XPPen Deco Pro LW (Gen 2) Pen Tablet Review

In for review is the Deco Pro LW from XPPen. This is a pen tablet featuring the company’s latest 16K pressure level pen, remote and wireless capability at ₱8,899 PHP – for the LW model.

Specification wise, the Deco Pro LW in its second generation has a lot to say. It comes with again, a 16K pressure level pen which is basically the star of the show along with the wireless remote.

Disclosure: XPPen sent the Deco Pro LW for the purpose of this review. The company did not ask me to say anything particular about it.

Technical Specifications

Tablet
Size	16.5-inch (13-inch, work area)
Surface Treatment	Paper-like
Resolution	5080 LPI
Connectivity
Display Options‎	N/A
USB	USB 2.0 (Type-C)
Audio‎	N/A
Pen
Pressure Sensitivity	16384
Retraction Distance	0.3 mm
Tilt	60°
Type	Active
Dimensions
Length	333 mm
Width	258.1 mm
Height	10.66 mm
Weight	838 g

Packaging and Accessories

The Deco Pro LW comes in a low profile packaging, similar to that of the recent XPPen device we’ve tested.

Scope of delivery are as follows:

XPPen went all out as far as bundled accessories goes.

Design, Build and Connectivity

The Deco Pro LW appears to be a sleek pen tablet, complete with wrist support. Though the LW model comes in a 16.5-inch shell, the working area is just around 13 inches diagonally. Weight is under a kilogram so it is portable – provided you have the space to stow it.

The rear comes with six rubber pads to aid stability. Nothing else could be found here with the exception of certain certifications.

At the top lies the power/pairing button and the device switch. This area also houses the USB Type-C port for data and charging.

Now the pen (X3 Pro Stylus) is undoubtedly one of the most important part of the bundle. This is XPPen’s latest 16K pressure level model, featuring a new chip from the said company. It is an active pen, powered directly by the digitizer and comes with four buttons – including the tip itself. Three of these buttons are customizable via XPPen’s app. The pen also comes with a nice aluminum case complete with extra set of nibs, a nib puller and the Bluetooth dongle for the remote.

Speaking, the remote comes with a potentiometer, along with 10 customizable buttons. There are actually 11 buttons here but the one situated at the middle of the knob is dedicated to switch between profiles and or the function of the potentiometer itself. I.e., zoom, scroll or what have you. There is also a power switch for its wireless connectivity while we have a USB Type-C port for data and charging.

Overall, there’s nothing much to complain here aside from the smaller working area. Perhaps XPPen could do away with the silver under-chassis but that’s me just nitpicking.

Ergonomics

The XPPen Deco Pro LW is an easy tablet to work with. I like its pairing with my 14-inch notebook but it also works well with screens up to 27-inches. That is a stretch though since you will most likely prefer the larger XLW model for displays with such a size – and above. You also have to watch out for the required desk space as I would consider a table with around 60 cm of depth is my bare minimum for it.

The pen is also easy enough to use. Quite possibly my favorite stylus as of yet due to how light (15.8 grams) and natural it is to hold. I am also surprised how the remote integrates to my daily tasks – a good device on its own.

Report Count

For a pen and digitizer, the Deco Pro LW in combination to its X3 Pro is pretty much spot on in this benchmark. There are no deviations and missing reports seen from the x and y-axis at all along with well defined traces on the MouseTester 1.4.

Wireless mode results saw not much of a difference but if you actually zoom this in, you’d see wider gaps into the traces for both axis. I am already nitpicking here so expect great wireless performance from the Deco Pro LW under ideal conditions.

Note: This is a re-upload of the benchmark using the Deco Pro LW’s pen mode (default). I fixed an issue with the x and y-axis counts with Windows Ink enabled on my test system. Mouse mode still remains erratic on our end so only use that mode if you are willing to sacrifice a bit of accuracy.

Report Rate

Polling rate is pretty much consistent across the board with a very minimal amount of outliers. It checks out at 5 ms which is equivalent to 200 Hz.

Wireless is as expected a lot more inconsistent, going as low as 125 Hz. This gets even worst with range and obstructions but it still is good enough.

Input Lag

Pen latency or rather its input lag under wired mode is great as far as our results from the OSLTT are concerned. We have an average of 12.78 ms response here.

Wireless latency is also good with an average result of 17 ms. Again, this has been tested under an ideal condition so its real world performance may vary.

Our input lag result is almost 4x better compared to XPPen’s own Artist 12 pen display.

Final Thoughts

I started using the Deco Pro LW without any expectations mainly due to a variety of reasons. One of those is that I already have a notebook with a touch screen and a stylus that I mainly use to sketch memes whenever something pops out of my mind. Another would be my XPPen Artist 12 which is what I actually use for more serious tasks – such as designing 3D models.

Now I am in the camp of pen displays over pen tablets. Reason being is how easy it is to work with them as opposed to the tablet’s awkward nature. That includes all the guess work you have to do towards attaining a muscle memory for such devices.

That said, it really took me quite a bit of time to get used to the Deco Pro LW. Once I did, I get why some artists and designers would prefer a tablet over a display. Number one would be the ergonomics. It will glue your eyes towards a screen which is important for a proper posture. It is also cheaper compared to similar sized pen displays which means companies like XPPen could enhance other aspects of such product. That includes the inclusion of the X3 Pro stylus which is as far as I know, will be bundled with their latest higher end products.

Speaking, the pen is definitely the best aspect of the second generation Deco Pro models – sans its mouse mode. It felt better compared to the Artist 12’s stylus which is something I never though I would say. The texture or rather, the experience of writing with it just felt better. I guess we could also thank the tablet’s digitizer and the coating used on that front.

As for nitpicks, that would be the mouse mode’s Bluetooth performance – along with the erratic polling rate at the said mode. You also have to consider that the included dongle only works with the remote so make sure your device has its own Bluetooth radio for the tablet should you wish to use both wirelessly. Now, battery life has been tested to endure a week (an hour of use per day) so it is not bad for hobbyists like me self. Would love to see it doubled though.

In closing, I am torn between the Deco Pro LW and my pen display. Both has their pros and cons but if you do not mind the lack of screen in exchange for precision, range and versatility for an affordable price, you might want to check this one out over the latter.