Low Profile Perfection — Logitech MX Keys Mini
A Slight Change.
6 months ago, I purchased the Logitech MX Keys Mini to get a feel for what it would be to like to use a low-profile keyboard. I’ve always used a mechanical keyboard with a large key travel but now, I can honestly say that my Anne Pro II is obsolete. As much as I hesitated to spend $100 on a keyboard, I can now fully recommend the MX Keys Mini but, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. In this review I’ll cover design/build quality, features, ease of use, battery life, and issues I have with this keyboard.
Design
The simple, minimalistic nature of this keyboard is what caught my attention right away, but as soon as I took it out of the packaging, I was shocked by the weight of it. The Anne Pro II clocked in at 21.9oz and the MX Keys Mini is right at 17.9oz. The biggest thing I was worried about when purchasing this keyboard was that because of the low-profile sleek nature, it would be a lightweight construction and move all over my desk when I’m trying to type. That worry faded rather quickly when I realized this all-metal design added plenty of heft.
The construction seems durable, and Logitech definitely didn’t cheap out. After using the Anne Pro II for 3 years, I grew fond of the smaller form factor of a 60% keyboard and didn’t want to go back to a full-size keyboard like the MX Keys. So, after finding the MX Keys Mini I was pleased to see the low-profile sleek design that Logitech offers with their larger keyboards brought down in size.
When I say “sleek” I really do mean it. There are no fluffs or unnecessary design elements on this thing. It is straight to the point and has very minimal branding. The keys themselves have very little travel but a good response when pressed. The divots in each key allow you to feel confident when typing. I’ve definitely made less errors since switching over.
Features
One of the main reasons I purchased this keyboard was for the wireless nature of it. The Anne Pro II was also wireless, but I never found great battery life out of it and also had tons of problems getting it to consistently connect. The MX Keys mini offers Bluetooth connection with up to 3 devices. With the push of a button, it can switch over instantly (or so they claim).
The keyboard also features a pretty strong backlight, a full function row, compatibility with mac or windows, volume controls, a dedicated screenshot button, and a dedicated mic mute button for this age of non-stop zoom calls.
Battery Life
Battery life is an interesting thing with this keyboard. Logitech claims with the backlight on, it will last up to 10 days and with the backlight off… a whopping 5 MONTHS. My experience has varied. I’ve learned that I’m rather lazy. When I originally purchased the keyboard, I told myself that I would keep turning it off when I was done using it (a small quick toggle on the top right of the keyboard. However, being as lazy as I am, I stopped turning it off and my perception of battery life is skewed as I always leave it on and tend to get right around 1 week with the backlight on. However, last month I turned the backlight off after a full charge and I’ve yet to have it die on me. Kudos to Logitech for an insane battery life figure of 5 months.
My Issues
Although I fully recommend everyone to try this keyboard out (if what you’re looking for is a new keyboard), there is one issue I’ve had with this keyboard that can get kind of irritating. Whenever I am away from my desktop for a while, and everything from my mouse to my desktop goes to sleep, the MX Keys Mini has a difficult time waking up and connecting to my computer wirelessly right away. It will flash the backlight for 10-20 seconds before finally waking up and connecting. And then it will disconnect after 5 seconds and reconnect over and over. I’ve found that quickly plugging in the USB-C cable to the keyboard for 2 seconds usually solves this problem and then after removing it, it is fine until the next time the keyboard goes to sleep.
Personally, this is a minor inconvenience for an otherwise perfect keyboard. It’s something I’ve decided to deal with for all the other upsides of the MX Keys Mini outweigh the one problem I have with it.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a low-profile, well-built wireless keyboard that is compatible with windows and mac with insane battery life, this might be your knight in shining armor. I have loved using this keyboard and hope I continue to love this keyboard as time goes on.
