STEELSERIES’S APEX 7 sits in a difficult
position. It’s an Apex Pro in all but its
switches—and given that the Apex Pro’s
customizable hall-effect switches are (in
theory) pretty much the most interesting
keyboard controls of a generation, it’s
not immediately clear where the Apex 7,
a linear-switched board that’s a mere
$40 cheaper, stands. Is it good enough,
without that gimmick, to sit so high on the
price ladder? In its own bubble, at least,
it’s certainly a feast for the eyes. The RGB
lighting hits you first, and it hits hard—
both the key illumination and background
coronae are absolutely superb, with a
bright glow that seems to have been
tuned away from the lurid side of RGB and
into a more hip, warm, retro zone. Don’t
worry, though—the requisite buckets
of RGB rainbow vomit are present and
correct if you want them. The lighting
smarts keep stacking up: There are
nice reactive effects, and there’s an AFK
option, which lets you pick a different
illumination when you’re away from your
PC. You can even map an animated GIF on
to the keyboard, because why not?
You can also map a custom logo on
to the OLED screen at the Apex 7’s top-
right corner. That’s neat, although using
the clicky roller (which is lovely) and
multifunction button (just OK) to interact
with the on-board controls only allows
you to take a broad-strokes approach to
your keyboard’s configuration, with the
rest done in software. SteelSeries does
offer a number of apps to add a little more
functionality to the screen—a Tidal “now
playing” integration, and a Discord one,
to name the two most notable—but these
are pretty limited; it is at least a lot more
useful when pulling up on-board profiles
Does this mark the apex of the trajectory
of mechanical keyboards? Er, no
SteelSeries Apex 7
6
VERDICT SteelSeries Apex 7APEX Fabulous looks;
excellent lighting options.
HUNT AND PECK Slightly redundant
OLED screen; switches aren’t a win for us;
too expensive.
$160, http://www.steelseries.comSPECIFICATIONSSwitch Type SteelSeries Red Linear
Form Factor Full-size
Media Keys Ye s
Macro Keys Software-customizable
LEDs Per-key RGB
N-Key Rollover 104-key
Pass-Through USB 2.0
Dimensions 15.8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
Warranty Two yearson machines that don’t have SteelSeries
Engine installed.
F u l l m a r k s f o r c o m p a c t n e s s , a n a s p e c t
of keyboard design at which SteelSeries
always seems to excel. There’s basically
no wasted space, with that roller sitting
on the corner of a very minimalist soft-
edged aluminum and plastic base, and
a magnet-attached wrist rest with a
pleasing (though we suspect not wear-
resistant) soft-touch coating. Even the
hard-wired two-port pass-through
cable, fully routable through channels
on the base, is mercifully thin compared
to the majority on the market, and the
illumination around that Type-A port is
a wonderful touch. Additional design
points go to the ABS keycaps and their
bold, clear lettering, although the top-
left offset marking of the main cluster
may steer your fingers wrong if you’re
not a touch typist.CAUGHT RED-HANDED
The eagle-eyed among our readers may
notice that we’ve so far avoided talking
about the switches in detail. Really, we
almost couldn’t bring ourselves to do
so. Made in collaboration with Gateron,
and clearly designed to ape Cherry’s
MX Red line, they’re no doubt effective
linear switches. They’re fast and easy to
actuate, they’re very quiet indeed, and
they’re reasonably resistant. Problem
is, they’re also a little swampy, squidgy,
and indefinite, with a soft (yet somehow
slightly scrapy) feel that we simply do
not like. We prefer Cherry’s take on
Reds—and given that we find those to
vary, depending on how they’re applied,
between passable and awful, that’s
quite the statement. Yes, switch taste isa personal thing. You may lay one finger
on this and fall in love. Who are we to say
you’re wrong?
However, there’s one more aspect
that’s not so divisive: the price. Does the
gimmick of an OLED screen, which is
certainly much more useful in configuring
the actuation point of the Apex Pro than it
is messing about with lighting or sparse
app integrations here, really put this
keyboard in a higher bracket? No. It’s
special, solid, handsome, and very well
designed, but it’s way more expensive
than it should be. Chop that screen away
and slice off something like 40 bucks, and
the Apex 7 would hit the mark. –ALEX COXmaximumpc.com OCT 2019 MAXIMUMPC 89