Steelseries Apex 7 Keyboard Review
Up Close
The Apex 7 packaging shows off all the key parts of the keyboard. Given that I remember reviewing the Steelseries 7G for this website just shy of ten years ago – back when keyboard lighting was limited to white lock status indicators – I wont quibble too hard with their “inventors of the first mechanical gaming keyboard” claim because the word gaming negates the old IBM ones I know from my youth.
Within the box we find the Apex 7 keyboard itself along with a well-written user guide and premium wrist rest. So often supplied wrist rests are hard or cheap feeling but the Steelseries one is soft yet robust, easy to fit with beefy magnets and just the right height. Do your digits a favour and use it.
If you’ve ever bemoaned the placement of the cable out of your keyboard you’ll be pleased to know that as well as a good length cable you can route it whichever side you like, or even out of the middle if you have a monitor on an arm rather than a stand.
This is what makes the Apex 7 different from the Apex Pro. Whilst they might be visually similar to the famous Cherry MX Red switches utilising the same colour scheme, cross shaped stalk for key cap choices and placement of the lighting they are actually Steelseries QX2 switches. We’ll tell you at the end if they are the same to type on.
At the top right we find the OLED display along with its attendant controls. The scroll wheel pulls double duty as a volume wheel too and is beautifully weighted. You can also spot the Steelseries logo’d key modifier as well as the controls for onboard macros and lighting adjustment. Beyond the controls you have on the OLED display. Nothing but choice.
So often feet are the downfall of a keyboard, usually being too flimsy or not stable enough for excited gaming. Not so here. The Apex 7 has thick and stable feet that make using it more comfortable whilst also remaining resolutely in place.
The pass through port is well placed between the escape and F1 keys, with a nice indent at the top which makes it easy to find in a hurry. Perfect if you only use a headset now and again, or want somewhere to place a thumb drive without hunting round the back of your case.
Lastly the cable is rubber coated with a built in Velcro cable tidy and two ends, one of the keyboard itself and an optional one if you wish to use the USB pass through port.
