Verdict
The Logitech MX Keys Mini For Mac is an excellent wireless office keyboard for macOS with sleek looks, comfortable scissor-actuated keys and fantastic software. It also provides solid battery life and thoughtful touches elsewhere and while expensive, is a brilliant option for Mac users.
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Logi Options+ software:The Logitech MX Keys Mini For Mac works with Logitech’s Options+ software, including its clever Smart Actions and even AI Actions, too. -
Bluetooth or Logi Bolt connectivity::This is also a wireless keyboard and can connect either via the bundled Logi Bolt receiver or over Bluetooth. -
Up to 5 months battery Life:The MX Keys Mini For Mac also offers up to five months of battery life with no backlighting on, or 10 days with it on.
Introduction
The Logitech MX Keys Mini for Mac is part of a wider drive of the Swiss brand’s push for Mac-specific peripherals.
It follows on from other top-class Logitech keyboards that are compatible with macOS such as the MX Keys S and Signature Slim K950, while offering competition in the Mac keyboard sector with the likes of the CHERRY KW 7100 MINI BT FOR MAC, in spite of its higher price.
At £109.99/$99.99/€119, though, it’s a lot more expensive than some of the competition, so has to do a lot to justify its place as one of the best wireless keyboards we’ve tested. I’ve been using it for the last few weeks to see just how good it is.
Design
- Modern, Mac-inspired design
- Compact layout is easy to adjust to for laptop users
- Convenient touches elsewhere
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the MX Keys Mini For Mac resembles its much larger brother, the MX Keys S or standard MX Keys, and just comes with a smaller layout – it is mini, after all. This means you’re getting a modern look with a two-tone space grey chassis and black keycaps which matches well with modern Macs for a unified look. If you want to go for a more classic Mac colourway, then it also available in a white and grey two-tone that Logitech calls Pale Grey.
For such a slender keyboard, the MX Keys Mini For Mac’s 506.4g weight is quite hefty, and it’s clear from picking it up that this is a premium ‘board. There’s no deck flex in the chassis, while its blend of metal and plastic feel excellent.
This is a 65 percent layout keyboard, in-keeping with its nature as a mini keyboard, offering alphanumeric keys, as well as the added benefit of a function row and arrow keys in the bottom right corner. It’s a convenient layout to use that mirrors the keyboard tray in modern Macs, so there should be little in the way of an adjustment period between using a laptop keyboard and the MX Keys Mini For Mac instead.
What’s also in-keeping with more recent Logitech peripherals such as the MX Keys S is the changes in the function row. They may be small changes, but the MX Keys Mini For Mac features a dedicated emoji key (F7),as well as voice dictation (F6) and one for the snipping tool (F8). That last one is particularly useful as it saves the finger gymnastics needed for accessing the snip tool on macOS, and is also reflective of the changing needs of users, too.
There are also handy quality of life features elsewhere, such as reactive backlighting which turns on when it senses your fingers on keys, as well as spherical indents in the keycaps to help guide your fingers for typing. Those guides are present on all keys, and make a difference for getting up to speed.
Elsewhere, the MX Keys Mini For Mac comes with the same bar across the top back side to raise its default angle up for a more comfortable typing angle out of the box. However, that angle is fixed, and there aren’t any retractable feet for adjusting the angle further, which is a bit of a shame.
As with other Logitech products, this latest keyboard’s packaging is also fully recyclable, being cardboard. The keyboard also comes wrapped in paper and there isn’t any plastic here, either. The MX Keys Mini For Mac is also partially manufactured from PCR, or post consumed recycled plastic, which is a nice touch.
Performance
- Reliable scissor-actuated keypress
- Solid connectivity
- Excellent battery life
Inside, the MX Keys Mini For Mac utilises a scissor-actuated membrane in a similar vein to other Logitech MX keyboards, meaning you can expect a snappy and responsive keypress with rather positive actuation. It may not be mechanical, but nonetheless provides an excellent typing experience.
The MX Keys Mini For Mac serves up a lot of tactility for such a short travel, and felt excellent for my day-to-day tasks and work which, funnily enough, involves typing a lot of words up. For this enviable task, the MX Keys Mini For Mac felt fantastic and was comfortable for extended periods, especially thanks to its crisp keypress and spherical indents in the keys helping to guide my fingers well.
