Huion is known for its excellent and affordable drawing tablets, and just last year both its huge Huion Kamvas Pro 27 and the Huion Kamvas Pro 19 impressed us - read our best drawing tablets guide for more details. The new Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) aims to continue this trend, which it does, just about.
The Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) is a mid-range drawing display, priced at $499 / £499, which puts it in competition with the excellent Ugee 16, the older XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Gen) and the smaller (and more expensive) Wacom One 13 Touch. This is Huion's entry-level pen display, so lacks some of the features found in the Pro range, such as 4K and touch control.
Against its competition Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) impresses; its 2.5K resolution display matches its rivals and the 200nits with sRGB: 99% and Adobe RGB: 90% is comparable. Where this Huion ekes out its own identity is with a unique design that bucks the trend for a streamlined frame and actually adds more dials and Quick Keys onto the device. It's a choice that pays off.
Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) review: in the box
The days of scrambling around for plugs, leads and even stylus are over. In three years of reviewing drawing tablets it's rare these days to not have everything you need in the box to get started with little fuss.
The leads include a 3-in-1 Cable, USB Extension Cable and two USB-C to USB-C cables, one with a slightly longer connector for the power socket. The only downside is the USB-C to USB-C is quite short so not ideal for power connection, but the USB Extension Cable does the same function.
You also get a battery-free stylus, pen holder and 10 replacement nibs. The stylus bucks the trend for a slimmer, lighter pen in favour of the older 'fat' style best used by 3D artists - perhaps anticipating more digital artists will experiment with 3D in 2025.
There's an optional stand too - my bundle from Huion for this review came with the stand, and you only save $20 / £20 to exclude it, so my advice would be to pay the extra. It's a quality stand made from metal and hard plastic and makes a difference to the drawing experience.
The final inclusions are a drawing glove (that I didn't feel the need to use), a cleaning cloth and small user manual to help with the setup. The driver install is free and quick, via the Huion website.
Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) review: design and build
I love that this pen display goes against the grain and refines the on-frame Quick Keys and dial format rather than opting for a remote device like the more expensive Xencelabs Pen Display 16 and XPPen Artist Pro 19 (Gen 2) - these are also 4K, hence the higher cost.
The Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) features five programmable Quick Keys as well as two small Dial Controllers with an inset button each. The tablet's frame is slim and subtly curved on its corners, but what stands out are how the dials sit over the edge of the frame meaning you can easily click through the actions and make the tablet overall feel smaller than it needs to be.
Despite the mid-range price point this drawing pen display has buttons and dials that feel solid and tactile, there's a click to them but they feel sturdy. These don't have the rubbery feel of a Wacom or Xencelabs, but they are nicely sized and easily accessed.
Measuring 42.1 × 23.7 × 1.3 cm, and weighing 1.2 kg the Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) isn't the slimmest or lightest pen display I've used, that would be Wacom's excellent Movink 13, but this Huion is solid and nicely made. There's no gapping where the frame meets the screen, and the bezel is neat enough to not get in the way, though there is the tinniest 'lip'.
The tablet doesn't have foldout feet like some midrange drawing tablets so you will need to buy the stand. There are four rubber feet for keeping it stable when using it flat, but I did find that, because of the unique 19:9 ratio, I used this mostly with stand set in a more upright position than perhaps a squarer tablet.
The stylus is Huion's new PenTech 4.0 technology and offers 16K levels of pressure sensitivity. It's the 'fat' style design that tapers to a wedge above the nib, and not the usual style I use, but it feels good in the hand but despite a similar design to the traditional Wacom it lacks pen's weight. The three customisable buttons are nice, though I find I need to hold the pen right near the nib in order to avoid tapping the lowest button by accident, resulting in a brush change.
Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) review: setting up
Setting up is easy. Huion has included all the cables you need to get started, all labelled to show which are for power and which are for the laptop. There's a little booklet to help too. I use the USB-C to USB-C to connect to my MacBook Pro, and the 3-in-1 HDMI cable for power - I try the separate USB-C power lead but find it's too short.
