After four weeks of using the XPPen Magic Note Pad this digital writing and sketching tablet has completely won me over

The XPPen Magic Note Pad is a tablet I never really thought I'd use or want, but after over four weeks of using this tablet with a stylus for notes and sketching, I've been won over.

I usually use an iPad Pro for my digital art (I've been re-learning how to paint and draw after 10 years) but the XPPen Magic Drawing Pad, an Android iPad alt, revealed there's life outside of Apple. Similarly, XPPEn's new Magic Note Pad is doing the same for anyone who loves e-ink readers and digital note pads, but can also handle sketching and casual digital art.

Magic Note Pad is a creative-focused Android tablet that wants to be a friend to everyone – it's primarily used for notes and productivity, but can be used for simple sketching, causal gaming and video viewing. As a mid-priced digital note pad, it's capable of so much more.

Originally releasing back in March, I've dragged my heals on this review because I really wanted to understand what the Magic Note Pad is like to live with, to use on a daily basis.

This Android tablet is aimed at note-takers and sketchers, and comes with a low-ish price tag of $439.99 / £399.99 (though XPPen regularly offers discounts and bundle deals – so expect real world prices to be $50 / £50 less). In some ways Magic Note Pad is a slimmer version of the excellent Magic Drawing Pad, but that slimmer, lightweight design means it's a tablet designed for everyday, mobile use.

In the box: comes with everything you need

• Magnet Folio case
• X3 Pro Pencil 2 stylus

As well as the tablet itself, you get the Magnet Folio case, X3 Pro Pencil 2 stylus and four soft pen replacement nibs and extractor; USB cable and power adaptor.

Two things jump out, firstly this uses XPPen's X3 Pro Pencil 2 that offers 16K pressure levels, and while the display tech isn't as accurate (see Performance) as an art-focused tablet like Wacom Movink 13 or iPad Pro, it's a step above regular e-ink readers and digital note-pads. (Read my best drawing tablets round-up for a comparison.)

Next, this comes with a case included. One of my only grumbles with XPPen's Magic Drawing Pad was the lack of an included case – something you need for a portable tablet that'll bump around in a bag. This is not overlooked here, and I welcome the inclusion of the Magnet Folio case.

Overall, case in point, if you will, the Magic Note Pad comes with everything in the box you'll need, whether reading, note taking or sketching.

In the box score: 5/5

Specs: lacking but workable

Below in the table you can see a breakdown of the key stats for this notes and e-reading tablet, as you may expect it's a lean system that won't be challenging Apple and Samsung, the idea being it's designed for weight and a slim handhold use.

I tested the Magic Note Pad's GPU and CPU performance using Geekbench 6.4.0, which tests the chips on everyday tasks. The Magic Note Pad's GPU scored 1275 and the CPU scored 707 (single core) and 1890 (multi-core). All these scores lag behind tablets like Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE (1324, single core CPU, 3858 multi-core).

The core GPU and CPU specs certainly lack behind other popular tablets, but are comparable to other mid-price e-ink readers and drawing displays.

Design: slim and a little unusual

• Slim and lightweight
• Comes with the X3 Pro Pencil 2
• Magnetic stylus slot is clumsy

With a slim 7mm 'thinness', metallic bezel and frame, and a near corner to corner display, the Magic Note Pad feels premium yet understated. Some design choices are interesting and underpin the note-taking use-case, for example there's no rear camera but this means the tablet is flat and smooth for use on a desk.

The lack of a rear camera, which will disappoint those wanting to scan documents or take photos, could become an issue over time, but it does contribute to a cleaner, more minimal aesthetic. There is a front-facing camera, so it's not a major issue (and most of use take photos on our camera phones, which can be sent to the tablet via Google).

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One edge of the tablet is wider, which makes for a nice hand grip with using in one hand, enabling easy notation as you would on a paper pad. This panel also features a magnetic indent to house the stylus, but I find it often easily falls from its 'cup' when in use. This magnetic pen dock gives the tablet a unique asymmetrical look that grows on me the more I use it.

