SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 review

The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 didn't make the best first impression on me. For a retail price of $220, it's a whole lot of cash for a small amount of keyboard, and the lack of a wireless mode or USB passthrough meant having to eternally dedicate a USB cord to this thing to use it long term. Plus, if I were to grab the Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96, I'd get the best wireless gaming keyboard right now, and for a lower price to boot. 

However, from its switches to its feel to its software, SteelSeries has put together an undeniably enthusiast keyboard—and that comes through within just a few hours of use. My first impressions weren't entirely off, mind, but they failed to capture the nuance of a keyboard just this dedicated to the enthusiast cause.

Starting with perhaps the most important element, the typing feel, this keyboard is immaculate. Caps sink without too much pressure but feel sturdy enough to get pressed when I lightly put my fingers on top before typing. Every key has a fairly muted yet pronounced sound, moving away from the pings of a typist keyboard and more of a pleasant 'thock'. This makes it perfect for an office environment or a gaming room like the one I share with my partner. 

The Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 has an aluminium top with a plastic back, and feels super sturdy in its rather small frame. At under a kg, this thing is light enough to bring with you, yet doesn't show that lightness in build quality. It can take a hit, though it's a little too pretty for me to want to do that.

Those keys are very responsive and comfortable to type on for both hours of writing and gaming. They have a smoothed, slightly curved centre which means that your fingers can make out full keys quite easily in the dark—though it will rarely be so, thanks to the RGB illumination. With only two media keys up the top right near the OLED screen, I do miss the more robust controls of the likes of the Logitech G915 X Lightspeed but it makes up for this in many other places. 

For instance, perhaps the biggest selling point of this keyboard is the OmniPoint 3.0 switches underneath. Pitched as the "fastest and most sensitive switches in the world", thanks to their faster response time and actuation, they use Hall Effect sensors which means contact doesn't need to be met in order for it to register keystrokes. As well as being beneficial for long-term use, this means there aren't strict limits set on how it picks up activity. 

Each key is individually lubed which means they are much easier to press without resistance, but they can also be activated at just 0.1mm, which means you can make them very sensitive if you so choose. Each key (other than the navigation function keys) can have customized actuation points, which means the movement keys with WASD can be set to be a bit tougher to tap, but timed situational keys like those with QTEs or special powers may benefit from being easy to click on and off. 

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As well as this, rapid trigger keys make an impression pretty quickly. Instead of activating based on a certain pressure point or trigger, they activate based on when you intend to push and let go. This means you don't have to fully lean off the key for it to stop pressing. 

In practice, this means the keyboard responds just a bit quicker than you might expect. Once you download SteelSeries' GG software, this keyboard starts to really shine, and not just because you can make that RGB even brighter. The main categories for a keyboard user are "Quickset" and "Engine". The former allows you to configure profiles for different vibes and games. It can also be used to open up key customization, which is one of the best parts of the software.

In here, you can set key bindings and customize actuation, but you can also set dual actuation. This means pressing the key halfway down can result in one keypress, and pressing it to the bottom can result in another. 

I find this to be particularly useful in the likes of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, where I could set the left ctrl to my binding for both crouching and lying down, while being able to slide or dive with just enough pressure. 

As well as this, keys have an optional 'protection mode' which can make it tougher to press adjacent keys when you are holding one. For example, if you need to stretch to hit 'm' while playing, and you accidentally hit 'n' while you're doing it, this can make 'n' harder to register to avoid missed inputs. It's a really nice tool that most people likely won't use, but the right kind of person will adore it. 

Speaking of adoring things, the built-in OLED screen can also be customized from this menu. Any GIF that works in black and white and is 1287px x 40px can play at 10 frames per second, and this is a really cute way of making your keeb feel like yours. If you want something a little more practical, make your way over to "Engine" where you can find custom apps. This can allow you to keep a constant monitor of your system performance, or display Discord pings without having to boot up the app. 

In apps, you can find individual programs for certain games and, at its best, this is fantastic. Counter-Strike 2 not only displays your weapon in the top right when you pick them up and even shows kills, but the RGB can flash to indicate how much health you have. Though many may not look at their keyboard as they play, I found these little touches to add quite a lot to my gaming space. Even apps like Discord are compatible, signalling with RGB when you're muted, who in your party is talking, and how loud you are speaking. 

I felt slightly surprised and wowed by so many little things in my testing of these keyboards, even if, following up on the second-gen keyboard, I was never fully blown away. 

Upon first booting up the software, I was met with a bit of a weird bug where two keys wouldn't light up—but this was soon fixed with a restart and I haven't been able to replicate it since. Unfortunately, the software can be a tad inconsistent in its specific implementation of software compatibility. 

For custom profiles with unique and bespoke RGB and images, you need to access specifically designed apps. This means where DOTA 2's settings may feel handmade, you are left with more basic RGB for Control. You can build your own apps via the SteelSeries developer site but the only thing you can configure for games in the app are button remaps.

If you're looking for something similar but a bit cheaper, the Wooting 60HE is an excellent choice with Rapid Trigger keys, dual actuation, and gorgeous switches. Full price, it comes in about $50 cheaper but you can get it for even less as it's now been out for a few years. It even has similar response times, the same actuation range, and lovely RGB. If you must have arrow keys, then it's the newer Wooting 80HE for around $200.

The SteelSeries comes with its own wrist pad, the OLED screen and those new switches are pretty impeccable, but it already has some great competition out there worth watching. 

This keyboard is excellent, from build quality to its design, to its new switches. The price puts it just out of range of an instant recommendation, and a bit closer to an enthusiast pick, but it feels great to use, has some genuinely impressive software and hardware handshakes, and looks great—if you can stomach the cost.