Logitech MX Mechanical Keyboard (designer review)

The Logitech MX Mechanical is a low profile wireless mechanical keyboard released in 2022. This keyboard sits at the higher end with its pricing of US $149 for the Mini version (84 keys) and US $169 for the full-size version (110 keys), cheaper only when compared to the insanely expensive US $199 Logitech Craft keyboard.

I bought this keyboard specifically for review purposes, and I got it as a bundle together with the Logitech MX Master 3S mouse. The bundle's official price here in Singapore is SGD 329. The mini and full-size keyboards alone are SGD 259 and SGD 299 respectively. The MX Master 3S mouse is SGD 169. Do note that in Singapore the bundle comes with the MX Master 3 mouse and not the MX Master 3S (silent) mouse.

The keyboard is expensive. In this review, I'll just present my findings and you can decide whether it's worth the money. By the way, if you like this keyboard but don't want to spend that much, check out the Keychron mechanical keyboards instead which are much cheaper.

My review will be from the perspective of a visual content creator, and from someone who has been using low profile keyboards for years.

Just to give you the bottom line upfront, this is a beautiful keyboard with solid build quality and excellent typing experience. It can be pair to three devices, the Logitech driver allows for selected key remaps, there's USB-C charging and battery life is good. Downsides are you can't use the keyboard in wired mode, not all keys can be remap and no place on the keyboard to store the Logitech Bolt USB receiver.

The items included in the box are the keyboard, USB-C to USB-A charging cable, quick start guide, warranty info and the Logitech Bolt USB receiver.

The Logitech Bolt USB receiver is relatively new and is used by recent Logitech products. This receiver is not interchangeable with the older Logitech Unifying receiver. E.g. You cannot pair your old mouse or keyboard with the new Logitech Bolt receiver. If you want to use this new keyboard and your old Logitech device, you either use both Logitech Bolt and Logitech Unifying receiver, or use one receiver and Bluetooth with the other device.

I have both the older Logi Options driver and new Logi Options+ driver installed to handle my new and old Logitech devices and did not experience any driver conflicts or issues.

The keyboard is only available in graphic colour. The two tone design is nice.

The keyboard is made with at least 45% recycled material. The top case/plate is aluminium while the rest is plastic. Build quality is solid with no flex at all.

Keyboard layout is quite similar to keyboards on laptops with the main difference being the extra column of keys on the extreme right side with Page Up/Down, Home and End. Other notable differences are the right Shift button which is less wide, and the Function key on the right side instead of the left where it's commonly found. Due to the Fn key placement, you can't press Ctrl+Alt+Del with one hand.

The keyboard layout should be easy to get used to once you spend enough time with it. As a graphic designer, I use the numpad often so that's something I miss as my main keyboard the Logitech K780 has one. If you need the numpad, go with the bigger full-size version.

Weight of the mini and full-size keyboards are 612g and 828g respectively.

The function shortcut keys are well selected. And if you don't like the shortcuts, you can always customise the keys to whatever shortcut you prefer.

Here are the default shortcuts for all keys on the function button row from left to right and down:

• Function lock
• Device switch 1 (F1)
• Device switch 2
• Device switch 3
• Dim backlight (F4)
• Brighten backlight
• Dictation
• Emoji keyboard
• Printscreen
• Mic mute (F12)
• Search
• Media play/pause
• Audio mute
• Volume down
• Volume Up
• Lock screen
• Scroll lock
• Right click
• Insert

The only keys that can be remapped with the Logi Options+ are from F4 to the right and down to the Page Down button just above the arrow keys. If you want to remap other keys, you can use the SharpKeys app on Windows.

There are fold-out feet for height adjustment. The rubber feet provides good grip on the table.

This is my first mechanical keyboard and the typical experience is excellent. The tactile feedback is definitely better compared to membrane keyboards I've been using.

One thing I don't like about the keys is they get greasy easily.

The keys are springy, responsive and have a good/right amount of key travel for actuation. I really enjoy typing on this keyboard.

The keys and switches are made by Kailh and there are options for Kailh Choc V2 Blue (clicky), Red (linear) or Brown (tactile quiet).

I actually wanted to buy the Tactile Quiet brown switches but they were sold out. So I chose Linear red switches instead and they are great too, and not that noisy which is my main concern. The typing sound should not annoy others if you're using this in an office environment. Having said that, this is still much louder than membrane keyboards.

Power switch is located at the top right with a power light indicator that turns off after a few seconds. Battery life can last from 15 hours to 10 months depending on backlight usage.

There are several lighting patterns to choose from and they all look good. The keyboard also has proximity sensors that turn on or off backlight automatically.

The USB-C port is only for charging. This keyboard cannot be used in a wired mode and that's a downside. I have experiences of Bluetooth keyboard not working at sign in screens and sometimes you can't pair the keyboard until you sign in but you can't sign in. That's why I always have wired keyboards (Mac and Windows) as backups.

Speaking of Bluetooth. The Bluetooth connection with my Mac takes slightly more time, relatively speaking, to connect during startup, but once it's connected the connection strength is good.

When it comes to creating visual content work, a mechanical keyboard does not offer any advantages compared to membrane keyboards. The advantages of mechanical keyboard are they provide better typing experience and are more durable. This is a keyboard ideal for people who type a lot.

The Logitech MX Mechnical is said to be a low profile mechanical keyboard but is still much higher compared to membrane keyboards such as the Apple wireless keyboard is shown on the right.

These are the other keyboards I have. The Logitech K780 is my main keyboard and I love that keyboard because it has a dock that can hold a tablet and phone. To the right is a Lenovo ThinkPad wired keyboard that I had to buy because there was once I could not sign in with my Bluetooth keyboard. The Lenovo ThinkPad wireless keyboard cannot be used in wired mode. At the bottom right is the Apple wireless keyboard which can be used in wired mode.

Nowadays when I buy keyboards, the feature it must have is the ability to connect to multiple devices.

The Logi Options+ driver software works fine. You can remap selected keys, change the lighting, and even create shortcut sets specific to software you use. The keyboard can be used with Windows, MacOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iPadOS, iOS and Android, but the driver is only available to Windows and MacOS. Thankfully the backlight pattern can be changed with onboard keyboard shortcuts and don't need the driver to do that.

Conclusion

The Logitech MX Mechanical is a high quality wireless mechanical keyboard. The typing experience on it is excellent. The only downside is you can't use it in wired mode but that's just a small issue, not a deal breaker. The other minor downside is there's no place on the keyboard to store the Logitech Bolt receiver.

I will be going back to my Logitech K780 though because it has a tablet dock, numpad, easier to clean and it's still working fine. I will be selling this Logitech keyboard on my Carousell Singapore page sometime in the near future.

Here are the pros and cons at a glance:
+ Beautiful design
+ Solid build quality
+ Excellent tactile typing experience
+ Long battery life
+ Cool backlight patterns
+ Compact and portable
+ Durable
+ Customisable via software
+ Fold out feet
- No wired mode
- No place to store Logitech Bolt receiver on the keyboard
- Logitech Bolt and Logitech Unifying receiver are not interchangeable
- Keys get greasy easily

Where to buy

You can get the keyboard on Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | ES | IT | JP)

Here in Singapore you can get it from Shopee SG and Lazada SG.