The build quality is solid, with rounded metal sides offering a comfortable grip and a back that’s finished in a creamy, textured surface. But while the frame and display feel premium, the rear panel can feel a little less so, a bit too plastic, but the counterpoint means we get a lighter tablet.

At 495g, the Magic Note Pad is light enough to carry around all day and easily slips into a bag – I took my review tablet on holiday and it perfectly fits into a small backpack. The included magnetic flip case attaches securely, though its felt-like interior can attract dust (or sand if like me you take your e-ink reader to the beach).

The built-in pen slot on the cover is a clever design solution, if slightly awkward-looking as it bulges from the neat case cover, but again, be award when you flip open the case as the stylus is prone to falling out.

Support score: 4/5

Display: crisp and readable

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• Sharp and bright
• Three colour modes
• 1920 x 1200 and 90Hz refresh rate

The 10.95-inch matte glass LCD immediately stands out as a brag feature – not just for the effective anti-glare coating and laminated display but because it features XPPen's unique X-Paper shortcut button that can switch the display between three colour settings – one each for media and art, note-taking and e-ink reading.

This uses the TCL NXTPAPER paperlike tech to swap between ink paper, colour paper and standard tablet modes for different uses and light conditions. It's backed by TÜV SÜD certifications for low blue light and paper-like display standards, so it's comparable to pure e-ink displays when in the correct mode, for example.

With a decent 1920 x 1200 resolution and solid 90Hz refresh rate, this LCD feels like a display for all uses without excelling in any specific use-case – for example you'll likely find the reMarkable Paper Pro, one of the best e-ink tablets, is a better note display, and iPad Pro a better video display, and the Ugee UT3 review shows there are better pure drawing, budget displays – but the Magic Note Pad does it all, and holds its own.

That 90Hz refresh rate makes navigation feel snappy and responsive. Colour reproduction sits at 95% sRGB, which is more than adequate for sketching, note-taking, and even a bit of comic reading. Brightness maxes out at around 300 nits in real-world use, which is fine indoors but struggles a bit under direct sunlight (unless in e-ink reading mode).

For comparison the recent iPad Air ranges between 500-1000 nits, but the lower level is fine and saves on battery, which is ideal for a note-taking / e-ink reader.

Where it excels is in viewing angles and paper-like clarity, thanks to that matte screen. Yes, there’s some IPS glow and a slight drop in brightness when viewed at an angle, but overall readability and usability are strong.

Support score: 3/5

Performance: swift, adaptable and fun

• Speedy and easy
• Nice stylus
• Tilt can be an issue

Running on Android 14 with a lightly-skinned version of XPPen OS, the Magic Note Pad keeps things simple and bloat-free, as needed for a mobile note-taking tablet.

Despite being a lower mid-priced tablet, you still get smart features like face unlock, auto-brightness, and a solid battery life (8–10 hours in mixed use). The only major omission is a microSD slot, but few tablets in this price range do (Kindle hasn't used microSD for many years). But, as a note, Samsung’s popular Galaxy Tab S10 FE does offer this feature.

Performance is handled by the MediaTek Helio G99 processor (MT8781), paired with 6GB RAM (including 6GB virtual RAM) and 128GB of storage. It’s not premium speed and the latest iPads aren't threatened, but in daily use, it's smooth and snappy for most creative tasks. (Read my Geekbench results in the Specs section above.)

Just don’t expect buttery 3D gaming or heavy multitasking with large apps, this is a mobile tablet, so casual gaming and simple drawing and sketching apps are the order of the day.

The new X3 Pro Pencil 2 is a real highlight. Featuring a large 16,384 levels of pressure sensitivity, it delivers nuanced lines, smooth transitions between strokes, and consistent performance. The soft, non-slip nib and low initial activation force (3g) make both sketching and writing feel natural.

In use with art apps like Artrage Vitae the tablet performed well, and generally when using XPPen's bespoke Notes app (see Software below) it was nice to doodle with and had enough accuracy to draw tiny circles an stars. As my Notes app pages grew I did notice a little lag with erasing, but not drawing strokes and lines.

This is a battery-free stylus with a comfortable matte finish, a magnetic flat side, and a single, tactile side button. It’s a joy to use, unless tilt sensitivity is a deal-breaker for you – something of a common issue with mid-and-low priced Android tablets for art, as I found when in my Huion Slate 10 review.

