Enlarge / The SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless Keyboard is connected via a 2.4 GHz dongle or Bluetooth.
SteelSeries
Adjustable mechanical switches are an easy way to customize the feel of different keys on a keyboard. These switches allow you to choose your trigger point, or how far you press the key before recording an entry, for a sensitivity that may vary depending on the key or application you are using.
Peripheral manufacturer SteelSeries today announced new wireless and wired mechanical keyboards with mechanical switches that allow you to adjust the trigger point of each key. The compact SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless and Apex Pro Mini also allow you to program the keys so that one key records two entries if you press the key down far enough.
Adjustable mechanical switches
SteelSeries began selling its adjustable OmniPoint mechanical switches to its SteelSeries Apex Pro keyboard in 2019. The 60 percent OmniPoint 2.0 switches debuting on the Apex Pro Mini Wireless and Apex Pro Mini keyboards released today are even more adjustable.
Enlarge / A representation of the SteelSeries OmniPoint 2.0 mechanical switch.
SteelSeries
The new switches are linear (see our mechanical keyboard guide if you get lost), with a total travel of 3.8 mm. The point of action, in turn, depends on you. You can set it to 0.2mm to 3.8mm in 0.1mm increments.
It is a much wider range than that offered by the Razer Huntsman Mini Analog (1.5–3.6 mm), but noticeably shorter than the range of Gateron X Lekker switches found on the latest Wooting keyboards (0.1 –4.0 mm). Razer and Wooting keyboard switches also support analog, or joystick-like, input in the small number of PC games that support it.
SteelSeries, a PC-focused brand, suggested using the feature to customize your gaming experience, such as setting a higher action point for “deep throws” and a lower one for “light touches.” “.
Personally, I prefer a stiffer space bar, and while there are keyboards with space bar with higher operating points or hot-swappable mechanical switches, something like Apex Pro Mini keyboards do the same while allowing me to change opinion easily and also adjust the feel of numerous keys. , not just the space bar.
Announcements
A press, multiple entries
Enlarge / The Apex Pro Mini (pictured) and the wireless version use dual-shot PBT keys.
SteelSeries
SteelSeries picks up a feature found on the adjustable switch keyboards of rivals like Razer and Wooting: mechanical switches that can enter two inputs with a single key.
For example, you can set it to press “A” if you enter an “A” if you press the key down 0.5 mm and then a “B” (or whatever) if you keep pressing the same key down others 0.5 mm.
The SteelSeries ad was aimed at game combinations, such as walking and running or pulling a grenade and then launching it quickly, as potential uses. Once I got used to running it smoothly, I found the feature useful in games where time is of the essence. But advanced creative users could also use the feature to hack some quick entry off the battlefield.
Unfortunately, SteelSeries is currently limiting its so-called dual action feature to these new keyboards, and due to its lack of a numeric keypad, clackers are not suitable for all users.
How they work
OmniPoint 2.0 switches work like their predecessors with magnets and the Hall effect.
Typical mechanical switches are actuated when two pieces of metal come into contact. Each press of an OmniPoint 2.0 switch sends a magnet through the switch stem, bringing it closer to a Hall effect sensor at the base. Using magnetic fields, the keyboard reads the distance between the magnet and the sensor so you can know how far a key has been pressed and record an input (or two) when needed.
Because there is no physical contact between the parts, the OmniPoint series of switches can last longer than typical mechanical switches. Cherry MX Red linear switches and OmniPoint switches are specified to last 100 million keys each. However, there are some traditional mechanical switches with lower ratings, such as the Cherry MX Silent Red (50 million keystrokes).
If you set the switches to their lowest operating point below 0.2 mm, SteelSeries states that the switches will have a response time of only 0.54 ms. One of the ways SteelSeries says that OmniPoint keyboards increase speed is by placing the analog-to-digital converter directly on the main chip of the keyboard instead of the switches and scanning each key every 700 millionths of a second.
Prices
The Apex Pro Mini Wireless has a $ 240 MSRP. The Apex Pro Mini is $ 180, which makes it a little cheaper than the $ 200 MSRP of its full-size counterpart, the Apex Pro.
Keyboards face direct competition from the $ 150 Razer Huntsman Mini Analog, which has an MSRP of $ 150, and the upcoming Wooting 60HE ($ 175).
And for those who prefer a numeric keypad, the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog ($ 250) and Wooting Two HE ($ 195) stand out, which also support two-step operation.
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