SteelSeries Apex Pro Gen 3 review

It feels like such a long time ago that a keyboard and mouse were generic-brand afterthought peripheral purchases that represented an easy way to save money on a desktop PC build. Nowadays, gaming keyboards are big business that can attract big bucks if you lean towards the fully featured size of the pricing scale. Cue the entry of the third-generation SteelSeries Apex Pro, which is a feature-rich full-sized gaming keyboard with a solid value argument if you can get past the steep RRP.

The SteelSeries Apex Pro Gen 3 is peerless in terms of price, and not on the cheap end of the scale, either. I thought Asus was having a laugh when they were asking for $400+ to buy the Asus ROG Claymore II, a keyboard that’s my current desktop mainstay. But if you buy the Apex Pro Gen 3 at full price, expect to pay an eye-watering $589. That’s close to $200 pricier than the aforementioned Claymore II, Razer Huntsman V3 Pro and Corsair K100. So, what exactly do you get for that extra investment?

Pick a gaming genre and the SteelSeries Apex Pro Gen 3 is the right fit. Even out of the box without tweaks, the latest-gen Apex Pro impresses. The switches are incredibly responsive, which offers a competitive edge you can feel. That’s absolutely something this ageing FPS fan appreciates in the online foray.

If you want more responsiveness, you can tweak the actuation point on a per-key basis to suit your tastes, from as short as think-about-pressing-it-and-it’ll-register 0.1mm to a lengthier 4mm if that’s more your jam. The Apex Pro Gen 3 got me out of trouble in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, assisted in pummelling Nazis in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and helped me outmanoeuvre opponents in Hell Let Loose.

Hold down the dedicated SteelSeries button and tap the Windows key to disable or enable Windows key functionality to stop ill-timed accidental missed strokes. Speaking of missed strokes, Protection Mode is SteelSeries’ solution to ‘fat fingering’: where you intend on pressing one button but half press another. While no longer relegated to Gen 3 keyboards via SteelSeries GG software, it effectively lets you indicate typical fat-fingering culprits and reduce their sensitivity. This feature is particularly great because it allows for shorter actuation points without the fear of easier-to-misclick keystrokes.

I write thousands of words most days, and outside of a single instance where the keyboard was unresponsive (fixed by disconnecting and reconnecting), the latest-gen Apex Pro hasn’t skipped a beat. I appreciate the compact design to save desk space for a full-size keyboard, alongside the sturdy design that, while comparatively hefty, keeps it firmly in place during operation.

As someone who’s accustomed to plushy wrist rests, I thought I’d hate the harder plastic one that comes with the Apex Pro, but I don’t have any complaints after dozens of hours of use. It’s magnetically detachable, too, so it’s a cinch to disconnect and reconnect. USB pass-through doesn’t seem to be as in vogue anymore as it used to be, but given the Asus ROG Claymore II has it, it’s a bit disappointing that the pricier Apex Pro foregoes its inclusion.

The bigger disappointment for everyday use is the multifunction multimedia key. Initially, I thought it only controlled play and pause functionality. But like similar controls on wireless earbuds or over-ear headphones, a double tap of the button skips a track while a triple tap skips back. That’s not bad in theory but, in practicality, given its flat design and how closely it’s tucked against the top of the numpad, you either have to reach it from above with an awkwardly positioned digit or, more effectively for my fat fingers, from the side.

Neither option feels particularly natural. Above the multimedia key is a volume dial that’s clickable to mute the audio. Left of that is a programmable OLED screen that’s a nice premium touch but I didn’t get any practical use out of it outside of a quick visual reference for caps lock on or Windows keys disabled.

In my experience, most instances of companion software for gaming peripherals range from underwhelming to middling. SteelSeries GG is one of the exceptions to that rule. It’s a must-use for SteelSeries gaming headsets thanks to the Sonar feature, but there’s plenty to appreciate on the keyboard front, too.

Jump into the Engine tab of SteelSeries GG to begin your personalisation journey. At first glance, it’s intimidating, but curiosity is absolutely rewarded the more you tinker. There are multiple profiles, and you can always revert any changes if you mess anything up.

With no physical macro keys, the Macro Editor is there to record whatever key functions you’d like to simplify to a single keystroke or combination, which is in the Key Bindings tab. It’s also conveniently in the Meta Bindings tab which, admittedly, isn’t a self-explanatory term. Basically, you can bind shortcuts that apply to whatever key you press while holding the SteelSeries function key.

If you’ve made it that far, the Actuation tab is worth visiting for Protection Mode tweaks or changing the actuation distance for one, many or all keys. Not enough personalisation? The Dual Binds, Dual Actuaion, and OLED & Settings tabs are there for keyboard users who want those deeper-level tweaks.

If you’re not the kind of gamer who goes all-out on your peripherals or doesn’t want to find value via in-depth personalisation, the SteelSeries Apex Pro Gen 3 likely isn’t for you. Save money with a cheaper gaming keyboard. But if you want a high-performance gaming keyboard that offers more value the more you tinker with it, the Apex Pro Gen 3’s 100-million-keystroke switch rating should have that investment paying off well into the future.