Veikk Voila L Pen Tablet review: budget drawing tablet is an attractive choice

OUR VERDICT

The Veikk Voila L Pen Tablet from new kids on the block Veikk is a versatile, affordable drawing tablet that’s worth buying even if for only occasional use. It comes in cheaper than its rival the Huion Inspiroy Ink H320 and its rugged and simple design and inbuilt dial make it very simple to use out of the box. It’s supplied with different adaptors, allowing it to plug into phones, tablets and laptops and its pressure sensitivity is brilliant, especially for a sub-$50 tablet. The Veikk Voila L is part of Veikk’s new range of drawing tablets, released alongside the VK2200 Pro and the VK1060 Pro. A drawing surface rather than a screen tablet, the Veikk Voila L Pen Tablet is highly portable, easy to use and unlike its more expensive screen cousins, sturdy enough to be shoved in a rucksack. My time with the Veikk Voila L Tablet was spent mainly on Clip Studio Paint with some vector work on Inkscape thrown in for good measure, and I was impressed.

Looking to get a drawing tablet for yourself? Check out our guide to the best drawing tablets(opens in new tab) around.

The Veikk Voila L Pen Tablet(opens in new tab) has a lot going for it. As a drawing surface, it’s pleasant to use, and the latency between tablet and screen is pretty much non-existent, even on phones. Given the low price of the Veikk Voila L, I was expecting far greater latency and a far cheaper-feeling tablet. It also worked right out of the box, which isn’t always the case for drawing tablets; the pressure sensitivity was there straight away both on my laptop and on my phone.

Stylus

Veikk uses nearly identical pens across its whole range and, as a whole, they’re pleasant to use, if a little light. The pen is battery-free, so doesn’t require charging, and it features two buttons (and no eraser tool on the end, which is fairly standard with budget designs).

DESIGN & BUILD

The Veikk Voila L Pen Tablet comes as a fairly bare-bones package, although there are some nice surprises included. Within the box – which is a little more obviously branded than the Veikk VK1560 Pro, reviewed recently – were packed the tablet, the USB cable and also multiple adaptors (USB-A to USB-C and USB-A to micro-USB), a drawing glove, multiple replacement pen nibs and alternate coloured keycaps for the hotkeys, allowing for some fun visual customisation.

The design of the Veikk Voila L is solid and streamlined; it features a clean, matte design, with a pleasant surface to draw on and a satisfying amount of drag. The rubber feet underneath kept it solidly on the tabletop without sliding around but weren’t too obtrusive when I switched to propping it up on my knees on the sofa.

The most unexpected element for a tablet of this size was the dial, which was solid, functional and pleasant to use, and on the Veikk desktop app, it was easy to program. I also appreciated the Veikk Voila L's approach to hotkeys; while most other tablet hotkeys are thin and unobtrusive, the Veikk Voila L's keys are mechanical, solid and satisfying to press.

As the Veikk Voila L's pen is battery-free and the tablet runs off of a single USB cable, the entire package is very quick and easy to set up, with a single cable to plug in, as opposed to the slightly fiddly wiring of the Veikk VK1560 Pro. The socket may be a little annoying to left-handed users wishing to use the tablet rotated, although not deal-breakingly so; the cable is right-angled, so doesn’t jut out too far.

SHOULD YOU BUY THE VEIKK VOILA L PEN TABLET?

If you’re after a rugged, versatile tablet that’s easy on the wallet, simple to use and pleasing to look at, the Veikk Voila L Pen Tablet could be the perfect buy for you. It’s worth buying as a secondary tablet to carry around, a primary tablet for designers who don’t like screen tablets or as a first tablet for budding artists, and at £44.95/$44.95, it’s eminently affordable but also strong enough to survive being lugged about and battered by everyday use.