The SteelSeries Apex Pro is an outstanding keyboard for gamers, and it's quite versatile, too. It has a unique setting that lets you change the amount of pre-travel distance needed to input a keystroke, which increases and decreases its actuation force. You can lower it for a more responsive experience in games, or you can raise it to reduce the number of typos and accidental keystrokes when typing text. This keyboard is very well-built and comes with a nice magnetic wristrest. It also has an OLED screen you can customize using the configuration software.
Our Verdict
The SteelSeries Apex Pro is an excellent gaming keyboard. It's responsive, and you can set the pre-travel distance of your keys to your preferred setting. It's also very well-built and is fully customizable through its software. The backlighting is also great for gaming in the dark.
- Adjustable pre-travel distance.
- Very well-built design.
- Great typing quality.
- Full RGB backlighting.
- Wrist rest is a dust magnet.
- No dedicated macro keys.
The Apex Pro is decent for an office environment. It has a nice wristrest that offers a comfortable ergonomic design. Typing on this keyboard is satisfying, and it doesn't make too much noise, either.
- Very well-built design.
Quiet.
- Great typing quality.
- Wrist rest is a dust magnet.
- Wired-only.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro isn't designed for use with a mobile device or tablet. It's a wired-only keyboard meant for use with a PC.
The Apex Pro is a good keyboard for programming overall. Typing is satisfying, and you can also set the pre-travel distance of each key, meaning you can find your preferred setting to reduce the number of typos. You can also program every key and customize the keyboard inside its software.
- Very well-built design.
- Great typing quality.
- Full RGB backlighting.
- Wrist rest is a dust magnet.
- Wired-only.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro isn't designed for use with a home theater PC. You can only use it wired, which isn't ideal if you're sitting on your couch. Unfortunately, it also lacks a set of dedicated media controls, although you can playback media using the scroll wheel at the top right corner.
- Very well-built design.
- Great typing quality.
- Full RGB backlighting.
- Wrist rest is a dust magnet.
- Wired-only.
No dedicated media keys.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro has excellent raw performance, making it well-suited for playing games in all genres and at any competitive level. It has remarkably low latency and a 1000Hz polling rate that isn't bottlenecked by other latency elements. It also supports N-key rollover out of the box and can send multiple inputs per USB report.
- Very well-built design.
- Great typing quality.
- Wrist rest is a dust magnet.
Changelog
- Updated Aug 26, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.4.1. This update removes the Key Release test and a video element from the Multi-Key Latency section, resulting in minor score changes. See our full 1.4.1 changelog for details.
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Updated May 15, 2025:
We've written text for the new Adjustable Input Granularity box, added with Test Bench 1.4, and we've made sure all text throughout the review reflects any changes.
- Updated May 15, 2025: We've updated this review with our new Test Bench 1.4 methodology. It adds a new Output Type classification in the Switches box, indicating whether the keyboard's output is non-adjustable, adjustable, or analog. It also introduces a new Adjustable Input Granularity test, which improves comparability between keyboards with adjustable input.
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Updated Nov 21, 2024:
We've retested this keyboard and slightly lowered the Build Quality score to reflect the current market. We also now indicate that this keyboard has non-dedicated media keys. For more details, see the Extra Features section.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. A TenKeyLess version, the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL, is also available, which we expect to perform similarly. This is one of many keyboards in the SteelSeries Apex lineup, which includes the SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL, the SteelSeries Apex 5, and the SteelSeries Apex 3.
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The SteelSeries Apex Pro is an exceptional gaming keyboard and among the best that we've tested. However, some people may not like its linear switches for general typing due to the lack of tactile feedback. If you want tactile switches, it's better to go with the SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best gaming keyboards, the best mechanical keyboards, and the best keyboards for writers.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro and SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL are wired, mechanical gaming keyboards with very similar build qualities and many features in common. Their major differences are in size and available switch types. The Apex Pro has OmniPoint linear switches that allow you to adjust the pre-travel distanced needed to input keystrokes to your liking. While the version we tested was the full-sized version, there’s also a TenKeyLess variant available. On the other hand, the Apex 7 TKL we tested is a TenKeyLess design, but a full-sized variant, the SteelSeries Apex 7, is also available. The unit we tested has tactile SteelSeries Brown switches that feel similar to Cherry MX Brown switches, and It’s also available with clicky SteelSeries Blue or linear SteelSeries Red switches.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro and the Razer Huntsman Mini are very different keyboards. The SteelSeries is a full-size keyboard with more features, such as a USB passthrough, and an OLED screen that you can customize. Also, it comes with a wrist rest and has better compatibility with macOS. The Razer's Razer Clicky Optical switches provide a better typing experience, and there's a Linear Optical switch option as well. However, they're also much louder and not ideal for quiet offices. The SteelSeries is only available with one switch type, but it allows you to customize the pre-travel distance.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro and the Wooting 60HE are mechanical gaming keyboards with exceptional gaming performance and analog switch functionality that allow you to adjust the pre-travel of individual keys. The SteelSeries is a full-size keyboard and includes a wrist rest. It also has some hardware features the Wooting lacks, including a USB passthrough, a volume wheel, and a small OLED screen. On the other hand, the Wooting 60HE is a smaller, Compact (60%) model. The Wooting has several additional software features the SteelSeries lacks, including a low latency Tachyon Mode, Rapid Triggers, the ability to assign up to four inputs to a single keypress, customizable reset points, and an Analog Mode that mimics the gradual inputs of controller joysticks.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro and the Logitech G915 LIGHTSPEED are exceptional gaming keyboards. The SteelSeries has a better build quality and more features, including an OLED screen and the ability to customize the pre-travel distance of every switch. Every key is macro-programmable on the SteelSeries, while you can only reprogram the dedicated macro keys on the Logitech. On the other hand, the Logitech is a wireless keyboard, allowing you to connect with any Bluetooth-compatible device, and it's available with low profile tactile, clicky, or linear switches, while the SteelSeries has linear switches only.
Test Results
This full-size keyboard is rather large and will take even more space if you use the magnetic wrist rest. There's also a tenkeyless (TKL) version available, which is shorter. We expect the TKL model to perform similarly to the full-size. You can also look into modular keyboards that have removable numpads, so you can use them both in full-size and TKL modes, like the Mountain Everest Max.
Recently, SteelSeries released two compact (60%) versions of this keyboard: the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless and its wired-only counterpart, SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro has impressive build quality. It has a plastic bottom chassis with an aluminum top plate, making the entire keyboard quite sturdy with minimal deck flex. It has ABS doubleshot keycaps with shine-through legends. Unfortunately, these keycaps can develop a shiny, slippery texture after extended use. This keyboard also comes with a magnetic wristrest that's covered by a rubber coating. Just be warned that the wrist rest tends to collect and show dust quite easily.
The keyboard has a nice magnetic, detachable wrist rest but only features a single incline setting. Unfortunately, the feet open vertically, meaning they can fold back in if you push your keyboard forward. For an even more ergonomic design, check out the split design of the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB.
If you're looking for a full-size gaming keyboard that offers more hardware customizability, check out the HyperX Alloy Rise.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro is a full RGB keyboard. You can select your preferred lighting option directly on the keyboard with the menu button and also control the brightness level.
The black frame creates a nice contrast with the colors and makes the legends on the shine-through keycaps very easy to read in the dark.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro is a wired-only keyboard. The cable is rubber-coated and should be long enough for most setups. This cable ends in two USB plugs, as one is needed for the USB passthrough on the keyboard.
This keyboard is wired-only, and you can't use it wirelessly.
This keyboard has a wide array of extra features, including a programmable OLED screen. Using the button and scroll wheel next to it, you can control media playback or enable various settings, including switch actuation. You can even upload and display a small image or video file (.gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, or .bmp).
For more details, you can see an online version of the user manual.
The typing experience on the SteelSeries Apex Pro is great, especially because you can set your preferred pre-travel distance. This can prevent typos efficiently once you find the right settings for you. The keys feel stable when typing, although some people may not like the soft finish of the keys. Also, note that the OmniPoint switches are linear and don't provide any tactile feedback. If you prefer a simple keyboard with outstanding typing quality, check out the IBM Model M.
Since there's no bump in the pressing of the keys, the SteelSeries Apex Pro isn't very loud or clicky. You should be able to use this mechanical keyboard in an office environment without bothering your colleagues.
This keyboard was tested using 'Setting 2' with a pre-travel distance of 2.8mm as it offers the best overall performance.
The minimal setting's results were 1mm of pre-travel and 34g of force, which might be too sensitive for some. The maximum setting's results were 3.8mm of pre-travel. If you like optical switches, you can check out the Wooting one, which also allows you to have analog inputs where the input depends on how deeply you press a key, like a joystick.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro offers good input granularity all around. It has generally good linearity, a very low minimum step depth, and fairly small deadzones, allowing you to register quick initial and follow-up inputs. This is useful for movement techniques like tap-strafing in FPS titles. It also has an impressive detection ratio, enabling you to consistently register input across most of the full range of key travel.
That said, it doesn't support true analog output. While this isn't a significant limitation for most gaming scenarios, it does mean the switches can't mimic gamepad or joystick inputs. This type of input can be especially useful in platformers, racing games, or flight sims.
This keyboard uses OmniPoint proprietary switches from SteelSeries. You can customize the pre-travel distance of these switches to suit your preference inside the SteelSeries Engine software.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro has exceptionally low latency. Most people shouldn't feel any delay.
The SteelSeries Engine is an outstanding piece of software. It has many configuration settings, and you can even save your preferred profile on the keyboard's onboard memory, meaning you won't have to redownload the software if you use the keyboard with another computer.
Very good overall compatibility. The software is available on macOS, so you can customize the keyboard however you like. Unfortunately, it isn't available for Linux users. On the upside, the keyboard still works on this OS with its default settings, but you won't be able to customize it fully.