Wireless connectivity is taken care of via both Bluetooth and the bundled Logi Bolt receiver, on up to three devices. The MX Keys Mini For Mac worked well over both means, and switching between the three channels with dedicated buttons on the keyboard’s function row is also a doddle. It played nicely with both an older MacBook Air and my M1 Pro MacBook Pro without a hitch, too.
Battery life here is identical to its bigger brother too, which is excellent considering this is a smaller keyboard. The 10 days with the white backlighting on is solid, while getting up to 5 months charge from its USB-C rechargeable cell without is fantastic. It means you can essentially turn the keyboard on, pair it, and forget about charging it. In my few weeks with the MX Keys Mini For Mac, I only had to charge it once.
Software and Lighting
- Bright and thoughtful backlighting
- Options+ remains fantastic software
The MX Keys Mini For Mac comes with a smart, single-colour white backlight, which not only complements the look of the overall keyboard, but also allows for vibrant illumination around the keys for after-dark working. This is also some clever backlighting as it’s reactive to both the ambient light in the room and to your hand position. If you move away from the keyboard, the lighting turns off, but if MX Keys Mini For Mac senses your hand is over the keys, it turns back on. That’s clever.
Software support is taken care of with Logitech’s useful Options+ suite. This allows for programming of the keyboard’s function row for everything from remapping basic functions to assigning certain keys for Logitech’s clever Smart Actions. Smart Actions have been present in Logitech’s software for the last year or so.
Essentially, these are clever macros for productivity tasks, and with them you can open multiple apps or websites with a single button press. For instance, if you want to open Google Chrome and open Gmail, X and Spotify in one go, then you can and you can even add a delay in between each action so each website loads fully. Or, if you want to open work apps such as Slack or Microsoft Word in a jiffy, then away you go.
The MX Keys Mini For Mac also benefits (or not, depending on your perspective) from Logitech’s AI Actions which were first introduced with the Signature AI Edition M750 mouse and its AI prompt builder. This offers you a shortcut to a ChatGPT 3.5 window where you can ask the AI questions, or prompt it by asking for a phrase in a certain tone. This may help you in your day-to-day workloads, although it wasn’t for me.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You want a small form factor keyboard with Logitech’s clever touches:
The MX Keys Mini For Mac is a fantastic mini keyboard for macOS and comes with all of Logitech’s thoughtful touches that go a long way for making it such a surefire recommendation.
You want a more affordable choice:
The real issue with the MX Keys Mini For Mac is its high price, as there are a lot of other Mac-compatible choices that can be had for a lot less, and even Logitech’s own keyboards in a larger layout.
Final Thoughts
Logitech’s MX Keys Mini For Mac is a fantastic macOS keyboard that adds another compelling option from the Swiss brand for those who want a premium, small form factor keyboard designed for use with Mac devices. It adds another excellent choice to the burgeoning MX lineup with modern looks that integrate well with modern Macs, while offering an excellent scissor-actuated typing experience despite not being mechanical.
Elsewhere, this is a thoughtful keyboard reflective of the changes afforded by modern workflows with reactive backlighting if you’re away from your desk and a helpful function row. The integration with Logitech’s Options+ software is the real kicker here though, with some powerful functionality for the humble function row, especially with both Smart Actions and AI actions being present here.
This smaller MX Keys Mini For Mac provides the goodness of Logitech’s famed MX lineup of keyboards in a smaller package and works well alongside the likes of the MX Keys S in offering an excellent all-rounder for macOS with sleek looks, comfortable keys and excellent software.
The only sticking point is its high price, where Mac-compatible mechanical choices sacrifice some of that software functionality for a more positive and precise keypress, such as the Lemokey P1 Pro. What’s more, the likes of the CHERRY KW 7100 MINI BT FOR MAC offer most of the functionality of Logitech’s option in a basic sense, but at a much lower price. This is an excellent keyboard, but just beware of its higher price. For more options, check out our list of the best wireless keyboards we’ve tested.
How we test
We use every keyboard we test for at least a week. During that time, we’ll check it for ease of use, comfort and performance of the switches.
We also check each keyboard’s software to see how easy it is to customise and set up.
Spent at least a week testing
Compared the build quality with similar priced keyboards.
FAQs
The Logitech MX Keys Mini For Mac can connect either by Bluetooth or the Logi Bolt receiver. The receiver works plug and play, while the Bluetooth requires pairing with the host device.
To put the MX Keys Mini For Mac into pairing mode for the channel you want to connect it to, hold the pairing button down for a few seconds until it flashes quickly.
