Wacom Intuos4

The Intuos4 is Wacom’s new line of pressure sensitive tablets and replaces the long running Intuos3 series. Is this new line a worthy successor?

From a design perspective the Intuos4 is noticeably better than its predecessor. With a satin black finish as well as sleeker dimensions, this new tablet looks like a luxury product compared to its older counterpart. Wacom also redesigned the pen and it now features a slightly shorter barrel and is also slightly heavier. These changes make the pen feel very balanced in terms of weight and, as a result, it’s very easy-to-use and comfortable too, even after hours of use.

With the Intuos4 tablet, Wacom claims to have increased pressure sensitivity from 1024 levels to 2048 and while it’s difficult to accurately measure this claim, Wacom’s latest proved very impressive in use. The tablet responded to different levels of pressure brilliantly, so we could perform very light shading or make much darker outlines when necessary. The new pen can also be used at up to a 60-degrees angle and this boosts usability further still.

In the end the only issue we had with this tablet and pen combination is that there’s a bit of a learning curve when it comes to the initial setup and usage. And given the size of our medium size test sample from edge-to-edge, we’re a little disappointed that the useable area is actually much smaller.