Kind of on this subject, I'll tell you something I've been dealing with: None of these Wacom UD stylii are durable enough for me. I've broken several S-pens, a Noris Digital, and that Kaweco Al-Star pen that costs over $100 that you have to import from Europe. The Al-Star uses the same cheap-plastic cylinder structure as the Noris Digital in the area where the nib comes out, which you can break easily if you side-shade too aggressively.
People like to diss the Apple Pencil for how expensive it is but I've lost way, way more money at this point on the UD styluses. I had one Apple Pencil actually crap out on me after ~2-3 years of use... no idea what happened but one day it stopped just stopped working altogether.
The thing that kills me the most about Samsung is they won't sell replacement nibs on their website. I did end up stockpiling my fair share of official nibs through the 4+ Galaxy Tab S-pens I've bought so far (they each come with like 2 nibs), but then my dumbass either loses them or they just get mixed up with all the other unofficial nibs I bought, and I can't tell which is which.
When I take a chance on some S-pen nibs on Amazon, it's actually a huge risk that never pays off because the internals of the S-pen are shockingly fragile in my experience. If you insert and start using something that isn't exactly right, you seriously run the risk of the pen's behavior being permanently altered not long after -- mainly by having unwanted inputs when the pen is just hovering above the screen but not making contact.
I need to see if there's another store that I can trust to sell official S-pen nibs. Amazon definitely is not it -- that site is full of illicit Samsung accessories.
Btw, the only "unofficial" nib that did alright with the S-pen are the Wacom One nibs, but now I'm too afraid to use those on my Tab S10+ because I'm worried they'll scratch the new coating this screen has which rather drastically reduces the glare. I already spotted a little hairline scratch on it that can only be seen under intense direct light, and can't be felt at all, but I was tripping over it. I got my hopes up that this was Gorilla Glass Armor, like on the S24 Ultra, but it sure AF is not, at least according to my last Google search, even though it has a very similar look.
Gotta get a screen protector before I can use the Wacom One nib again. The official clip-on one from Samsung actually worked really well for me on my Tab S9+, but when I tried to use the one for S9 Ultra on my S10 Ultra because they were ostensibly the same, the touch input was way too gimped even with the extra sensitivity turned on. This was literally within the 1st week of the S10 Ultra coming out and they hadn't released an "official" S10 Ultra one yet, but I think they're still the same... and I'm just so spoiled by magnetic screen protectors at this point I haven't been willing to look around for the traditional type yet.
I've not had wacom style pens break unless I drop the pen. I've had the nibs wear out on both samsung and apple pens. I'm curious if you can find the samsung nib online at samsungparts.com (this was linked on the samsung help forums/community).
Like Forged, I have never had any problems with the sturdiness of my Samsung pens, but I imagine this has to do with the drawing style each one has. I've been using them for the last 4 years in a daily basis and, so far, the only breaks I have had have been when they have fallen to the floor.
I always use felt nibs from Wacom (ACK22213), and the HP ZBook X2 replacement ones. I don't have compatibility issues with de ZBook's, but the Wacom's, I don't know why, don't work with my Samsung S-pen styluses because I get unwanted inputs when the pen is just hovering above the screen. The ZBook X2 nibs are currently impossible to get in Europe, and since I have few, I only use them on my S-Pens. And I use the Wacom's, which have been easily available so far in Europe, on the rest of the pens I own; the Wacom One 1st generation (DTC133), the Lamy AL Start, and the HP ZBook X2 ones.
I have also tried the Boox/Remarkable Marker tips (I cannot distinguish between them), which are black, as opposed to the Wacom and the ZBook felt nibs, which are a yellowish white. They work well, but they easily scratch the matte screen protector that I always use (not only to improve the drawing experience but also to protect the screen surface from accidental scratches). This is why I do not recommend them.
I'm thinking of picking up a Galaxy Book 360 for just this reason.
My daughter is finishing high school and looking to go into an art design program. We are debating between getting her a Surface Pro or a Galaxy Book, with the possible alternative being going with a more basic/cheap laptop and complementing that with an I Pad with the Apple Pencil.
