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Steelseries Apex Pro keyboard's switches autoadjust for hard or soft touch

The company's new OmniPoint mechanical switches support automatic variable-actuation sensitivity.

Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
Expertise Photography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories
Lori Grunin
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The Apex Pro and Apex Pro TKL are the first of Steelseries' keyboards to use the new switches.

Steelseries

Sometimes you need to pound and sometimes you need a light touch. Steelseries has developed new mechanical switches that can automatically change the amount of pressure required to register a press depending upon what you're doing, such as gaming or working, and used them in its new Apex Pro and Apex Pro TKL keyboards.

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The keyboards have a small OLED display for managing actuation profiles.

Steelseries

The OmniPoint switches use magnetic sensors to determine the actuation point, which the company says also makes them faster; it seems like a valid point, given that a magnetic field should more quickly respond than a physical mechanism, and it's similar to the argument for optomechanical switches, like HP's Omen X Sequencer.

Sensitivities can be set for between 0.4 (shortest) and 3.6mm (longest) actuation thresholds, which is a pretty wide range.

The keyboards also have a small OLED display which can display the customizations and allow you to set them up without having to use the company's software utility, as well as display notifications from messaging apps.

As someone who feels the need to have a different keyboard every time I switch apps or games, I can't wait to get this under my fingers.

The Apex Pro will cost $200 and be available June 11 -- the first day of E3 -- and the Apex Pro TKL (ten keyless) will be $180 when it ships in the fall.

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