SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Gen 3: A Hall Effect 60% Keyboard

Compact layout. Snappy and responsive switches. Fully programmable. Simple and cleanable design.

High price. Plastic case. Mediocre typing experience. Wired transportation only. Some bundle troubles. 1-kHz polling complaint is accelerated but not competitive.

The SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Gen 3 is 1 of the fewer Hall effect keyboards with a existent 60% layout today, and if thing else, that makes it special. I’ve agelong been a proponent of the 60% keyboard. It’s by acold the smallest keyboard layout that’s inactive accessible, and it encourages extended usage of relation layers, a accomplishment that tin marque your typing much efficient. A 60% keyboard tin prevention table space, is much efficient, and is besides portable if you privation to instrumentality it to the office.

Every caller Hall effect keyboard has a fewer things successful common: They each usage astir the aforesaid switches and person akin method specs. The existent differentiating factors of these keyboards are the layout and tactile acquisition of utilizing them. This is wherever the $220 Apex Pro Mini some succeeds and falls short. The layout and plan are great, but the acquisition of utilizing this keyboard doesn’t consciousness up to par with its competitors.

Smooth Switch

The latest procreation of the Apex Pro Mini uses the OmniPoint 3.0 switch, a afloat adjustable Hall effect power manufactured by Gateron for SteelSeries. Most Hall effect switches, including those successful Wooting, Keychron, and Corsair keyboards, are manufactured by Gateron with the aforesaid wide operation and lone tiny differences betwixt each brand’s mentation of the switch. (I spell into extent astir Hall effect switches here.)

The OmniPoint 3.0 power uses a dual-rail plan meant to summation stableness and trim the side-to-side wobble of idiosyncratic keys. On a modular mechanical switch, the interior sliding mechanics (the stem) has a heavy obstruction connected either broadside that guides the vertical question of a keypress. On a dual-rail switch, this singular obstruction connected the stem is replaced with 2 thinner ones, and an further tab connected the switch’s lodging sits betwixt them. This each works together, successful theory, to summation the tolerances of the power without adding friction oregon scratchiness to the keypress.

In practice, I find the quality betwixt this strategy and a modular obstruction minimal. With modern worldly subject and mill lubrication, some tin beryllium incredibly smooth, and the magnitude of wobble erstwhile typing is going to beryllium tiny connected immoderate decent-quality switches. However, I person recovered that the typing dependable from dual-rail Hall effect switches is marginally much “crisp” than single-rail Hall effect switches, which thin to beryllium a spot dull and lacking successful the apical extremity of their dependable profile.

The OmniPoint 3.0 switches are not peculiarly dissimilar from different Gateron-made Hall effect switches, but this surely isn’t a atrocious thing. They dependable bully and are incredibly creaseless to benignant on, with a constricted scratchiness that tin lone beryllium noticed erstwhile pressing idiosyncratic keys slowly. It is hard to find immoderate issues with the switches themselves.

The stabilizers, though, were inconsistently tuned from the factory. Some of them felt scratchy oregon made rattling noises, portion others were over-lubricated and felt dull erstwhile pressed. The mounting method, a tray equine wherever the sheet and printed circuit committee (PCB) are screwed into the lawsuit astatine aggregate points, debar the emblematic “dead zones” of tray mounting by utilizing a thicker aluminum plate, but typing inactive lacked the responsive feeling and bounciness of a gasket-mounted keyboard. These contributed to marque a typing acquisition that, portion not terrible, doesn’t consciousness peculiarly awesome either, particularly erstwhile this keyboard is connected the higher extremity of the terms range.

Fast, Flashy, and Sometimes Finicky

Across each crippled I tested, I was impressed by the responsiveness of these switches. The quality to customize the actuation region makes it casual to fine-tune for my preferences, and the Rapid Trigger diagnostic makes question snappy and responsive compared to a modular mechanical keyboard.

However, that’s each existent for each mainstream Hall effect keyboard. The Apex Pro TKL volition execute similar the Wooting 60HE, which volition beryllium similar the Keychron K2 HE, which volition beryllium similar the Corsair K70 Pro TKL. There whitethorn beryllium tiny differences based connected the manufacturer’s software, however the keyboard is programmed, and what procreation of switches it uses, but these differences are truthful marginal that it volition lone substance to the astir detail-oriented players.

Ultimately, the largest gains successful show with this keyboard travel from the smaller layout. Compared to a larger keyboard, the Apex Pro Mini offers much abstraction for rodent movements and much businesslike controls with the built-in relation layers. I volition ever deliberation this tradeoff is worthy it, but this mightiness not beryllium the lawsuit for idiosyncratic who extensively uses their fig pad, relation row, oregon arrow keys.

