SteelSeries Apex 7 Review – Finally, a Brown Switch Keyboard!

I have reviewed a lot of keyboards here at eTeknix, I can't even be bothered to count all the ones I've used here, but it's most certainly well into the triple digits. However, I can tell you now that damn near all of the mechanical ones have red switches, more often than not Cherry MX Red or Kailh, or at least something similar. SteelSeries Apex 7 Brown Switch Edition However, in recent years, many keyboard brands have been moving away from Cherry switches and making their own. One of the best examples of this has to be SteelSeries, and I think their red switches are as good or better than anything Cherry is doing. They're SteelSeries designed and manufactured by Gateron. The Apex 7 uses their 2nd generation QX2 switch, which is similar to Cherry in design, features a 2mm actuation, 4mm total travel and a 45cN force. They're also rated to last at least 50 million keypresses, so they're unlikely to ever wear out really. SteelSeries Switches The APEX 7 is available in a choice of SteelSeries Red, Blue and Brown Switch. What I also love is that they have it available in 11 languages directly on their own website, most brands make it really hard to nail down a specific model like this. Features Durable mechanical gaming switchesOLED smart displayFive onboard profilesAircraft-grade aluminium alloy frameDynamic per-key RGB illuminationPremium magnetic wrist restDedicated multimedia controlsUSB pass-through portThree-way cable routing100% anti-ghosting with 104 key rollover What SteelSeries Had to Say "The Apex 7 keyboard has mechanical switches guaranteed for 50 million keypresses. Red switches are known for their consistently smooth movement from top to bottom without any bump, allowing for lightning-fast actuation. An integrated OLED Smart Display with on-board storage is your command centre for on-the-fly info from your game, Spotify, or Discord, and provides software-free customization for tweaking and saving your settings. An unbreakable aluminium alloy frame makes it a standout mechanical keyboard." - SteelSeries Packaging The box is everything you would expect from a flagship product. Big full-colour pictures and plenty of details about features on the front. Plus, you get a quick breakdown at the rear of the overall construction, as well as the included wrist rest. The box is extremely durable, and the keyboard is well protected with double layers of cardboard and air gapping. Plus, there's plastic film over the whole thing. A Closer Look While I do prefer a detachable cable, the one that is hard-wired is extremely thick and durable. It can be a little wild at first, but once the kinks settle out of it, it'll be easier to route around your desk. The key caps have a very large and bold looking font on them. Personally, I like a more refined and stylish font. However, since this in RGB keyboard, those bigger letters mean that it'll allow more light to shine through, which is a bonus. The keyboard is pretty straightforward for the most part, there are no crazy surprises here at first glance. Up on the F-row, you do get some macro recording features, as well as the option to adjust the master lighting level for the RGB switches. Pretty standard stuff, but certainly welcome additions. There are four macro recall keys here too, albeit masked behind the big navigation functions. It's still good though, and you can program these to pull up key macros, shortcuts, lighting profiles, game profiles, etc. Any secondary functions can be accessed via the FN-Shift button, which is the one with the SteelSeries logo on it on the bottom row. However, the keyboard is entirely programmable, so you can really change all this up to suit your needs. While it is a full-size keyboard, the aluminium chassis means they can keep the bulk of this keyboard to a minimum. There's a very small bezel on the sides, so the keyboard doesn't take up any more space than it really needs to. However, because it's aluminium, it's incredibly rigid too. What's this lovely beast up here? Why it's a built-in OLED display of course! You can see track information, and all kinds of gaming information too if there's a compatible game. If not, there is an SDK, so you could even program something yourself. There is a volume wheel and mute button on the right, but like everything else, that can be programmed too. Who's that handsome fellow?! Around the back of the keyboard, you'll find a USB passthrough port. Perfect for hooking up your mouse, a headset, etc. While the cable is quite thick on this keyboard, there are three ways your can route it through the base, which is really good; you don't need a big cable clashing with a monitor stand or speaker. There are some simple kick stands for adjusting the height too, albeit they're much thicker and more robust than most. Performance As I said before, this keyboard does come bundled with its own wrist rest. It's a magnetic mount too, so simply line it up on the front... ...and it'll snap into place. Sure, it looks bloody fantastic, but it's also very comfortable. It's large, has a hard-wearing rubber coating and I doubt you'll ever want to remove it. Whoopsie, I guess you'll be wanting to update the firmware. Don't worry though, Windows 10 auto-detected the required software