SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL
The SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL is a well-built mechanical keyboard for gamers and typists alike. With cool features like a magnetic wrist rest, USB pass-through, and an OLED display, this $150 keyboard is an outstanding deal. At $100, it is a complete no-brainer.
A keyboard is an irreplaceable part of your devices, from the one built into yourChromebookto the Gboard app installed on stock Android. If you miss the keyboards we had in the 1980s and crave durability without sacrificing quality-of-life features in your keyboard, you ought to check outour favorite mechanical keyboards. One such keyboard, the SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL, is selling for just $100 after Black Friday discounts on its $150 sticker price.
Black Friday deals have kicked off way earlier than usual this year, creating the perfect opportunity for you to upgrade your desk setup at home or work. The Apex 7 is a versatile keyboard that will serve you well, whether you’re a competitive gamer or just someone craving a comfortable typing experience.
Like any other off-the-shelf keyboard, their mechanical counterparts work well with Chromebooks, desktops, and some even pair with Android devices. They justify their relatively steeper pricing with the promise of longevity, customizability, premium materials, and other useful features. SteelSeries is known for high-end peripherals and its Apex 7 TKL offers everything you expect from a mechanical keyboard.
Why do we love the SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL?
Right off the bat, you’ll notice it doesn’t have a numpad attached to it, as indicated by TKL in the name, which stands for ten-keyless. Since the number row above the QWERTY keys suffices for most users, this layout frees up desk space for mouse movements.
you may option the Apex 7 with red linear, brown tactile, or blue clicky switches. Red switches have a smooth linear keypress, but we recommend brown switches if you prefer a small tactile bump near the actuation point. Clicky switches offer the same tactility with the addition of an audible sound when they actuate. SteelSeries’ switches are rated for 50 million keystrokes each, ensuring the board lasts several years even with heavy daily use. Even otherwise, the Apex 7 is well-built, featuring an aluminum top plate for the switches and three routing options for the non-detachable cable designed into the bottom of the case.
The Apex 7 has a couple of features you won’t find in other mainstream $150 keyboards, like the customizable OLED display and a knurled volume knob that doubles up as a mute switch. You can configure the OLED with the SteelSeries Engine software on Windows and Mac. It can show you the active profile on the keyboard, the current song, information pulled from the game you’re playing, or the number of unread Discord messages. Meanwhile, the premium metallic volume knob helps change the system volume on the fly without using taskbar controls.
This keyboard also has a USB-A female port with pass-through support and a magnetically detachable wrist rest. For keycaps, the board comes fitted with wear-resistant PBT plastic which doesn’t shine. Moreover, the caps are manufactured using a two-step injection molding process, ensuring the legends won’t fade away. Such features are seldom seen on rival sub-$100 mechanical keyboards like those from Corsair and Keychron.
These wonderful attributes, like the non-detachable gray cable, easily offset a handful of the Apex 7’s quirks. You should also note that this keyboard is not hot-swappable, meaning the switches are soldered onto the circuit board, and you cannot change them easily, like on almost all Keychron models.
While these parameters may be deal-breakers for seasoned mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, the Apex 7 is an amazing keyboard for $150. This year, Black Friday discounts on Amazon knock a third of the price off, so you pay just $100. At the discounted price, a TKL mechanical keyboard with aluminum construction, a volume knob, wrist rest, customizable OLED, and PBT plastic keycaps is hard to pass up. Most other brands struggle to offer such incredible value for money at $100.
