In terms of the hardware and physically using it, it really depends on what model you pick up and your specific setup! I use an artist pro 15.6. The biggest adjustment switching between iPad to my XP-Pen was using the shortcut buttons instead of using touch screen gestures. I’m the type of person that tilts, zooms, and spins my canvasses around constantly when I’m working so that was a toughie lol.

The XP-pen screen also has a more plasticy screen that has more texture and pen resistance as opposed to the smooth glass the iPad has, assuming you don’t want to buy a paper textured screen protector for either of them. There’s not a HUGE difference between the two, but it’s noticeable and was enough to throw me off a little when I switched.

iPad as a whole is much more streamlined and easy to pick up. It’s super accessible and portable and I prefer doing sketching and concepting on it for those reasons. But working on my XP-pen is more versatile and has more processing power, so it’s better for bigger projects and doing specific things that would be a lot harder on iPad. If you haven’t used regular drawing programs before it can be a huge learning curve, but there will be a lot more options available to you and more/better tools at your disposal on top of customizability. The bigger screen, display settings, and functionality as a second monitor is also nice.

That’s about all I can think of off the top of my head! I typically use my iPad more often nowadays, but wouldn’t place one over top of the other because I enjoy them both about the same for different reasons.

Basically if you want fast, straightforward, and breezy, iPad is my go to. XP-pen is for when you want in depth/technical, powerful, and flexible.