The compact tenkeyless design is the most popular form factor used by the pros, allowing you to position the keyboard for comfort and to maximize in-game performance.
Our whisper quiet gaming switches with anti-ghosting technology for keystroke accuracy are made from durable low friction material for near silent use and guaranteed performance for over 20 million keypresses.
Designed with IP32 Water & Dust Resistant for extra durability to prevent damage from liquids and dust particles, so you can continue to play no matter what happens to your keyboard.
PrismSync RGB Illumination allows you to choose from millions of colors and effects from reactive lighting to interactive lightshows that bring RGB to the next level.
Dedicated Multimedia Controls with a clickable volume roller and media keys allowing you to adjust brightness, rewind, skip or pause all at the touch of a button.
Brand
SteelSeries
Item model number
12167
Hardware Platform
PC
Item Weight
1.4 pounds
Product Dimensions
5.9 x 14.3 x 1.57 inches
Item Dimensions LxWxH
5.9 x 14.3 x 1.57 inches
Color
Black
Manufacturer
SteelSeries
Language
English
Date First Available
October 12, 2021
8 reviews for SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL RGB Gaming Keyboard – Tenkeyless Compact Form Factor – 8-Zone RGB Illumination – IP32 Water & Dust Resistant – Whisper Quiet…
Rated 5 out of 5
T. Simpson –
Until now the most expensive keyboard i’d ever purchased cost me about $45 bucks. It set the bar for what I thought I liked. Not withstanding the fact I never even paid for a keyboard before, $45 was huge for me and especially since there was always two or three keyboards laying around in a closet. I was happy with purchase, what I really liked about it was it featured a number pad and a touch pad. It lasted a good while but like the other’s which came before the space bar started throwing craps. Because of my heavy thumbs. So after lots of research looking for the best quality keyboard maker the Steel Series reputation made it stand out from a sea of other cool keyboards. Right out the box the Steel Series 5 felt like the experience of a flagship cell phone or something. It has a modern feel and texture to it and lights up to boot. I didn’t start out looking for the backlit keys but they are such a major upgrade I should’ve done it much sooner. Not only can I now type with the lights off but another weakness of my last keyboard was eliminated. Letters worn off the keys. I was more then willing to sacrifice the touch pad ,which is not offered, for the backlit keys. Now I would be remiss if I failed to speak glowingly about how fast and clicky klacket this keyboard is to use. And others might also gush at how high tech the Steel Series are with their Digital display feature and the app you can download that provides you all kinds of customization options. I also love it for sure. But be warned there is a dark side to the App. I quickly discovered that depending on your operating system {I have the old windows 7) Downloading the app can make your Steel Series keyboard stop working completely and lock you out of it. Crazy Right? And this is not an uncommon problem. I am fairly computer savvy so I got past this however I had to breakout my old keyboard in order to even type for the solution on YouTube and then reset things as needed. Before downloaded the app everything was just plug and play. However one feature you will need to assign to the keyboard is a caps lock indicator. I set mine cap key to go yellow when on. I am pretty certain that If you have a newer operating systerm you will probably not have any issues but if you have an older one then make sure you are careful to download of older version of the app. If you don’t get it right the first time I would even go so far as to say a person less resourceful then myself might’ve just returned the thing. But don’t let me scare you off this is the best keyboard in the world they say.
Rated 1 out of 5
An Amazon Customer –
The keyboard looks nice, but do not be deceived. My first keyboard developed a fault within six months, and the replacement I received has once again developed a fault after another six months.
Rated 2 out of 5
Mark Whitlock –
************ What I liked I liked the key response, is pretty good. Software is ok. USB cord could be longer but is ok.
*********** What I did not like The keys are not embedded, so the light shines from under the keys. This make it a light show, hard on the eyes and serves no purpose for an adult.
The Wrist rest is really heavy and is held by magnets. This is a waste of weight, if you are going to make it heavy, make it useful weight. Like some programable keys, which are sadly missing or a USB Hub anything else but useless weight. Or attach it to the KB and distribute the weight to balance it up. The KB without the wrist rest has no weight and feels really cheap.
They use Insert, Home, Delete, End, Page Up, Page Down, as programable keys. This makes the keyboard useless, since you loose these much needed key’s. You need to switch profiles, to access them, witch is silly.
A gaming board, is purchased for quality, response, and the extra programable keys. And the lighting is to help separate the keys by functions, not to impress the neighbours.
