The SteelSeries Apex 3 is a full-size wired, membrane keyboard with 10-zone RGB backlighting. It is also available in a Tenkeyless (TKL) size. The Apex 3 is advertised with an IP 32 water-resistant rating, and a "whisper-quiet" typing experience.
The Apex 3 is available for an average price of around $50 USD across various online retailers. This is a budget-friendly, low-cost gaming keyboard that lacks mechanical switches, but offers very good performance for the cost.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
THE GOOD
- Chassis Material
It has all plastic construction but is still very sturdy.
- Price-to-Performance
Offers really good performance for under $60 USD.
THE BAD
- Backlighting
It only has zoned RGB backlighting.
- Wired
The Type-A USB cable is not detachable.
THE REST
- Overall
The SteelSeries Apex 3 is an affordable, full-size membrane gaming focused keyboard with RGB backlighting, but lacks mechanical switches.
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The Apex 3 comes with a magnetic wristrest and a user manual. It comes with a full plastic chassis and base plate. The stabilizers are proprietary and include ABS double-shot injection, and shine through keycaps. It is a non-detachable, wired keyboard with a Type-A computer side connector.
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Front of the box.
The keyboard is placed on a 900 x 400 mm desk pad next to a Logitech MX Master 2S mouse.
The right side of the keyboard containing the navigation keys and numpad.
The left side of the keyboard.
The keyboard is connected by a USB Type-A non-detachable cable.
The Apex 3 has its own software, SteelSeriesGG, that is available for both Windows and MacOS computers but is not QMK or VIA compatible. You can assign Macro Programming within the software. It has zoned RGB backlighting.
The Apex 3 comes with SteelSeries Whisper-Quiet membrane switches. It has a tactile typing experience. The proprietary switches have an operating force of 37gf, 2.5mm of pre-travel, and 4mm of total travel. The Apex 3 has a high keyboard latency, averaging at 14.83 to 15.09 ms.
The Apex 3 comes with a detachable, magnetic wrist rest and has two incline angles for ergonomics.
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The keyboard ergonomics at 5 degrees, with the adjustable leg in.