If you’re in the market for a high quality keyboard that’s fully compatible with your
Mac, the Logitech MX Keys could be a great choice for you.
It’s wireless, ergonomic, solidly built, has USB-C charging, works with Windows and
Mac, and perfectly integrates with macOS giving you all the functionality of an actual MacBook
keyboard, and then some.
Did I mention it can seamlessly connect between up to 3 different computers?
More on that later.
First, a quick word from a long time supporter of the channel - Parallels.
Parallels allows you to run Windows on your Mac without rebooting or partitioning your
drive.
It’s a great option to be able to play games that aren’t supported on macOS, or even
use your favorite Windows programs like Office 365 in their native format.
Check out the link in the description below and use code CREATED10 for 10% off.
Let’s start with the size.
It’s a full-sized keyboard, so those of you who prefer tenkeyless designs might not
be suited to this one.
That being said, it’s still relatively compact and low profile, especially when compared
to other keyboards on the market.
Here’s a comparison with the standard wireless keyboard Apple sells.
The MX keys was clearly inspired by Apple’s version.
However, it has a much higher angle than the Magic keyboard, making it more ergonomic and
comfortable for long typing sessions.
Here’s a comparison with my Razer tenkeyless mechanical gaming keyboard.You can see that
the adjustable legs make the Razer much higher and steeper when the legs are fully extended.
There’s no doubt about it, the MX Keys is one of the most premium and well-built keyboards
I have ever used.
Just holding it in your hands or using it is a very enjoyable experience.
It’s much sturdier than Apple’s Magic keyboard.
The MX Keys is quite heavy, around 800 grams, and if you try to flex the keyboard, it’s
rock solid.
I prefer a keyboard with a bit of weight to it because it sits very firmly on the desk
and won’t move around.
It also features rubber feet on the base to help with stability.
The build quality also extends to the finish of the keyboard.
The key caps don’t show fingerprints easily, and Logitech has made the right decision to
make the dark parts matte, so you won’t see fingerprints or smudges there either.
I haven’t been able to test out how the finish will last over the years, but I would
be confident in saying it will hold up quite well.
The keys themselves are surprisingly comfortable to use.
Logitech went for a more laptop style of keys rather than a traditional keyboard, and they
managed to do it really well.
It feels similar to the redesigned keyboard on the latest models of MacBooks.
But, the MX Keys is sturdier, nicer to type on, and has a bit more travel on each press.
The keys have almost zero wobble or flex, and the travel on them is just right.
Not too deep that you have to stab each key, and not too light that you constantly miss
keys when typing quickly.
Curiously, Logitech went for an indented keycap.
I thought I wouldn’t like this at first, but it quickly grew on me.
It kind of catches your finger tip and keeps it in place as you depress the keys.
While typing you actually don’t notice they are indented, it’s more of a very subtle
guide to unconsciously guide your fingers toward the centre of the keycap.
I had my girlfriend try the keyboard for a few days and she found it really comfortable
for her small hands.
I’m 6’4” and have pretty big hands, and you know what they say about guys with
big hands...they need big keyboards.
However, I found the MX Keys just fine to use.
There’s adequate gap between each key so even if your finger misses the centre, you
usually won’t accidentally type a different letter like you would with more compact key
layouts.
Unlike Apple’s Magic keyboard, the MX Keys has more of an angle, which lets you keep
your wrists at more of a neutral angle.
You can’t increase or decrease the angle at which the MX Keys sits as it doesn’t
have adjustable feet unlike other keyboards, but I found this to be not an issue.
The angle it comes with is comfortable already.
You can of course substitute the keyboard with a wrist rest, but that’s at your own
personal preference.
One thing I will mention is that there are two versions of this keyboard, the Mac version
and the standard version.
The only difference between the two is that the standard version has both Mac and Windows
icons on the keys, whereas the Mac version only has Mac icons.
If you’re planning on using the keyboard solely on Macs, it won’t matter, but if
you switch between PC and Mac like me, or plan to in the future, I definitely recommend
the standard version instead.
Makes it a lot easier to use shortcuts and commands.
You will also see some variation in color between the two versions, but this depends
on your country and which version you choose.
The Mac version is space grey with black keycaps, whereas the standard version is more of a
darker, matte color scheme.
Moving on to connectivity, the MX Keys can of course be connected to your computer using
the 2.4Ghz receiver that comes with it.
However, almost all modern computers these days have bluetooth, so you can connect the
keyboard directly to your Mac or PC.
The pairing process is really simple, turn the keyboard on, wait until it pops up in
the devices list on your computer, and pair with it.
Perhaps the most intuitive and helpful feature of the MX Keys is something called Logitech
Flow.
In a nutshell, this allows you to seamlessly use the keyboard, and MX Master Mouse if you
have one, between different computers.
