Ugee UT3 Review: Excellent Value Android Drawing Tablet

The Ugee UT3 bills itself as the “world’s first” 3-in-one tablet as it supports drawing, e-reading and can be used simply as an Android tablet for gaming, applications etc.

For Mac users looking for an Android drawing tablet that’s more versatile than models such as the Huion Slate, it’s therefore a more flexible and value for money solution.

It’s also got a much bigger screen than the iPad Pro but at a fraction of the price at just $399.99 direct from Ugee or $389.99 from Amazon (prices correct at time of writing).

However, being jack-of-all trades does come with trade-offs as I found in this review of the Ugee UT3 tablet.

Can You Draw On a Mac With the Ugee UT3?

Firstly, it’s important to be aware that you can’t draw on a Mac with the Ugee UT3. The tablet doesn’t support “pen display mode” like a Cintiq-style tablet for example.

You can connect your Mac to it via a USB-C cable and your Mac will recognize it but it’s essentially just file transfer and internet tethering.

So if you’re hoping to use it with your Mac, we’d recommend checking our guide to the best drawing tablets for Mac instead.

Unboxing & First impressions

The packaging for the UT3 is pretty chunky, partly because it comes with a very sturdy protective case that should also withstand rough treatment from kids as well as adults.

In terms of looks, right out of the box the Ugee UT3 makes an immediate impression.

It’s a 14.25-inch tablet with a 2400×1600 resolution, matte “NanoMatte” finish.

If you’re used to compact tablets, this is a big step up in canvas size – I liked it but it’s something to consider in terms of desk space.

The build is relatively light for its size (760 g) and the finish gives it a slightly premium feel.

Ugee include the stylus (called “U-Pencil”), replacement nibs, a case/folio stand, and a drawing glove.

Also included are a USB-C cable and power adapter, spare nibs (with extractor), instruction booklet and warranty card.

Specs & build quality

Chinese based Ugee are actually the parent brand of XP Pen (makers of the XP Pen Artist) and has been around almost 25 years so it’s not a here-today gone tomorrow manufacturer.

The build quality and specs are surprisingly high, so don’t let the name put you off. The UT3 is its most expensive model at $389.99 and it feels very much like a premium tablet.

Here are some of the key specs of the Ugee UT3:

• Size: 14.25″ display, resolution 2400×1600, aspect 3:2. Only 0.6cm thick.
• Weight: 760g
• Surface: “NanoMatte” Matte laminated finish, anti-glare with paper-like feel. TÜV Rheinland Certification.
• Processor / memory: MTK Helio G99 (Octa-core) with 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage.
• OS: Android 14 (out of the box) 0- important for how you might use it with Mac (see more on this below)
• Speakers: 4 grills on each side with volume controls across the top.
• Stylus: U-Pencil, 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity claimed, 20 ms latency claimed (though real-world may vary). Weighs just 13g. Curved with a flat edge to rest it on tables when not in use.
• Battery: 10,000 mAh internal battery, decent for the size. Claims to offer up to 13 hours drawing time, 12 hours video watching and. It can be fully charged in 2 hours. Using in it monochrome mode to read Kindle books obviously uses less battery than watching videos on YouTube or drawing on the tablet.
• Camera: Impressive 13MP front camera and 8MP rear camera.

Drawing & everyday performance

Launching and starting apps with Ugee UT3 is faster than other Android tablets I’ve tried such as the Huion Slate 11 which quickly became sluggish after installing apps.

Like most Android tablets, it actually comes with its own ad-supported drawing software included such as MediBang and ibisPaint.

There’s also a pretty cool AI art software called PaintPal which has lots of cool brushes and effects for doodling.

You can of course download any Android compatible graphic design software to use with such as the excellent (and free) Krita.

When you switch it on, it’s like setting-up any other Android device or phone and requires you to have a Google account to link to the Android Play store to download apps.

The stylus is already calibrated and charged so you’re ready to go right-away.

For drawing, the Ugee UT3 is very capable – especially for hobbyists, concept sketching, and work where a large canvas helps.

The surface is pleasant to draw on (the matte coating gives some “tooth”) but also that the size makes it more of a tabletop device than something you hold comfortably for long periods.

