SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless review

(Pocket-lint) – SteelSeries’ Apex keyboards have long been favored by gamers – and with good reason.

The range offers a range of premium options; Each of them is packed with tons of features and impressive specs. And as you’d expect, the “Pro” versions are the most attractive, as their adjustable actuator switches make them some of the most customizable keyboards out there.

With the Apex Pro Mini Wireless, SteelSeries has now bowed to the will of the people and created a model with a compact 60 percent form factor. The company also promises an 11 times faster response time and 10 times faster actuation than keyboards with conventional mechanical switches.

Does it live up to the hype? We worked, surfed and played with it to find out.

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The world’s fastest keystrokes

• OmniPoint 2.0 adjustable mechanical switches, adjustable from 0.2 to 3.8 mm
• Dual action customization options
• 60% form factor with meta layer options

At first glance, the Apex Pro Mini Wireless could be dismissed as similar to any other 60 percent keyboard.

It doesn’t show much out of the box, but the beauty here is hidden in its features and specs. Take off some of the PBT double-shot keycaps and you’re greeted by adjustable SteelSeries OmniPoint 2.0 switches.

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These offer a wider range of settings per button, meaning you can change the actuation within 37 possible increments from 0.2mm to 3.8mm. The actuation point is where the button sends the signal to your PC to register the button press – the shorter the actuation point, the faster the pressure is registered.

SteelSeries claims that the Apex Pro Mini Wireless achieves a response time of 0.54ms with a press of just 0.2mm.

For the average gamer, this means only a gentle touch is required to activate the keys, which on paper differs from the standard 2mm actuation of Cherry MX Red switches found on many gaming keyboards are. By default, the Apex Pro Mini’s switches are set to 1.8mm, so it’s already responsive before you start tweaking things.

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The interest doesn’t stop there either, as you also have the option to set dual actuation for some of the buttons. That means you can set two different levels of actuation and then program double binds for those buttons, meaning you can do things like run and walk in-game with the same button. This is tied to actuation, so a button press activates the first action, while a deeper press on the button triggers the second action.

We found this worked well with macros, but otherwise it was a bit finicky. Still, it’s an interesting highlight and potentially cool feature for a small form factor keyboard that, of course, has fewer keys to play around with.

To combat some of the issues with this smaller board, you’ll find some of the usual actions buried in a second layer, and you’ll need to hold down the FN (SteelSeries logo) key to activate them. For example, Delete requires FN and Backspace to work. The function bar is also buried in the number keys and directional arrows in WASD. This is a faff, but a necessary evil of this keyboard size.

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However, the caption for each of these additional actions is clearly printed on the sides, so it’s not too much trouble. When you press the FN key, the RGB lighting changes on keys with additional actions, so you can see them better too. We think this is a kind gesture.

In the meantime, dive into the SteelSeries engine and you can add your own secondary actions to what’s called the “meta layer”. This is a real bonus as it opens up the possibilities for more actions, macros and more with ease. We used this to move the directional arrows closer to the right side of the keyboard (where they should be) and it’s nice to be able to tweak the keyboard this way.

Appropriate writing experience

• 2.4GHz Quantum 2.0 wireless and Bluetooth 5.0
• 30 hours of battery life
• Five onboard memory profiles
• Detachable USB-C cable

We generally find that 60 percent keyboards are mixed for productivity reasons, as losing keys can make you less efficient. In general, however, we found the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless to be both comfortable and responsive. Of course, your experience may vary based on the actuation you set, but it’s certainly comfortable enough as standard.

That said, despite all the nice things we said about the OmniPoint switches above, we find them a bit boring when it comes to typing feedback. Really, these switches just feel like Cherry MX Reds to type on, and at this price point you’d expect more.

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The Apex Pro Mini Wireless also has PBT double-shot keycaps, and the stabilizers are a little wobbly. It’s not the worst keyboard we’ve heard, but it’s far from quiet.

While it’s not bad to tap into, we wish it were a little more pleasant – especially at this price point. It’s definitely something to consider if you’re looking for a true all-rounder, but for gaming it’s undeniably accurate and won’t let you down.

Another minor downside is that the RGB lighting isn’t as impressive as we’d like. We’ve seen much more pleasing lighting from the likes of the SteelSeries Apex 7 Ghost Edition.

The PBT keycaps on this board block some of the lighting, and it’s also not as layered and customizable as it could be. It’s a pity, even if it probably helps to dig out a little more battery.

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However, you can make the keyboard look a lot nicer if you buy and put on a set of SteelSeries PrismCaps. These pudding keycaps add a much nicer aesthetic to the keyboard, in our opinion, and are worth considering.

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Writing by Adrian Willings. Editing by Conor Allison.