SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 Review

I’ve said it time and again on my site and my videos, I am not a pro or heavy gamer. I play games for fun, and I mostly suck at it. So I’ve left the gaming gear reviews to others. But when the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 gaming keyboard was pitched to me. I decided, what the hell, let me give it a go. I mean, this is a keyboard, isn’t it? So that means it’s made to do more than be used as a gaming device. I decided to review it because I needed to see what sort of typing experience I would get from a gaming keyboard.

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

I’ve also been pretty open about how much I love chiclet keyboards. About two years ago, I decided to try my first mechanical keyboard from Keychron, and I loved it. I’ve been using that keyboard since then, and the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 seemed to be a lot like it. So this review will cover some of the gaming, but really, this is about the extraordinary typing experience this keyboard actually provides. Gamers are keeping this a secret, and you need to know about it. Purchase this keyboard on the SteelSeries website. Let’s get into this review.

The Quick Take

Keyboards are a very personal thing and for the longest time, my thing was chiclet style keyboards. Having come from being a mostly Mac user to now being an almost 100% Windows user, my needs and tastes have changed. I don’t like the chiclet style nearly as much as I used to, now that I started using mechanical keys. The Keychron keyboard I’ve been using has been really great, but this SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 is that much better. Not only does it function as a badass gaming input device, but it also provides a spectacular typing experience. So I highly recommend this keyboard.

Score and Bottom Line

SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3

$239.99

SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 review box

Nailed it

Solid build quality, robust and well made
Great RGB and white keys do not get lost with the lighting
Easy to use and setup
Good software and interface
Fantastic typing experience, just fantastic
I love the wrist rest, I usually hate them, but this one was great

Needs work

It is pricey and some may not like that

The solid build quality and construction of the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 is pretty remarkable. This thing feels like a tank, and I am impressed with this. The RGB lighting is also very cool and with this white version, the letters on the keys are always visible. I have had issues with other white keyboards whose backlighting makes it hard for the letters to be seen. This does not happen with this keyboard.

The setup of the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 is also simple, and the keyboard is easy to use. I am not particularly good at gaming on a keyboard, but the gaming experience was excellent. At least as excellent as I could make it, considering I suck donkeys at keyboard mechanics in gaming. Just being honest.

The software works great and is easy to navigate and allows for a massive number of adjustments, most of which I would never use, but you hardcore gamers will. The typing experience is off the hook, and this entire review was written using the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3. I also love the included wrist rest, it really made the whole experience more comfortable. I love the magnetic attachment it has, this keeps the keyboard from slipping away.

The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 is a little pricey, but maybe not. I don’t purchase gaming keyboards, and this might actually be priced just right. Overall, for the gaming side of things, this keyboard functions very well in the hands of a novice. On the typing and writing side of things, this keyboard functions remarkably well and I love it.

Affiliate Link Disclosure

In some of our articles and especially in our reviews, you will find Amazon or other affiliate links. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. Any other purchases you make through these links often result in a small amount being earned for the site and/or our writers. Techaeris often covers brand press releases. Doing this does not constitute an endorsement of any product or service by Techaeris. We provide the press release information for our audience to be informed and make their own decision on a purchase or not. Only our reviews are an endorsement or lack thereof. For more information, you can read our full disclaimer.

SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 Specifications

World’s Fastest Keyboard — Push the boundaries with cutting-edge OmniPoint 3.0 Adjustable HyperMagnetic switches and new features
OmniPoint 3.0 — More than just fast, our newly redesigned Hall Effect Switch has 20x faster actuation and 11x quicker response time, with 40 levels of adjustable actuation.
GG Quickset — Game-ready presets for your favorite settings; recommended actuation levels, Rapid Trigger, Protection Mode, Rapid Tap and more with just a few clicks
Reduced Latency — Rapid Trigger and Rapid Tap register key presses faster for more responsive game play and improved aim.
Protection Mode — A SteelSeries exclusive, reduces the sensitivity of surrounding keys when the intended key is pressed, preventing accidental inputs
OLED Smart Display — Adjust settings on the fly without ever alt-tabbing out of your game and control media
E-Sports Ready — TKL form factor. Full-size functionality. Premium aluminum top plate. Detachable USB-C.
Layout – TKL
Switch – OmniPoint 2.0 Adjustable HyperMagnetic Analog (Hall-effect magnetic)
Programmable keys – Yes
Dimensions – 14 x 5 x 1.7 inches / 355 x 129 x 42mm
RGB or backlighting – Yes (customizable)
Response time – 0.7ms

What’s In The Box

SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3
Wrist Rest
USB-C cable
Manuals and Documentation

Design

The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 design isn’t that much different from any other similar keyboard. At least the aesthetic look of it isn’t. I mean, how different can you make a keyboard look?

