The new Wacom One budget range continues an annoying tech trend

Wacom has announced the launch of its new Wacom One line, giving us the budget drawing tablet range that we've been waiting for... kind of. Four new products are being released as part of the Wacom One Family, including two creative pen tablets, the Wacom One S and Wacom One M, plus two interactive pen displays, the Wacom One 13 (multi-touch) and Wacom One 12.

But there's been some confusion around what's actually being offered by Wacom. Consumers have pointed out that these new entry-level products don't include essential accessories such as a power adapter, stand, cables, or a pen – which are all sold separately for an additional cost. 

The AC adapter/Plug is being listed by Wacom as $29.95, and the Wacom One 3 in 1 Cable (which is optional) for $49.95. We can reasonably understand a pen not being included with these products, but surely a premium brand such as Wacom should not need to charge extra for necessities like the device power adapter? 

And this is an annoying tech trend that we've seen before. Apple shipped the iPhone 12 without a charger or earbuds, and in the world of drawing tablets, we've seen Huion also offer new releases without the essentials, but it's a first for Wacom, considered to be one of the best drawing tablet manufacturers out there.

As far as we understand, Wacom had the intent to help creatives save money and promote the reduction of e-waste by allowing customers to build their own tablet packages and only purchase what they need. 

Sure, some artists may already have cables and plugs from an older-generation Wacom tablet, but we think entry-level consumers would not. And just from a user experience of going to their site and selecting the new tablet, we don't think Wacom has been very transparent about its prices or accessory inclusions. 

Wacom also did this with the release of the Cintiq Pro 27, which shipped without a stand or internal feet, rendering it essentially useless out of the box. 

When pricing up the Wacom One 12 pen display tablet on the website, and selecting only the absolute essentials at the cheapest offering (including the $44.95 stand), you can expect to spend a total of $419.70. While this isn't a bad price, it's still a little confusing for consumers to understand if they've purchased what they need, or an extra accessory on top of what's already included in the box. 

Wacom's product announcement also initially confused us given that the Wacom One product name already exists. We reviewed the 13-inch Wacom One Creative Pen display back in 2020, and Wacom has said that this existing tablet will not be discontinued, so where does it fit into the product line? It seems to have been renamed as the Wacom One (Gen 1) to avoid even more confusion. 

The newly introduced Wacom One S pen tablet is super affordable at just $59.95 (excluding accessories) and has seemingly forced competitors like Senselabs to start slashing their own prices to keep up. These are the first entry-level pen tablets equipped with 4K pressure sensitivity and support tilt for calligraphy effects – good news for those looking for an entry-level welcome into the world of drawing tablets.

Wacom is offering free software deals and in-depth tutorials with the Wacom One family, which will be appealing to beginner illustrators. But, when everything is considered, would you purchase one of these new Wacom One devices? Let us know. 

• If you're not interested in Wacom's new releases, then take a look at our guide to the best Wacom alternatives, or consider some of the older best Wacom tablets with pro-level options for more advanced creators, and keep an eye on the best Wacom tablet deals each month using our clever widgets.