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The LincStudio S1 Tablet from LincPlus Studio S1 may look like a standard run of the mill tablet, but this portable pen display has a bit more hidden up its sleeve. The retouching tool is also a fully functional handheld PC that, while not without its shortcomings, has a surprising amount to offer traveling creatives.
While I’m not usually a fan of all-in-one devices, (especially Windows ones since I’ve been embedded in the world of Apple for more than two decades), the $999 LincStudio S1 Tablet offers some attractive features for creative work on the road with drawing and retouching tools positioned at the front of its feature list. The question is, just how well can it perform on some heavier-duty tasks?
Full disclosure: LincPlus sent us the tablet to test but has had no input on the review.
LincPlus Studio S1: Features and Product Highlights
Out of the box, the 13-inch device features a surprisingly color-rich 2K resolution multitouch-input touchscreen, a buttonless Wacom EMR stylus empowered by the Feel Driver, and a magnetically-attaching keyboard/trackpad that also doubles as a screen protector. The rear of the device has a built-in stand that offers a range of working angles from flat on the desk (0) to 152 degrees to account for pretty much any desk-based working setup, and along the outer bezel, users will find 12 customizable shortcut keys (six on either side) as well as a scroll/zoom slide bar in the middle of the buttons.
On the PC side, the system runs Windows with an 11th-generation four-core 4.7 GHz Intel i7 processor, 16 GB of memory, and a 512 gigabyte SSD. The tablet’s display is powered by an Intel Iris XE graphics processor and up to 1.3 GHz (GPU) with a 42.75-watt-hour battery. It also features two USB-C (Thunderbolt 4) ports, a single USB 3.0 A port on the right side, and a microSD card slot under the kickstand. While not a ton of connectivity, it’s pretty easy to get what you need done with what’s provided or simply get a USB hub for expanded connections, turning the tablet into a fully functional desktop workstation if required.
In addition to this, the tablet also has small speakers (left and right sides) and a 3.5mm jack for headphones or external speakers.
LincPlus Studio S1: Design and Build Quality
Acting as a hybrid between tablet and laptop, the LincStudio S1 tablet was built surprisingly well, with the end users intended to be illustrators, retouchers, animators, and designers. Its small size makes it very easy to slip into any standard laptop bag or briefcase (even with a laptop already in there) and with the keyboard even attached, weighing just over 2.4 pounds (1.1 kilograms). Continuing from the features listed above, users will find the power and shortcut key disable/lock buttons along the left side of the tablet and a volume increase/decrease button along the top left-hand side.
The bottom of the device features rubber feet that pair with the feet on the kickstand to ensure it stays in place when propped up for use. The stand itself is pretty rigid, and while it may seem like it will wear out or bend/break easily, after a month of testing the device, it showed no signs of loosening up. Under the kickstand is where users will find the microSSD slot (as mentioned above) as well as the access point to the 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD (which is upgradable should users need more space than the shipped 500Gb).
The tablet is about a centimeter thick and includes a 13-inch matte touchscreen display with a relatively thick bezel. Usually, this large of a bezel would be frustrating, but this system uses up that space by layering up the customizable buttons and scroll bars along its left and right sides, making it easily usable by both right and left-handed creatives.
Overall, the system is well put together, and Surface Pro users will find a lot of similarities in its design. Beyond that, we’ll dive into some specifics in the sections below.
LincPlus Studio S1: Screen Quality
The LincPLus LincStudio S1 tablet boasts a matte textured screen with a maximum 2160 by 1440 (2k) resolution, 16.7 million collars, a 178-degree viewing angle, and a claim of 100% sRGB color accuracy (which we’ll get to in a moment). In addition to these features, the system has a latency input of under five milliseconds and has absolutely no parallax (at least visible to the naked eye) while in use. The anti-glare style screen was a nice touch as it made using the tablet in outdoor and brightly lit rooms pretty manageable. This matte display also provided a relatively smooth pen-to-screen experience (as well as a smudge-free touch experience) when using the tablet for retouching and illustration.
As for screen color quality and accuracy, the colors were impressively vibrant, but color purists may find it lacking. After several weeks of testing and running the latest Datacolor SpyderPro calibrations, the best I was able to achieve was about 83 percent. Again, there are far worse tablets and screens out there for accuracy, but I felt this was a massive gap between the claim of 100% sRGB accuracy. Is it a deal breaker? For me, absolutely not, as this is more function than fashion, as it were, but if you are a perfectionist who demands and relies on absolute color accuracy, you may want to look elsewhere. For those interested in the full details, the additional color support numbers resulted in about 58% NTSC, 62% AdobeRGB, and 60% P3 with a maximum brightness of about 215 nits — not super bright.