Does the Wacom EMR superiority put the Galaxy Book 360 ahead, do you all think?
I'm still bummed that HP dropped the Wacom EMR ZBook line (bought a pen for one, and it was quite nice, but it got dropped, and only the eraser works...)
Yes, the Galaxy Book Pro screen is impossibly thin --- I double bag mine when traveling, but it's the only reasonable option other than a LincStudio (which I should buy, since they support Linux)
I'm assuming the hp zbook didn't sell well enough. Originally they sold for top dollar. Very expensive. I purchased a used laptop a few years later for only $1000. Sadly, it's relaly showing it's age now. Time for an upgrade.I really wish they made a new version! The hp zbook even has wacom-style drivers. It's really cool!
I purchased an open box Galaxy Book4 Pro 360 at best buy. Updated everything, and my first reaction to drawing was ... "Oh yeah, this is why I love wacom pens!". It really is simply better than the surface or ipad pen. However, if you are OK with a little line smoothing, you can get the surface and ipad pen to be very good.
But I hate line smoothing. I have extremely good control of real media (actual paper on pencil, for example), and I want my lines to behave exactly as I draw them. Mistakes and all. The wacom pencil does that. I love it :).
The screen is also huge. 16 inches. It FEELS like a laptop because of the size. I am likely to keep a small 7x10 sketchbook or my 13 inch ipad around for quick sketches. But the laptop is thin and lightweight. When you convert it into tablet mode it's very easy to draw with it on your lap like a big sketchbook. I also love the screen ratio of 16:10. It has good battery life and has been cool enough for me so far. Palm rejection while drawing has been great so far.
That said, there are several cons.
The pen button doesn't always work as expected (e.g., I want to make the button be right click or alt, depending on program). Samsung is dumb and doesn't really allow customization of the button. It normally activates the eraser or it opens air command (which I disabled).
Because of point 1, I plan to setup on screen buttons with "Tablet Pro Studio" (from the microsoft store). This works pretty well with customizable on-screen buttons and can be customized per application. This is primarily designed to be used with MPP devices because you can press on-screen buttons and draw at the same time. Sadly, you can't really do that with wacom pens. I plan to use it for a few key buttons, like "Tab" to hide application menus while drawing.... SO MUCH SPACE! :)
Because of points 1 & 2, I'm considering getting something like the Clip Studio Tabmate 2 to facilitate hitting "alt" for color picking. If you are familiar with digital painting, color picking within your image is extremely common. Or I'll have to manually select the eye dropper tool, select a color, and then select the brush tool. Slower, but still doable. I'll live with that if I have to. I think the pen technology is worth it.
Only 16gb of RAM. I plan on being very focused on what I do - I can't treat this laptop like my desktop. My desktop has hundreds of opens tabs (ugh). On my laptop I plan on having as few as possible - no saving old tabs. I already had a "low memory warning" when painting with Rebelle 7 Pro (admittedly a very demanding art program). I plan on reducing the amount of "undo" steps available. I also plan on keeping background tasks to a bare minimum and when I paint.
I haven't tried games yet, but this is NOT that powerful. Great for art and work tasks, not for gaming. I don't plan to edit videos on it.
It's going to be perfect for drawing, working on text documents, updating my website, etc.
I'm not sure I can share links here, but just to give some context to my drawing/art perspectives... this is a timelapse of a painting I did in Rebelle on my desktop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yoMKHW8EWU
I would fight you, but I agree. Mostly. As an artist, it saddens me that Wacom discontinued their only pen that had a barrel roll functionality, while Apple Pencil Pro now has it. For some of the types of art I do, I really like the idea of barrel roll. IDK how it will work in practice though on the Apple Pencil and how developers have and will implement it. I'm not currently willing to pay the upgrade price to get it. But maybe in a few years I can get a used M4 IPP and try it.