Once connected I download the Huion Pen driver app (it works on Windows 7 and later, macOS 10.12 and later, Android USB3.1 DP1.2 and later and Linux Ubuntu 20.04 LTS) and launch it to access the tablet's customisable settings, set the work area and more.
Customising the stack of Quick Keys and dials is easily done, and Huion has pre-programmed the driver to support the most commonly used apps, including Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint and Premier Pro. I'm using Rebelle 7 for this review, which isn't in the menu of options, so I instead need to use the Mac's keyboard to set shortcuts.
Though I'm predominantly right-handed, the Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) does support left-handed use… kind of. While you can simply rotate the tablet so the dials and keys are on the right, you'll need to enter your laptop's settings and turn the screen upside down, which in the long run offers some other issues (screen extension won't work). This is why more expensive tablets tend to now use off-frame key remotes, and of course Huion sells its own - the Huion Keydial mini.
Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) review: performance
It took a little time to get used to the 16:9 aspect ratio, as while it offers more space to the sides the app frame, I'm using Rebelle 7, wouldn't fit to size. However the longer frame of the Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) does offer room to rest my wrist as I paint, which is nice.
The screen is smooth and feels lovely to work on, and the brightness, whilst not as piercing as something like the Wacom Movink's OLED, is good for this price range. I was impressed that colour accuracy was good out of the box, meaning I needn't fiddle with settings to get the on-tablet image to look like that on my MacBoon Pro.
I found Huion's new pen tech worked well too, I tend to apply layers of light strokes and make use of Rebelle 7's textured knife brushes, and found this worked really nicely using the Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3). (Read our best digital art software guide to for more on Rebelle 7) There was no lag or issues with latency and every stroke, tiny circle or dot I applied came across as I'd hoped - there was no line wobble or break in fast or quick strokes. For a pen display costing $499 / £499 the accuracy and feel of the stylus was more than I expected.
As a mid-range drawing display it's clear where Huion is making savings to offer a value, for example there's no touch and gesture control so you need to rely on those dials for zoom and the stylus. If you regularly use an iPad and Procreate for digital art then this takes getting used. If you've grown-up on a PC and tablet setup it's not a huge issue and I know many artists actually prefer not having touch control.
The design choice to have the dials break the frame is nice, too. It makes them more tactile and easily accessed than the dials found on remotes. It's a design decision that I can see many artists appreciating, particularly if you prefer using dials to touch control.
While the Huion does come with a drawing glove to fend off wayward marks, in use I didn't feel the need to use it and the display's palm rejection worked perfectly.
While the display is just 2.5K for the size - 15.8-inches at 186 pixels per inch - it's a good resolution. In use you can clearly read the smallest menus and fonts, so you never really feel like you need more; I did need to get in close on Rebelle 7 on occasion as it doesn't have the smallest fonts, but it's perfectly usable for main functions. If you need a higher resolution display, then you'll need to pay more, for example the excellent XPPen Artist Pro 19 (Gen 2) offers 4K with 230 nits brightness, but costs twice as much ($899 / £899).
Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) review: who's it for?
The Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) is a good mid-range drawing display that's a step above entry-level tablets like the Ugee 16, which while good offers FHD compared to Huion's QHD, but a step below more expensive pen displays like the Wacom Movink and XPPen XPPen Artist Pro 19 (Gen 2).
In its favour is an excellent stylus that's both accurate and fun to use, a display with good colour accuracy and on-frame Quick Keys that many like - the addition of a second dial will appeal. Overall the Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) is a good mid-range pen display suitable for students and digital art beginners, but pros will want more tech and a larger, higher resolution display.
Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) review: buy it if
- You need an affordable tablet
- You expect an accurate stylus
- You want multiple dials
Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) review: don't buy it if
- You like touch control
- You want a higher resolution display
- You need a larger drawing area
