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Editing pictures have transitioned from being tethered to computers to being versatile with the help of laptops. Real estate photographers may need to travel and bring loads of equipment, making tablets efficient to carry and use. We're listing options for the best tablet for photo editing with varying levels of usability and versatility.
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With an intuitive interface, the ability to overlap apps, blazing-fast graphics, and a color-accurate display, the Apple iPad Pro 12 serves as our best tablet for photo editing. This tablet's versatility is quite similar to your experience editing using a computer, although at a smaller display.
The complexity of editing varies per photographer or editor. This is why we've prepared tablets with different yet powerful features to help enhance your real estate images.
One of the best things about this iPad is that it contains an M2 chip, a power-efficient processor used in laptops. If you need to work on graphics-intensive projects with excellent battery life, the Apple iPad Pro 12 (6th Generation) is the hybrid solution for your photo editing needs.
The screen is only two inches smaller than the XP-Pen Artist. However, this iPad has a better resolution at 2048 pixels, which is way more than the 1080p standard resolution for photo editing.
Among the tablets on this list, the iPad Pro 12 has the biggest storage capacity at 2TB. So even if you need to edit over 10,000 images, you still have enough space to run other applications and save files. What's more, you can easily upgrade storage capacity through iCloud.
The iPad Pro 12 also boasts a Liquid Retina display, which has better contrast that can reduce eyestrain. This is perfect for editors who spend hours culling and editing images.
While you need to spend more on accessories, the Apple Pencil 2 would be a great addition. The Pencil has a Hover benefit, allowing you to hover it 12mm above the screen. In effect, you get to see a preview of your desired effect before actually applying it.
The struggle with Apple gadgets is that they have a shorter battery life than Android devices. If you need a longer battery life to handle heavy tasks at almost a fraction of the cost, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ is a great alternative.
Its screen is 12.4 inches like the iPad Mini, yet it has a better resolution at 1920 pixels. The size also makes it an ideal second monitor for laptops.
More than that, the Samsung S8+ has the longest battery life at 12 hours. This is partly because of the AMOLED screen technology that consumes less power without sacrificing a deep, rich display for color accuracy.
Another benefit is that the package already comes with an S Pen that lets you edit photos and videos using high-pressure sensitivity. In addition, the pen will recognize your movements even if you need to tilt your hand more.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ uses a Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon, a chipset commonly used in mobile gaming. This ensures you can work on higher frame rates without worrying about lagging.
While not a total dealbreaker, the tablet may get bulky when paired with a complementary cover keyboard.
Some real estate photographers prefer having the most lightweight or compact setup, especially when traveling. This makes the Apple iPad Mini (6th Generation) the perfect addition to your gear.
Being the most lightweight at 0.65 pounds, you won't have a hard time bringing this tablet with you. This 6th gen of iPad Mini weighs more than half of the average weight of tablets, which is around 1.75 pounds.
While its A15 bionic chip is slower than the iPad Pro 12's M2 chip, this processor consumes less power, letting you edit pictures for up to 10 hours.
The chip also guarantees enough speed to run Lightroom. Additionally, the 64B storage is enough for most editing tasks. This is also enough storage to download the full versions of Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom mobile.
The Apple iPad Mini does have the smallest screen at 10 inches, which can sometimes be straining to the eyes. However, the 1080p resolution provides excellent color contrast.
It also makes up by providing a bright display. It has 500 nits brightness, which is more than the sweet spot of around 100 to 300 nits.
The Wacom PTH660 Intuos Pro Digital Drawing Tablet would better suit your graphic designing and photo editing needs if you usually use Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or Corel.
Wacom tablets have been the industry-standard tools for graphic designing for years. However, compared to the Cintiq versions and the Apple tablets, the Intuos line has better precision, accuracy, and pressure sensitivity.
For instance, the harder you press the pen, the larger the brush stroke becomes. Thus, there's no need to continue making large circular motions to do so. Its programmable buttons also let you personalize commands.
More than that, the Wacom Intuos Tablet boasts a 5080 LPI screen resolution, which is double than Apple iPad Pro 12's capacity. This lets the tablet track 58,000 unique points regardless of how you stroke the pen.
Its 72% color gamut contributes to the image quality. Although this is still significantly lower compared to Samsung's 200% and iPad Pro 12's 114%.
Unfortunately, these superb features have a downside. These features can easily consume space from the tablet's 250GB storage capacity. They can also quickly draw power, even though a full charge time has a 10-hour battery life.
