A compact, fast-paced keyboard that focuses on swift switches

© STEELSERIES

THE STEELSERIES Apex 9 TKL was a keyboard that certainly had something going for it, but was let down by not making the most out of the optical switches it came installed with. Naturally, SteelSeries released the Pro variant to hopefully resolve this issue, and that’s what we have here—the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless. This board comes with more adjustable magnetic switches (yes, there is a difference), for swifter speed. Does this Pro and wireless variant warrant the increased price tag?

Kicking things off, we have to mention the performance of this board and its stand-out trait, the speed. The actuation can be adjusted anywhere between 0.2mm and 3.8mm, in increments of 1mm. For us, it’s as far as we’d like to go in either direction. Something as tiny as 0.2mm is extremely sensitive to the touch, which makes it great for gaming, but less so for day-to-day typing. This extremely snappy actuation means you barely have to press the key in order for it to trigger. It not only saves you time, but ensures that the key resets quicker in time for another actuation, making it handy for any game that requires you to press keys in quick succession. Another great feature here is dual actuation. This means you can set any key to offer two functions depending on how hard you press it. It takes time to get used to, but can be great once you’ve implemented it to your playing style.