Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) review: A must-have for creative professionals

Whether you create art for passion or to pay the bills, chances are you've considered buying or already own a graphics tablet. These devices aren't like regular old Android or iOS tabs because they need to be hooked up to a PC to work. In general, there are two types of graphics tablets, both of which always come with a stylus. You can either get one with a display or one without it.

Deciding on the right drawing tablet is a tough decision because there are so many of them out there and they all have vastly different price tags. Naturally, the ones without screens are usually dirt cheap. Either way, the biggest names in the world of graphics tablets with or without displays are Wacom, Huion, and XP-Pen.

The Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) is a graphics tablet that comes with a QLED display and sits in the upper mid-range of such devices. It is meant to be used by professionals in the creative industry and therefore meets industry standards such as the sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces.

I'm no pro, but I spent several weeks testing the device as a hobbyist to review the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) and assess its overall value as a product. To get a more complete understanding, I also sought the opinions of experts like graphic designers.

Price and availability

Huion launched the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) in late 2022. You can purchase the drawing accessory from major retailers like Amazon and Walmart. Alternatively, the tab is also sold on Huion's own website.

You can grab the 13.3-inch Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) for $399 from most places. There is a larger 15.6-inch variant of the graphics tablet that sells for a whopping $599.

What's great

Common sense dictates that I start this review off by talking about the display, seeing as the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) is a drawing tablet. But beyond what's sensible and what isn't, the display of this tablet deserves to be talked about because it is so darn good.

You get a gorgeous glare-free 13.3-inch screen with a QHD+ resolution and pleasingly accurate color reproduction. The screen outputs 16.7 million colors with 145% sRGB and 109% Adobe RGB color gamuts so you know exactly what you're working with. It has a high contrast ratio of 1200:1, which does wonders when working with gradients. All of these specs are necessary when working on projects at a professional level.

There are seven physical buttons on the left side of the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) tablet, all of which are customizable. The screen doesn't register touch, you can only interact with it using the included battery-less EMR pen. This is an absolute dream when sketching or drawing as you don't need to worry about palm rejection or any of that nonsense.

You need to calibrate the pen when you first set up the excellent drawing tablet from Huion. Thanks to its pressure sensitivity, the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) detects 8,192 pressure levels and tilting of the pen at an angle of up to 60 degrees. This helps the device to capture the exact weightiness, direction, and angle of your brush stroke the way you intended it.

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The pen itself is incredible, with two customizable buttons in the middle. It has a felt nib which feels really satisfying when it grazes against the tablet's screen. The drawing experience is very comfortable and you get beautifully natural strokes. I found the 13.3-inch display to be just the right size for working on all sorts of art projects, such as illustrations and freehand sketches.

Since you need to plug the Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) into a computer, you can also use it to convert handwritten words into digital text. I tried it with my Windows 11 handwriting keyboard, which was detected automatically once the Huion tablet was set up, and it worked like a charm. Even my squiggly cursive hand converted into text successfully. You can easily use this graphics tablet and stylus along with your regular setup and a mouse, without the need to reach out to your PC's keyboard or monitor.

The Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. Sadly, this doesn't include all Android phones, only the ones that have a tablet or PC mode like the DeX Mode on Samsung phones.

Huion gives all the cables, a compatible stylus, and a stand along with the graphics tablet itself. The lightweight stand is superb, feels very robust, and can be adjusted to hold up the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) at multiple angles. You even get a drawing glove in the box, which is considerate.

All in all, the Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) has anything and everything you need to paint and draw at a professional level, be it for illustrations or graphic design. As a casual artist, I still enjoyed the tablet thoroughly and had fun playing around with its extensive features. Digital artists will appreciate these things even more since they rely on them and in many cases, can't go on without them.

What could be better

Once you take a look at alternative products in this price range, you'll understand that it's hard to criticize the Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K). At $400, this drawing tablet might feel expensive at first. However, that's the general going rate for similar graphics tablets with screens. Still, I do wish it was just a little cheaper and sat closer to the $300 mark than what it currently costs.

Another sad downside to the 13.3-inch Huion tablet is that it is not compatible with Chromebooks. You can't use it with all phones either, which is such a shame. I really hope that Huion develops a companion app to expand support for smartphones and other mobile devices. Many Wacon tablets are compatible with Chromebooks and Android phones, so I see no reason why Huion should lag behind.

You may also find it troublesome to set up the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) unassisted the first time. I had to refer to the instruction leaflet several times to understand which cables go where, and in what combination of cables can be used. After you've successfully plugged everything in, managing all those cords will give you a headache.

Competition

Full-blown tabs like the iPad Pro or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 could serve as great alternatives to the Huion tablet since they don't need to be plugged into a PC at all times. However, those are very expensive and don't offer anywhere near the same levels of pressure sensitivity while drawing.

Instead, you can consider competing graphics tablets with screens such as the Wacom One HD. Wacom's 13.3-inch One HD tablet is $100 cheaper and it comes with lots of free software for digital artists, but it only features 4096 pressure sensitivity levels and doesn't have any programmable hotkeys.

The 15.4-inch Wacom Cintiq 16 has all the same features as the Wacom One HD as well as 8,192 pressure levels, but it also shares its disadvantages such as the lack of customizable buttons. Also, the Cintiq 16 is morbidly expensive since it costs $599. For exactly the same price, you can bag the larger 15.6-inch version of the Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) with seven customizable hotkeys to boot.

More affordable options include the 15.6-inch GAOMON PD156 PRO which comes with 10 hotkeys, and 8,192 pressure levels, as well as the 15.6-inch XP-Pen Innovator 16 which has eight hotkeys and 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity. The GAOMON PD156 PRO costs $359 whereas the XP-Pen Innovator 16 is priced at $370. Both drawing tablets are fantastic alternatives to the Huion tablet, but they don't support the same percentage of Adobe RGB color gamut.

Should you buy it?

You should buy it if...

• You need a professional graphics tablet that meets the industry standards
• You want a drawing tablet with a high-quality display
• You require high pressure sensitivity levels when sketching
• You want something that isn't too big or too small

You shouldn't buy it if...

• You're a hobbyist
• You don't have a big budget
• You're new to the digital art space

The 13.3-inch Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) isn't too big or too small; it's just the right size. Although it may seem expensive at first, one look at the competition will tell you that not many graphics tablets with displays cost this little to acquire. This rings especially true with drawing tablets of such high caliber.

You can't go wrong with the Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) if you're an intermediate or advanced artist. The pen is super comfy and it registers every angled stroke, down to the fineness of the etch. Professionals will enjoy using a device that makes their job of creating digital art and illustrations so effortless. The customizable hotkeys are great for streamlining your work process and the display's glare-free finish reduces eye strain.

If you are a beginner, I would recommend that you try your hand at a cheaper drawing tablet, preferably one without a display, before investing big bucks in the Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K). This isn't because the Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5K) isn't a fantastic product, but mainly because beginners don't need such an advanced drawing tablet. Get accustomed to the control and feel of an EMR stylus on a graphics slate first, then you be the judge of whether it's the ideal medium for you to express your art.