Got it, that makes a lot more sense. I've been toying with the idea of getting one but I don't like the paint programs on iOS that I've used. I also don't want to pay the idiotic price Adobe asks for photoshop on the surface pro so I'm really stuck between being cheap or being practice.
I can help here. I recently went from a Surface Pro 3 to a Cintiq Pro 16 to an iPad Pro.
Photoshop is now like $10 a month under a single app subscription. No more paying $600 or whatever. Just wanted to throw that out there if you stick with Windows.
So the reason i got the iPad is because I wasn't really getting more in terms of workspace on the 16" Cintiq, once you take the different aspect ratios into account. It really felt like if I was going to spend that kind of money I should wait for the 24" version to really make my desk setup a meaningful upgrade. Thanks to the Pencil and the 12.9" screen size and the 120hz refresh, I decided to give Apple a try again after using a rubber nub stylus on an early iPad model years ago.
So now with the iPad Pro, I would say a good matte screen protector is a MUST for drawing. You get some of the rainbow effect but also a far superior feel to drawing. Procreate is a great app especially nowadays, and some professionals rely almost exclusively on that program. More recently a full version of Clip Studio Paint was released, and the only reason I'm not using that right now is the learning curve for someone unfamiliar with it. The upgrades to the OS, like swiping up to switch apps and get to control center, side-by-side app windows, file management. and picture in picture, have improved the experience a lot too. I can let another app take up half or a quarter of the screen for reference material, or I can watch Netflix in a little corner of the screen while I draw. The pencil is maybe just below the Wacom pen in terms of feel, but it still feels great and responsive and better than my Surface pen did. And of course that great aspect ratio makes drawing in portrait or landscape much better than on a widescreen display.
If your work relies heavily on filters and masks and other highly technical aspects of photoshop, stick to something that gives you access to Photoshop. Or see if Clip Studio on iPad will also do what you need. But if you mainly just like to straight up draw and paint, and maybe put the finishing touches on in Photoshop later, then i think the iPad Pro is the best tool on the market.
Wacom and others should really use this aspect ratio. Unless you've got a huge Cintiq, the widescreen aspect ratio is inferior for artists imo.
