SteelSeries is launching its latest lineup of Apex Pro Gen 3 gaming keyboards today, and there’s a noticeable focus on improving how the keyboards sound and feel. SteelSeries is upgrading its Hall effect switches, adding dampening foam, improving its switch stabilizers, and even factory lubricating each key in an effort to create a thockier sounding board.
SteelSeries is moving to new OmniPoint 3.0 switches on the Apex Pro Gen 3 lineup, which includes a full-size board and TKL (tenkeyless) wired and TKL wireless variants. SteelSeries says it’s the “most technically advanced switch on the market,” and it has improved sensors that are designed to reduce noise.
Hall effect gaming keyboards are increasingly becoming popular because they allow gamers to adjust actuation points from 4mm down to just 0.1mm. Traditional Cherry MX-style switches use a copper mechanism to register a press with a board at a set actuation point of around 2mm, but Hall effect switches use a magnet instead to speed up keypresses.
These magnetic switches also enable features like Rapid Trigger, the ability to press the same key without waiting for it to return. SteelSeries is offering both Rapid Trigger and Rapid Tap, its own take on Razer’s controversial Snap Tap mode. It allows you to perfectly counter-strafe in games like Counter-Strike 2, but Valve recently banned similar features from Razer and Wooting.
SteelSeries has also improved its stabilizers to eliminate keycap wobble, so both the switches and stabilizers should reduce the overall rattling sound you can often find on Hall effect boards. SteelSeries has also added three layers of sound dampening foam to improve the sound and feel, alongside per key lubrication. SteelSeries is using Poron and silicone rubber here, but we’ll have to try out the boards to see how much of a difference it all makes.
It wouldn’t be a SteelSeries keyboard without some interesting software features. The new OmniPoint 3.0 switches also allow for 2-in-1 action keypresses, allowing you to combine two actions into a single keystroke. You could walk and then run, pull a grenade out and then throw it, or execute combos. It’s essentially a macro mode for your keyboard.
GG Quickset is also available on these boards, which lets you use presets for games much like SteelSeries does for the audio settings of its headsets. SteelSeries has also added a protection mode, so you can lock keys against accidental fat fingering.
The Apex Pro Gen 3 also continues the tradition of the OLED smart display at the top of the keyboard, which allows for the adjustment of settings and profile changes or just a handy way to see your CPU and GPU usage.
The $199.99 Apex Pro Gen 3, $189.99 Apex Pro TKL Gen 3, and $249.99 Apex Pro TKL Wireless Gen 3 are all available today from retailers worldwide.
