Logitech MX Keys S

Verdict

The Logitech MX Keys S is a truly excellent office keyboard. It may only offer small changes compared to the last model, but they all add up to make the MX Keys S one of the best keyboards for office use around. It offers a modern aesthetic, complete with a sturdy frame and functional key layout. Its scissor-actuated keypress is comfortable and tactile for an excellent typing experience, while the integration of Options+ software adds some much-needed extra functionality. It may be an expensive membrane keyboard, but the MX Keys S is an amazing one.

Introduction

The Logitech MX Keys S represents a long-awaited upgrade to one of the best keyboards of the last few years, the original MX Keys, which has become a trusty upgrade to plenty of people over the last three years.

The Keys S brings with it some incremental upgrades, most of them software-based, and from the outset, you may arguably expect more if you’re spending £109.99 /$109.99/€119 on a keyboard that at least in terms of looks and typing experience, is virtually identical to the previous generation.

With this in mind though, I lauded the original MX Keys to be one of the best keyboards money can buy. In fact, I think it still sits at the top of the list, but can this new and improved version knock it off the top? Let’s find out.

Design

• Refined and modern aesthetic
• Sturdy and hefty frame
• Convenient function keys

When I said that the design of the MX Keys S is virtually identical to its predecessor, that was no exaggeration. Logitech’s flagship keyboard looks and feels the same. With this in mind though, I lauded the previous generation’s design, and as nothing’s changed, it’s much the same story with the MX Keys S.

It looks great, with a sleek graphite colourway contrasting the space grey keycaps nicely, and is especially slim. This helps along its modern aesthetics, meaning it’s a surefire hit for anyone wanting a gorgeous keyboard to slot straight into their forward-thinking home office, or workspace. It is also available, for the first time, in a Pale Grey colourway too, which gives it more of an old-style Apple look than anything else.

The MX Keys S also features no real deck flex, and offers a sturdy frame, reinforcing that high price tag well. Even with an entirely plastic construction, it also feels pretty hefty, although, compared to similarly priced mechanical models, it is quite light at 810g – that’s the same as the previous model.

Logitech’s premium office board also brings with it some handy quality-of-life features, as the last model did, with spherically indented keycaps to guide your fingers when typing. It’s actually on the front of keycaps though where the first difference between the MX Keys and this new S model is revealed.

Logitech has bundled oodles of functions with this ‘board, as present on the F-row, but to suit the ever-changing nature of modern work, some of these functions have changed. The MX Keys S features a dedicated emoji key (F6), as well as one for muting and unmuting your mic (F7). and one for speech-to-text (F5). They may be small changes, but it’s nice to see a brand being especially receptive to changing workplace practices.

Moreover, while there may not be any retractable feet on the bottom of the MX Keys S, it retains the bar placed on the back of the keyboard designed to provide you with an optimal typing angle. It would have been nice to get some retractable feet to offer an element of control, but alas, it’s not to be here. The bar does provide a comfortable typing angle though, it must be said.

Performance

• Comfortable and tactile typing experience
• Seamless and reliable wireless connectivity
• Excellent, but unchanged, battery life

The MX Keys S feels and performs exactly the same, too. It retains the same comfortable scissor-actuated membrane typing feel as the original. Those who use laptops daily will feel right at home here, especially with that low-profile keypress. I’m always going to sit here and say that I prefer mechanical keyboards over membrane, but I have to say that I’m impressed by the MX Keys S nonetheless. 

There’s a surprising amount of tactility here too, especially given how short the overall travel here is, making it easy to bounce from key to key in marathon typing sessions. The very nature of the work I do naturally lends itself to using my fingers an awful lot, and for days’ worth of working, the MX Keys S provided a snappy and especially comfortable typing experience. This was helped along by the spherical indents in the keycaps I mentioned earlier that just help to keep your fingers in the right place. As a bit of an odd-touch typist in terms of the method I use, having that guide was helpful.

As well as offering a rather comfortable typing experience, the MX Keys S also provides some other useful quality-of-life features that make it suitable for super-productive people. For instance, the ability to have it connected to up to three devices at once and switch between them virtually at will with dedicated function keys is mighty convenient, as is the white backlighting present for after-dark working. What’s rather handy about the backlighting here is that it’s receptive to where your hands are, and therefore activates when you’re close to the keyboard. Moreover, the backlighting is also adaptable to the lighting conditions of the room you’re in, providing you with a handy extra quality-of-life function compared to the older MX Keys.

In terms of its wireless connectivity, it’s here also where the MX Keys S has received an incremental but noteworthy upgrade that brings Logitech’s latest wireless keyboard in line with its more recently-released peripherals. As well as working over Bluetooth, the MX Keys S also has the power to work over Logitech’s included USB-A Bolt receiver. Compared to the older receiver that they’ve used in the past, the Bolt receiver is said to offer a much more stable connection with very little chance of interference thanks to it using BLE to connect, as opposed to the more traditional 2.4GHz wireless standard. Moreover, it also works with both ChromeOS and Linux as well as Windows and macOS, where the older receiver only worked with the latter pair. Connectivity over both standards proved to be virtually flawless, and switching between paired devices with the included Easy Switch buttons was as seamless as usual for Logitech’s wireless peripherals.

It is a little bit of a disappointment to find out that the MX Keys S is no more efficient than its predecessor, with Logitech quoting the same figures for this new model. For reference, you’ll get 10 days on a single charge with the backlighting on full blast, but turn it off, and Logitech says you’ll get up to five months use out of the MX Keys S. In my testing, the MX Keys S lasted a little longer than Logitech quotes, given I had the backlighting on half, but turning it up to full does drain the battery a little quicker.

Software and Lighting

• Logitech Options+ is powerful
• Smart Actions offers clever and useful functions
• Bright, white backlighting

The MX Keys S works with Logitech’s new Options+ software, compared to the older Options suite, immediately lending itself to be a more powerful option for configuring your keyboard. The original Options software was decent enough, although, with the new functions bundled in, it makes the MX Keys S a much more complete package than its predecessor.

The headline inclusion is what Logitech refers to as Smart Actions. These are, in essence, some clever macro functions that can easily be programmed with Options+. With them, you can set multiple different functions to one key, so in one fell swoop, you can open Chrome, Spotify and Slack, to get your most used apps up in one go. They’re easy to program and a real win for power users who want to save valuable seconds when working.

However, it only works for a handful of apps, with some currently notable exceptions, including Microsoft Outlook. Also, it doesn’t work for surface-level commands, such as changing a selected audio device to a headset if you opened the likes of Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Maybe this will come in a future update, as Smart Actions are still in beta at the time of writing, but for a first stab, it’s a great system.

Alongside Smart Actions, Logitech’s Options+ retains the convenient functionality afforded when used with other Logitech peripherals, giving you the chance to remap any one of the function keys to everything from launching specific apps to mapping them to a specific keyboard shortcut – another handy feature for power users. In Options+, you can also fiddle with the backlighting level, too, and monitor battery life.

The white backlighting that the MX Keys S utilises isn’t flashy, but functional. It’s bright and offers even coverage across all the keys, making the MX Keys S an ideal companion for after-dark working. The fact it’s also receptive to changes in the lighting environment, as well as hand placement is also fiendishly clever, and provides some extra convenience that’s always welcome.

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