In short, the Apex 7 is a middle-of-the-line keyboard with a relatively high price that only seems low because its higher-end sibling costs even more. Most people would be better served by competing products that either have more substantive features, or ditch them in pursuit of a lower price.

I’ve had similar problems with other keyboards that were supposed to offer at-a-glance information. It’s an interesting concept, but it’s never managed to become core to my computer usage, despite repeated attempts to understand what the hype is about. I learned to touch-type specifically so I wouldn’t have to stare at my keyboard while I’m using my PC. Why break that habit--and ruin my posture--to look at the keyboard when there’s a monitor right in front of me? Design The OLED screen can do most of the same things, except it's a lot smaller and harder to navigate. As such, I'm not exactly sure what distinct benefits the screen confers. You can program macros on the fly, which is admittedly useful if you don't have a two-monitor setup — but there are also keyboard shortcuts that let you do the same thing. A large new map means we have a lot of exploring to do. Thankfully, getting around should be a little easier thanks to the new Trident vehicles. These hover cars can carry an entire squad, and it's even possible to use some legends' abilities while in motion. That said, these problems didn’t affect the Apex 7 during everyday use. I wrote most of this review on the Apex 7 and didn’t have any more typos than I usually do. That might have resulted from me being particularly cautious, though, or actively gauging how the keys felt while I was writing just to make sure my initial impressions weren’t clouding my final judgment. Sometimes it takes a little while to get used to a keyboard. So I turned to the Aesop’s Fable test at TypingTest.com.

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The results confirmed what I'd already suspected about the Apex 7, which was that I was typing faster but also making more mistakes. TypingTest scored me at 101 words per minute (wpm) after taking 10 typing errors into account. I usually score around 103 wpm on the Logitech G Pro and Microsoft Sculpt Keyboard, with fewer errors on each, so I'm clearly hitting keys faster on the Apex 7. I just also happen to be hitting more keys by accident in the process. We welcome a new character to Apex Legends every season, but it's not often that we have a fresh map. Ascension introduces Olympus, a utopian city that floats around in the clouds. Of course, utopias never quite live up to their lofty aspirations, and after an explosive accident occurred in the city's experimental research facility, a huge Phase Rift appeared in Olympus. It served as a tourist attraction until recently, when Hammond Robotics fashioned it into a new spot for the Apex Games.

Captain: Talent scouts. Able to do everything a Grunt can do while also being able to invite new members. Despite the noise, I found that typing on the keyboard was pleasant and in line with expectations for Blue-class keys. The keys felt like they actuated easily, without the need to apply excessive force, and I didn't feel any finger fatigue while typing this article using the keyboard. Most of the noise produced by the keyboard sounds like it is produced by the keys bottoming out rather than from the actuation of the Blue switch mechanisms themselves. I've used plenty of keyboards with Cherry MX Blue switches, as well as Razer models with Razer's similar Green switches, and while those keyboards were also a bit noisy, the Apex 7 TKL tops them on key clatter. The Brown-switch alternative might be better if you like the tactile bump of a mechanical but have noise concerns. All three switches for the Apex 7 TKL are rated by SteelSeries for a 2mm actuation point, so the perceived keypress depth ought not vary among the three switch types. Admin: Responsible for reviewing complaints, promoting/suspending Grunts and Captains, posting announcements, and tweaking the Club settings. Gravity Lift: Reverses gravity flow, lifting players upwards and pushing them outward as they exit.That paragraph might read like a bunch of gobbledygook to people who don’t play Overwatch, but the gist is that I’m doing a bunch of things at once to make sure my mech-piloting hamster doesn’t turn into so much roadkill. Yet I would regularly find that my bombs didn’t drop (so the Q didn’t register) or shields didn’t activate (which means the E didn’t) while using the Apex 7. I didn’t have any problems performing similar maneuvers on the Logitech G Pro after multiple attempts.