Using a Samsung Tab S7+ and Photoshop with SuperDisplay
Getting the FedEx email in the morning saying the package was being delivered soon made me feel like a little kid on Christmas. I couldn’t wait to tear open the package! Behold, the glorious Samsung Tab S7+: a 12.4” Android tablet!
You’re probably thinking, “What does this have to do with Photoshop?” Well, there is a fantastic application for Android called SuperDisplay that allows you to turn your Android tablet into another monitor for your Windows laptop or desktop through Wi-Fi or USB connections. It adds pen and touch support that is recognized by the Windows 10 computer and any applications that can take advantage of it, including Adobe Photoshop.
With SuperDisplay, you can turn your Samsung Tab S7+ (or any Android tablet with pen support) into a Wacom tablet alternative. If your Android tablet doesn’t have pen support, you can still use it with touch support. Touch is great for zooming, scrolling, and rotating your canvas.
You will need to install 2 apps: SuperDisplay on your tablet and the SuperDisplay Windows driver on your PC. Once you have both installed, you can open SuperDisplay on your tablet and choose to connect with Wi-Fi or USB. Once connected, your tablet will be shown as an additional monitor in Windows 10’s display settings just like any other monitor you have connected via DisplayPort or HDMI. You can arrange how you please or even duplicate your monitor onto the tablet depending on your use case. Another nice option is if you have a laptop, you can use your tablet as a second monitor!
Setting up the tablet as a third monitor, I move Photoshop to that screen. I make another view of my photo by going to Window > Arrange > New window for (document name) then drag it to my primary monitor, the ultrawide.
My main use case is for pen support when doing photo retouching in Photoshop. It makes it extremely easy to do skin retouching and blemish removals with greater accuracy than using a mouse. I have a Wacom Intuos Draw which I didn’t care to use as you still need to look up at your monitor while drawing. It worked well for what it was designed for and its price point (under $100) but I didn’t prefer to use it.
Check out SuperDisplay’s website for more information: https://superdisplay.app/