Plus and the 24 Pro.
While Huion have traditionally occupied a market position for being a budget-friendly alternative to it’s more premium rival Wacom, a few product releases over the last few months have elevated it’s status to an almost equal playing field in terms of quality vs affordability. The Kamvas 24 Pro 4K is one such product, and despite being notably more expensive than previous products in the Huion 24 product family, it manages to finely balance having a good selection of features at a reasonable price.
As the name might suggest, you’re getting just under 24-inches (23.8 to be exact) of 4K display, with an assortment of accessories and cables, such as the Huion KD100 KeyDial, a branded drawing glove, the Huion PW517 stylus pen and pen stand containing an assortment of nibs, and cables to connect the graphics tablet to your computer or laptop device as you see fit.
If this isn’t what you’re looking for, be sure to check out our guide to the best tablets with a stylus pen, or our overall guide to the best drawing tablets where we cover the best graphics tablets you can buy for every budget, display style and size.
Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K: price and availability
As mentioned, Huion usually covers the budget-end of the graphics tablet market, offering more affordable alternatives to premium Wacom products. But this doesn’t mean that the available offerings are of a poor quality, which is why Huion has gained a cult following over the last few years.
This fairly recent popularity is likely why the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K could be considered the brands first truly ‘premium’ display tablet, priced at $1,299 / £1,200, making it a great deal more expensive than the existing Huion Kamvas 24 Series, ranging from $799 / £799 for a 24 and $899 / £899 for a 24 Plus.
While the difference between these products is fairly steep, the Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K is still a great deal cheaper than its main rival, the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24. The Cintiq Pro 24 is priced at $1999 / £1900 and also provides an almost-4K display with a separate, removable control centre, though there are differences between the two that could sway you to splash that extra cash that we will cover a bit further on.
For folks who just want a large, premium graphics drawing tablet though, the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K feels fairly priced for what you get and is readily available both directly through the Huion website, or via Amazon.
Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K: features
Screen size: 23.8 inch
Screen Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (4K)
Dimensions: 589.2 x 364 x 22.7mm
Screen Technology: LCD (IPS)
Colour Gamut: 98% NTSC, 140% sRGB
Pen: Huion PW517 (PenTech 3.0)
Pressure Levels: 8,192
Weight: 6.3 kg
Ports: HDMI, Display Port, USB-C, DC, USB-A 2.0 x 2, 3.5mm headphone jack
Outside of its immense size, there’s a clear reason why people would want to opt for the more expensive Kamvas Pro 4K over other products within the Kamvas 24 family. While you can find comparatively sized drawing tablets, that 4K display ensure that you don’t get excessive pixilation while working on your projects in applications like Adobe Photoshop, making this a great choice for anyone working on large, high-definition file sizes, such as photographers.
Illustrators and graphic designers will also see the benefit of that beefed up resolution, especially when paired with the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K’s 140% sRGB coverage and 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity and 60° tilt support. Lines are smooth with a nice gradient, though people used to a Cintiq’s sensitivity may need additional time to adjust to the Kamvas’ tendency to get a little skinny towards the end of a stroke.
The Huion PW517 pen comes included and uses Electromagnetic Resonance for power, which is a real step up from older Huion pens that required charging. It’s thinner than a standard (non-slim) Wacom stylus and certainly doesn’t feel as high-quality, but unless you’ve used Wacom devices before you’re unlikely to judge the PW517 as a poor product.
In fact, it’s a delight to use and may benefit artists as it feels lighter than a Wacom stylus, with a smooth rubber grip and two tactile buttons located on the side that act as your mouse right/left click buttons (unless you macro to a different keybind) and comes with a lightweight donut-shaped pen stand that contains a decent amount of replacement nibs.
Huion has developed felt-style nibs that emulate the experience of drawing with a marker pen, and this is especially pleasant to use against the surface of the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K. As with other graphics tablet styluses, you can use the PW517 exactly as you would a mouse, with the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K detecting it from around 10mm away. The performance is incredibly smooth with no visible lag or jittering.
Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K: design
Where the Huion 24 and 24 Plus required users to invest separately in the Huion KD100 Mini Keydial if you wanted macro buttons, the Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K actually comes bundled with one in the box. None of the tablets in the Kamvas 24 family comes with built-in keys, so the KD100 is especially useful for allocating controls like a canvas zoom or switching between different brushes, combining a dial with eighteen programmable buttons.
You can map what controls you want to set via Huion's tablet software, and while it isn’t the best feeling macropad in the world, it’s lightweight and pleasantly clicky. This would be a benefit if you needed to carry your tablet and accessories for working in remote locations, but it’s so light that it’s prone to being knocked off of your working space with ease, and the sheer weight and size of the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K means you’re unlikely to want to move it from a set location.
The build of the Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K is incredibly solid, with smaller than expected bezels. You can mount it onto most standard monitor arms or stands suitable for a 24-inch display, which you may feel inclined to do as the only stand built into the tablet itself comes in the form of fold-out rubberized legs that position the display at a slight angle.
You’d also want to invest in a sturdy monitor arm, if you were looking to mount it, as weighing in at 6.3KG this is far from a lightweight device and could be prone to sagging on less-capable stands. As mentioned, this immense weight also means you’ll have to think twice about moving it around your home, so consider a fixed place for the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K to live in your home if you’re looking to purchase one.
Optionally, there's the Dual Monitor Arm ST420 from Huion if you wanted to keep everything within the same brand family. This dual-monitor arm can support up to 9KG in weight and costs $199, but only seems to be available on the US website. For UK-based consumers, there's the Single Monitor Arm ST410 that can support up to 8KG for £109.99
As default, the device comes with an anti-glare matte film to help when working in brighter environments that also helps to give the surface a slight grip. This isn’t as textured as a paper-like grain, but it does offset the feeling of drawing directly onto a glass surface.
Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K: performance
The surface itself is laminated so there’s no parallax. There’s no gap between the pen nib and the lines you’re producing so drawing feels very natural and looks as though your pen lines are appearing directly underneath the nib.
We tried the Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K across a range of applications including Adobe Photoshop (for both photo editing and digital illustration), Microsoft Paint and Blender for 3D sculpting and found very few issues. There is a tendency for the pen lines to flick out slightly when crosshatching, but this isn't particularly consistent or noticeable when working with a thinner brush.
The pen was very responsive across all applications with no noticeable delay or lag between the pen strokes, though there is a slight pen wobble when compared to the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24. We had the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K connected via HDMI to a Huawei Matebook laptop for our tests, though you can also use a Display Port or USB-C connection if your device supports it. All cables for connections are included in the box.
The Huion drivers and software is also pleasant to use and easy to install, more so than previous products. On Windows 10 and MacOS devices you can effectively plug-and-play if you're in a rush, though downloading the driver will allow you to correct any cursor misalignment and map the display if you do face any issues. The Kamvas 24 Pro 4K can also be used on devices that run older operating systems such as Windows 7, though if you're willing to drop this much on a graphics drawing tablet you may want to upgrade your other hardware for optimal results.
Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K: should you buy it?
There's very little bad criticism regarding this latest Huion flagship. In a straight head-to-head, Wacom has the advantage of a nicer stylus and better drivers that result in less pen wobble, but the Huion performs very well against it.
Seasoned industry professionals will likely see the advantage of sticking with Wacom for these slight advantages, but if you're looking to upgrade from a cheaper display tablet to your first 4K product then the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K is a fantastic option. It's far from cheap, but you do get what you pay for, and you'll make considerable savings against Wacom's rival offering that may sway you more in favor of Huion given it's relative affordability.
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out of 10
With the Kamvas 24 Pro 4K, Huion is making it clearer than ever that the graphics tablet market has premium options outside of its largest rival, Wacom. The large size and immense weight of this drawing tablet might put off some entry-level consumers, but for those who will appreciate the additional real estate, this 24-inch 4K display tablet has some incredible benefits.
Jess is TechRadar's computing writer, covering hardware, PC gaming and peripherals, though she can be found freelancing for creative tech like 3D printers and graphics drawing tablets. She also likes to dabble in digital art and can often be found playing games of both the PC and Tabletop variety, occasionally streaming on Twitch to the disappointment of everyone.