In use, while the Magic Note Pad technically supports tilt input, the X3 Pro Pencil 2 isn’t designed for low-angle tilt, which limits its use with angled brushes. Artists who rely on tilt in the best drawing apps for Android, like Clip Studio Paint or Concepts, might find this frustrating.

Overall, however, drawing feels great on the matte display and is the ideal stylus and display for note-taking and simple sketching into a notes app. If you're buying this for notes or are a casual artist who likes to doodle, the Magic Note Pad is just fine and good value.

But taken as a whole, for all use cases from notes to sketching, reading to watching Netflix, the Magic Note Pad proves swift and adaptable. The 8-core processor delivers enough power to maintain a steady performance, even when I skip between notes and a game of Marvel Snap, doing both simultaneously (though real multitasking is a stretch compared to a more powerful tablet, as you can discover in our iPad Air M3 review).

While I thought the omission of a rear camera could become an issue, in use the flat back panel is preferable to any kind of wobble you even find with an iPad Pro. The front camera proved reliable for video calls, which on a tablet like this is what you need.

The Magic Note Pad can support PDF reading and importing, as well as offering translation tools to scan and read docs. You can make notes into and around imported docs, too.

I've focused a lot on art creation, but the tablet really performs well as an e-ink reader and productivity app. Reading comics, like my favourite 2000AD on the tablet is a joy, and linked to the Kindle app it turns into a easy-reading page turning for using with the latest book releases.

There is a different battery drain depending on the screen colour mode you're using. I found the the e-ink Paper Mode used around 12% less of the battery compared to using the tablet in Natural Colour mode.

Support score: 4/5

Software: quirky but powerful notes app, at a cost

• XPPen Notes is best with a license
• Surprisingly powerful notes app
• Supports Android drawing apps

While the tablet comes with the pre-installed XPPen Notes / JNotes, a fully featured note-taking app, it's plagued by pop-up ads and so I ultimately opted to pay for a yearly sub of £5.99 (a lifetime license is £7.99) for a better user experience and to try every feature – XPPen also releases regular new graphics, decals and more for license users.

XPPen Notes is surprisingly powerful. It's core features include a mix of pen styles – pencil, ballpoint pen and quill pen – as well as a highlighter, colour picker and underliner. These tools behave as expected, and in fact have some nice stroke pressure reactions, but it's the deeper tools that I enjoy. There's a shapes tool for turning gestures into primitives, importing and manipulating images is a easy, and the hand-writing to text function turns hard to read scribbles into text.

There's also an AI function that not only tidies up your handwriting but will also spell check and correct any errors. On top of this there's a text prompter for generating notes and copy around themes. I asked for 10 notes on 'things to do in Sardinia' and it gave me some decent options – though it is harder than it needs be to transfer these notes to the app's page. The AI can be a little flakey too, but will likely get better over time.

The default XPPen Notes app also has a section of 'experimental' features that I found interesting, including Unlimited Drafts and a Tenfold Zoom function. A new Scanner feature is a good addition, too.

You’re free to install the best note-taking apps too if XPPen Notes isn't for you, such as Google Keep. If you want better drawing apps, then Medibang Paint and ArtRage Vitae run well, though the likes of Krita and Clip Studio Paint have busier UI and can struggle on the smaller 11-inch display, that is, after all, designed for notes and simple sketching.

Support score: 4/5

Who is it for?

• Casual artists and students

If you're looking for a well-priced tablet that can stretch to performing like an e-ink reader, functions as a fun notes tablet and enables you to doodle and sketch, the XPPen Magic Note Pad does it all.

There are tablets that do one two things better and certainly tablets that are more capable multi-tasking devices, but to do everything for under $400 / £350, and packaged into a slim and lightweight form, then I find myself easily recommending the Magic Note Pad. Students particularly will enjoy using it.

Buy it if...

• You need a good notes tablet
• You want to save money
• You can make do with budget power

Don't buy it if...

• You want more power and features
• You prefer a bespoke notes tablet
• You need better art performance