SteelSeries Apex Gaming Keyboard Review

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

I honestly had lower expectations starting out this review, but the SteelSeries Apex is actually a great keyboard. For a very long time and actually on occasion, I used to use a Microsoft Sidewinder X4 which uses the same low profile keys on a membrane mechanism and which I enjoyed tremendously. Even today, I still can’t entirely remove all the disgusting gunk that’s accumulated on the keys and glossy surfaces. The short keytravel results in fast reset and solid tactile feedback from bottoming the key. To this day, my heavily used Sidewinder still feels the same as the day it came in and so I can expect the Apex to not fall victim to worn out membrane domes that happen to cheap keyboards. It’s not entirely fair to compare the key mechanism with the linear springs used in Cherry MX mechanical switches.

Then there are features that SteelSeries has loaded onto the Apex to make it special. There are 22 dedicated macro keys and nearly every other key can be overridden with a custom command or macro. That’s pretty insane to the point that none of the keyboards we’ve seen released this past year can do that. Then there’s the backlighting where the color can be individually set in five zones for a good deal of flavor. Until we see the Corsair RGB keyboards, no other standalone keyboard at the moment can handle color like the Apex can. Alienware and MSI gaming laptop keyboards can do it to some extent. Though the backlighting is already quite fun, it would cooler if we had the ability to pulse light or cycle colors in individual regions.

Costing $85.99 on Amazon shipped at the time of writing, the Apex has settled onto a very good price for what the keyboard has to offer. If the reduced Apex [RAW] has the same makings as its bigger brother, then the former is a very strong contender as a $49.99 budget gaming keyboard. Going back to the Apex, with so many macros placed around the keyboard in creative ways, you really feel like a gamer in control granted you actually can use them. The backlighting is unique and truly gives the Apex its own character. For those looking for a keyboard with creativity in mind and budgeted to a degree, the Apex should be high up on that list.

Legit Bottom Line: The SteelSeries Apex brings to the table a unique implementation of backlight color as well as a ridiculous amount of macro control in a way that’s sure to delight.