SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3: one-minute analysis
The SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3 is the latest incarnation inside the mannequin’s line of elite gaming keyboards, with diverse enhancements for even greater gaming effectivity.
The appears to be downplay its gaming prowess, with the RGB lighting and floating keycaps being the one alerts on this regard. Nonetheless, it appears to be good and complex, and the assemble top quality is great.
It’s pretty thick however not as heavy as you might anticipate. Every side of its constructed feels premium, correct all the way in which all the way down to the included wrist pad, which is tender however sturdy; it’s merely on a par with the best gaming keyboard available on the market. The double shot PBT keycaps moreover actually really feel good, with a pleasantly grainy texture.
There are quite a few keyboard shortcuts accessible by default, accessible by way of SteelSeries’ Meta modifier key (primarily a carry out key). These embody altering the worldwide actuation stage, toggling speedy set off, altering profiles, recording macros, and switching between three Bluetooth devices.
Comparable options will even be found on the OLED show inside the prime correct nook of the Apex Skilled, with navigation achieved by way of a faithful button and the quantity wheel. This show will even be custom-made in SteelSeries’ GG software program program, letting you add images and GIFs to point out, and might be utilized to view system and in-game knowledge.
Common GG is easy to utilize and affords a great deal of totally different customizations to sink your enamel into. There are quite a few keyboard shortcuts to configure, although the system-level options are lacking significantly. There are moreover default profiles for certain video video games, along with Counter-Strike 2, DOTA 2, Minecraft and League of Legends. You presumably can set binds to activate on press or launch, and the dual actuation mode lets you assign two binds to a single key, each one activated counting on how exhausting you press, which works efficiently. It’s a shame, though, that there’s no seen recommendations to level out how your actuation settings work in observe.
Within the case of gaming, the Apex Skilled really shines: the clack of key presses may very well be very satisfying, the indented keycaps current a planted finger place, and the underside row is easy to entry as a result of slope of the keycaps. The format is type of compact, nonetheless I nonetheless found it manageable. The switches present fast however clear effectivity, and hitting certain actuation components is easy because of their actually really feel. It is a shame, nonetheless, there aren’t additional settings accessible to emulate the analog administration of a gamepad.
Moreover, the wrist leisure moreover cuts off abruptly with no downwards slope, so my palm hung off the sting awkwardly whereas inside the WASD place. With out it, though, I found the keys have been raised too extreme to achieve with out adopting a additional fingertip-oriented place. Typing with the Apex Skilled isn’t the best experience each. I personally need shallower keycaps, and I found gliding spherical on the Apex Skilled awkward.
There’s little query the Apex Skilled is a premium piece of {{hardware}}, and it directions a premium ticket. It is not going to be as expensive as just a few of its rivals, such as a result of the Razer BlackWidow V4 Skilled 75%, however it certainly runs shut. There are cheaper gaming keyboards with analog switches, such as a result of the Turtle Seashore Vulcan 2 TKL Skilled, although that’s wired solely and should’t pretty match the Apex Skilled for effectivity. So when you occur to’ve acquired the money to spend, the Apex Skilled is hard to prime for an analog keyboard.
SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3 analysis: price and availability
- $269 / £259 (about AU$456)
- Obtainable now
- Prime-end of the market
The Apex Skilled costs $269 / £259 (about AU$456) and is on the market now in black solely. It comes with a wrist pad and different keycaps may very well be purchased from SteelSeries’ web page. A mini mannequin will also be accessible which loses the OLED show, and a full-size variant gives a amount pad along with a much bigger scroll wheel and show button.
The Apex Skilled sits atop the market by the use of price, eclipsing just a few of Razer’s most interesting selections, as an illustration. Although not pretty as pricey as a result of the BlackWidow V4 Skilled 75%, it’s costlier than the Huntsman V2 Analog, our select as the best gaming keyboard. What items that board apart is the 360-degree motion of the switches keys, letting you mimic an analog stick on a gamepad way more fastidiously. It’s wired solely, though.
Within the occasion you’re looking out for one different analog keyboard, then the Turtle Seashore Vulcan 2 TKL Skilled is considerably cheaper than the Apex Skilled. Although it’s wired solely and has some factors with its analog implementation, the Vulcan 2 continues to be a worthy contender inside the sector.
