Before I knew anything about what product I’m going to get for a review from Logitech for this time, upon taking over the box at first I’ve noticed that it quite has and wide, while in the next second after that I saw a wireless logo on the picture of a mechanical keyboard and then it hit me – it’s a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard!
Turning it onto its other side the listed out feature set confirmed my assumption, and right after that I saw that the wireless capability it’s actually written on the box itself, so I felt kinda dumb for a second for overlooking that simple notion right in front of me. Oh, well, it happens. Although this not a first wireless mechanical gaming keyboard available on the market, Logitech G613 model is definitely the first one when we talk about more famous brands. Yes, Roccat has their Sova model, but it falls into a very specific segment.
Logitech G613 – their first wireless mechanical gaming keyboard
I went right into opening up the package, in here I’ve found a USB extension cable for the wireless receiver, a really cool add-on in a form of stand for your mobile phone or tablet, some user manuals of course, and the keyboard itself.
Taking a closer look at it, if you’re familiar with Logitech’s product line you’ll probably notice right away that design of the G613 is basically the same compared to the G213 Prodigy series. There is one noticeable visual difference in design, and that’s the color scheme, where this model has a two-tone, a dark-gray and black one, instead of just being completely black. Now the only black part is the wrist rest, which might I add is useful, but not that comfortable in the long run in this case since it’s made out of plastic.
I still do like its design, it’s very minimalistic and up to date, as you can see it for yourself in the video below, with some glossy details on the side, not over the top. The build quality is still really good, the outer finish is nice to the touch, and although it’s completely made out of plastic it still delivers very rigid and sturdy construction, something that is to be expected considering its price point.
Besides the color difference, another change can be found on the left half of the keyboard, and those are the added programmable keys. I’m really happy to see that Logitech decided to use them, especially since Logitech basically build their reputation of the gaming line-up on them. We also have a bunch of dedicated multimedia keys in the top right corner, while the side you can also see the toggle on and off switch for the keyboard.
Expectedly, the G613 carries Roamer-G switches
Beside it, Logitech G613 has yet another toggle switch for enabling the gaming mode, which is a welcomed improvement as before it there was just a regular button so it can be accidentally pressed. Left of it we have LED indicators for the Caps lock and battery level, while the right of it a WiFi logged blinking button which indicates if you’re connected to the receiver or not and the one with Bluetooth logo next to it does the same thing. So, yes, you can also connect to your Bluetooth enabled device, like for example a smartphone or a tablet, even a laptop, and use it for typing.
As you just saw the stand which comes in the bundle actually comes in handy for this scenarios, but most importantly Logitech probably provides it so you can use it with their Arx Control Software Utility which lets you monitor your PC stats, set up game profiles, check and control connected Logitech devices and so on. Turning it onto its back, you’ll see a lot of rubber padding on the bottom edge basically throughout the whole width of the keyboard and two on the top in each corner together with stand-off feet. Down here you’ll also find a cover underneath which we have a spot for two AA batteries and a spot for the receiver.
As expected, the G613 carries Logitech’s mechanical switches called Roamer -G, which were in-house developed in collaboration with Omron. I’ve already encountered these switches before a bunch of times, last time on the really cool looking Logitech G413 ’s model, feel free to check it out in the right top corner at the card link, so I knew what to expect right from the get-go. As I said before, personally I’m not that fond of them when it comes to typing since they only need 45 grams of actuation force and that’s combined with a very short actuation distance of just 1,5 mm. On the other hand, because of those specifications, they are really good for gaming purpose, very fast to repose, although they do kinda leave you with a damped feel and sound. I’m OK with that in general cause I know that there can’t be a universal switch that will satisfy everyone, that’s why Cherry has a couple different switches, but I wish they’ve made at least one more type of Romer switch which could cater other portion of users.
No RGB or any back-lighting at all for Logitech G613
In terms of it being a wireless mechanical keyboard and how does it perform, I didn’t have any complains what so ever, starting from the range which I measure to be around 10 meters, but it’s not like you’re going to use it like that, while my subjective impression is that performs just as fast as a wired one. That’s no wonder as it uses Logitech’s Light-speed technology which lowers down the wireless latency to just 1 ms, just as seen on their G900 mouse which was first to introduce it. I’m actually also set to do a review of their new G603 gaming mouse, released together with this keyboard, which is also wireless and also supports Light-speed technology, while being pretty affordable, so be sure to stick around.
Looking at key-caps, you can see that we have letter stickers on them, which right away indicates that we don’t have back-lighting for them in this model, and that can also be confirmed by looking at the switch itself, it’s hollow, without LED’s. This is not a surprise, to be honest, as the battery wouldn’t last that long with them or you would have to charge it frequently. The only improvement I can see which could bring that feature onto this model is to either have a possibility of optional connection for the keyboard using a USB cable together with either a larger integrated battery or an option to charge your rechargeable AA batteries of larger capacity. Speaking of that, Logitech claims they should last up to 18 months, depending on the use case, but it’s obviously not something to be worried about.
As for the Logitech Gaming Software Utility, everything is as seen before, I assume a lot of you already had a chance to cross paths with it, and as you can see here the options are pretty much the same as with any other Logitech’s product, here you can set up your profiles, reprogram those G keys, determine what keys are getting switches of in gaming mode, check you’re heat-map and of course check the battery level.
Everything said and considered, its steep, but not surprising 150$ price tag can be justifiable to a certain extent for most of its potential buyers. I do see some room for future improvement, but honestly, the market for these is not that big, so users who are looking to buy a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard will put it on a short list for sure. Nevertheless, I hope that my Logitech G613 review at least helped you out a bit in making your final purchasing decision, being it you actually buying it or something else because you decided it’s not for you.