The included folio stand is helpful and allows you to angle the screen how you want although I preferred to use it lying flat on the table.

The big 14.25″ size (that’s bigger than the iPad Pro) gives you a lot of room for tool palettes, references, side-panels without feeling cramped.

The 2.4k resolution is also impressive allowing you to zoom-in and refine details in drawings.

The matte surface means you get a slightly more traditional “pen-on-paper” feel compared to glossy tablets.

The pen is very light at just 13g and I liked the magnetic holder on the side of the tablet to make sure it doesn’t get lost easily.

You can switch between 3 color modes: Regular for standard art colors, games and video playback, Ink Paper for black and white reading modes and Color Paper for de-saturated colors.

The protective case is pretty standard with corner protectors to prevent nasty bumps or shock cracking the screen.

However, it’s not perfect. I did find

• Some line wobble / jitter when drawing slow diagonal or very straight lines.
• Palm-rejection is “hit and miss” – you might find stray strokes if your palm rests on the screen while drawing. There is however a glove included to minimize this.
• The latency is minimal but not perfect when compared to higher-end pen-displays; for precision work (fine line art, technical illustration), there’s a small gap. If you draw fast flowing lines, you’ll notice some annoying lag but for quick strokes the latency is much less (see below).

• I found the adaptive brightness annoying as it was very sensitive to even the smallest change in ambient light so I switched it off. The Ugee UT3 does perform well in low brightness however with support for 400 nits of brightness.

In other words: for sketching, illustration, concept art, media creation, it’s solid – but if you need ultra-precision (e.g., architecture CAD linework, very fine inking), there are better drawing tablets to use with Macs.

How it works with a Mac

Out-of-the-box: The Ugee UT3 is a standalone Android tablet. That means you can use it like a regular Android tablet: install drawing apps directly, draw on it, etc. If you want to use it as a Mac-connected drawing display (i.e., as a pen display hooked to your Mac) you’re out of luck.

Driver / compatibility info: Ugee says that many of their tablets support Mac OS X 10.10+ for drivers etc. But those references tend to relate more to their “drawing tablet/monitor” line rather than the standalone Android tablet line like UT2 and UT3.

In practical terms for Mac users, that means:

• If you want to draw on the Ugee UT3 itself, you don’t need your Mac; the device is self-contained.
• If you want to use it as an input surface for your Mac (so you draw in Photoshop, Illustrator, etc on your Mac, and the Ugee UT3 acts like a pen display), there’s no documented or built-in driver from Ugee for that.

Workarounds / options
There are a few possible workarounds for integrating the tablet with a Mac:

• Use the UT3 as a tablet separate from the Mac: e.g., sketch on the UT3 in Android drawing apps, export your work (via file transfer, cloud drive, AirDrop to/from Mac), then edit on your Mac in macOS drawing software.
• Use screen-sharing / remote-desktop type apps: You could run an app that mirrors your Mac screen to the UT3 (or vice versa) and draw over it, but this will add a lot of latency and may not provide full pressure/tilt integration.
• Use the UT3 as a large display independent of drawing: If you have a Mac with Sidecar (iPad), or another second-screen setup, the UT3 could serve as a large display for reference, palette, etc while you draw on your main tablet. In this setup the UT3 isn’t the input, just the display.
• If Ugee ever provide a dedicated “Mac input” driver for the UT3, then you could hook it via USB-C/USB-C or USB-C/HDMI to the Mac and use it like a pen display – but at the time of writing I could not find any official documentation supporting that.

Final thoughts

The Ugee UT3 is a terrific budget drawing tablet if you want a big-canvas drawing experience and don’t need to draw directly on your Mac.

It brings features you’d expect in a more expensive device (size, matte finish, stylus) and does so at a lower price than premium tablets.

If you treat the UT3 as a companion device (e.g., for sketching, concepting, or as an auxiliary display) it’s a excellent choice and offers great value. But if you want to use it as the focus on drawing and illustration on your Mac, there are better “true” Mac-connected pen displays.

Alternatives

Here’s how the Ugee UT3 compares with some popularly compared tablets – the iPad Pro, Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad.