The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is a wireless version of the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini and the first wireless entry in ROCCAT's Vulcan II lineup of gaming keyboards. This keyboard uses ROCCAT's linear TITAN II OPTICAL RED switches, which have clear plastic housings paired with flat, low-profile keycaps. This design emphasizes the keyboard's RGB backlighting, which you can customize on a per-key basis and synchronize with other ROCCAT peripherals using companion software. Other features include additional LED lights on select keys to indicate when secondary functions are active and a proximity sensor that you can set to automatically lower the keyboard's RGB brightness levels when you step away to save on battery life.
Note: The Turtle Beach company purchased ROCCAT and is rebranding some of its current production models, including this keyboard. As such, you may see this keyboard sold under the name Turtle Beach Vulcan II Mini Air. Besides different branding, we expect both models to be identical.
Our Verdict
The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is an impressive gaming keyboard. It has great all-around latency performance and full RGB backlighting that you can customize, along with a host of other settings using the configuration software. Its linear TITAN II OPTICAL RED switches are lightweight and have short pre-travel, making them well-suited for playing fast-paced games. Unfortunately, while this keyboard's overall build quality is good, the keycaps are made of cheap-feeling ABS plastic, which is prone to developing a shiny finish and getting slippery over time.
- Impressive latency performance.
- Low profile keycaps and clear switch housings showcase the keyboard's RGB lighting.
- Overall build quality isn't as good as many similarly-priced gaming models.
- Keycaps are made of cheap-feeling ABS plastic and their flat, low-profile design can take some getting used to.
While not designed specifically for this use, the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is a relatively good keyboard for office work. It connects wirelessly with a USB receiver or via Bluetooth with up to three devices simultaneously. Its linear switches are also fairly quiet and actuate smoothly but can feel overly sensitive for most typists due to their low actuation force and extremely short pre-travel distance. Additionally, while the overall build quality is good, the bottom chassis and keycaps are made of cheaper-feeling ABS plastic that can develop a shiny finish and get slippery with extended use. Additionally, the flattened low-profile keycaps are unusual compared to those on most dedicated office keyboards and may take some getting used to.
- Connects wirelessly with its USB receiver or with up to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth.
- Overall build quality isn't as good as many similarly-priced gaming models.
- Keycaps are made of cheap-feeling ABS plastic and their flat, low-profile design can take some getting used to.
While The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is designed primarily as a desktop gaming keyboard, it's also great for Mobile/Tablet use. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth with up to three devices simultaneously, and it's reasonably lightweight and fairly compact. That said, it has a fairly tall, high-profile design compared to most keyboards designed specifically for mobile use, which typically have a thinner, low-profile design. Additionally, the flat keycaps can take some time to get used to for regular typing, and while the overall build quality is good, the keycaps and bottom chassis are made of fairly cheap-feeling plastic.
- Connects wirelessly with its USB receiver or with up to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth.
- Overall build quality isn't as good as many similarly-priced gaming models.
The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is good for programming. You can connect it wirelessly with its USB receiver or with up to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth. It also has full RGB backlighting and dual LEDs on many keys that display when secondary functions are active. The Compact (65%) form factor lacks a function row, which can be a major weakness if your workflow heavily depends on F-keys. There aren't any dedicated macro keys, but you can program macros to any key using the software. Additionally, while the overall build quality is good, the plastic chassis and ABS keycaps feel fairly cheap. Additionally, the keycap's flat, low profile is somewhat unusual and can take some getting used to.
- Connects wirelessly with its USB receiver or with up to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth.
- Low profile keycaps and clear switch housings showcase the keyboard's RGB lighting.
- Overall build quality isn't as good as many similarly-priced gaming models.
- Keycaps are made of cheap-feeling ABS plastic and their flat, low-profile design can take some getting used to.
The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is acceptable for Entertainment or Home Theatre PC use. It connects wirelessly with its USB receiver or via Bluetooth with up to three devices simultaneously. Its compact size makes it easy to move around and use from a couch. It also has full RGB backlighting and shine-through legends on the keycaps, which are easy to read in a darker room. Unfortunately, it lacks dedicated media keys or other control elements, like a control knob or scroll wheel, so you'll likely need a mouse to navigate menus.
- Connects wirelessly with its USB receiver or with up to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth.
- Overall build quality isn't as good as many similarly-priced gaming models.
The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air has great raw performance with impressive single-key and multi-key latency, full n-key rollover, and a 1000Hz polling rate that other latency components don't bottleneck. Altogether, it delivers a responsive-feeling experience well-suited for gaming in all genres.
- Great single-key and multi-key latency performance.
- 1000Hz polling rate isn't bottlenecked by other latency components.
- Full n-key rollover.
Changelog
- Updated May 13, 2024: We've added a note about this keyboard's Turtle Beach rebrand to the Introduction and the Differences Between Variants sections of this review.
- Updated Nov 29, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3.1, which adds a new estimated PCB latency test to the Single-Key Latency section and a new Analog test to the Switches section of this review. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Nov 09, 2023: Review published.
- Updated Sep 12, 2023: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is available in a black or white colorway with linear TITAN II OPTICAL RED Switches. At the time of writing, no other switch types are available for purchase with this keyboard, and no variants. We bought and tested the black colorway, and you can see the label of our unit here. This keyboard bears close similarity with other keyboard models in ROCCAT's Vulcan II lineup, most notably the Vulcan II Mini, a wired version of this keyboard.
Note: The Turtle Beach company purchased ROCCAT and is rebranding some of its current production models, including this keyboard. As such, you may see this keyboard sold under the name Turtle Beach Vulcan II Mini Air. Besides different branding, we expect both models to be identical.
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air is a compact wireless gaming keyboard that continues ROCCAT's Vulcan II lineup. It's the first wireless model in the lineup, but otherwise, it shares the same design as previous entries that pairs standard-profile switches with flat low-profile keycaps. This design makes the RGB lighting on this keyboard stand out quite a bit but is also somewhat unusual as flat low-profile switches are more often matched with low-profile keycaps, as can be seen with the Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro or the Logitech G915 LIGHTSPEED. Like other recent entries in the Vulcan II lineup, this keyboard has two unusual backlighting features: a proximity sensor for the RGB lighting and additional LEDs that light up when secondary functions are active. This keyboard is a good wireless alternative to popular compact gaming keyboards like the Razer Huntsman Mini or Corsair K65 RGB MINI if you want a more RGB-focused design.
For more recommendations, see our picks for the best keyboards, the best gaming keyboards, and the best RGB keyboards.
The Corsair K65 RGB MINI and the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air are gaming keyboards with compact form factors. The Corsair is a Compact (60%), wired-only model with better overall latency performance, better build quality, and a higher 8000Hz polling rate. It's available in several Cherry MX switch options. On the other hand, the ROCCAT has a slightly larger Compact (65%) form factor. It also has low-profile keycaps that better showcase the keyboard's RGB lighting.
The Razer Huntsman Mini and the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air are gaming keyboards with compact form factors. The Razer has a slightly smaller Compact (60%) form factor. It also has better build quality and better overall gaming performance. On the other hand, the ROCCAT has a Compact (65%) form factor, and its design features low-profile keycaps that better showcase the RGB lighting. Both keyboards use optical switches, but the Razer is available with clicky or linear optical switches, while the ROCCAT is only available with linear optical switches.
The ROCCAT Magma and the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air are gaming keyboards. The Magma is a wired-only, full-size keyboard with rubber dome switches. The Vulcan II Mini Air is a wireless model with a smaller Compact (65%) form factor and optical switches.
The ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini is a wired version of the ROCCAT Vulcan II Mini Air. Both keyboards share the same size, design, and feature set, but the Vulcan II Mini Air has added wireless connectivity with a USB receiver or via Bluetooth.
Test Results
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