Edit photos and sketch designs directly using the XP-Pen Artist Pro Drawing Tablet. The eight express keys let you customize the shortcut keys for a more optimized workflow. In effect, you can focus your hands on the tablet instead of moving one hand over the keyboard.
For instance, the Red Dial interface comfortably fits in hand, so you can easily zoom in and out or scroll up and down as you edit. There are also default keys for the Brush tool and undo commands.
Another advantage is its battery-free yet highly sensitive stylus. Unfortunately, heavy-handed editors may find screen distortion when you press down on the screen.
Its 1080p full HD resolution presents greater image detail, providing exceptional clarity in every photo. It even has a 15% better color gamut than the Amazon Fire HD. In effect, the X-Pen Artist Pro delivers rich colors and vivid pictures.
Most laptops have an average screen size of 14 inches. The X-Pen Artist Pro tablet has an even bigger screen size of 15.6 inches, making it the most convenient for editing HDR and panorama images.
However, the biggest downfall is its three-hour battery life per charge, the shortest among the tablets on this list.
If you won't do complex editing and want a significantly cheaper option, then the Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet is the best alternative. Its responsive and smart features also make it an excellent virtual assistant.
While it's less fancy than the Apple and Wacom tablets, it's decent enough to run the mobile versions of Lightroom and Photoshop. It's also a great practice tablet for those who don't want to invest in premium devices yet.
Part of what makes the Amazon Fire affordable is that it uses a MediaTek chip. This processor has a much better power efficiency capacity than Samsung's Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon chip.
Unfortunately, this tablet only has a 32GB storage capacity, which is the minimum for most smartphones. However, this is enough for working on Lightroom catalogs with less than a thousand pictures that you would eventually transfer to a hard drive.
Much like the XP-Pen Artist Pro, the Amazon Fire Tablet has a vivid 1080p display. It also consists of aluminosilicate glass, which offers more impact protection and scratch resistance. If you feel like Apple devices are too fragile, especially for outdoor work, this makes the Amazon tablet a worthy competitor.
For this guide, we're weighing in essential features or specs for the best tablet for photo editing, especially screen size, color quality, resolution, processor, and customization options. We're also considering the portability, battery life, operating system, storage, file transfer options, standalone functionality, app availability, and accessories.
Here's a rundown of the specs of tablets for post-processing images.
| Tablet | Screen Size and Resolution | Battery Life | Standalone? |
| Apple iPad Pro 12 | 12.9 inches, 2048p | 10 hours | Yes |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ | 12.4 inches, 1920p | 12 hours | Yes |
| Apple iPad Mini (6th Generation) | 12.4 inches, 1080p | 10 hours | Yes |
| Wacom PTH660 Intuos Pro | 10 inches, 5080p | 10 hours | No |
| XP-Pen Artist Pro | 15.6 inches, 1080p | 3 hours | No |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 | 10.1 inches, 1080p | 12 hours | Yes |
You'll want as many pixels as possible for the screen resolution. However, note that the higher the resolution, the more expensive the tablet becomes. Despite that, this element guarantees sharper image quality.
In general, you should be able to adjust the screen brightness while maintaining exceptional color accuracy and contrast ratio. Lower resolutions may not display a photo in its full entirety with the highest level of detail, mainly if you're shooting in RAW. Aim for at least 1080p for a full HD.
The Wacom Intuos Tablet brags an astounding 5080 LPI screen resolution, mainly because this tablet is designed for complex graphic designing tasks. If you won't need to do much graphic designing, the 2080p of the Apple iPad Pro 12 is more than enough for your Lightroom edits.
Among the most important things about tablets for photo editing is that you can accurately work on and render real estate images. Color gamut refers to the range of colors a device can record and produce. Screens with higher color gamut percentages make a more extensive spectrum of colors.
For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ has the highest color gamut. The XP-Pen Artist Pro has 120%, while the Apple iPad Pro 12 follows close with 115%. Even though the iPad Mini has the lowest at 62%, this is only because its screen is significantly smaller compared to its counterparts.
If you're usually editing on a laptop or computer, you will value having a large screen for a tablet. Particularly for real estate photographers, a large tablet screen lets you easily see the photos you need for stitching a composite or an HDR image.
The XP-Pen Artist Pro has the biggest screen at 15.2 inches. The Apple iPad Pro 12 follows with 12.9 inches. Meanwhile, the Samsung S8+ and Apple iPad Mini come close at 12.4 inches.
