Wacom's most affordable tablet now works with Google Chromebooks

While Chromebooks have remained a popular and affordable option as classrooms and workplaces gradually moved to people’s living rooms during the novel coronavirus pandemic, a striking limitation that wasn’t addressed was the lack of support for reliable styluses, even for Chromebooks that do come with them.

But that’s all about to change - at least for students, thanks to Wacom’s tablet gaining Google’s ‘Works with Chromebook’ certification. The company sells its affordable One by Wacom tablet, which ships with a comfortable writing area and a stylus that supports 2,048 pressure points - enough for learners across the board.

The company’s website also says that the device can be used not only with Chromebook, PC and Mac, but also Zoom and “any other creative software.” The Electromagnetic pen technology on the device should be better than any stylus that is shipped with Chromebooks, in terms of accuracy and control. It also means that the stylus will not need a battery and can be used for hours on end without having to worry about charging at all.

Read more: Next Chromebook shows up on Google Play Console with key specs

If you’re wondering why this is a big deal, until today Wacom’s site stated that there was no existing driver support for ChromeOS and Wacom devices. It also stated that depending on the Chromebook and the OS image it was running, “limited pen support may be available and pen input will work with some older Wacom Tablets. Pen pressure, touch input and the tablet Expresskeys will not work in most cases.”

Chromebook users just have to plug in the One by Wacom tablet to their device in order to start using it - much like Linux users do with most of their devices. While this won’t benefit professional image editors, illustrators and designers who use special software from Corel, Adobe and others on their Windows and Mac computers, students and others with basic needs will definitely find the added support helpful.