Maximum PC - USA (2020-09)

THIS IS THE BLACK SHEEP of SteelSeries’s

Apex line, a lone membrane keyboard

in a collection of mechanical offerings.

It is by far the cheapest Apex keyboard,

costing just 50 bucks (every other Apex

keyboard costs upwards of $100), and it’s

easy to see why: This is the toned-down

version of the Apex chassis, a simplified

model that forgoes per-key illumination

and the little OLED smart display that

defines its fellow keyboards.

That’s not to say that the Apex 3 isn’t

a great product. This sensibly priced

keyboard definitely still has the build

quality of the pricier Apex keyboards,

with a sturdy polymer casing and

durable keycaps. It comes with a snap-

on magnetic wrist rest with a matte,

rubberized surface, and includes the

same metal scroll wheel and button for

quick media controls. This doesn’t feel

remotely flimsy; it’s a weighty, well-

constructed product.

The substitutes are generally

acceptable alternatives for a cheaper

product. Instead of fully addressable

RGB lighting on every key, the translucent

plastic panel beneath the keys is broken

into 10 bright lighting zones. If all the

aesthetics you want are a gently shifting

rainbow pattern or solid color, then the

Apex 3 is perfectly capable of that. While

the diminutive OLED multimedia control

display that defines the Apex line is

missing from this model, we don’t really

notice its absence, since the physical

media controls are still present.

One change that the Apex 3 does lose

points on is its new key switches. While

the more expensive Apex keyboards

solely use mechanical switches with

a variety of switch types, the Apex 3

uses SteelSeries’s "Whisper Quiet"

A competent, affordable keyboard for membrane fans

SteelSeries Apex 3

8

VERDICT SteelSeries Apex 3

ZENITH Great value; robust

construction; very quiet.

CHASM Keys feel spongy; not great for

gaming; no USB passthrough.

$50, steelseries.com

SPECIFICATIONS

Switch Type SteelSeries Whisper

Quiet switch

Switch Durability 20 million presses

Media Keys Dedicated key and

scroll wheel

Connection N/A

Battery Life N/A

Wrist-rest Magnetic rubberized

Dimensions 6.0 x 17.5 x 1.6 inches

membrane keys. These switches are

true to their name, producing very

little noise even compared to similar

membrane keyboards. Even fast touch-

typing is quiet. If you’re planning on using

your computer in a shared environment,

it could be ideal.

However, these keys are somewhat

squishy when pressed, lacking

the satisfying physical feedback

of SteelSeries’s other mechanical

keyboards. Using a membrane keyboard

also means you don’t have totally

independent N-key rollover, so there’s a

limit to the number of keypresses that

can be simultaneously processed. While

it’s comfortable enough to type with,

the Apex 3 certainly doesn’t provide the

snappy sensation needed for high-stakes

online gaming. The keys require a decent

amount of pressure to register input,

which will be preferred by some typists

and hated by others. The Whisper Quiet

keys are also only rated for 20 million

keypresses, which sounds like a lot,

but is less than half the lifetime of the

average modern mechanical key.

There’s no USB passthrough or

removable power cable here, which is

a shame—and another pair of features

that gamers will most likely miss. On the

flip side, the 10-zone RGB can be set up

to react with colorful effects to games

or Discord, like a whole-keyboard pulse

of white when you receive a notification.

The tri-directional cable-routing solution

on the underside is exactly the same

as you’ll see in other Apex keyboards,

and it remains a brilliant yet simple

desk-tidying tool that we wish other

manufacturers would take note of.

The last touted feature of the

Apex 3 is its IP32 durability rating.

The membrane keyboard is actually

what enables this, since it seals off the

electrical components of the board. IP32

is an international standard specifically

for water and dust resistance, and

SteelSeries assured us that while it won’t

survive a dip in the ocean, the Apex 3

should be completely unaffected if we

spill our Redbull on it. It even has built-in

drainage holes in the bottom!

The Apex 3 isn’t going to set the world

on fire, but if you prefer membrane to

mechanical keys, it’s an excellent and

reasonably priced option. The quiet keys

were certainly enjoyed by this reviewer’s

partner during testing (it’s now back to

the clattering of mechanical keys for

them). Yes, it’s somewhat feature-light,

but for $50 we can hardly complain.

–CHRISTIAN GUYTON

in the lab

70 MAXIMUMPC SEP 2020 maximumpc.com