For example, if I have both a PC and Mac on my desk, I can simply move my MX Master mouse
across the screen and onto the screen of the other computer, and the keyboard will follow.
This allows me to use both Mac and PC computers at the same time with only a single keyboard
and mouse.
Oh, did I mention you can copy a file or photo from one computer, and simply paste it onto
your other one?
Yes, the file will transfer via bluetooth.
This has come in handy so many times because I frequently switch between my Mac for productivity
tasks, and my PC for more intensive tasks like gaming or editing 6K video.
Now if you don’t have a MX Master Mouse and can’t take advantage of Logitech Flow,
the MX Keys has 3 pairing hotkey buttons on the keyboard allowing you tro switch bhetweren
computers with a single tap of a button.
You can pair up to 3 computers to the same keyboard at once.
The Logitech software also allows you to customize the keys on your keyboard, so you can assign
different keys to different actions.
Although, the default hot keys are already really intuitive.
For Mac Mini users, simply tap the lock key in the top right corner and your screen will
lock.
It also has a screenshot and calculator key that can come in handy, although, there are
already shortcuts for that so you can reassign them to different functions if you prefer.
Personally I do like the option of having a single dedicated button.
One of my favorite things about the MX Keys is just how silent it is.
If you’re in an office environment or simply at home working and the bedroom is nearby,
you don’t want a big, noisy mechanical keyboard hammering away for hours at a time.
I mean, you can, but you run the risk of getting run over by a coworker in the parking lot
or quickly becoming single if your significant other can’t sleep because of the noise…
First, here’s what a typical mechanical keyboard sounds like.
Now, this is what the MX Keys sounds like.
Pretty quiet right?
Moving on - there are a few super cool features of this keyboard that makes it well worth
the premium price tag.
Let’s start with the backlight.
It works very well, and is motion controlled.
When it detects movement, the backlight will turn on.
When you take your hands away from the keyboard, it turns off.
You can also control the brightness just like you would on a MacBook keyboard, this includes
turning it off entirely.
If you frequently use the backlight, Logitech states the charge will last up to 10 days.
If you keep the backlight off like I do, you’ll get up to 5 months of battery life before
you’ll need to charge.
Logitech also implemented a genius default setting that automatically switches the backlight
off once the battery gets down to 10%.
This means you’ll easily get a few weeks of power out of the keyboard even if you forget
to charge for a while, and it won’t just die all of a sudden while you’re using it
with the backlight.
I’m really happy to see that this keyboard has a USB-C port for charging.
This can streamline your entire desk setup, especially if you also use the Logitech MX
Master 3 mouse, which also includes a USB-C charging port.
If your desk setup is similar to mine, you probably have a thunderbolt 3 or USB-C cable
attaching your MacBook to either a monitor or dock.
If you ever need to charge any of the USB-C devices on your desk, you can simply plug
them into the cable you use to connect the monitor or dock to your Mac, and leave them
for a few hours to charge.
And yes, you can use the MX Keys while it’s attached to a cable and charging.
With a 5 month battery life when the backlight is disabled, I doubt you’ll be charging
much anyway.
There’s a small LED light near the charging port that blinks green when you turn the keyboard
on, and will flash red when it’s getting low, giving you plenty of warning to charge
it.
If you’re not going to be using the keyboard for a while, you can also switch it off using
the power switch on the back near the charging port.
In terms of negatives about this keyboard, I’m really scraping the barrel, but here
are some that I found.
Firstly, if you have the backlight enabled, it stays on even during the day, much like
the MacBook keyboards.
Logitech says the backlight intensity adapts to lighting conditions, but there’s no point
of it being on at all when there’s enough illumination in the room.
This isn’t a huge deal because I usually have it turned off anyway.
If your environment is so dark that you need to use keyboard backlights, that’s not healthy
for your eyes, so invest in a light bar like the BenQ screenbar (linked in the description)
or some additional lighting in your room.
The other negative is that there’s no option to adjust the angle of the keyboard.
Like I mentioned previously, it likely won’t be a big deal, but if you buy the keyboard
and find it’s uncomfortable, you’re going to have to come up with your own solution.
Finally, the pricing.
This is certainly a premium product, with a premium price.
Can you get much cheaper keyboards out there?
Of course, but they won’t have the functionality and pleasurable user experience of this one.
Not to mention the incredibly helpful feature that is Logitech flow.
I’d pay extra just for that alone.
In conclusion, I give the Logitech MX Keys keyboard the Created Labs seal of approval.
Despite the premium price tag, it’s build quality and feature set are highly desirable
and I will be using this as my main keyboard from now on, replacing my trusty Apple Magic
keyboard.
If you have any comments or questions about this video or the MX Keys, make sure to leave
them down below but apart from that, I’ll catch you in the next one.