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Hello there unboxers! This is Sakis Karpas in another episode of Unboxholics.
Today we will take a look at the Apex Series by Steelseries which is intended for gaming. We'll compare these two keyboards that you see on your screen.
All the product information you need to know can be found written on the retail package.
Inside this black box we find a sticker set, a manual and two support legs for the keyboard.
Steelseries provides two angles: 7° & 10°
Steelseries Raw Apex can be connected via a braided nylon USB cable to your PC. The keyboard also offers an integrated USB hub.
Steelseries Apex is mainly consisted of plastic but there are several additions to the design such as its futuristic edges and a glossy surface that help ignore its plastic build.
When these futuristic edges are accompanied by the Apex's illumination it makes the Steelseries Apex one of the most beautiful keyboards in the market.
On the left side, we find 10 macro keys and 4 layer keys which are used for changing profiles.
On top of the keyboard we also find 12 more macro keys. The overall number of macro keys is 22 and when combined with the four available profiles then that number becomes 88 which is quite impressive.
Both keyboards deliver features like tactile bumps on the W key to help you find WASD faster and diagonal arrow keys.
On top right, we find an illuminated Steelseries logo and the NUM, Scroll and Caps Lock keys while some media keys are located next to them.
The spacebar of the Steelseries Apex has disappointed us mainly because it bends left or right depending where you press it and it feels quite uncomfortable for the first hours at least to have such a large spacebar key.
No greek characters on the keyboard sadly for our greek fans.
Steelseries Apex has silent keys with 5.000.000 clicks life span but unfortunately they are not mechanical.
In order to help prevent ghosting, Steelseries uses anti-ghosting of up to 6 simultaneous key presses of the 20 most frequently used gaming keys (based on survey).
Steelseries Apex's most marketed feature is its brilliant illumination which is customizable via 5 zones of 16.8 million colors with 8 levels of intensity. See for yourself.
To be honest, we would have liked even bigger brightness levels.
SteelSeries Engine is the software suite that powers both the Apex and Apex RAW which in our opinion is the best one when compared to other gaming keyboard software.
Now, let's quickly see what are the differences between these two keyboards.
Apex Raw does not offer two USB ports, the cable is plastic and not braided nylon cable, the number of macro keys are 17 instead of 22, only 2 profiles are available and there are no media keys.
Lastly, Raw Apex does not offer any color options when illuminated.
Steelseries Apex is available now at the price of €99 and Steelseries Raw Apex costs €69.
Overall, we are really satisfied with these two keyboards. They may not be mechanical but they offer a good gaming experience accompanied by an impressive illumination.
Which one would you buy and why? Tell us in the comments!
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Until the next episode, take care!