Screen pressure sensitivity is a major factor in selecting a tablet for post-processing images. The screen should easily recognize strokes, so you won't have a hard time applying adjustments.
The Apple iPads use a dedicated Pencil for precise drawing. The Wacom and XP-Pen tablets also require you to use their proprietary stylus.
More than that, pens and styluses should have accuracy. They should react to every stroke, no matter how you angle or tilt them.
Another factor to consider is whether the tablet can run your preferred editing software without lagging. Note that some programs are not compatible with every operating system.
The full versions of Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop can work on iOS and Windows. However, Android tablets can only use Photoshop Express, which is a scaled-down version. Photopea is also a good alternative for Android users.
Aside from that, check if your other apps can work on your desired device. For instance, Affinity Photo doesn't have an Android app. On the other hand, Luminar works on iOS, Windows, and Android devices.
The processing chip greatly influences the tablet's power to cope with editing software and large files you need to save. The iPad Pro 12's M2 chip and Apple Mini's A15 Bionic chip are top-rated processors that maximize performance and battery life.
It's likely that you won't use the tablet for long-term storage. However, it helps to have a big storage capacity to download and render several images.
Allocate at least 2GB for your essential editing programs. For example, Adobe Photoshop Express on an iPad already has an additional 230MB of data. Meanwhile, Lightroom can consume at least 280MB.
Although you may eventually upgrade, the Apple iPad Pro 12 has the best capacity at 2TB. The XP-Pen Artist Pro also has a decent storage space of 256GB.
The ability to transfer files is another vital factor, mainly because you won't be able to insert an SD card into the tablet. While every tablet on this list has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, it helps to have other options to transfer files.
The battery life is another crucial element when choosing a tablet for post-processing tasks. It can be frustrating when you need to edit hundreds of real estate pictures and only have a few minutes of charge left.
Working on high-res photos can consume more battery power. Most laptops can last up to 10 hours when fully charged. However, tablets run for seven hours on average.
The Apple and Wacom tablets will let you work for at least 10 hours. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ and the Amazon Fire HD have a longer battery life of 12 hours.
One of the best things about using a tablet for editing real estate photos is that there are dedicated buttons for certain functions. This means you won't have to scroll, navigate, or click on a series of commands.
Only the Wacom Intuos and XP-Pen offer customizable buttons, so you won't have to use a keyboard. However, the XP-Pen has more controls for commands like zooming or switching to editing tools.
Being a standalone item is a great advantage, although this is optional. There are editors who still prefer to use laptops or computer monitors as screens while using a tablet for more customizable editing.
The Wacom Intuos and X-Pen Artist Pro tablets require you to connect them to a laptop or computer before using them. However, if you want to avoid bringing a laptop for your out-of-town shoots, the Apple, Samsung, and Amazon tablets are equally worthy options.
A tablet's dimensions will determine how well it would suit your editing position. For example, a heavy, wide tablet may be quite challenging to hold while in portrait mode, and you're standing.
You'll also have to consider how much your tablet weighs and how it will fit in your bag. The Apple iPad Mini is the most lightweight at 0.65 pounds. In contrast, the Amazon Fire HD 10 only weighs 1.03 pounds.
The XP-Pen Artist Pro is the heaviest at 3.31 pounds, only because it has the biggest screen. However, this is still much lighter than most laptops, which can weigh around eight pounds on average.
The availability of accessories is an optional factor, although this can improve the ergonomics or your efficiency when working.
For instance, you can avail of a separate keyboard for the Apple and Samsung devices. This is a good alternative to customizable buttons, especially if you're accustomed to using keyboard shortcuts.
As a real estate photographer, you may need a tablet for a more portable device than a computer. This is also suitable for making quick sketches or researching on a screen bigger than a phone.
A tablet can serve as a replacement for a computer setup if the features fulfill your requirements. It can also be a good alternative if you're comfortable working on a smaller screen for a longer period.
There's usually no need to purchase a mouse and keyboard for editing real estate images on a tablet, especially if the device comes with a pen or controls. However, consider adding accessories if these can make your editing process more efficient.
The best photo editing tablet must have a fast processor, big storage capacity, and quality resolution. The Apple iPad Pro 12 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ are among our top choices with these features. Whichever you choose, these tablets can improve your post-processing system and produce high-quality edits.
