The SteelSeries Apex 5 is a sturdy wired keyboard featuring SteelSeries Hybrid Mechanical RGB switches. The Apex 5 is a full-size keyboard with an integrated OLED Smart Display and dedicated multimedia control.
Being priced at $99 USD on the SteelSeries webstore, it is above entry-level pricing, but below premium pricing. This is a simple, midrange mechanical keyboard for those who want a bit more in their keyboard
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
THE GOOD
- Chassis Material
It's sturdy, it has an aluminum base plate construction giving minimal board flex.
THE BAD
- Wired
The Type-A USB cable is not detachable.
- Latency Performance
The delay between pressing a key and the corresponding action on screen is rather high.
THE REST
- Overall
It's a simple full size mechanical keyboard. It has a high latency delay but it also has an OLED screen and dedicated multimedia control, so take your pick.
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The Apex 5 comes with a magnetic wrist rest and a user manual. It is a frameless, plastic keyboard with an aluminum base plate, plate-mounted stabilizers, and ABS laser-etched, shine-through keycaps. It is a wired keyboard.
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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 3S mouse.
The right side of the keyboard containing the navigation keys, mini OLED screen, multimedia scroll, and numpad.
The left side of the keyboard.
The keyboard is connected by a USB Type-A undetachable cable.
The Apex 5 has its own customization software, SteelSeries GG, available for Windows and MacOS computers but is not QMK or VIA compatible. It features an integrated OLED Smart Display and dedicated multimedia controls. It has per-key RGB backlighting and illumination.
The Apex 5 is not hot-swappable, and the included switch stems are standard Cherry MX. The SteelSeries Hybrid Mechanical RGB Switches have an operating force of 53gf, 1.9mm of pre-travel, and 4mm of total travel. The Apex 5 has a high keyboard latency, averaging 26.38 to 26.52 ms.
The Apex 5 comes with a detachable wrist rest and has two incline angles at 5° and 9° for ergonomics.
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The keyboard ergonomics at an angle of 5 degrees, with the adjustable leg in.