SteelSeries Apex Pro Mechanical Gaming
If you want a mechanical gaming keyboard you can finetune to be truly “you,” the SteelSeries Apex Pro ($199 as tested, $179.99 for the tenkeyless version) is it.Anyone can appreciate its striking design and attractive RGB lighting. But hardcore gamers and finicky typers will appreciate unprecedented customization brought by unique switches that allow you to individually set the actuation point (how far you have to press for a key to register) for nearly every key. A screen and other bonuses solidify and rationalize the keyboard’s high price.
But the Apex Pro’s linear keys still feel mushy, regardless of the actuation point. If you’re more of a typer than a gamer, you’ll want to consider other (and likely cheaper) gaming keyboards.
OmniPoint Switches: Adjustable Actuation
All of the Apex Pro’s keys have a linear feel, with the keys traveling straight down and lacking any tactile sensation or bump until you hit the bottom, much like Cherry MX Red switches. The majority of the keys use OmniPoint switches for adjustable actuation points, but the numpad, macro and arrow keys use traditional MX Red switches.
To let users set varying actuation points, SteelSeries invented OmniPoint switches that feel like familiar Red mechanical switches, but work in a totally different way. Your press actuates normal mechanical switches by making two pieces of metal touch. However, when you press an OmniPoint switch, you’re pushing a magnet down its stem and closer to a sensor. Using the “Hall Effect,” or magnetic fields, the keyboard can tell the distance between the sensor at the base and the magnet’s stem, so you can tell it which distance equals a key press. Without any physical contact causing degradation, these switches promise longer durability.
With the SteelSeries software or the menu in the OLED screen, you determine at which distance a press is registered --10 steps from 0.4-3.6mm -- for each of the 61 main keys. At 0.4mm, you barely have to press a button for it to register. For comparison, note that Blue and Green-style switches actuate at 2mm, while Kailh Box White actuates at 1.8mm. At 0.4mm, there’s opportunity for special uses, such as speed-driven first-person shooters, while lower actuation points should help with accuracy.
Unfortunately, both the software and OLED screen let you set actuation on a 1-10 scale instead of using actual measurements. But through the screen, you can test it out in real time, as a bar fills up as you press to show you far the key has traveled and when it actuates.
As mentioned, not every key has an OmniPoint switch. When SteelSeries first teased the keyboard in January, they told us that this is because the OmniPoint switches are expensive to make. Considering how expensive the peripheral already is, omitting the keys which are least-likely to be used in games is a smart move.
The Omnipoint switches are a bit different from those used in the Cooler Master MasterKeys MK850 and Wooting One analog keyboards, which work like an analog stick on a console controller and read how much pressure you’re applying. The Cooler Master’s Q, W, E, R, A, S D and F keys can sense a press across 4mm of travel but need calibration every time the pressure sensitive tech is reactivated. Like the Wooting One, its analog keys leverage optical sensors, which use a sensor and light to detect the distance between each press, but only the Wooting One lets you set your actuation point. Similarly, Razer’s Opto-Mechnical switches, used in the Razer Huntsman Optical, tap optical sensor tech, but you can’t customize the actuation point and they’re not pressure-sensitive.
Typing Experience
With the Omnipoint switches’ linear feel, pressing a key is smooth, with the keys going straight down without any bump or click and rising up with your finger as it lifts. You’ll hear a clacking noise as you type, and if you’re extra aggressive, you may notice the echoey ding of the aluminum frame. It’s much louder than the Razer Cynosa Chroma Pro I’m currently using with a plastic build and “mecha-membrane” switch (3.5mm of travel that feels a bit short). If you prefer tactile switches, this keyboard will feel spongy to you. Without a tactile sensation or much resistance, my fingers felt more tired, sort of like they were typing through water, particularly during long sessions.
Because of the adjustable switches, you get newfound control over the typing experience. Do you want extra sensitive keys? Or do you want the keyboard to demand firm, confident typing to help you avoid accidental presses and typos?
I quickly noticed the difference when changing the overall actuation. While a light touch--I’d call it more of a tap than a press--a press registered if actuation was set to 1. At 10, I needed a truer press and could see letters taking longer to appear on my word processor than with actuation set to 1.
To see how this affected my typing accuracy I tried the 10fastfingers with all OmniPoint switches set to the lowest, highest and middle actuation points.
I hit quicker speeds with actuation set to 1 (116 wpm) versus 10 (110 wpm) but the same speed with it set to 5. Ironically, I got my best accuracy with actuation set to 1 (99.48%) and lowest at 10 (96.33%), but the difference is small. In general, my accuracy rate is usually around 98%, and I don’t usually accidentally hit keys, which the high actuation point would theoretically help me prevent. For me, accuracy was hurt by adjusting to the amount of space between each of the keys and perhaps, based on the numbers, assuming a key was actuated earlier than it truly was.