Verdict
The Logitech MX Keys Mini For Mac is an excellent wireless office keyboard for macOS with sleek looks, comfortable scissor-actuated keys and fantastic software. It also provides solid battery life and thoughtful touches elsewhere and while expensive, is a brilliant option for Mac users.
-
Logi Options+ software:The Logitech MX Keys Mini For Mac works with Logitech’s Options+ software, including its clever Smart Actions and even AI Actions, too. -
Bluetooth or Logi Bolt connectivity::This is also a wireless keyboard and can connect either via the bundled Logi Bolt receiver or over Bluetooth. -
Up to 5 months battery Life:The MX Keys Mini For Mac also offers up to five months of battery life with no backlighting on, or 10 days with it on.
Introduction
The Logitech MX Keys Mini for Mac is part of a wider drive of the Swiss brand’s push for Mac-specific peripherals.
It follows on from other top-class Logitech keyboards that are compatible with macOS such as the MX Keys S and Signature Slim K950, while offering competition in the Mac keyboard sector with the likes of the CHERRY KW 7100 MINI BT FOR MAC, in spite of its higher price.
At £109.99/$99.99/€119, though, it’s a lot more expensive than some of the competition, so has to do a lot to justify its place as one of the best wireless keyboards we’ve tested. I’ve been using it for the last few weeks to see just how good it is.
Design
- Modern, Mac-inspired design
- Compact layout is easy to adjust to for laptop users
- Convenient touches elsewhere
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the MX Keys Mini For Mac resembles its much larger brother, the MX Keys S or standard MX Keys, and just comes with a smaller layout – it is mini, after all. This means you’re getting a modern look with a two-tone space grey chassis and black keycaps which matches well with modern Macs for a unified look. If you want to go for a more classic Mac colourway, then it also available in a white and grey two-tone that Logitech calls Pale Grey.
For such a slender keyboard, the MX Keys Mini For Mac’s 506.4g weight is quite hefty, and it’s clear from picking it up that this is a premium ‘board. There’s no deck flex in the chassis, while its blend of metal and plastic feel excellent.
This is a 65 percent layout keyboard, in-keeping with its nature as a mini keyboard, offering alphanumeric keys, as well as the added benefit of a function row and arrow keys in the bottom right corner. It’s a convenient layout to use that mirrors the keyboard tray in modern Macs, so there should be little in the way of an adjustment period between using a laptop keyboard and the MX Keys Mini For Mac instead.
What’s also in-keeping with more recent Logitech peripherals such as the MX Keys S is the changes in the function row. They may be small changes, but the MX Keys Mini For Mac features a dedicated emoji key (F7),as well as voice dictation (F6) and one for the snipping tool (F8). That last one is particularly useful as it saves the finger gymnastics needed for accessing the snip tool on macOS, and is also reflective of the changing needs of users, too.
There are also handy quality of life features elsewhere, such as reactive backlighting which turns on when it senses your fingers on keys, as well as spherical indents in the keycaps to help guide your fingers for typing. Those guides are present on all keys, and make a difference for getting up to speed.
Elsewhere, the MX Keys Mini For Mac comes with the same bar across the top back side to raise its default angle up for a more comfortable typing angle out of the box. However, that angle is fixed, and there aren’t any retractable feet for adjusting the angle further, which is a bit of a shame.
As with other Logitech products, this latest keyboard’s packaging is also fully recyclable, being cardboard. The keyboard also comes wrapped in paper and there isn’t any plastic here, either. The MX Keys Mini For Mac is also partially manufactured from PCR, or post consumed recycled plastic, which is a nice touch.
Performance
- Reliable scissor-actuated keypress
- Solid connectivity
- Excellent battery life
Inside, the MX Keys Mini For Mac utilises a scissor-actuated membrane in a similar vein to other Logitech MX keyboards, meaning you can expect a snappy and responsive keypress with rather positive actuation. It may not be mechanical, but nonetheless provides an excellent typing experience.
The MX Keys Mini For Mac serves up a lot of tactility for such a short travel, and felt excellent for my day-to-day tasks and work which, funnily enough, involves typing a lot of words up. For this enviable task, the MX Keys Mini For Mac felt fantastic and was comfortable for extended periods, especially thanks to its crisp keypress and spherical indents in the keys helping to guide my fingers well.