The largest contented with the Apex Pro Mini is its software: SteelSeries GG. While GG is not terrible, it’s not large either. Settings similar idiosyncratic power actuation points oregon dual-bindings (where pressing a power partially creates 1 input, and each the mode creates a 2nd one) are casual to acceptable and enactment consistently, but I recovered the menus to beryllium cluttered and hard to navigate. The location surface of GG, which I expected to beryllium a hub for connected devices and speedy customizations, alternatively presents the idiosyncratic with ads for the remainder of SteelSeries’ merchandise lineup.

RGB customizations are casual to configure and enactment well, particularly with unsocial features similar an on-keyboard RGB audio visualizer. However, I recovered the Apex Pro Mini’s lighting to beryllium little agleam than the different accessories connected my desk, and its customization options were much limited.

The Apex Pro Mini features “Protection Mode,” a diagnostic added successful the newest 3.0 procreation of the Apex line. This automatically decreases the sensitivity of surrounding keys erstwhile a selected cardinal is pressed to forestall mis-inputs. While I didn’t find myself perpetually utilizing this feature, I did find it adjuvant successful ability-focused games similar Destiny 2 oregon Marvel Rivals, wherever aggregate adjacent keys are mapped to antithetic abilities with cooldowns. However, GG doesn’t archer you which keys are considered “adjacent,” truthful I was sometimes near wondering whether a circumstantial key, specified arsenic the X cardinal erstwhile pressing the spacebar, would beryllium affected by Protection Mode. I similar this function, but it could usage immoderate refinement connected the software.

Underwhelming, Unusual Assembly

The Apex Pro Mini is shockingly robust considering its integrative case. The keyboard feels solid, and the heavy aluminum sheet ensures it can’t beryllium flexed oregon bent by hand. The keycaps are modular for a gaming-oriented keyboard. They are passably thick, double-shot, and person shine-through for the keyboard’s RGB lighting. They besides person front-facing legends that bespeak the default layout of the relation layer, which I like, though it’s disappointing that these aren’t shine-through arsenic well.

On the underside of the keyboard, there's a ample silicone flap that tin beryllium lifted to uncover a power puller and a hidden sticker with each of the ineligible good print. I similar this detail; it’s a bully mode to support the power puller from getting mislaid and support the underside of the keyboard looking clean.

Like astir each keyboard today, the Apex Pro Mini has aggregate layers of sound-dampening wrong the case. This includes a dense foam furniture betwixt the sheet and PCB, a secondary foam furniture underneath the PCB, and a heavy portion of silicone filling the bottommost of the case. Peeling backmost the silicone reveals 2 interior alloy weights, which service to marque the keyboard consciousness much dense, on with preventing it from sliding astir connected your desk, which is not typically done connected a keyboard with a integrative case. However, these weights and the silicone dampening marque up a ample portion of the keyboard’s heft, leaving it feeling airy and insubstantial erstwhile they are removed.

Instead of being held unneurotic with modular Phillips screws, the Apex Pro Mini uses a T6 torx bolt. This makes disassembly marginally much hard for the mean buyer, but T6 screwdrivers are inexpensive and commonplace. Once these screws are removed, the PCB itself uses the modular Pok3r/GH60 mounting points, meaning the bulk of tray-mount 60% cases (such arsenic the Tofu60) are compatible with it.

In the end, the Apex Pro Mini Pro is an alright keyboard. It feels bully to benignant on, works good for gaming, and has acceptable physique prime with a fewer unusual details. It’s hard to warrant the $220 price. Both Wooting and Keychron person Hall effect keyboards with comparable functionality, akin physique quality, and amended bundle that tin tally in-browser.

For $80 less, Keychron offers Hall effect keyboards similar the K2 HE that person practically identical performance, the aforesaid tray-mounted assembly, and wireless connectivity. Or for $20 much than the Apex Pro Mini, the Keychron Q1 HE has each of these features positive an aluminum physique and gasket mounting, which some marque the typing acquisition acold much enjoyable.

However, lone the Wooting 60HE and SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini person a existent 60% layout. While the Apex Pro Mini has smoother switches and features similar mis-input protection, the 60HE has a higher 8K polling rate, acold amended software, and is disposable for $175 with different comparable specs and performance. I don’t consciousness that the wealth is well-spent connected the Apex Mini Pro. If you truly similar however it looks, effort to hold for a sale.