Review: Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3)
April 27, 2025
Kamvas 16 (Gen 3)
Panel Size: 15.8" (Diagonal)
Resolution: 2560 x 1440 (16:9) QHD
Price: € 599
The Kamvas 16 is a 15.8 inch drawing tablet from Huion. We've (favorably) reviewed a number of Huion products in the past, so we were more than happy to give this tablet a try as well. A disclaimer up front: Huion provided this product to us for free, but they have not had any influence over this review.
The Kamvas 16 is not a standalone tablet; instead it's an external screen that you need to connect to your computer. You operate it with a pen, it offers no touch-screen capabilities. I know the majority of cartoonists these days will choose an iPad Pro instead, but if you're on a tighter budget, a drawing tablet like Huion produces does provide a more budget-friendly alternative.
For the Kamvas 13, I was very positive about the option to simply use a usb-c to usb-c cable to connect tablet to laptop. Back then, I was less positive that this cable was not included and had to be purchased separately from Huion. I was pleasantly surprised that for the Kamvas 16, the usb-c to usb-c cable cable was included.
This made setting things up very simple: just download the appropriate driver and plug it in. In must admit that I was bit skeptical about this tablet, especially the size.Would an extra 3 inches really make a difference as compared to the Kamvas 13? I use the 13 a lot when I travel and although it's fine to work on, I do find myself often longing for more screen space. As it turns out, 3 inches extra does feel like a lot; in terms of drawing experience, I found working on the 16 felt almost as good as working on my Wacom of 22 inches.
With the Gen 3, you can also really see and feel that Huion's technology is improving. The screen feels nice to work on, the resolution is great and the accuracy of the nib is impressive. One issue I have, which is also the case with other Huion tablets, is that I sometimes have to click the button on the pen (which I use as a right mouse-click) several times to get it to work. Another bug I experienced was that at times the pen turned unresponsive in Photoshop and I had to mouse-click on the computer to get it to work again; this could be a minor bug solved by reinstalling the driver, but I did not have time to extensively troubleshoot it.
Overall, though, I was happy working on it. I was also pleasantly surprised by the sturdiness of the tablet stand. For a tablet of this size, it's nice to be able to set it at an angle. I was worried the stand would be flimsy, but it actually work quite well while being quite small (which is good for travel).
That brings us to the negative, which, ironically, also has to with the screen size. The skepticism I mentioned before about the screen size wasn't just about working experience, but also about transportation. The Huion 13 is ideal for travel; even with a protective sleeve (I use an old laptop cover), it fits nicely into a medium-size backpack. The Huon 16 however, barely fits in my (quite sizable) backpack, and that's without any sleeve. You can by a Huion sleeve for it, but it seems you would then have to carry it separately.
It kind of begs the question: who does Huion want to target with this tablet? If I were in the market for a Huion display for traveling, I would very probably choose the Kamvas 13. Not only is it way easier to transport, it's also less than half the price of the 16, currently retailing in Europe for € 279. The Kamvas 16 will set you back € 599. And on the other hand, if I have 500+ euro to spend on a drawing tablet, I would probably be on the lookout for something larger, maybe even saving up a little longer to get a 24 inch tablet.
In conclusion, I can honestly say that the Kamvas 16 is a good tablet, and a pleasure to work on. But size- and price-wise it feels like a bit of a miss. It's not quite large enough to justify using it in your studio (again, I think you'd be better off saving up for something with even more screen space) unless you have a tiny desk, but it's also not small enough to comfortably fit in your backpack for travel. And given the fact you'll be paying 300+ euro more or 3 extra inches of screen, the choice for the Kamvas 13 or a 13 inch tablet from another brand seems obvious.
Tjeerd Royaards