

XP‑Pen Star G960S is a slim (10 mm thick), lightweight pen tablet featuring a spacious 9 × 6 inch active area and 4 customizable shortcut keys. It includes a battery‑free PH3 stylus (PH2 with eraser on the "Plus" variant), offering 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and 60° tilt support—all with a fast 230 RPS report rate via USB. Compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and Chrome OS, it’s a plug‑and‑play solution ideal for digital drawing, note-taking, productivity apps, and more .

The XP‑PEN Star G960S is a versatile and feature-rich mid-size digital drawing tablet designed to meet the needs of digital artists, graphic designers, educators, students, and professionals who require a larger workspace without compromising portability or performance. Featuring a spacious 9 x 6 inch active area, the G960S gives users ample room to draw, design, write, or edit with greater freedom and precision compared to compact tablets. Its slim profile—only 10mm thick—and lightweight build make it easy to carry and use in various environments, whether in a studio, classroom, office, or on the go. The tablet comes with a battery-free PH3 stylus (or PH2 stylus in the G960S Plus version) that offers 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 60 degrees of tilt recognition, and a 10mm hover height, delivering a smooth, accurate, and natural drawing experience. The tilt support especially enables artists to add shading and depth to their work just like traditional tools. Four customizable shortcut keys located on the tablet surface allow for improved workflow efficiency, letting users assign frequently used commands or tools to simplify their creative process.
The G960S shines in its wide compatibility, supporting not just Windows and macOS, but also Linux, Chrome OS, and even Android (6.0 and above), making it an excellent option for users working across different platforms and devices. Whether you're using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Clip Studio Paint, Krita, GIMP, Medibang, or office and education tools like Microsoft Word, OneNote, Zoom, and Google Classroom, the G960S performs reliably with minimal input lag and consistent responsiveness. It’s also a popular choice among online educators and students for digital note-taking, e-signing documents, and interactive learning, especially in hybrid or remote environments. Its plug-and-play functionality ensures that even beginners can get started quickly, while experienced users benefit from driver-based customization options for pressure curves and key mapping.
Despite its strengths, some users note that the drawing surface can scratch over time with heavy use, especially when using hard nibs, so adding a screen protector is often recommended to preserve the surface texture. Also, like many mid-range tablets, the G960S lacks advanced features like multi-touch gestures or a built-in display, but these omissions are reasonable trade-offs considering its budget-friendly price and solid feature set. Overall, the XP‑PEN Star G960S delivers excellent value for anyone looking for a larger, responsive digital drawing surface with professional-level pressure sensitivity, tilt support, and broad device compatibility—making it a dependable and flexible choice for both creative work and digital communication tasks.Expanding further, the XP‑PEN Star G960S positions itself as a reliable and accessible tool for a wide range of digital activities, from professional-level illustration and graphic design to online education, document review, digital whiteboarding, and casual art practice. One of its standout features is the tilt recognition capability, which is rarely found in tablets at this price point. The ±60° tilt function allows users to shade and angle their strokes naturally, simulating the feel of traditional tools like pencils or brushes. This makes it not only great for digital painting but also for calligraphy, concept art, and other expressive drawing techniques. The PH3 stylus included in the standard G960S version (or PH2 with eraser in the G960S Plus) is lightweight, responsive, and battery-free, offering a seamless writing experience without the hassle of recharging—ideal for long work or study sessions. The pen glides smoothly across the surface, and combined with 8192 pressure levels, it captures even the most subtle hand movements and pressure variations, resulting in clean, dynamic lines and natural transitions between strokes.