MX Mechanical Keyboard evaluate: Glorious gaming involves the workplace

Best Prices Today: MX Mechanical

$169.99

Free

$169.99

Free

Logitech makes fairly good keyboards. They’re a staple of our greatest keyboard lists, whether or not its for Mac or iPad, as a result of outdoors of Apple’s personal keyboards it’s the most secure guess. You’re nearly at all times going to get one thing well-built with good key motion and helpful software program options.

It appears odd then, with mechanical keyboards turning into all the craze amongst fans and dealing from dwelling exploding lately, that Logitech’s mechanical keyboards have solely been accessible in its gaming-focused G sequence.

With the MX Mechanical, the corporate lastly rectifies that. Available in a tenkeyless Mini ($149) and full-size ($169) variants, it combines the craftsmanship of the corporate’s mechanical gaming keyboards with its wonderful productiveness options and software program. All in a extra skilled design that might be welcome in any workplace—dwelling or away.

IDG

For those that like to kind

Mechanical keyboards grow to be a factor recently. Tired of the wobbly, low-travel keys on laptop-like keyboards (reminiscent of Apple’s Magic Keyboard), fanatic customers have flocked to good outdated clicky mechanical keys. Sure, they make extra noise (even the quiet ones), however they really feel so a lot better, with extra spring and that wonderful click on really feel when the important thing actuates. Gamers love them too, for his or her sturdiness, sooner response occasions, and extra deliberate really feel.

You may change the keycaps on many mechanical keyboards, personalizing your keyboard to look the best way you need. Logitech makes use of Kailh’s new low-profile Choc V2 switches within the MX Mechanical, and it’s accessible in linear, tactile, and clicky variants. I examined the tactile (brown) switches, which I believe do the most effective job of supplying you with that deliberate mechanical really feel with rather less typing noise. The typing motion is pretty much as good as you’d anticipate with a top-notch swap like this, with nice response for a low-profile keyboard and minimal key wobble.

The Kailh Choc V2 makes use of the identical spherical crosspoint stem as Cherry MX switches. This might be the preferred stem design and it offers you the best choices for aftermarket keycaps (Logitech doesn’t make alternate keycap units accessible). But be warned: Regular keycaps don’t work properly on low-profile switches. They technically do work, however with the shorter key journey, they’ll slap into the keyboard deck on a regular basis. Low-profile keycaps suitable with the Cherry MX stem are tougher to search out however ought to work high-quality on the MX Mechanical.

IDG

Made for work, not gaming

While you’ll be able to in fact use this keyboard when taking part in video games, it’s intentionally designed for workplace productiveness.

That means no macro keys or macro programming within the bundled Options+ software program, although I hope that’s coming in an replace. The Fn keys have shortcuts keys inclding microphone mute, emoji, and dictation, together with staples like brightness, key brightness, and quantity.

As with most keyboards today, you’ll be able to entry regular Function keys by holding down the “fn” key. The MX Mechanical permits you to lock this on by urgent fn and Esc, which might be welcome to programmers and others who discover themselves desirous to press F8 much more typically than muting their microphone.

Speaking of keys, they’re backlit in a single white colour, which fits properly with the two-tone graphite key deck (it’s not accessible in another colours). There are seven ranges and 6 totally different results, so you’ll be able to have a little enjoyable, however not practically as a lot as an RGB keyboard. Logitech has constructed the deck with a proximity sensor, so the backlight turns off when your arms depart the keyboard for 30 seconds and switch again on as quickly as they get shut once more. An ambient gentle sensor adjusts the backlight brightness, too–dimmer when there’s not a lot gentle, and brighter when the daylight streams in by means of your workplace window.

It’s all in service of longer battery life. Logitech says you’ll be able to anticipate about 15 days of typical use with the backlight on and 10 months with the backlight off. I left the backlight on however set kind of low, and the battery solely dropped from 100% to 85 p.c after 5 days. When you’ll want to recharge, there’s a lone USB-C port within the again proper nook.

Productivity methods

As with a lot of Logitech’s different MX gear, you’ll be able to join the MX Mechanical by way of both Bluetooth or Logitech’s personal Bolt USB-A wi-fi dongle. A Bolt dongle can deal with as much as six suitable Logitech gadgets, so that you solely want to make use of one in every of your treasured USB-A ports for a number of mice and keyboards.

The keyboard itself can pair with three totally different machines (Bolt or Bluetooth) and swap between them with devoted keys. It’s the form of factor multi-device customers will admire. And sure, that features serving as a Bluetooth keyboard on your iPad or iPhone, each of which work nice. Switching between typing on my Mac and iPad with the faucet of a key has been a pleasure.

IDG

Then there’s the Options+ software program, which successfully replaces the outdated Logi Options Mac app. Options+ permits you to reassign the features of all of the Fn keys, the Insert/Home block of keys, and the highest keys of the quantity pad. There are each world and elective per-app settings for all of those, they usually sync within the cloud if check in to a Logitech account.

The software program is intuitive, enticing, and helpful (and it’s a Universal app, prepared on your subsequent Apple Silicon Mac), however considerably restricted in comparison with a number of the features you get within the G Hub software program for the corporate’s gaming keyboards. Keyboard macros, specifically, can be a welcome addition.

IDG

Should you purchase an MX Mechanical?

The MX Mechanical most likely gained’t fulfill the hobbyist that wishes to completely customise their keyboard, however it’s not meant to. It’s meant to mix that nice mechanical really feel with the software program options of Logitech’s present MX Keys merchandise whereas trying “office-ready,” and it does an amazing job.

It’s enticing, well-built, and has an amazing key really feel. The battery lasts a very long time, and the software program to customise key features is considerate and easy. It pairs with as much as three gadgets (Mac, PC, Linux, even iPad or iPhone) by way of USB or the corporate’s Bolt USB-A wi-fi dongle, which it comes with.

Mechanical keyboards aren’t for everybody, however in order for you a pleasant low-profile possibility with options tailor-made for productiveness quite than gaming, you’d be hard-pressed to discover a higher resolution.