I am in the market for a new pen tablet. I am hoping I can get some directions to head or to steer clear of. I am using Linux as my OS, my only requirements are have good Linux support for the device the size ranges from 11 x 7 or 8 x 5 as for connectivity Bluetooth is preferred but wired will do. Thank you in advance for and recommends.
For Linux, the best recommendation is probably Wacom in conjunction with KDE. And otherwise possibly Huion or XP-PEN.
Maybe you search through tablet-forums for more information?
Michelist
I have a Huion Kamvas 13, which was working fine (better than on Windows with that weird Ink stuff) with the official HUION drivers on KDE Fedora 39 until recently (kernel update? Can’t pinpoint it).
Now the tablet always gets mapped to my monitor not the tablet with the official driver. Installed a bunch of random tablet driver stuff, gave Wayland another go and the tablet is recocnised in KDE system settings (without the official driver/app open). Unfortunately, you can’t map Ctrl / Shift to the buttons (yet, is apparently coming in Plasma 6) which is not good when using Krita.
Long story short, I think I would go for a Wacom if I would shop for a tablet again since these are still probably the most popular and so best supported +___+
Oh, you might check out David Revoy’s tablet reviews for Linux, I think he’s using an XP-Pen (with Digimend-drivers?) on X atm.
Using x86 or ARM? I guess not ARM, see here for my recent experience with Raspberry Pi ARM processor and XP-PEN.
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A post was split to a new topic: Huion Kamvas 13 button mapping solution
I use a Huion on Debian KDE. No problems. I had a old Wacom recently, also worked fine on both Ubuntu and Debian.
PS. They do not use Bluetooth afaik. It’s another technology, wireless and no batteries. Drawback is that usually the included pen only works with that particular device.
I use Wacom (Intuos and Cintiq) since many years on Linux and it works really well on X11 thanks to libwacom and xinput, KDE has a nice GUI to set up everything so you don’t have to edit config files and kernel modules in the terminal like its 1985. I heard Wayland does support it now too but the options are limited (like mapping hardware buttons, also Krita itself still has issues with Wayland)
My Intuos Pro as Bluetooth but I have a noticeable delay then and the battery gets empty at the worse timings so I have it connected all the time anyway. In my opinion wireless doesn’t really make sense anyway because it’s not like you carry the tablet around allot all the time. You put it on you desk for drawing and put it away when you’re done after a few hours (or not, depending on your desk space). It’s not like you walk around with it in your office all the time, or is it?
I ordered myself an XP-Pen Deco gen 2 some time ago, unfortunately it got stuck in transit 
Hopefully it will eventually arrive.
Point is, when it does, I can see how it works on Ubuntu (I normally use Windows 11). If you’re not averse to proprietary drivers, then I think it should be OK. As far as I know it also comes with an USB dongle/key, which works around Bluetooth driver issues. Personally, I only care about the wired connection, because I like to have minimal latency for high refresh screens.
I love using my Deco Lw by XP Pen via bluetooth (to PC). It doesn’t perform worse and I like to draw sitting on the lounge. I love the freedom of wireless.
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Guess that depends on the size. Both my Intuos and the Cintiq are 27 inch because I prefer larger graphics tablets for more precision. Using any of them off the desk would be quite cumbersome, my Cintiq is mounted to a flex arm on the wall because it’s so heavy I can barely lift it. I have a classic digital atelier setup, one could say.
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For pen tablets, The UGEE brand is fantastic build quality and very affordable. highly recommended if you want to drop roughly 50$ for a 10 inch tablet.
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I am using an XP-PEN tablet on arch x11. You will have to use proprietary drivers with those tablets, all the open source applications I tried did not work. Otherwise, they are good quality and work well. They have some bluetooth models you could check out.
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I really appreciate all the input on this topic. I think after some research I have narrowed it down to 3
They are as follows:
UGEE S1060W
XPPen Deco Pro LW 2nd, 11 Inch
GAOMON WH851
So now I will evaluate reviews of each unit and research a little deeper on their interactions with Krita and Linux. I just don’t want another pen tablet where I can only use some of its functions, that to me is a big let down. Because I bought a Huion tablet where the pen input is decent but the shortcut keys are useless for they don’t work at all. I know that there are drivers via the digimend project but ultimately that proved to be uneventful.
I currently am using a Wacom Intuos S with Bluetooth, it is a bit on the small side but it functions beautifully but I think I need a bigger active area to draw or paint with.
Again I want to thank everyone for their helpful input. You all are awesome.
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Hi, my xp-pen has finally arrived, so let me know if you would like any behavior or setup tested on Ubuntu 22.04 (that’s the distro I have on another PC).
As mentioned above, looks like the proprietary driver is needed.
Thank you. I’m pretty flexible when it comes to drivers. FOSS or Proprietary is no issue with me. If it works it works. Thank you. I would totally love to hear your experience with it.
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OK! I’ll try to take it for a spin today and let you know.
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Alright, I’m back! Actually, I created a separate post as maybe it will be easier to find this way:
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