I have the white colorway here and I love the look. One thing that’s been an issue with white keyboards, for me anyway, is the backlighting. Often, the backlighting on white keycaps makes it difficult to see the letters in some lighting conditions. I did not have that issue on the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3. Whatever SteelSeries is doing with these keycaps, it’s fantastic.

The build quality of the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 is also just fantastic. It is solid, it feels solid, it looks solid, it is just a remarkable piece of art. It does have feet to slant the keyboard towards you and there is a compartment underneath that houses a key puller, should you want to change out your keycaps.

On the top, there is an OLED display, a button, and wheel that are used for various functions with the software. The wheel also controls the volume, by default.

The keyboard also comes with a wrist rest, which I love. It’s comfortable and attaches magnetically to the keyboard to keep it from slipping. The one thing I don’t like is that the rubber texture tends to collect stuff, and it needs to be cleaned every so often. Minor gripe.

Overall, the design is fantastic, the build quality is amazing, and this is a very comfortable keyboard to type on, and I will never go back to chiclet, except on laptops.

Ease of Use

The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 can be a plug and play keyboard if you want it to be. I mean, if you’re going to only use it as a keyboard, you could just do that. But to get the most out of it, you’ll need the SteelSeries software, which is a pretty robust and easy to use addition. More on that in the next section.

Overall, this is a simple keyboard to use and setup, and the software is easy to use as well. There’s very little learning curve here, unless you’ve never used a mechanical gaming keyboard before.

Software

The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 can be configured using the SteelSeries GG app. Honestly, I am far beyond an expert in using this app, but it seems robust and full of numerous options. The app can be used to control a plethora of SteelSeries devices, including the Aerox 3 Wireless Mouse I will review soon.

Within the GG app, you can do some of the following to make your keyboard experience tailored to you:

Key Binding
Actuation Adjustments
Dual Bindings
Dual Actuation
Meta Bindings
OLED Display and Settings
Edit RGB within Prism
Switch Preset Configurations
Create Configurations

The GG app is another one of these apps that’s just so full of options, you could spend a few days digging into it and tweaking to your heart’s content. Overall, the interface is nice and simple and for those of you who need to make all of these adjustments, this is going to serve you well.

Performance

Listen, I suck at gaming with a mouse and keyboard, so take what I say in this section lightly. I did try some games like Borderlands 3, Hogwarts Legacy, and Destiny. I will say that the keys on the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 were really a lot easier to use than other keyboards I’ve tried. The travel is pretty precise, and I was better able to control my characters than I have in the past.

I feel like the ergonomics of the keycaps and the position of the keys themselves also assist in making this an excellent gaming experience. Nothing is too far a stretch to reach, at least for me. And this was especially true when gaming. I think the performance and gaming experience is going to vary wildly from one person to another. Some gamers place their keyboards in strange positions and who knows, this might not fit that style.

As for regular typing, now that I can confidently proclaim victory over. The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen3 is by far the most comfortable keyboard I’ve used to date. Even Better than the Keychron I was using prior. The travel is spot on, the actuation is comfortable, the reach is fantastic, I love the smaller footprint with no num pad. It just works fantastically well, and even if you never game with it. You will love the feel of typing on it, at least that’s my experience.

Overall, I can’t go to deep into gaming performance as I don’t think I am that great to say how good it is. I will say, that as a novice keyboard/mouse gamer, this is the most comfortable I’ve felt using a keyboard for gaming than I have ever felt before. As for typing performance, love this thing a lot!

Price/Value

Priced at two-hundred thirty-nine dollars, this isn’t a cheap keyboard. But the quality is off the charts, for a keyboard. The build is insanely good and the gaming features and software should make gamers thrilled. For me, the typing and comfort experience was fantastic and well worth the price.