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Best wireless mechanical keyboards

Best wireless mechanical keyboards

Sharon Harding

It’s no secret that mechanical keyboards It provides some of the best tactile typing experiences available. It’s also no secret that wireless keyboards can be a productivity boon, reducing workspace clutter and making it easier to connect to many types of devices. Fortunately, the choice of wireless mechanical keyboard has grown so much in recent years that you can find options with feature sets on par with the most expensive wired keyboards.

When exploring today’s selection of cable-free mechanical keyboards, there is a lot to consider other than the type of switch. For example, how many devices do you want the keyboard to be able to switch between? Should any of these wireless connections use a USB receiver? Battery life is also critical (all options here are rechargeable), and as with any other premium keyboard, features like programmability, built-in memory, and quality keycaps are important.

With these qualifications in mind, we sought out the best wireless mechanical keyboards for power users.

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro

Ars’ Choice

Specifications at a Glance: Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro
Contact options Bluetooth 5.0, USB-A dongle, USB-A cable
keys green or yellow scanner
keycaps ABS plastic
Dimensions 17.7 x 9.8 x 1.7 inches
(450. x 248.4 x 42.3 mm)
Weight 3.1 pounds
(1.4 kg)
a guarantee Two years
Price (MSRP) $ 200
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He buys: From $140 at Amazon And the best buy

The BlackWidow V3 Pro from Razer is the rare wireless option to carry just about every feature you’d expect to find in a wired mechanical keyboard. From the full-height keys and a full-size programmable layout with media keys to the built-in memory, multiple Bluetooth profiles, and braided cable, there’s nothing missing here.

The BlackWidow V3 Pro has been my favorite for productivity uses for a few years. Each key – including the four media keys – is easily programmable into Razer’s tangle software. That’s a lot, but you can also program each key with a secondary input, which is activated when you simultaneously press the key you identify as a “Hypershift” key.

Key bindings can run macros, open programs and websites, make mouse movements, and do just about anything else. The keyboard easily adapts to whatever app you’re using, and you can create app-specific profiles that launch automatically when you open the selected program.

It’s frustrating that some of the more advanced functions, such as running macros or applications, only work if Synapse is open. This makes it difficult to take advantage of the four memory profiles built into the keyboard. In fact, storing the built-in memory profiles requires opening Synapse and using a dongle or cable instead of Bluetooth.

BlackWidow V3 Pro is only available with Razer Green clicky keys, which have 4mm of total travel and are operated at 1.9mm with a force of 50g, or Razer Yellow Linear Switches (3.5mm/1.2mm/45g). The green switches I used combine the bold clicks with the booming noise of the larger switches and the noise of the plastic stabilizers, creating an amazing ruckus. Without any sound dampening components, like the one seen in the Epomaker TH96 below, I can hear a metallic ping repeatedly when off.

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The BlackWidow V3 Pro is bulky and fairly solid at 3.1 pounds, but its plastic bottom case and easily stained aluminum top panel aren’t unique. It’s also disappointing to see ABS plastic at this price point, but these keycaps can pass for PBT with how decently they are fingerprint-resistant. (I’ve replaced my keycaps with non-Razer PBT for better grip and durability.) Plus the legends are double sided, so they shouldn’t fray.

The BlackWidow V3 Pro is also the only keyboard on our list that comes with a wrist rest. The awesomeness of the supplement means that you can use it for a while.

Razer says the keyboard lasts up to 192 hours before it needs to be charged. With the per-key RGB backlighting set to all white, expectations drop to five hours at 100 percent brightness and 14 hours at 50 percent. This is shorter than the claimed battery life of the RGB rainbow backlight (13 hours and 25 hours, respectively). Fortunately, Synapse has a battery gauge that provides an accurate percentage.

The good

  • Full-size, full-height keyboard with all the embellishments
  • Each key, including the media keys, is programmable with up to two inputs
  • Lots of storage on board

bad

  • expensive
  • Some advanced features depend on the app
  • Aggressive typists should beware of the rattling of stabilizers, and the occasional buzzing

Go to the discussion…