LincPlus Studio S1: The Stylus, Keyboard, and Trackpad
The LincPlus S1 Tablet ships with a magnetic keyboard with a fabric textured backside that doubles as a protective case when connected and closed. The keyboard is pretty thin and feels somewhat rubbery, but it is surprisingly functional with an impressively accurate trackpad. The double-click feature of the trackpad can be a little iffy when not on a flat and secured surface, and it doesn’t seem to like multi-finger usage. Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of trackpads and have opted for the touch screen or mouse/pen over using these whenever possible, so while the trackpad on this device is definitely usable and functional, I’d recommend using the actual multitouch of the screen itself, or an external mouse whenever possible.
Even with its thin build, the keys (and trackpad) provide a satisfying “click” for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, levering a chiclet-style design. And yes, these is a fully on-screen keyboard that worked seamlessly in situations where the magnetic keyboard was unavailable or just not needed.
The included pen is a Wacom Shinonome 2nd Generation (refill type EMR) pen that boasts a 0.1-millimeter level precession, 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, up to 60-degree tilt recognition, and an impressive palm-rejection while drawing (even without the provided glove). There’s no holder or slot for the pen, so users must keep the case handy or be very attentive to where they leave it while using the device to ensure it doesn’t get lost.
There was no visible lag or jitters in practice, and the pen-to-screen experience was surprisingly accurate and comfortable. The only missing thing was the left and right mouse-click buttons usually found on the Wacom stylus. Again, not a deal-breaker but it did take a bit of getting used to, especially while also jumping over the hurdle of getting familiar with the Windows 11 infrastructure after more than 20 years of not using the OS. At least the pend did allow for the “eraser” feature by flipping over to the backside of the pen, making it feel a little more like an authentic pencil-on-paper experience.
Since the screen is laminated, there was no visible gap between the pen tip and the line drawn beneath it, making for a smooth drawing experience. The pen is skinny and lightweight, placing it in a different league from the standard “chunky” style of stylus that comes with most other standard tablets. The included case is made of plastic, which may feel cheap, but functionally, it does what’s needed to protect and store the pen and spare parts while in transit. The system also includes four spare nibs and the nib removal tool. While missing the extra buttons (a clear downside), the good news is the tablet will support any pen that supports the Wacom EMR system, allowing users to get their own should they prefer something a little more robust.
Outside of using the pen for retouching, the tablet had software that even allowed for handwriting recognition, as long as your handwriting was better than mine, which is chicken scratch, at best.
The screen is also generally locked in on its horizontal positioning (based on the kickstand position) and does not auto-rotate based on your positioning like other tablets like the iPad or Samsung devices. You can, however, manually change the display orientation through the settings panel. A downside, but not insurmountable, especially since you can get the Screen Rotate app from the Microsoft store to enable that feature.
LincPlus Studio S1: Performance
First, we should tackle a big usability issue: How’s the battery life? Honestly, it’s not amazing, at least when compared to other general-use tablets. Based on my testing of the devices using Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Capture One Pro, and just general web browsing, the average lifespan on the battery was somewhere between four and five hours, shorter if doing some heavier lifting like bulk processing.
That said, even with the older Intel processor, the LincPlus S1 Tablet was still swift. Most applications run quickly enough and are smooth. The only real hiccup I ran into was trying to run the Liquify tool in Photoshop, which just kept returning a general “error” and failing to open.
Running and data transfer speeds using the internal SSD were about what you’d expect, returning read speeds topping over 3,000 MB/s and write speeds of about 2,800 MB/s, and general usage of apps on the device was about what you’d expect from a tablet device. The additional storage provided by the microSD card was a different story. Regardless of the card used, the microSD slot doesn’t have a speedy transfer rate, averaging about 18MB/s read and write speeds. You shouldn’t use this card slot for anything other than backup/additional storage space and save the SSD for actual working files.
Things got a bit hung up after some intense usage, and the system got a little loud (cooling fans in overdrive) and hot. I suppose this isn’t unexpected in thin multi-purpose devices like this. Still, when hand-holding, the device can get uncomfortable with CPU temperatures getting upwards of 100 degrees when slammed.
Further, things could become frustrating when the device slipped into sleep mode. After 30 to 60 minutes, the tablet would not “wake up” and would often require me to reboot it. I think this was a Windows OS issue, as simply turning off the sleep feature in the system settings fixed the locking issue, but it was frustrating to work around and figure it out.
Comparing the LincStudio S1 tablet to other base tablet devices like an iPad isn’t really where one should focus, as since it is technically a fully functional PC, users can run pretty much any app they can think of on the device, including connecting it to other tablets, external monitors, and printers/scanners, providing users a much more robust portable, and desktop experience.
Are There Alternatives?
Sticking to the All-in-One style devices, there are some other tablets out there that compete with the LincPlus LincStudio S1, including the Microsoft Surface Pro 10, if you can find it, and the Huion Kamvas Studio 16. Going towards the more traditional mobile device style tablet, you can choose the latest 13-inch iPad Pro that costs extra when you add in the keyboard and pencil(s), and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9.
Should You Buy It?
Maybe. While the keyboard case and battery life have significant room for improvement, the $999 LincPlus LincStudio S1 is a very affordable and viable option for creatives who need an additional portable device for their work in a Windows environment.
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