and asked if I wanted to install it; it's a very straightforward process really. One benefit of the software is that it will give you complete control over the keyboards RGB lighting. One of the best aspects of this keyboard is how vibrant the colours are. They give off rich and deep colours, without being overly bright. It's a little blown out here, but that's more a result of my camera really. It's all per-key lighting though, so you can really do any effect you want. Of course, all the usual fades, rainbows, etc, are all built-in, but you'll need the software to cycle through them. Even the USB pass-through has a light on it, which looks great, I like little details like this. The keyboard features some really nice quality key caps. They've got a nice coating on them, and their overall shape and weight feels great to type on. Of course, you could always swap them out for your own too, they're all standard sizes. While SteelSeries has designed their own switches here, they still use the industry-standard Cherry + design, so mounting caps really isn't an issue here. They've changed the integral RGB LED design a little too, with the light mounted towards the top of the switch. However, the whole switch housing is clear and does still illuminate on all sides as a result. They're very nice quality switches, and while I mean no discredit to SteelSeries, you can't tell they're not Cherry switches until you take a closer look. I mean, that's actually quite a compliment really. However, if you REALLY pay attention there is one difference. These are a little faster! The SteelSeries switch only requires 45cn of force to actuate while the Cherry Brown needs 55cn of force. That means you can type just ever so lighter on these, and that's a huge benefit. If you're a fast gamer in general, it just feels ever so slightly more nimble to work with. Of course, being a brown switch, you get a nice tactile bump about halfway through the press. It's not overly pronounced, but it's clearly there. The benefit is that it's just as quiet as a red switch, not like those clicky blues that drive everyone else in the office nuts. As you can see, the switches are mounted slightly above the keyboards aluminium chassis. Albeit, the keyboard is quite thin, so they don't feel high as a result. Fully depressed, the key cap doesn't bottom out on the aluminium, meaning the keyboard is very quiet to type on; every when you're really hammering at the switches! The bump about halfway is great, you can actually trigger a keypress on the bump, the switch doesn't have to travel all the way down. However you press it, they have a very fast return rate, which is great for those aiming for a higher APM. Overall, you're getting the lightness and speed of the MX Red, but the tactile feel of the MX brown. When it comes to switch design, it's easily one of the best alternatives to Cherry I've tested in a very long time. How Much Does it Cost? While it's certainly not a cheap keyboard, the latest from SteelSeries is still very competitive. It has all the features of any other flagship keyboards but still has its own unique features on top of that too. The OLED display alone is a really cool feature and you don't appear to be paying another premium for it either. It's currently on Amazon for £159.99. Overview SteelSeries has really gone above and beyond with their gaming hardware in recent years. Their flagship gaming mice, headsets and now their keyboards are regarded as some of the best in the business. No big surprise though, as they've been putting out fantastic products for a very long time, but they've certainly stepped up to the top level now. Everything about the keyboard design is premium. Firstly, they've gone for quality building materials, such as the "aircraft-grade aluminium" which is just a fancy way of saying "aluminium" as it's all the same stuff. It makes the keyboard durable, ridged, and it looks fantastic too. A big focus here though is the switches. They've ditched Cherry, as many brands have actually, as they charge a lot for the licence and they're in high demand. However, that's great for SteelSeries as they now have a very competitive switch of their own. A lighter and faster version of the MX Brown and still packing full per key RGB lighting. I don't get a lot of brown switch keyboards in the office, it's always the more popular red. However, this is by far the best brown switch keyboard I think I've ever had. The last one I loved being the Roccat Ryos from about 6 years ago. For working in the office, this is a lovely keyboard. It's quiet, it's durable, and it has lots of cool features to help me procrastinate. However, when it comes to gaming, this keyboard excels. The brown switches are really fast, but they're also very responsive to game on. You get a great tactile feedback and that's very important when you're playing competitively. Plus, with the per-key RGB, you can dial in your lighting to the keys you use, and even program the keybord profiles with macros, or disable all the other keys to limit mistakes. Overall, this is one of the most feature packed and well made keyboards on the market today. Awesome in the office, awesome for gaming, and the lightweight brown mechanical switches are some of the finest on the market today. Highly recommended.