SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless
MSRP $240.00
“Should you can afford the value, the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless is likely to be one of the best gaming keyboard you may buy.”
Pros
- Unique Omnipoint 2.0 switches
- Dual actuation inputs
- Perfect size for gamers
- Satisfying typing and gaming experience
- Bluetooth and a pair of.4GHz connections
Cons
- Unnecessarily expensive
- SteelSeries GG is a bit confusing
- 60% form factor limits use cases
SteelSeries is entering a realm it has never gone to before — the recently charted land of 60% gaming keyboards. Using its ever-popular Apex Pro as a template, SteelSeries cut down the scale of its flagship to create a keyboard that meets the needs (and desk space) of gamers in 2022. SteelSeries went further than pulling out keys, too, which is why the Apex Pro Mini and Apex Pro Mini Wireless are amongst one of the best gaming keyboards you may buy.
That doesn’t mean it’s one of the best keyboard for you, though. The second-generation Omnipoint switches and dual wireless connections are big selling points for the Apex Pro Mini Wireless, but its prohibitively high price tag means it’s best to shop for other options before selecting SteelSeries’ first small form factor gaming keyboard.
Price
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Before attending to any aspect of the Apex Pro Mini and Apex Pro Mini Wireless, we’d like to discuss pricing. The Apex Pro Mini is $180 and the wireless version clocks in at $240. It’s, by far, the most costly 60% gaming keyboard you may buy, at the very least amongst mainstream brands. The Corsair K65, an expensive keyboard in its own right, is just $110 by comparison.
It’s not even close in loads of cases. Asus’ ROG Falchion NX is wireless and $150, nearly $100 lower than what SteelSeries is asking. And the wired HyperX Alloy Origins Core sells for as little as $70, $110 lower than the wired Apex Pro Mini. It’s expensive in comparison with SteelSeries’ own offerings, too. The complete-size Apex Pro, which comes with a wrist rest and an OLED display, is just $20 costlier than the Apex Pro Mini.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless is a downright terrible value.
I need to get this out of the way in which because I really like this keyboard. It’s great, and I might easily recommend it even when it was barely costlier than the competition. But it surely’s a downright terrible value. It is a keyboard for staunch enthusiasts who don’t mind throwing some money away on premium peripherals. Should you desire a deal, ensure that to read our roundup of one of the best budget mechanical keyboards.
Design
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It’s hard to know how small a 60% keyboard is until you decide one up with one hand. The Apex Pro Mini is 11.5 inches wide, 1.6 inches tall, and 4 inches deep, and it clocks in at just over one pound. That makes it smaller than the Razer Huntsman Mini but barely heavier than the Asus ROG Falchion. The additional heft is probably going as a result of the aluminum frame the keyboard uses, though it feels removed from heavy when stacked up against a full-sized keyboard.
The look is basic, but I’m a fan. There’s a tasteful SteelSeries logo on the front of the keyboard, in addition to a logo on the back. The Apex Pro Mini Wireless is as basic as gaming keyboards come, however the small branding touches still make it feel more premium than a black plastic rectangle.
Going all the way down to a 60% form factor comes with sacrifices, namely the arrow keys. I much prefer a 65% form factor with dedicated arrow keys, but SteelSeries doesn’t leave you out within the cold with the Apex Pro Mini. It has a “Meta” layer which you could activate with the SteelSeries key, which opens up media buttons, arrow keys, functions, and far more. Even higher, you may set any key for any function within the Meta layer through SteelSeries GG.
Although I prefer 65% for day-to-day use, there’s little doubt that this tiny form factor is superb for gaming. The Apex Pro Mini is just barely longer than two gaming mice but end-to-end, permits you to position the keyboard exactly where you would like while leaving ample desk space. It’s the other experience of Asus ROG Strix Flare II, which is nearly as wide as my gaming monitor.
Connectivity and ports
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The wireless version of the Apex Pro Mini is $60 greater than the wired version, nevertheless it earns that extra price. You have got the choice between Bluetooth and a pair of.4GHz wireless, and the low latency version appears like you’re using a cable. SteelSeries claims 40 hours of battery life, but you’ll likely get much more as a result of the keyboard’s automatic sleep mode.
Like other SteelSeries peripherals, the sleep mode isn’t perfect (read our SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless review for more). There’s a delay once you get up the keyboard because it responds to the dongle. It’s a couple of second or two on the Apex Pro Mini, which makes it feel much less snappy than a wireless keyboard just like the Logitech G915 TKL.
When the battery runs out, you may charge the Apex Pro Mini with the USB-C port on the back of the keyboard. It sits next to the connection switch, which permits you to toggle between Bluetooth and a pair of.4GHz or turn the keyboard off.
Omnipoint switches
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Outside of the indisputable fact that that is the primary 60% keyboard from SteelSeries, the Apex Pro Mini also stands out as the primary keyboard to make use of the corporate’s Omnipoint 2.0 mechanical switches. The primary version debuted on the full-size Apex Pro, and SteelSeries says this 2.0 version offers 11x faster response times, 10x faster actuation times, and are two times as durable as “standard mechanical keyboards.”
And to my surprise, I can actually validate a few of those claims. For durability, the Omnipoint 2.0 switches are guaranteed to supply 100 million key strokes (double that of a standard Cherry MX switch), and for actuation, the Omnipoint 2.0 switches can go down as little as 0.2mm. That compares to only over 1mm on the fastest mechanical switches.