Wireless connectivity is taken care of via both Bluetooth and the bundled Logi Bolt receiver, on up to three devices. The MX Keys Mini For Mac worked well over both means, and switching between the three channels with dedicated buttons on the keyboard’s function row is also a doddle. It played nicely with both an older MacBook Air and my M1 Pro MacBook Pro without a hitch, too.
Battery life here is identical to its bigger brother too, which is excellent considering this is a smaller keyboard. The 10 days with the white backlighting on is solid, while getting up to 5 months charge from its USB-C rechargeable cell without is fantastic. It means you can essentially turn the keyboard on, pair it, and forget about charging it. In my few weeks with the MX Keys Mini For Mac, I only had to charge it once.
Software and Lighting
- Bright and thoughtful backlighting
- Options+ remains fantastic software
The MX Keys Mini For Mac comes with a smart, single-colour white backlight, which not only complements the look of the overall keyboard, but also allows for vibrant illumination around the keys for after-dark working. This is also some clever backlighting as it’s reactive to both the ambient light in the room and to your hand position. If you move away from the keyboard, the lighting turns off, but if MX Keys Mini For Mac senses your hand is over the keys, it turns back on. That’s clever.
Software support is taken care of with Logitech’s useful Options+ suite. This allows for programming of the keyboard’s function row for everything from remapping basic functions to assigning certain keys for Logitech’s clever Smart Actions. Smart Actions have been present in Logitech’s software for the last year or so.
Essentially, these are clever macros for productivity tasks, and with them you can open multiple apps or websites with a single button press. For instance, if you want to open Google Chrome and open Gmail, X and Spotify in one go, then you can and you can even add a delay in between each action so each website loads fully. Or, if you want to open work apps such as Slack or Microsoft Word in a jiffy, then away you go.
The MX Keys Mini For Mac also benefits (or not, depending on your perspective) from Logitech’s AI Actions which were first introduced with the Signature AI Edition M750 mouse and its AI prompt builder. This offers you a shortcut to a ChatGPT 3.5 window where you can ask the AI questions, or prompt it by asking for a phrase in a certain tone. This may help you in your day-to-day workloads, although it wasn’t for me.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You want a small form factor keyboard with Logitech’s clever touches:
The MX Keys Mini For Mac is a fantastic mini keyboard for macOS and comes with all of Logitech’s thoughtful touches that go a long way for making it such a surefire recommendation.
You want a more affordable choice:
The real issue with the MX Keys Mini For Mac is its high price, as there are a lot of other Mac-compatible choices that can be had for a lot less, and even Logitech’s own keyboards in a larger layout.
Final Thoughts
Logitech’s MX Keys Mini For Mac is a fantastic macOS keyboard that adds another compelling option from the Swiss brand for those who want a premium, small form factor keyboard designed for use with Mac devices. It adds another excellent choice to the burgeoning MX lineup with modern looks that integrate well with modern Macs, while offering an excellent scissor-actuated typing experience despite not being mechanical.
Elsewhere, this is a thoughtful keyboard reflective of the changes afforded by modern workflows with reactive backlighting if you’re away from your desk and a helpful function row. The integration with Logitech’s Options+ software is the real kicker here though, with some powerful functionality for the humble function row, especially with both Smart Actions and AI actions being present here.
This smaller MX Keys Mini For Mac provides the goodness of Logitech’s famed MX lineup of keyboards in a smaller package and works well alongside the likes of the MX Keys S in offering an excellent all-rounder for macOS with sleek looks, comfortable keys and excellent software.
The only sticking point is its high price, where Mac-compatible mechanical choices sacrifice some of that software functionality for a more positive and precise keypress, such as the Lemokey P1 Pro. What’s more, the likes of the CHERRY KW 7100 MINI BT FOR MAC offer most of the functionality of Logitech’s option in a basic sense, but at a much lower price. This is an excellent keyboard, but just beware of its higher price. For more options, check out our list of the best wireless keyboards we’ve tested.
How we test
We use every keyboard we test for at least a week. During that time, we’ll check it for ease of use, comfort and performance of the switches.
We also check each keyboard’s software to see how easy it is to customise and set up.
Spent at least a week testing
Compared the build quality with similar priced keyboards.
FAQs
The Logitech MX Keys Mini For Mac can connect either by Bluetooth or the Logi Bolt receiver. The receiver works plug and play, while the Bluetooth requires pairing with the host device.
To put the MX Keys Mini For Mac into pairing mode for the channel you want to connect it to, hold the pairing button down for a few seconds until it flashes quickly.
