Wacom next generation active pen (gen 13) , 4096 level of pressure + tilt + universal and more

From WinHec conference we got some info about Wacom next generation pen (coming Q4 2016) ,they are going all out this time and want to prove themselves against microsoft and apple (and I think they will)


the other good news is that the Wacom and Microsoft pen protocols will be used by the other panel makers that were previously making there own pen tech (like Atmal , synaptic and Goodix) so no more fragmentation in the market , we will have 2 protocols , Wacom and Microsoft pen program (previously N-trig) and the cool thing is that even the 2 protocols will be compatible with each other (maybe just one way) so Wacom gen13 pens will work on wacom tablets and microsoft tablet (the reverse is possible but not confirmed )



with this news the windows pens market will standardize and hopefully in a few years pens will be like bluetooth mouses where you don't need to overthink what kind is compatible with your tablet.

and wacom is thinking by creating there dual protocol pen that they will make a universal pen

one question we might have is if the coming gen13 pens will be compatible with the current gen11/12 tablets , I hope that they are .

from the WinHec slide we got a first look at some gen13 dual protocol pens , apparently wacom is planning to make multiple designs of there pens since there are a bigger market for it , this can be great and I hope OEMs start bundling wacom pens instead of creating there own pens (it's cheaper for them )

 

Wow....if those Pen designs are accurate.....Wacom really must be scared of Apple for them to drop features in copying the physicality of their pencil.

No Side Switches (Visible ones anyway), or at the very least recessed ones. This is fine for an Ipad....but for Windows those buttons are crucial.
Longer Pen Barrel (not a con in my book)
And No Eraser......(if Microsoft can engineer a ES pen for a backend eraser, Wacom should be able to do so as well)
And very different designed Nibs from the looks of it.

240hz polling matches the Apple pencil, so its a definite step up from the 140hz standard we've been used to...and I'm pretty sure that's even higher then Cintiq pens.

Now bumping the pressure levels to 4096.....while I suppose that was inevitable....its kind of worthless beyond a sales perspective.

And Tilt.....while a welcome addition.....they really need more demo-able software pre-installed to demonstrate it in brick and mortar stores.

A few questions I still have though....

1. Whats the hovering distance?
2. Whats the initial activation force?
3. What are the Nib options (Flex, felt, etc)
3. Presumably Active ES....but AAAA battery? or other charging method? (they copied apple in every other way so why not?)

Also more speculation on my end....Aside from the switch to AES, this kind of elevates the 2-in-1 pen to be performing conceptually as good as the current Cintiq gen.
EMR penabled tech went almost unchanged for over a decade, trailing behind the Cintiq grade DTK teck, and nothing larger then 14 inches....deliberatrly held back as to not cut into Cintiq sales
Now we have a 15-incher from Dell.....and really high performing pens....so what does this say about Wacoms own products?....like their Cintiq/Companion/ & Intuo Line?
Will Wacom drop EMR completely for AES even on their own products? For an Intuos it won't make a difference really given the disconnect.....but the Cintiqs and Companion line still get quite a bit of scorn from the Parallax alone. Pretty much any review or comparison between the Cintiqs and Ipad/Pencil knocks the Cintiq for that reason alone.

 

Ooo, I hope so. It would also mean a lot more choices when third party manufacturers start adding their own flairs to the pens.

I'm still hoping for supercapacitor pens to... well, arrive, I guess, but ultimately to be the norm. I also hope there will be side switches and eraser ends on those other "multiple designs," because I am not down with the lack of in the demo pens.

And yes, nibs. They actually look pretty sharp in the picture, which is awesome.

 

I agree. The pens look nice but if they don't have configurable side switches and hover click - they're useless for my purposes. It still boggles my mind that MS got rid of one the buttons and still won't let you configure them or have hover click after two + years. Hopefully this is all good news though and wacom make a 'pro' type pen which is more like their traditional pens with the two side switches. I know the AES tech has the ability based off my thinkpad 14. Or perhaps they will just keep those pens for their cintiq line...

 

Microsoft has seemingly confirmed two way compatibility. http://liliputing.com/2016/05/microsoft-pen-program-standardize-pen-design-windows-10-devices.html. 2 buttons are also back on units with a Bluetooth button at the top.

 

pens are becoming mainstream and some changes are expected , but the pro options will still be there , the pen enabled market is expected to be 20 million unit in 2017 , one pen design will not fit 20 million people so we will have a lot of pen designs that suit each use case.

the pen buttons are not going away for sure , but we will have mainstream options that only have a top eraser and top bluetooth button (that is more suited for mainstream note taking )

we are the early adopters of digital pens and for a long time we were a small group , in the coming years a lot more people will join us , and because of that some things will change but only for the better

 

wacom had button-less pens long before apple pencil (I don't think the designs are similar to apple pencil) , but I agree with you that they are challenged by apple , that's why in the next gen they will be better that apple in every way (I think they want to proof themselves as the leader of the digital pen market)

all along wacom could have created AES pens with tilt and 240 Hz , but the lack of competition made them slow . the competition from microsoft is the real threat with their pen program , wacom was smart to join the party instead of fighting it (apple is not a competitor since they don't sell panels and pens to OEMs)

AES is better for mainstream tablets and 2in1s , more accurate and with less parallax , I don't know about artist screens if EMR is better for it or not (and honestly I don't care since I'm not an artist)

 

this will make the market so much better , I only hope that microsoft can add to the OS (the ink workspace) a thing that tell you that your device is compatible with the universal platform (since I guess the issue will be that some tablets will still lack pen support even if the market settled on a standard )

this news really made me happy , it's a huge step for digital pens in mainstream education and business

 

BTW , this is a new twitter account about windows ink devices and apps , follow it and support please

https://twitter.com/windows_ink

 

At this point, EMR is not better. It just feels different. More analogue.