For years there was only ever really one name synonymous with graphic and pen tablets and that was Wacom. However, it come with a premium price tag.
Nowadays there are many different companies like XPPen, Huion, etc who manufacture tablets at a variety of affordable tablets to compete with wacom.
Being a proud XPPen tablet owner since 2018 and having previously reviewed the Star 03, I decided to go ahead and review the Deco Mini7 V2.
I purchased this tablet in November 2024 and have been using it daily since. For the most part, it is a fantastic small affordable graphic tablet that will not let you down. Let’s take a look.
Unboxing
Besides the essential tablet, digital pen and USB-C connecting cable, It comes with 8 spare nibs, a nib remover , 2 USB adapters (designed for android devices), Warranty Card, and Quick Guide, on the box.
Build Quality
As with most XP-Pen products, the design quality of the tablet is great and its looks cool too. At just 8mm it’s slim enough to slip behind a laptop in a bag.
The left side of the unit is where you’ll find the 8 customizable shortcut keys/buttons with the XP-Pen logo over on the far right – the drawing area is designated by 4 small white chevron/corner icons.
Tablet Size
Measuring 260.2 x 162.2 x 9.3mm and weighing only 307g, this tablet is small and easy to pack up and take on the go.
The active area is 7.03 inches x 4.37 inches, letting me stay precise and not be zoomed in as much. It is comfortable to use whether I work from a laptop or my 23-inch monitor.
But If you want to drawing more comfortable or have a big computer monitor than 22-inch, you can get the XPPen Deco 01 V3 with a 10 x 6.25 inches active area. It is more suitable for creating high-resolution and complex illustrations but less portable.
Connection and Installation
On the left side is where you’ll plug in the cable, and the other you’ll plug into either your Mac, Windows PC or compatible Android device…
Uninstall any previous/older pen tablet drivers, heading to XPPen’s website to download and install the drivers for this particular unit.
The XPPen driver set up can be a bit confusing if you’re not used to it, but you’re able to fine tune everything and adjust to yours needs and likes.
For example, you can adjust the pen pressure curve, set the hotkeys for different art software, set the work area etc
I set my Tablet Area to cover only a small portion of the top left corner. This allows my hand and wrist to stay in the same area as I work.
Adjust the pen pressure curve lets me don’t have to press as hard to get a dark or bold mark on the canvas.
If you mess up the settings, there’s no need to panic as hitting ‘Default’ will set everything back the way it was initially.
Customizable Buttons
The eight buttons at the left side are easy to access and have a nice feel when pressed. They help me a lot to speed up the drawing/design process.
You can set different functionality for each button on the tablet and pen itself for each different piece of software – meaning you can have different hotkeys for illustrator, photoshop, Krita, etc.
Its precision under normal use is impeccable, and its 2048 pressure levels and tilt sensitivity leave me without a single complaint.
Stylus Pen
The P05D pen not only looks good, its great to hold, very light and feels really comfortable in the hand. It is battery-free, so there is no need to charge it at all.
Although made of plastic, the area surrounding the 2 button/rocker switch has some kind of soft rubber type skin or covering (roughly half the pen!) – it really does feel nice to the grip.
Drawing Experience
The XPPen deco mini 7 V2 tablet Works really well with my MacBook Pro. I bought it to use with photoshop. Makes editing images and drawing a lot easier.
The pen seemed to ‘glide’ so smoothly over the tablet as the texture on this tablet is really nice and doesn’t feel coarse.
The pen has 16384 levels of pen pressure sensitivity – perfect for getting those nice variable pen strokes when creating your masterpiece!
It also supports 60 degrees of tilt so you can shade away to your hearts content just like a real pencil!
There wasn’t a hint of any lagging and the pen pressure worked perfectly. Lines tapered off neatly and curves looked good.
Price
At $35.99, The XPPen Deco Mini 7 V2 is an absolute bargain, especially when compared to wacom Intuos or Wacom One Pen tablet.
If you want the convenience of 2.4GHz wireless connectivity, there’s also a XPPen Deco mini7W version- But you have to pay an extra $20.
In Conclusion
The XPPen deco mini 7 V2 is a great tablet, the best of its kind.
The 16K levels of pressure sensitivity is impressive, allowing for precise and nuanced drawings. The size and weight are perfect for portability, making it easy for her to take it on the go.
Overall, the deco mini 7 V2 Tablet has exceeded my expectation and has become an essential tool for my artistic endeavors.
I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a portable, reliable, affordable, and high-quality drawing tablet.