Price: 3 / 5
SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3 analysis: specs
| Format: | TKL |
| Change: | Analog (Hall-effect magnetic) |
| Programmable keys: | Positive |
| Dimensions: | 14 x 5 x 1.7 inches / 355 x 129 x 42mm |
| RGB or backlighting: | Positive (customizable) |
SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3 analysis: design and choices
- Premium design
- Useful OLED show
- Intuitive software program program
The Apex Skilled appears to be understated for a gaming keyboard. The fully black design is bereft of the brash trappings widespread inside the sector, so at first look you’ll battle to find out its meant viewers. The floating keycaps, though, are a giveaway, as is the opulent RGB lighting.
There’s no denying the Apex Skilled has a premium aura, though. It’s moreover substantial, with a thick, two-tiered chassis, nonetheless fortunately it isn’t as heavy as a result of it appears to be. The assemble top quality is impeccable, with every supplies, be part of and key feeling clear and sturdy.
The double-shot PBT keycaps are calmly textured and actually really feel good beneath your fingers. They’re pretty thick and sit extreme above the board, allowing for deep presses. Within the occasion that they aren’t to your liking, though, they’re typically swapped out, and a puller is included. The format will also be pretty compact, which I wanted to get used to, however it certainly didn’t take prolonged to adapt.
The wrist pad is equally well-built however pleasingly mild, with a clear rubberized layer that’s every sturdy and comfy. It connects magnetically to the board itself, and although the connection is type of weak, it suffices.
There are a variety of default hotkeys on the Apex Skilled, accessible with SteelSeries’ private modifier key, often known as the Meta key. These embody world modifications for the actuation stage and speedy set off carry out, as successfully altering profiles, recording macros, and switching between three Bluetooth devices.
Nonetheless, additional detailed settings and customizations might be discovered by way of the Engine instrument all through the GG software program program. All keys may very well be remapped, and may very well be set to set off on press or launch. There’s all kinds of actions, along with profile switching, keyboard setting modifications and app launching. There are moreover OS shortcuts that could be mapped, along with a alternative of media keys and reproduction and paste, nonetheless there aren’t many higher than this; these in numerous peripheral software program program are additional fairly just a few.
GG moreover helps you to set actuation components ranging from 0.1mm to 4mm for all necessary keys. You can also toggle speedy set off for each explicit individual key, which, as GG explains, dynamically alters the actuation stage when spamming, allowing for rapid-twitch actions. It even has a twin binding mode, allowing a single key to have two fully totally different binds, counting on the primary and secondary actuation components of your deciding on.
For most likely probably the most half, GG is easy to utilize with a clear format and some explanations for various settings. Nonetheless, it might’ve been good to see some seen recommendations when adjusting actuation components and speedy set off modes, as among the many Apex Skilled’s rivals present with their very personal software program program.
Nestled inside the prime correct nook of the Apex Skilled is a small monotone OLED show, often known as the Wise Show. It exhibits battery life by default, nonetheless may very well be custom-made in GG to point out one thing out of your private images and GIFs, to system and in-game knowledge.
The alternatives accessible for the latter are pretty in depth. For example, you’ll choose to point out certain knowledge at certain increments, and choose diverse screens to cycle by way of, each displaying their very personal distinctive knowledge at diverse components. Supported video video games embody Counter-Strike 2, DOTA 2, Minecraft, and League of Legends.
There’s moreover a button on the show that may be utilized to control media playback, just like play / pause and subsequent / earlier options. You presumably can enter a menu by holding this button down for a few seconds, from which additional settings and options might be discovered: you’ll change the brightness of the RGB illumination, toggle between three of your associated Bluetooth devices, and alter the worldwide actuation stage and speedy set off options. Navigation on this menu is achieved with the quantity wheel showing as a scroller, and it’s responsive and environment friendly.
Design & choices: 4 / 5
SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3 analysis: effectivity
- Excellent gaming effectivity
- Analog keys actually usable
- Typing not the best
The gaming effectivity of the Apex Skilled is great. The stock keycaps are correctly indented, allowing you to handle a secure place, and presses are weighted glorious, allowing for simple actuation that offers good recommendations. Reaching the CTRL key and spacebar will also be simple, as a result of slight incline of the keycaps.
