SteelSeries have become known for their excellent quality hardware, but also the associated pricetag that would come with them. The Apex 5 proves that keyboards don’t need to cost £200 perform well.
Comfort and usability are up there with any other keyboard, really. Sure, it’d be nice to have a comfier wrist rest, but many manufacturers don’t even include a simple plastic one to keep your wrists off the desk, so the rubber version that the Apex series of keyboards use is perfectly acceptable. Play/Pause can be done with the button next to the OLED display and volume can be tweaked with the notched wheel, a lovely quality-of-life feature that I couldn’t live without these days.
Gaming was also great. The main feature at hand here is really the Hybrid Mechanical switches, they really do feel just like blue switches from other manufacturers, only lacking the lengthy lifespan. I’d happily use this for typing up reviews in the future.
RGB lighting, bolstered by a wide selection of effects within the SteelSeries Engine 3 software, looks fantastic. We really enjoyed the pastel tones that peer through the keys, it’s a nice change from the norm that’s offered by most other manufacturers.
The bottom line is this, the Apex 5 makes a couple of small sacrifices, mainly in regards to the keyswitches lifespan, but overall it’s difficult not to recommend it at £109/$99/$249.
We’re sold on SteelSeries’ Hybrid Mechanical switches, they offer 99% of the benefits of mechanical keys without the associated cost. Good work!
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Comfort and usability are up there with any other keyboard, really. Sure, it’d be nice to have a comfier wrist rest, but many manufacturers don’t even include a simple plastic one to keep your wrists off the desk, so the rubber version that the Apex series of keyboards use is perfectly acceptable. Play/Pause can be done with the button next to the OLED display and volume can be tweaked with the notched wheel, a lovely quality-of-life feature that I couldn’t live without these days.
Gaming was also great. The main feature at hand here is really the Hybrid Mechanical switches, they really do feel just like blue switches from other manufacturers, only lacking the lengthy lifespan. I’d happily use this for typing up reviews in the future.
RGB lighting, bolstered by a wide selection of effects within the SteelSeries Engine 3 software, looks fantastic. We really enjoyed the pastel tones that peer through the keys, it’s a nice change from the norm that’s offered by most other manufacturers.
The bottom line is this, the Apex 5 makes a couple of small sacrifices, mainly in regards to the keyswitches lifespan, but overall it’s difficult not to recommend it at £109/$99/$249.
We’re sold on SteelSeries’ Hybrid Mechanical switches, they offer 99% of the benefits of mechanical keys without the associated cost. Good work!
Pros
+ SteelSeries Hybrid Mechanical keys live up to their claims
+ OLED display
+ Different but enjoyable RGB lighting
+ Price
Cons
- Considerably lower lifespan predictions than conventional mech keys
- OLED display feels very gimmicky, however fun it may be
+ SteelSeries Hybrid Mechanical keys live up to their claims
+ OLED display
+ Different but enjoyable RGB lighting
+ Price
Cons
- Considerably lower lifespan predictions than conventional mech keys
- OLED display feels very gimmicky, however fun it may be
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
Stay connected with the Vortez Social Media pages:
Join in with the discussions on Discord
