SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Gen 3 Review

Design

• Smaller 60 percent layout gives you the keys you need
• Excellent build quality
• Intriguing changes underneath

Against the previous generation, the Apex Pro Mini, this new Gen 3 model looks and feels almost identical. That means you’re getting the same fantastic build quality you’d expect from a premium SteelSeries keyboard with no real deck flex, and a thick plastic chassis.

The fantastic build quality also extends to the lovely textured PBT keycaps that SteelSeries has employed with this keyboard, as it did with the previous model. PBT is a much more durable and shine-resistant plastic than ABS, which is still featured on some keyboards, and with a textured finish underneath, it exudes a much stronger sense of quality.

The 60% layout employed here gives you the basics in terms of keys, with just alphanumerics on offer; there isn’t a number pad, function row or nav cluster here. If you’re moving from a larger layout with these luxuries, it will take some adjustment.

The interface around the back is simple – just a USB-C port for wired connectivity. As this keyboard doesn’t have any Bluetooth or other wireless capabilities, no other selector switches are needed.

It’s on the underside where things have changed the most, intriguingly. There are chunky, two-stage feet for raising the Apex Pro Mini Gen 3 up, while you’ll also notice a rubberised panel in the middle.

This puzzled me at first, but removing it reveals a bright orange keycap puller, allowing you to potentially customise this keyboard to your liking with other keycaps if you wish. That’s a nice touch.

Performance

• Immensely responsive switches
• Rapid Trigger offers instant inputs
• Wired connectivity keeps things simple

The major changes to this new Gen 3 model are what’s inside, rather than on the outside. As with the TKL Wireless model, this Mini benefits from SteelSeries’ new OmniPoint 3.0 switches for even more speed.

The major change is to hall-effect sensors for faster and more precise actuation, given the lack of a fixed actuation point, as well as Rapid Trigger functionality for instantly responsive keypresses without the need for a software update to your keyboard. For older Apex Pro models, SteelSeries has offered Rapid Trigger as a feature over a software update for the last couple of years.

Rapid Trigger essentially allows for near-instant inputs, as you don’t have to wait for a switch to reset before pressing it again. You can set both the actuation and reset point as high as possible – as high as 0.1mm with this keyboard – to mean that you barely need to breathe on the switch for it to register an input. 

I’ve found it most useful in binding to the WASD and reload keys in Counter-Strike 2 during my testing, as it benefits from responsive movement and reloading in quick-draw scenarios where speed is crucial.

The Apex Pro Mini Gen 3 also features Rapid Tap, a feature that has made headlines with its inclusion in other brands’ keyboards, although it goes by a different name. For Razer, it’s Snap Tap, and for Wooting, it’s Snappy Tappy. It’s also known as SOCD, or Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions, and the tech works in a similar manner across each brand’s offering.

In essence, it means you can hold two keys down and activate one while holding the other, allowing for unnaturally quick actions. For instance, when bound to the A and D keys as it usually is by default, the speed of the side-to-side movement almost defies belief. 

While you still need some skill for aiming, the SOCD tech can even make distinctly below-average players like me able to move from side-to-side quicker than I could of my own accord. As such, it’s no surprise that Valve banned it in CS:2; oddly, I was still able to use it in single player with bots, and it became abundantly clear how powerful it can be in the right hands.

As with Rapid Trigger, if you’re on an older Apex Pro keyboard, you too can also theoretically benefit from the Rapid Tap functionality thanks to a software update for your keyboard.

SteelSeries has also added its Protection Mode with the Apex Pro Mini Gen 3, which prevents accidental keypresses from other keys around important ones by automatically increasing their actuation point. You could set it manually in software, but this takes away the hassle. 

You can also program two inputs to one key to save any unnecessary finger gymnastics. For instance in CS2, I set the W key to be both walking and running at different points on the switch’s travel, which saves a lot of hassle.

It’s perhaps therefore quite unsurprising that this combination allows this mini SteelSeries option to be an immensely powerful gaming keyboard, even at its high price. Inputs are responsive in games thanks to Rapid Trigger, with the switches also benefiting from lubrication for a smooth linear feeling for more mundane productivity work. 

For a strictly gaming keyboard, the acoustics here are also top-notch, owing both to the lubrication of the switches and to the layers of sound-dampening that SteelSeries has added to this new model.

You also won’t have to deal with any latency, as the Apex Pro Mini Gen 3 is strictly wired. It’s also plug and play, and was instantly recognised the second I plugged it into my main Windows gaming PC.

Software and Lighting

• GG software offers lots of scope for customisation
• Bright and vivid RGB lighting present

I’d argue that SteelSeries’ catch-all GG software has evolved to become one of the most comprehensive packages for peripherals across various brands, featuring a built-in mixing desk and even its own aiming minigames.

For the Apex Pro Mini Gen 3, you have lots of options for programming key binds and actuation points, as well as choosing presets with the QuickSet tab. It sets everything from actuation points to Rapid Tap and the keyboard’s RGB lighting based on the game you select. In essence, it makes customising your keyboard for a game a hell of a lot easier, so you can have optimal settings virtually instantly.

In addition to providing some clever and feature-rich software, the Apex Pro Mini Gen 3 also features bright RGB lighting. It cycles through a range of colours by default, although it can be configured to your heart’s content in GG software. With it, you can drag and drop effects onto the keyboard, and have the option for more granular control if you’d prefer.

Should you buy it?