Well, when I first used Wacom back in circa 2000, I wasn't a fan. When I was researching between drawing tablets in 2019 I tried several in store units of Samsung, Apple, MS, etc, and I went with the iPad Pro because I liked it better than the Android implementation of the SPen. That's not to say that SPen isn't actually better, but that at the time, the Android tablets didn't feel better to draw on. I also do like the larger size of the Apple Pencil though for drawing. SPens feel chincy. That being said, especially when I have a screen protector applied, I do get some weird wobbles from time to time with my Apple Pencil that Wacom tends not to have.
I should have specified note-taking, not drawing. I have no opinion on the latter since I've always been just a dabbler. Really hate the Pencil for writing. Never liked that shape, ever since first grade. Too long and awkward and slippery. When I was a kid I would always grind pencils down a lot until they felt better.
Kind of on this subject, I'll tell you something I've been dealing with: None of these Wacom UD stylii are durable enough for me. I've broken several S-pens, a Noris Digital, and that Kaweco Al-Star pen that costs over $100 that you have to import from Europe. The Al-Star uses the same cheap-plastic cylinder structure as the Noris Digital in the area where the nib comes out, which you can break easily if you side-shade too aggressively.
People like to diss the Apple Pencil for how expensive it is but I've lost way, way more money at this point on the UD styluses. I had one Apple Pencil actually crap out on me after ~2-3 years of use... no idea what happened but one day it stopped just stopped working altogether.
The thing that kills me the most about Samsung is they won't sell replacement nibs on their website. I did end up stockpiling my fair share of official nibs through the 4+ Galaxy Tab S-pens I've bought so far (they each come with like 2 nibs), but then my dumbass either loses them or they just get mixed up with all the other unofficial nibs I bought, and I can't tell which is which.
When I take a chance on some S-pen nibs on Amazon, it's actually a huge risk that never pays off because the internals of the S-pen are shockingly fragile in my experience. If you insert and start using something that isn't exactly right, you seriously run the risk of the pen's behavior being permanently altered not long after -- mainly by having unwanted inputs when the pen is just hovering above the screen but not making contact.
I need to see if there's another store that I can trust to sell official S-pen nibs. Amazon definitely is not it -- that site is full of illicit Samsung accessories.
Btw, the only "unofficial" nib that did alright with the S-pen are the Wacom One nibs, but now I'm too afraid to use those on my Tab S10+ because I'm worried they'll scratch the new coating this screen has which rather drastically reduces the glare. I already spotted a little hairline scratch on it that can only be seen under intense direct light, and can't be felt at all, but I was tripping over it. I got my hopes up that this was Gorilla Glass Armor, like on the S24 Ultra, but it sure AF is not, at least according to my last Google search, even though it has a very similar look.
Gotta get a screen protector before I can use the Wacom One nib again. The official clip-on one from Samsung actually worked really well for me on my Tab S9+, but when I tried to use the one for S9 Ultra on my S10 Ultra because they were ostensibly the same, the touch input was way too gimped even with the extra sensitivity turned on. This was literally within the 1st week of the S10 Ultra coming out and they hadn't released an "official" S10 Ultra one yet, but I think they're still the same... and I'm just so spoiled by magnetic screen protectors at this point I haven't been willing to look around for the traditional type yet.
I'm thinking of picking up a Galaxy Book 360 for just this reason.
My daughter is finishing high school and looking to go into an art design program. We are debating between getting her a Surface Pro or a Galaxy Book, with the possible alternative being going with a more basic/cheap laptop and complementing that with an I Pad with the Apple Pencil.
Does the Wacom EMR superiority put the Galaxy Book 360 ahead, do you all think?
Fight!
Preach!
I would fight you, but I agree. Mostly. As an artist, it saddens me that Wacom discontinued their only pen that had a barrel roll functionality, while Apple Pencil Pro now has it. For some of the types of art I do, I really like the idea of barrel roll. IDK how it will work in practice though on the Apple Pencil and how developers have and will implement it. I'm not currently willing to pay the upgrade price to get it. But maybe in a few years I can get a used M4 IPP and try it.