SteelSeriesNew Apex 9 Mini – HotSwap Optical Mini Keyboard – 60% Compact Design – Optical Switches – RGB Customization – Aluminum Alloy Frame – Double Shot PBT Keycap

After countless hours of research on keyboards I can say that this keyboard is actually quite nice. I saw some mixed reviews about the Apex 9 on reddit and amazon reviews (and just a lot of mixed reviews about steel series as a brand in general) but I ended up settling on this so I could match my steelseries mouse. After using it for a few days I can say it feels really nice, it feels better than typing on my relatively new $50 gasket keyboard. I know people are gonna say you should just get a Wooting HE or to get the Aula F75, but I like the steel series software and the keyboard/mouse combo feels pretty nice. Deffinetly recomend to anyone who is on the fence about the optical switches over other brands/keyboard types. Also the reviews where people are saying that the opitcal switches have such low actuation (1.0 - 1.5 mm) that you end up mistyping a lot of the time are kind of exagerating, I really do not notice any difference in my typing errors. My only complaint is that the lighting is not as bright as I thought it would be, at night this isn't an issue but during the day it is slightly noticible, but really that is just a very minor concern; the keyboard feels so nice that I don't really care. I give this product a 8.5/10.

My son loves his gaming keyboard. The lights work great. It's very colorful.

Excellent

This keyboard has everything you want for gaming. Only 0.7ms input lag on rtings which is really good. The new optical switches are really consistent and I love how I can switch the actuation point depending on if I'm gaming or typing. The choice between 3 levels of elevation is also nice.For gaming, this is one of the best keyboards you can possibly get. I'm a high-mmr CSGO player and I can tell you this delivers. Your counter-strafing and ability to stop on a dime is amazing. This keyboard can take as many inputs at once as you can press and doesn't have cord splitting or other artifacts. It's true 1000hz polling too.You also have a good USB-C cord that's braided and detachable. You can also keep the tool under the keyboard if you travel to LANs or in general. It's perfect. You also have onboard memory and it's very easy to use the SteelSeries software to configure. It's easy to update firmware as well.The build quality is very good too. They used aluminum in the body and the higher quality PBT keycaps. Also, if anything breaks, you can easily replace the keycaps OR the switches themselves and SteelSeries actively sells replacement parts unlike Logitech for example who only sells switches and not keycaps.There's really nothing I can complain about. The only thing maybe is that some keyboards like the wooting have release triggered as soon as your key starts going back up. However the wooting has slightly more input lag on direct press and CSGO, Valorant, and most games honestly favor new inputs over releasing inputs anyway. Also some keyboards like the Corsair K65 have 8000hz polling rate which is insane.However with that being said, the 8000hz polling and early release triggering from those competitors really aren't a big deal and have their own downsides - especially the 8000hz polling because it can actually take up some more cpu usage so I don't think it's necessarily efficient at the sub 1ms level.Overall, I looked at all of the popular keyboards for gaming in this price range and this one was the best for the price for my setup. I didn't talk much about typing btw but I am a megaracer on typeracer.com and it feels very good to type on in the 1.5mm mode + 7deg incline. If you're looking for a gaming keyboard, look no further, this has literally everything with no downsides.

It’s a great product for gaming has no issues is I good investment if your a big time keyboard gamer and when it’s time for to get another I’ll probably just get the same or upgraded version of the keyboard

Absolute beauty. Keyboard is perfect in every aspect. Keys are perhaps too sensitive due to actuation distance, however, it can only be discomforting for several days, before you get used to it.

it was expensive. there's no doubt about that.the customization is amazing tho. I made it so that the bottom right 4 keys are the arrow keys. that way I don't have to press the "meta layer" button in order to access them.-the only thing I dislike isn't even the keyboard's fault, but a fault in the steelseries gg software. it doesn't carry over custom profiles across different PCs.

This keyboard is one of the best mechanical keyboards I have ever owned, and I have owned quite a few. The keys are tactile, sound nice, and are high quality. I can easily use with this with my Mac and PC. It's easy to change the colors and features with the steelseries software for the keyboard. I use this every day and the only thing I regret is not getting the one with the 10 keys on the right side since I also use this keyboard for work in addition to gaming. If you dont need it for work and dont really care about the 10 keys, this is the best keyboard you can get at this price point.