Steelseries Apex Pro Mini Wireless review: 60% keyboard with 100% adjustable mechanical switches

Is it still necessary to specify that 60% of keyboards are compactness models? At 543g and with dimensions of 293 x 103 x 40mm, the wireless Apex Mini Pro is no exception to the rule and can easily slip into a bag. Its construction is also sober and efficient: the entire keyboard is made of black plastic, reinforced by an aluminum plate on the inside, which makes everything very rigid, but perhaps also a bit banal.

4 cm is still quite tall, and although the keyboard has two-level adjustable feet, we would have appreciated the presence of a palm rest for added comfort. There are also four non-slip pads under the keyboard to keep it in place.

The keys are also slightly roughened and made from double-injected PBT, a guarantee of durability, and the lettering shouldn’t fade any time soon. Speaking of keys, you should note that moving to a 60% format requires some tweaking as many functions are gone, from the arrow keys to the numpad to the F keys. This saves gamers a lot of space in their office and generates large movements with your mouse, which can be useful at low sensitivity, in FPS for example.

Of course, not all features are missing, as many keys are doubled with an action that can be activated by simultaneously pressing and “Fn” (which has been replaced by the Steelseries logo). Thus, it is possible to use the arrow keys, the multimedia controls, the keyboard illumination and, in particular, all the F shortcuts.

In terms of connectivity, you can choose to use Bluetooth, but of course we recommend using the 2.4GHz receiver which offers minimal latency for gaming. This can be plugged into the small supplied USB-C/USB-A adapter and connected to a braided cable, which will also be used to recharge the battery. The autonomy is announced incidentally around thirty hours with the backlight.

The latter is also very complete, with possible key-by-key adjustment. Everything is configurable in the Engine part of the Steelseries GG software and you can apply all kinds of effects to customize your keyboard. We can also add macros, change shortcuts and modify the activation height of the keys, specific functionality that we will return to in the second part of this test. It is also possible to modify the duration before the keyboard enters standby, which will allow you to play with the autonomy, but one detail is a bit annoying in use, especially in office automation: exiting standby takes several seconds.

Suffice it to say right off the bat that we were pleasantly surprised by the writing quality of the wireless Apex Pro Mini. It’s smooth, precise, and recovers quickly, so even typing is fun. In this model, Steelseries has chosen OmniPoint 2.0 magnetic switches which are different from switches usual mechanics.

In general, the switches have their own activation height (2 mm for the Cherry MX Red or 1.2 mm for the speed silver for example), but here that height is adjustable, and that is key by key. A significant customization point, allowing you to select a separate activation height in office and in-game or make certain keys more or less sensitive to perform specific actions (throw grenades, move, exit, etc.). Simply press “Fn + I” or “O” to raise or lower this height globally or do it more specifically through Steelseries GG.

Handling is done to the nearest millimeter in a range of 0.2 to 3.8 mm. If most amateur gamers won’t need to go that far into the setup, it’s still very interesting and avoids having to choose between different types of switches when buying. On the other hand, we will have to settle for linear, tactile and clicky not offered. Note that these OmniPoints are not the only ones to offer this possibility, and that Razer has a similar system in its analog models, without going that far.

Added to this is the possibility of assigning a second function to a key depending on the pressure exerted. You can choose to press Ctrl lightly to crouch in-game or press fully to fully lie down. The same for walking and running, for example. In theory, it’s interesting and some players can use this double action system; in practice, this involves changing habits and can take time.

Another good point, the resonance of the case is very light and the noise of the springs is hardly heard when typing on the keyboard, which is clearly not the case with some competitors. Be careful though, the wireless Apex Pro Mini is still a mechanical model and the click of the keys is quite loud, especially at the level of the space key.