The Apex Pro Mini appears like a dream for gamers.
That actuation point is what makes Omnipoint 2.0 switches stand out. You’ll be able to adjust it from 0.2mm as much as 3.8mm across the board or on a per-key basis. And it really works. I bumped every thing all the way down to 0.2mm, and it felt like all I needed to do was lay my finger on a key for it to register an input. It’s terrible for typing, but for gaming? The Apex Pro Mini appears like a dream.
Razer also has adjustable actuation on its Huntsman Mini Analog, nevertheless it doesn’t go nearly as little as what SteelSeries is offering. I’ll rarely use 0.2mm as an actuation force across the keyboard, but I enjoyed bumping all the way down to sub-1mm ranges on my space bar and WASD keys while playing games. It appears like a completely different technique to play, and I never had issues with doubled or missed inputs.
Gaming and typing performance
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After configuring my actuation points, I used to be flying when playing games on the Apex Pro Mini. I particularly liked using it in fast-paced shooters — Destiny 2, Doom Everlasting, Valorant — where the low actuation point felt prefer it was making a giant difference. Using the keyboard outside of gaming is a little bit of a hassle, though.
The 60% form factor has the entire keys you wish (minus arrow keys), but using one as a each day driver isn’t perfect. It’s not that the keys are smaller, however the indisputable fact that there’s no extra board under you hands. I subconsciously balance my hand on the highest of a keyboard when pressing number keys, for instance, and a 60% keyboard just like the Apex Pro Mini exposes those hand rails. I discovered myself having more slip-ups with typos when typing for a very long time, which further proves that the Apex Pro Mini is a gaming keyboard first.
It’s still a joy to type on in terms of feel. The Omnipoint switches are linear with a chunky, hole clank to them that isn’t too distracting. They’re, again, for gaming first and typing second, however the Omnipoint switches don’t feel like one other knock-off of Cherry or Kailh.
SteelSeries GG software
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Bringing every thing together on the Apex Pro Mini is SteelSeries GG — an admittedly flawed piece of software despite how much functionality it unlocks for the Apex Pro Mini. Starting with the great, GG gives you full control over key bindings each on the bottom layer and within the Meta layer, and you may rebind the keys to macros, application controls, OS shortcuts, and far more.
Beyond what you’d expect out of a $200 keyboard, GG also permits you to arrange dual bindings and dual actuations. These two features are a number of the more interesting options in SteelSeries GG. Dual bindings help you bind a separate command upon releasing the important thing, while dual actuations permits you to set separate inputs for various actuation points.
SteelSeries GG permits you to perform mainly any PC input, and frequently multiple ones, with a single key press.
It’s hard understating the scope of possibilities with this setup. I imagine most individuals will just use the keyboard as normal, but the facility that GG offers is a giant deal for those who have highly specific use cases. Easily executable macros in your favorite MMOs, a complete board of productivity shortcuts, or perhaps a row of keys dedicated to advanced Excel tricks — you may perform mainly any PC input, and frequently multiple ones, with a single key press.
It’s a superb thing that the important thing bindings are so great because the remainder of SteelSeries GG is a slog. The RGB lighting engine works with various different effects, nevertheless it’s not nearly as flexible as Corsair iCue (and the colours in GG aren’t representative of the colours in your keyboard). The built-in macro recorder works, nevertheless it’s not as intuitive as Logitech G Hub. The list goes on.
My biggest issue with GG is how much bloat there’s, though. There’s a dedicated section for giveaways, for instance, and the Moments section captures moments of key gameplay in supported games (which AMD and Nvidia’s software already does). As well as, it’s good to create a SteelSeries account to even use the app, and the house page serves as a listing of tiles to advertise other SteelSeries products (as a substitute of, you recognize, those you might have connected). GG is a flawed piece of software that, unfortunately, is mandatory to unlock the potential of the Apex Pro Mini.
Our take
The SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless is a monster gaming keyboard that does every thing one of the best keyboards can do and more. The Omnipoint switches are the most important selling point, even in the event that they don’t completely justify the keyboard’s insane price tag. I’d buy this keyboard, but only with full awareness that it’s unnecessarily expensive.
Are there any alternatives?
Although there aren’t some other keyboards with Omnipoint 2.0 switches, there are some similar options from SteelSeries’ competitors:
- Razer Huntsman V2 Analog: Cheaper than the Apex Pro Mini and comes with adjustable actuation point. You don’t have as much room for adjustment, though, and there isn’t a wireless version available.
- Asus ROG Falchion NX: A rather larger 65% keyboard that’s still super small and comes with wireless connectivity. It lacks Bluetooth, nevertheless it’s less expensive than the Apex Pro Mini.
- HyperX Alloy Origins 60: Significantly cheaper than the Apex Pro Mini while still coming with true mechanical switches and a 60% form factor. Should you don’t care about all of the bells and whistles and wish a keyboard that just works, this one is for you.
How long will it last?
SteelSeries says its Omnipoint switches are guaranteed for 100 million keystrokes each. That’s to say, the Apex Pro Mini will last you until you select to upgrade.
Do you have to buy it?
Yes. It brings something unique to the table, even on the planet of high-end gaming keyboards — and even at its sky-high price. Keyboards just like the Logitech G915 TKL prove that a high price isn’t a death sentence, but there are still several other great 60% gaming keyboards which are $100 cheaper than the Apex Pro Mini.
Editors’ Recommendations
