Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless Review

The Corsair K70 Pro Wireless Mini Gaming Keyboard mainly justifies its bargain price by packing a lot into such a small space. From features like cord cutting to its excellent build quality, it fits right into the K70 family and will be familiar territory for anyone upgrading.

Priced at $179.99 USD / £169.99 GBP, it’s a tough sell for most people, especially when its 60% form factor comes with several trade-offs. It says goodbye to the number pad, arrow keys and top row of functions and creates a learning curve as the FN button becomes a multitasking shortcut to help you get your work done.

That said, if you’re the very specific gamer who wants a 61-key wireless keyboard with hot-swappable switches in the name of more desktop space or portability, then the K70 Pro Mini Wireless just might be the one. of the best gaming keyboards around. . there.

Corsair K70 Pro Mini wireless design

Corsair keeps things simple on the surface with a fairly straightforward design. Its nearly bezel-less approach gives it a modern look, and the dual-shot black PBT keycaps let in just enough RGB lighting to give you subtle gaming flair. The geometrically patterned spacebar we first saw in our Corsair K65 RGB Mini review returns, and it’s more impressive than ever. It’s not quite on the same level as HyperX’s custom keys, but anything that makes the lackluster board stand out from the crowd is welcome in my books.

There’s nothing fancy about its 60% design, but you’ll have to consider its tradeoffs if you’re unfamiliar with the form factor. Ditching the numeric keypad, function keys, and navigation keys isn’t practical for top MMOs and typists, as you might be missing a few keys. However, it is very convenient for shooters, as there is much more room to rock the best gaming mouse on your desk.

The K70 Pro Mini Wireless is uniquely portable, measuring just 11.6 x 4.1 x 1.5 inches and weighing approximately 0.64 kg / 1.4 lbs, making it easy to carry around, set up on desks more small or to use on the couch. Although it is quite light, it is as strong as it looks. The metal base plate does not bend and gives it a premium finish.

While Corsair pairs the K70 Pro Mini Wireless with linear Cherry MX Red or Cherry MX Silver, they’re hot-swappable, so you can swap them out for any three-pin mechanical switch available. I’ve tried the Mountain Blue Tactile and Asus ROG NX Linear Switches, but the world is at your fingertips whether you prefer Gateron, Topre or Drop’s Holy Pandas.

The heart of the keyboard is its wireless functionality, allowing you to use it from almost anywhere in the room within range. Corsair says it will last from 32 hours with full lighting on to 200 hours when you turn it off completely. With its fastest USB dongle, you can get a 2.4 GHz connection on Windows, Mac, Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Bluetooth adds some latency to the mix, but opens up a whole host of other devices, including Android and iOS smartphones.

Performance of the Corsair K70 Pro Wireless Mini

Typing on the Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless takes some getting used to, simply because it’s easy to miss keys we sometimes take for granted. Using the FN key and I, J, K, and L to replace the arrow keys feels unnatural and is something I still struggle to adapt to despite having tried my fair share of miniature keyboards. I wish more companies would take the time to be more careful with their PCB design, the Mountain Everest 60 being a perfect example.

Once you get the hang of the changes, it’s a smooth experience. I dare say that some shortcuts are so intuitive that they should be an essential part of every wireless keyboard. For example, hold down the Fn key and press W, A, S, and D to control the mouse cursor. It’s not precise enough for gaming, but it’s great for controlling media servers from your couch.

The tall keys reduce the tight feel of the keyboards by 60%, and the genuine Cherry MX Red switches in my sample are perfect for gaming with a 45g actuation force and 1.2mm actuation point. Since I prefer tactile ones, swapping them out for something more my style is easy with the included key and switch pullers.

Corsair continues to improve its Slipstream wireless technology, which accelerates wireless performance. It’s hard to measure the individual features, but it’s clear that the sum of all its parts is a seamless, seamless wireless experience that’s ready for competitive gaming and has a pretty long range of 30 feet.

For example, it supports a polling rate of up to 2000Hz when used wirelessly with a 2.4GHz USB port and 8000Hz when used wired. This is a step up from the 500-1000Hz typical of other wireless devices. The higher the number, the lower the latency, but it would be difficult to feel the difference in real time. What you can feel, however, is that it supports up to three simultaneous wireless connections that you can switch between at the push of a button.

Battery life falls roughly into Corsair’s base ballpark, but from 32 to 200 hours it’s nothing out of the ordinary. The Logitech MX Mechanical Mini is rated for 360 hours con backlight on, although it’s only available in white, and it took our Asus ROG Azoth review about a month to get halfway there with full RGB and an OLED display. It does the trick, but falls short when compared to the wireless curve.

Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless Software

The Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless works seamlessly without software with hotkeys that let you record macros, pair the keyboard with various Bluetooth devices, and change the lighting. However, installing Corsair Utility Engine, or iCUE for short, on your Windows or Mac device gives you a lot more customization.

For starters, iCUE is necessary if you want to plug in your keyboard and take it from its default 1000Hz polling rate to 8000Hz. It also gives you a host of different lighting animations and the ability to overlay them. until you get the desired effect. And you can reprogram the keys and shortcuts to do just about anything you want, including moving where the pseudo arrow keys are placed.

Once you’ve tweaked everything to your liking, you can save your profile and create a bunch of others to suit almost any game you play. iCUE is only needed for customizing and setting things up, as there’s 8MB of built-in storage, so you can save it directly to the device.

Veredicto by Corsair K70 Pro Wireless Mini

The competition is pretty thin when it comes to finding the best wireless mechanical keyboard, but the Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless doesn’t take that for granted.

It packs the latest wireless features into a lightweight, quality build, and adds hot-swappable mechanical switches for good measure. The only thing that lets it down is the average battery life, which gets the job done, but you’ll find it more often than some of its rivals.

Recommending it at its $179.99/£169.99 price tag depends on your priorities. Competitive esports gamers who need every advantage are the gamers who will benefit the most from the keyboard, and on-the-go enthusiasts who want a lightweight replacement for their flimsy portable gaming keyboards aren’t far behind.

There are plenty of options that don’t sacrifice the typing experience and are better for working on a PC, but the K70 Pro Mini Wireless stands out if you’re ready to learn how to use a 60% keyboard.

Advantage:

Fantastic build quality
hot swappable keys
Light

Against :

Carol
average battery life
60% is not ideal for work or certain genres

Check out our guide to the best gaming keyboard for alternatives to the Corsair K70 Pro Wireless Mini, including wired champions and wireless warriors.