Review Of The Steelseries Apex Pro Mini: “A New World Of Adjustable Switches – But Not For Everyone”
Faisal Ghaffar 
Overview
SteelSeries is going to bring its OmniPoint toggles to a smaller form with the Apex Pro Mini, introducing the next generation of dual-actuating switches to compete with Razer’s own Huntsman line. SteelSeries is on a roll right now, thanks to a small 60 percent form factor, a plethora of personalization tools, and a snazzy set of switches under the hood. The Apex Pro Mini is held back by only one factor: its slightly higher price.
The Pro Mini wired model costs $179.99 / £174.99, while the wireless model costs $239.99 / £219.99. That’s a step up from Razer’s $149.99 / £149.99 Razer Huntsman Mini Analog, which we thought was just about right for this kind of new switch tech. SteelSeries will have to pull out all the stops at $30 / £25 more to dethrone the Huntsman Mini as one of the best gaming keypad on the market at the moment now.
The Apex Pro Mini’s design nothing out of the ordinary. Except for the SteelSeries inscribe on the back and the logo on the function key, you’re getting a stock 60% keyboard in an all-black aesthetic – you’ll find the same design available from nearly all of big gaming keyboard brand on the market right now. Of course, dual functions run throughout the deck – nearly all of key has a secondary role to perform.
These days, more and more mini playing games keyboards are coming to market without having to sacrifice those crucial arrow buttons. The Mountain Everest 60 maintains this 60 percent form factor with a set of dimensional arrows in the corner, as does the slightly larger HyperX Alloy Origins 65. Even the HyperX Alloy Origins 60 keeps your arrow keys close at hand (while dual-function, they’re placed exactly where they’d be on any other keyboard).
Then move on to those switches. After testing the waters with its first generation in the full-sized Apex Pro, SteelSeries has packed its next-generation Omnipoint 2.0 clickers into its latest release. These early models lacked dual actuation, which set them back when tried to compare to Razer’s own Analog Optical options. However, 2.0 introduces a new world of dual servo headers, allowing you to programme one command for a lighter press and another for a completely bottomed-out actuation.
There’s no denying that this is an especially pleasurable typing experience. These clickers have a nice snap to them, similar to Razer’s Optical Analog switches, and an ever-so-slight suspense under every keypress that keeps it bouncing back after a full press. When you combine that with the capacity to good your servo point, the overall typing and playing games experience is transformed.
These keys are slightly noisier than standard linear switches, but not close to the rabble of a clicky deck. The sound profile of the main keys differs significantly from that of the back button, enter, and – to a lesser extent – the space bar, with the latter choices having to carry a heavier thock due to the comparatively light sound elsewhere.
