SteelSeries Apex 7 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – OLED Smart Display – USB Passthrough and Media Controls – Linear and Quiet – RGB Backlit (Red Switch)

Product Information

We welcome a new character to Apex Legends every season, but it's not often that we have a fresh map. Ascension introduces Olympus, a utopian city that floats around in the clouds. Of course, utopias never quite live up to their lofty aspirations, and after an explosive accident occurred in the city's experimental research facility, a huge Phase Rift appeared in Olympus. It served as a tourist attraction until recently, when Hammond Robotics fashioned it into a new spot for the Apex Games. A large new map means we have a lot of exploring to do. Thankfully, getting around should be a little easier thanks to the new Trident vehicles. These hover cars can carry an entire squad, and it's even possible to use some legends' abilities while in motion. Captain: Talent scouts. Able to do everything a Grunt can do while also being able to invite new members. That paragraph might read like a bunch of gobbledygook to people who don’t play Overwatch, but the gist is that I’m doing a bunch of things at once to make sure my mech-piloting hamster doesn’t turn into so much roadkill. Yet I would regularly find that my bombs didn’t drop (so the Q didn’t register) or shields didn’t activate (which means the E didn’t) while using the Apex 7. I didn’t have any problems performing similar maneuvers on the Logitech G Pro after multiple attempts. In short, the Apex 7 is a middle-of-the-line keyboard with a relatively high price that only seems low because its higher-end sibling costs even more. Most people would be better served by competing products that either have more substantive features, or ditch them in pursuit of a lower price.

However, something about the keys feels off. Like the Apex Pro, the Apex 7's keys feel spongy and almost non-resistant. Naturally, you don't want to have to slam down a key every time you type a letter, but a little bit of resistance helps keep your fingers from flying across the keyboard too fast and accidentally pressing adjacent buttons. I tested the Apex 7 with Red switches, and felt like I had to slow down and really consider what I was typing, or else risk clumsy keystroke errors.

A good keyboard overall, but doesn't offer many advantages over similarly priced competitors

SteelSeries constructed the Apex 7’s case with an “aircraft grade aluminum alloy” that gives it a satisfying heft. I like the brushed metal--it’s a nice change of pace from the plastic cases I’ve encountered on most keyboards. Combined with the keycaps, which don’t rely on typographic monstrosities to convey the Apex 7’s status as a gaming keyboard, the frame makes it clear that the Apex 7 is supposed to be a premium device that wouldn’t look out of place in the office. What sets the TKL apart from most other keyboards, though, is its on-chassis micro-screen. Beside the scroll wheel and button is a little monochrome OLED display with a resolution of 128x40. Though it may just look like dressing at first, this unusual feature makes the keyboard more customizable. By default, the OLED display shows just the SteelSeries logo and brand name, but you can upload other images (including GIF and JPG files) for the keyboard to display. (Animated images display at a rate of 10 frames per second.) We've looked at the Engine software many times before, so no need to dig too deep here. Our opinion of it holds. Engine 3 is cleanly laid out, with all keyboard functions divided into three tabbed sections (for shortcuts, lighting, and the OLED panel), and it's both powerful and easy to use, the equal of competing utilities from other gaming-board makers. That said, these problems didn’t affect the Apex 7 during everyday use. I wrote most of this review on the Apex 7 and didn’t have any more typos than I usually do. That might have resulted from me being particularly cautious, though, or actively gauging how the keys felt while I was writing just to make sure my initial impressions weren’t clouding my final judgment. Sometimes it takes a little while to get used to a keyboard. So I turned to the Aesop’s Fable test at TypingTest.com.

I’ve had similar problems with other keyboards that were supposed to offer at-a-glance information. It’s an interesting concept, but it’s never managed to become core to my computer usage, despite repeated attempts to understand what the hype is about. I learned to touch-type specifically so I wouldn’t have to stare at my keyboard while I’m using my PC. Why break that habit--and ruin my posture--to look at the keyboard when there’s a monitor right in front of me? DesignThe OLED screen can do most of the same things, except it's a lot smaller and harder to navigate. As such, I'm not exactly sure what distinct benefits the screen confers. You can program macros on the fly, which is admittedly useful if you don't have a two-monitor setup — but there are also keyboard shortcuts that let you do the same thing. Games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and programs like Spotify can also use the OLED screen to display information, such as kill/death ratio or song title and artist. But, as I pointed out in the Apex Pro review, this information draws your eyes away from the computer screen, where that information is already readily available. The OLED screen could be situationally useful, but I feel like the Apex keyboards could have been stronger, cheaper products without one. Performance For as long as I can remember, I've had love of all things tech, spurred on, in part, by a love of gaming. I began working on computers owned by immediate family members and relatives when I was around 10 years old. I've always sought to learn as much as possible about anything PC, leading to a well-rounded grasp on all things tech today. In my role at PCMag, I greatly enjoy the opportunity to share what I know.