The XP-Pen Magic Note Pad Is $140 Off for This Black Friday Deal, and Artists Love It

Black Friday sales officially begin on Friday, November 28 and continue through Cyber ​​Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons and price trackers before they end.

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Although I’m a pretty disorganized person, I’ve spent the last few years testing a ton of productivity-enhancing and organization-enhancing laptops and tablets, and the best of them work so well they make me to want be the kind of person who actually organizes their notes. While I expected to slot the XP-Pen Magic Note Pad into this category (it’s an Android LED tablet with three screen modes that claim to switch it from color mode to e-ink mode, transforming it from a laptop, to a media player, to an e-reader), it’s actually more impressive as a drawing tablet.

Unfortunately, I can’t draw, but this thing made me wish I could. It’s marked down 35% for Black Friday, from $400 to $260, which is $25 less than on Prime Day and cheaper than I’ve ever seen it.

The Magic Note Pad has three screens in one, sort of

Apparently the main selling point of the Magic Note Pad is its “X-Paper” screen (which appears to be a rebranded version of TCL NXTPAPER display), which has a resolution of 1920 x 1200, a refresh rate of 90 Hz, and a peak brightness of 400 nits (in comparison, the entry-level iPad offers a refresh rate of 60 Hz and 500 nits of brightness). It has an etched surface to reduce glare as well as three different color modes, controlled at the operating system level, which are supposed to transform it from a color LED tablet to a black and white e-reader. There is a dedicated button on the top of the device that allows you to choose between:

• Natural color fashionor the standard you expect from any LED display

• Light color modewhich makes bright whites appear creamier and mutes other colors, similar to the effect of reading from newspaper (or an e-ink color reader like the Kindle ColorSoft)

• Ink paper modewhich claims to reproduce a grayscale e-ink display

If you are familiar with the different technologies involved, you will see that it is quite impossible for an LED backlit display to turn into an e-ink display simply by adjusting the color settings. The device is TÜV SÜD low blue light certifiedstating that it reduces blue light by 25%. He also wears a Paper-Like Display Certificationwhich I suppose means that it feels more paper-like than other LED displays, providing a “more comfortable and natural reading experience.” The etched screen reduces glare, and reading in ink paper mode will put a little less strain on your eyes if you’re reading in a dark room, but take it out, and it’s unmistakably still an LED tablet – you can’t magically read in bright sunlight by simply changing the display mode.

Digital artists love the Magic Note Pad

The Magic Note Pad’s real appeal (no pun intended) is actually less productive and more artistic: A ton of digital artists have reviewed it on Reddit and YouTube, and they uniformly praise it for its super-responsive stylus, which offers four times the pressure sensitivity of an Apple Pencil: 16,384 pressure levels for the XP-Pen’s included stylus, compared to just 4,096 pressure levels for the Apple Pencil.

Higher pressure levels give you more control over what actually appears on screen, allowing you to draw and “paint” with much more precision, giving you all the control you would have in the real world in a digital environment. Enough to make me want to sign up for a drawing class.

With the current 35% discount, the Magic Note Pad drops from $400 “artists only” to a more affordable $260, which is a good deal even if all you’re looking for is an above-average Android tablet with stylus support to use as a digital laptop or e-reader and for streaming media. It has an Octa-core Mediatek MT8781 processor, which appears to be a reliable mid-range chip, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and an 8,000mAh battery, which will last a few days between charges based on typical usage. There is also a front camera for video calls.

In short, if you want a tablet for drawing and have been sweating over the combined cost of an iPad and Apple Pencil, here’s a great opportunity to save money.

How long do Black Friday deals actually last?

Black Friday sales officially begin on Friday, November 28, 2025, and run throughout “Cyber ​​Week,” the five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber ​​Monday, December 1, 2025. But the dates for Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday have expanded as retailers compete for customers. Expect sales to end by December 3, 2025.

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday always offers discounts which can be rare during the rest of the year. If you want to buy something or are shopping for gifts, now is a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially technology sales, home improvement suppliesAnd fitness technology. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything.

Are Cyber ​​Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday was once reserved for big retailers and more expensive technology and appliances, while Cyber ​​Monday was for cheaper technology and gave small businesses a chance to compete online. But today, the distinction has almost no meaning. All major retailers will have sales every other day, and the best solution is to know what you want, use price tracking tools, or refer to guides like our live blog who use price tracking tools for you and don’t worry about finding the perfect timing.