New MobileStudio Pro 13" Gen 2 (DTHW1321HK0A) 2020 Review

Posted by Stefan Petit on Feb 19, 2020

Wacom’s newest MobileStudio Pro (MSP) is here and we are very excited about it. The first Generation of MobileStudio Pros were good, but it felt like they had too many pricey features for the low-end models, and yet, not enough features included with the higher end models. It was a bit overkill for those who just wanted to draw, and those who were doing 3D needed just a bit more packed into it.

As you might know, with the release of the latest Generation 2 MSP 16, the latest 13” is also a vast improvement compared to its predecessors.

It took a while for the MSP 13 Gen 2’s release, especially since the 16 has already been out for a little while. But as long as Wacom ensures that their products are run through their Quality Control testing, then that’s fine by me! I think Wacom really listened to their user base and made changes that people would really appreciate. For instance, Wacom received some criticism for not including a stand with the 1^stGeneration, but now the Gen 2 models come with a stand in the box.

The most significant and valuable change they made was tossing out the tiered model system. Instead of 3 models in each size with different specifications, you can now upgrade the RAM and storage through the accessible back plate. This makes a much more versatile device you can customize to your specific needs.
The end-user installation is very straightforward, but it can get very complicated if you don't know what you're doing, and you don't want to make a mistake that could end up bricking your device. Especially when upgrading the storage, because you successfully need to clone the original SSD. If you purchase a MobileStudio through us directly, we offer those upgrades for a reasonable fee as well.

It’s important to note, that even though both sizes can upgrade the DDR4 2666MHz RAM, the 16” has two RAM slots, while the 13” has one. So if you want to upgrade the13"'s stock 16GB to something like 32GB, you’ll need one 32GB sized stick, not 2x16GB.

Both the 16 and 13” have similar core specs, including an Intel i7-8559U CPU. This is great because most of the lower tiered Gen 1 models only had an i5.

If resolution is important to you, then that’s where things get different. The MSP 16 has a 15.6 Inch 4K/UHD (3840x2160) screen with up to 85% Adobe RGB coverage. The MSP 13 has a 13.3” WQHD (2560 x 1440) screen with up to 82% Adobe RGB coverage. Although I don’t think you will notice much of a difference between those resolutions on smaller screens, and 3% of RGB space isn’t a wide gap either.

In terms of price, the 16” starts at $3,499 (without modifications), and the 13” starts at $2,599. Both of these are a bit more expensive compared to the low-end models of the previous Generation, but on the other hand, they are considerably more powerful and can of course be upgraded!

Overall, I think Wacom made significant changes to the MobileStudio Pros that has made the art community very pleased. Personally I don’t need MSP with my personal work, but I firmly believe this is a valuable asset for any Freelance Professional that needs to take his work outside of the home office.