There are very few things that can be satisfying to use and hear, as a mechanical keyboard, the sound of the keys not only satisfies something deep inside us all, but the responsiveness of them, also feels wonderful, but not everyone can get the balance of the two right. SteelSeries are back, with the Apex 5, their latest keyboard and it uses a new hybrid switch, but does this satisfy, or is more akin to torture.

Taking the keyboard from the box, there are two very distinct things that will catch your eye, first is the small screen, located at the top right corner of the board and on the underside, there are multiple paths for the cable to run, giving you control over where the keyboard cable pops out. The base design is pretty standard, so don’t expect any cup holders or such to appear once you plug it in, the layout is encased in a aircraft grade aluminium frame, which keeps the entire board feeling solid, but not heavy, so if you have to take it with you, the weight wont be an issue. Located on the front, not that you can see them, are two magnets that allow you to attach the included wrist mount, the mount has no padding on it, but it is still soft enough, that placing your wrists on it for any extended period of time will let you just forget it is there and let you get on with whatever it is you are doing. The rest of the features are pretty standard, there is per key RGB illumination, which allows for some wonderful custom designs, more on that in a bit, there are six programmable Macro keys, which are located in the existing keys, above the arrows, rather than on the side like so many do.

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Of course, you cant talk about this keyboard, without talking about the little screen and when I say little, I mean little, the screen is barely 4cm across and the is only black and white, but it does help out in little ways, you might not expect. The screen can display game information, much like others have in the past, but while the screen is small, combined with the wheel and button to the right of it, it is powerful. When not in use, you can have it work with your own image of choice, as long as its black and white, to many colours and the thing just doesn’t want to work, but if you leave the keyboard alone, it will eventually go into a sleep style state and flash the SteelSeries logo, which is a nice touch. The wheel, which can also act as your volume control, can cycle through options for the games, the button though is more like the one included on your phones headphones, with single, double and triple clicks being the option of the day. The only real issue with the screen is the height of it, the screen and corresponding options, are on the board, with no height and that means that if you have the keyboard at arm’s length, it is hidden by the raised keys. While not a big thing, as some people will have the board closer to themselves, it is something to take into consideration.

Of course, the other big thing with this keyboard is the hybrid mechanical keys, which are more mechanical than you might think, but with the option of the soft click. Whereas most mechanical hybrids throw down a membrane underneath and then add in a noise effect, kind of like an electrical car being made to sound like a V8, instead they went the opposite here and with great results. The keys are mechanical, as they contain a spring, the spring helps provide that wonderful click sound each time you press one down, but rather than using a membrane at the bottom, you are making full contact with the bottom of the board, where the actuation takes place and all that can happen in the space of 4mm, which is just crazy. The keys themselves are really solid, they have a firmness to them, that means when you start spamming keys in a WoW raid, you won’t feel that your fingers are sliding to the side. The only issue I have with the keyboard, there is no hamburger key, or the context menu key, if you prefer, which means that my normal behaviour had to change a lot. The keyboard does come with a SteelSeries key on it, but it does not duplicate that function.

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Speaking of functions, the keyboard has a few nice ones, the first is that you can have 5 different profiles to it, perfect for customising for whatever gaming experience you are planning on enjoying. I personally had it on the effect where the light would spread out from whichever key I pressed, but the bulk of the keys were a nice mellow orange, when not being activated, which I found quite soothing. As the keyboard sports per key RBG illumination, I did spend a lot of time just trying out different combinations and when I hit bright colours across most of the board, I decided to dial it back, something I am grateful for. The other functions are connected to the M keys, or Macros, meaning that you can record a series of keystrokes and then have them play out whenever you desire, it is a nice and simple tool, that can be quite powerful, the reason I really liked them here is that my hands didn’t need to distort in order to reach them, as they are already within the confines of the board, not off to the side, or above the noise.

Sadly though, with good comes the bad, but thankfully, there is not to much bad here, I have already mentioned that the LCD screen is a little low, the other issue with it is that the software can be a little tricky to set up. Not for setting up an image, but for programs or specific functions within it, some like Discord or Counter Strike are more just a matter of enabling and then customising to your own likeness, others like Minecraft require a proper install and the Mortal Kombat 11, is more complex then some of the moves needed in the game. Now these are not made by SteelSeries, they are mostly third party, but I would have really liked to see some consistency on the install and setup of the mods the keyboard is supporting. The other issue I had with the board was with the feet, they offer up a single position, which is really standard by most, but with a little force and I do mean little, they collapse back, which drops your keyboard, of course if you don’t make use of them, this is a non-issue for you, but for me it was a problem.

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SteelSeries have been making some amazing hardware of late and the Apex 5 is the next accomplishment to that list, with wonderful keys and a solid build there is little to fault with the function of this keyboard. Some odd design issues, like the height and set up of the screen, is harder to justify, especially as it is a selling point of the keyboard, but for some people, it might not be an issue. If you are looking for a mechanical keyboard, that offers some of the highest strokes per key around, but without the massive weight of a traditional board, this is one you need to look into.