Logitech G915 Review

It’s hard to find a better wireless mechanical gaming keyboard than the Logitech G915 ($250). It’s a sleek, attractive peripherality with satisfying mechanical switches, cool low-profile keycaps, a full media bar, two types of wireless connectivity, and generous battery life. What’s more, it’s not a model without ten keys, it doesn’t require AA batteries, and it doesn’t require annoying keyboard shortcuts to record macros. This is our Logitech G915 Review.

Apart from a missing wrist rest, the re’s very little to criticize in the Logitech G915. It’s everything I wanted to see in a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard, no compromises needed. However, $250 is much money, even for such a gorgeous model, so weigh your options accordingly if you can live without a wireless setup.

Logitech G915 Review: Design

When I first saw the G915, an engineer held up a dime next to the keyboard chassis to show that the coin was wider than the keyboard itself. I thought it was a trick of the webcam, but it was not. When I got my hands on the G915, I held it against my own pocket money and realized it was indeed thinner. That’s an impressive achievement for a fully mechanical model.

The keyboard itself is beautiful, with a brushed metal finish over a sturdy plastic chassis. Each key has an ultra-thin keycap over a small mechanical switch, just like the fantastic Roccat Vulcan. There is a layout of macro keys on the far left, as well as three macro-profile keys and a macro-record key above the F1 to F4 keys. Above the F4-F8 keys, you’ll see buttons for USB dongle and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as Game Mode and RGB illumination brightness.

And, off at the top right, there is a full media button section, complete with a volume button. Each keyboard needs one, and the buttons work beautifully on the G915. One of the remarks here is that the five extra buttons on the left side are only useful for most players in practice. Including these buttons extends the length of the keyboard to 18.5-inches, a full 1-inch more than some other full-size gaming keyboards on the market. It can make a difference if space on your desk is limited.

What’s more, the LogitehG915 has no wrist support, which is a problem if you’re dealing with such a thin, low-profile keyboard. Even using third-party wrist rests is not necessarily a solution, as most are higher than the keyboard itself.

Keys

The G915 uses a brand new kind of switch – or rather, it uses three. Just as gamers can buy Corsair keyboards with their decision of Cherry MX Red, Blue, or Brown switches, they can also select between GL Linear, GL Tactile, and GL Clicky switches on the G915. These new, low-profile mechanical switches are designed to give you as much key travel as Logitech’s Romer-G keys, but in a much smaller, more stylish package.

As a Blues fan, I’ve set myself up with the GL Clicky and have enjoyed my experience with these switches to the fullest so far. Each switch has a key spacing of 2.7 millimeters, a controlled spacing of 1.5 mm, and a controlled force of 50 grams, but the feel of each switch is a bit different. The GL Linear is silent and requires you to push it down to register commands, the GL Tactile is silent and goes into operation before you hit the ground and the GL Clicky is noisy and goes into operation before you hit the ground.

It’s worth pointing out that the Clicky keys seem to be a bit quieter – or at least a bit less intense – than Cherry Blues. I’m right next to my boss, so I asked him if I should change them for a quieter edge. He said they sounded like “white noise” to him, which gained much praise when keyboard sounds go.

It takes some getting used to the low-profile switches, however. In a typing test, I scored 102 words per minute with 95% accuracy on the G915, compared to 108 words per minute with 98% accuracy on my usual Logitech G613. The smaller keycaps made it easier to press an adjacent button accidentally, and the Clicky keys felt slightly more resistant than the Brown-style Romer-Gs.

Logitech G915 Review: Features

The G915 runs on the Logitech G Hub software, which is pretty good as these programs go. You can program a variety of color effects, from key lighting to reactive rainbows that ripple across the keyboard as you type. You can also record macros and set profiles for individual games and programs.

Unlike some competitors’ offerings, the G915 does not allow you to reprogram every key on the device. But since you have up to fifteen extra macro keys (five extra keys, three macro profiles) to work with, I’m not sure you need that. You can also change which keys you want to disable during Game Mode, which should reduce the risk of tabbing out of a game accidentally.

What’s more, the biggest spring of the G915 is the wireless connection. You can connect the device via a USB dongle (which works flawlessly) or Bluetooth (which also works flawlessly – depending on how well your devices handle Bluetooth connections). The oretically, this means that you can connect the device to a PC and a smartphone at the same time, or any other device combination you like. Switching between these devices is as easy as pressing a button, and both connections work from dozens of meters away.

Logitech G915 Review: Performance

The G915 handled every game I threw at it with ease. Every time I activated a particular skill in Overwatch, or selected an army in StarCraft: Remastered, or fired a magic spell in Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, the G915 parsed my commands accurately and immediately. For gamers who play competitively, I imagine that the low-profile keycaps can help them hit important keys quickly and repeatedly, without the amount of replay time required with larger switches.

Battery Life

Then the re’s battery life. Logitech claims the device plays for up to 12 days (8 hours a day) with RGB functions enabled or up to 135 days with lights off. It was challenging to measure these numbers for ourselves because we had less than a week to view the device. However, I drained about 10% of the keyboard battery after two days of moderate use, so the numbers sound about right. Better yet: Charging it won’t ruin your experience, because a keyboard is a stationary device anyway.

Logitech G915 Review: Conclusion

When Logitech released its first wireless mechanical keyboard, the G613, I was intrigued, but also a little impressed. It had no rechargeable battery, no RGB lighting, or a volume wheel. Now the G915 has all those things, plus an incredibly attractive design. However, it’s hard to get around the price tag of the G915 – you could get a wired keyboard with most of the same features for about $100 less. I’m not sure I’d spend that much money on a keyboard, especially since, unlike a mouse, it’s a stationary device. Wireless connectivity is a luxury, not something that is going to change your performance level.

However, as a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard, the G915 nails almost any function correctly. If you’re serious about a tidy gaming installation without sacrificing functionality, this is the peripherals you want to have as your center of attention. For more options, check our list of Best Gaming Keyboard