The switches are silky clear and successfully lubed, offering a great deal of clack with out being too loud. I moreover found it comparatively simple to hit certain actuation components, as a result of the Hall-effect magnetic switches have additional actually really feel and resistance than others I’ve tried, just like these on the Turtle Seashore Vulcan 2 TKL Skilled. This makes the Apex Skilled supreme for fast set off efficiency or twin binding.
SteelSeries has moreover utilized a model new Security mode, which prevents keys adjoining to the meant one from by probability triggering by reducing their sensitivity momentarily, which is a useful attribute.
The place it does miss a trick, nonetheless, is the pliability to map the keys to an analog stick. This is ready to make for smoother character actions and vehicle administration, and is one factor that could be completed with the aforementioned Turtle Seashore Vulcan 2 TKL Skilled, along with the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog.
As any person who prefers shallow keycaps for typing, I didn’t uncover the Apex Skilled successfully fitted to productiveness capabilities. Although adjusting the actuation stage may assist to cease typos, the comparatively thick keycaps and their deep indentations aren’t conducive to gliding throughout the board.
The included wrist pad is nearly necessary for typing comfortably, as a result of the thick physique forces your wrists to bend awkwardly with out one. Luckily, the one included affords ample help and padding to make every typing and gaming additional comfortable.
The wrist pad may very well be additional cumbersome when gaming, though. As a result of the backend tails off abruptly with no slope, the world the place your wrist meets your palm tends to overhang when inside the WASD place, which is an odd and by no means solely comfortable sensation. I did uncover that I’d sport with out the pad, nonetheless I wanted to adapt my fingers so that they’ve been additional perpendicular to the necessary factor caps, emphasizing additional contact with the fingertips. If that’s your preferred participating in kind anyway, then you definately positively shouldn’t have a problem.
Steelseries claims a battery lifetime of up 40 hours over Bluetooth, or 37.5 hours by way of the 2.4GHz dongle. All through my exams I found this to be right, as I was able to get quite a lot of days use out of it.
Effectivity: 4.5 / 5
Must I buy the SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3?
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The Apex Skilled is an expensive keyboard regardless of the way in which you slice it, although it’s on par with totally different wi-fi gaming keyboards of this spec. | 3 / 5 |
| Design and choices | It appears to be fairly anonymous, nonetheless the constructing is hard to fault, with every half feeling premium. The wrist pad is considerably awkward at events, though. | 4 / 5 |
| Effectivity | The Apex Skilled excels at gaming, and the analog switches work like a dream. It’s not the best for typing, though. | 4.5 / 5 |
| Common rating | The Apex Skilled affords a superb gaming experience, as a result of silky clear analog switches and top-draw assemble top quality. The GG software program program will also be useful, although additional analog configurations would’ve been welcomed. It’s really a worthy contender to your subsequent keyboard – when you occur to can stretch your funds to fulfill its asking price. | 4 / 5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3 analysis: moreover ponder
| Header Cell – Column 0 | SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3 | Razer Huntsman V2 Analog | Turtle Seashore Vulcan 2 TKL Skilled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | TKL | TKL | TKL |
| Change | Analog (Hall-effect magnetic) | Razer Analog Optical Switches | Analog (Hall-effect magnetic) |
| Programmable keys | Positive | Positive | Positive |
| Dimensions | 14 x 5 x 1.7 inches / 355 x 129 x 42mm | Not acknowledged | 14.5 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches (approx.) / 368.3 x 139.7 x 38.1mm |
| RGB or backlighting | Positive (customizable) | Positive (customizable) | Positive (customizable) |
How I examined the SteelSeries Apex Skilled TKL Wi-fi Gen 3
- Examined for just a few week
- Used for gaming, productiveness and fundamental use
- 10+ years PC gaming experience
I examined the Apex Skilled for just a few week. All through that time I used it for gaming, productiveness and fundamental use.
I carried out diverse video video games, along with Counter-Strike 2 and I Am Your Beast, which have been useful for testing the actuation components and speedy set off efficiency. I moreover made constructive to make use of every attribute and efficiency accessible by way of the GG software program program the place doable.
I have been PC gaming for over 10 years, and have expert fairly just a few keyboards all through that time, spanning diverse swap varieties, key profiles, and type components. I’ve moreover reviewed quite a lot of gaming keyboards from a mixture of producers.
- First reviewed November 2024
- Be taught additional about how we check out