Danish gaming peripheral manufacturer SteelSeries has been on a roll in recent years, winning a variety of awards. Today we take a look at the Apex 9 Mini, their newest 60% keyboard, which is becoming increasingly popular on the gaming scene.
The Apex 9 Mini features OptiPoint optical switches that allow for 33% faster operation than competing products. Along with the OptiPoint switches, it also comes with uniquely textured double-shot PBT keycaps that claim to improve typing accuracy, per-key RGB illumination, a removable USB Type-C braided cable, and height-adjustable tilt legs.
Being a Mini brings great versatility and portability, especially as an easy add-on for laptops or for those with limited desk space, it can be placed on a table. In return, the 60% form factor loses many keys, but like many other mini keyboards, the Apex 9 Mini relegates what is lost to secondary functions. While this may be difficult for those who have never tried a mini keyboard, the small 60% form factor is very appealing.
The 1.0mm travel distance takes a little getting used to, but once you do, the almost instantaneous response and low latency is impressive. And with 35g of force, SteelSeries’ Apex 9 Mini feels like a “touch type” device; the OptiPoint optical switches are completely interchangeable, which is another nice feature. However, as of this writing, no replacement switch for the OptiPoint is available.
However, what truly sets the Apex 9 Mini apart from other competitors in the gaming keyboard space is its use of “OptiPoint” linear switches instead of traditional mechanical switches. As mentioned earlier, these are the fastest and most durable of SteelSeries’ optical keyboards, boasting a 0.2ms response time and 100 million key presses of durability.The second feature of the OptiPoint switches is that users can use the SteelSeries Apex 9 Mini keyboard with one as well as two operating modes.