The Software is ok, but the lack of extra keys and the bad lighting, makes this a $30 beginners KB. And the wrist rest, is the only thing that feels like quality, but it’s held on by magnets, so it pop off and becomes a problem. And the rest wont stay on if you put it on your lap, so you need to remove and reattach it all the time.
I purchased this, because my very well designed Logitech G910 is failing, to respond. Which is really sad, because I loved everything about it.
But this keyboard on the other hand, has good key response, but the overall design suck big time. It’s glitter for kids, and mostly a colorful regular KB. Since it adds no extra functionality, without loosing functionality of existing Keys.
That’s my opinion anyways.
Rated 4 out of 5
Zaman –
Apart from the minor fact the led flashing/ cracking effect so many people talk about ( which has eventually been fixed somehow) it is a brillaint, beautiful keyboard. Plenty of customisation. However word of warning the flashing thing may happen if you alter the light settings on the app thing. Other than that definately a fine keyboard
Rated 5 out of 5
Kevin W –
I was a little hesitant to buy this after reading some reddit reviews. I’m not sure what’s changed since those reviews came out but this is an awesome keyboard! I love have all my info on the small lcd screen. I can keep track of Temps, loads and a ton of other things. Integration into games works great. Rgb changes with what’s going on in some games like Rust. The feel of the keyboard is solid. Keys feel great and the build quality seems top notch. I caught this on sale but I’d happily pay full price. Still cheaper than a majority of major name brands. If you’re looking at new gaming peripherals I’d go with steelseries. Just picked up the Apex 6 mouse to go with it also!
Rated 5 out of 5
Christine M. –
Bought as present for my son for christmas he hasnt said anything bad about this so i take it its a thumbs up as he does lots of gaming one happy son
Rated 2 out of 5
LDW –
The good: Looks good. Feels good.
The meh: RGB but doesn’t sync well with other apps. Construction looks ok, kind of cheap in some aspects.
The bad: Out of the box this thing did not work well. The connection to the PC will drop without provocation (tested on 3 different PCs, varying USB ports).
It wouldn’t be that irritating if it dropped, reconnected and resumed function. However, once it drops NONE of the keys work except for the volume / media button. So you have to unplug and replug which then requires a software update.
How is that ideal for gaming?
I love Steelseries products and I wish they still made the 6GV2 mechanical keyboard. I have one that still runs after 8 years.
I was baffled by this keyboard. Not what I expect from Steelseries.
Rated 4 out of 5
Chris Z. –
I am not easily impressed and i am not one who would normally spend $50 on a keyboard… This is my first product from Steel Series
Let me just get this 1 Major Negative out of the way first. This prevented a 5-star review that i nearly never give 1. The default light pattern is RGB and you have little control out of the box, at best you can control the speed at which the color changed across the zones. Quick google search said you need to install the OEM software to get more control over the colors. Hmm, i wasn’t pleased about that but so be it, a lot of OEMs do it and its just more crap running on your pc to slow it down.. 2. Software installed was 270MB, pretty darn big TBH, It installed tons of irrelevant stuff for products i do not own.. This could certainly have been done better. 3. YOU MUST CREATE AN ACCOUNT with Steel Series to change anything about your product!!!! WHY??? Just another account username and password to track just so i can set a static color??? **On the bright side, the control software Does Not need to run to keep your color settings, i do suspect if you use the other feature the software provides then you may have to have the software running in the background.
OK, that is the ONLY gripe i have so far, Tempted to give a 3- star but that would be me placing too much weight on something that really annoys me and not fair to this product.
So, What is good about this item? Taking the software issue out of the equation, it would be a 5 star product for sure. The only thing that would make it better is a lower price.
I had just a few simple requirements for my keyboard. – Quiet – I hate the clackity clack typing sound especially when gaming – Backlit – I hate RGB and rolling RGB on a keyboard, i find it distracting. I like a nice soft glow to illuminate the keys so i can see the letters in the dark. I used to use blue or purple but have settled on red these past few years. – Compact, but full keyboard layout (108 keys?) – I hate big @$$ keyboards with tons of buttons, switches and misc. macro keys. Yes they have their purpose and are useful to some people, guess I’m getting old an traditional. – Durability – Who doesn’t want that???
Side note, Ergonomics IMHO is a personal preference but i kind of feel like the buttons are too high against the base but the keypresses are solid and actuation defined like when pulling the trigger on a quality firearm, you barely feel the slack being taken up and the you get a crisp break of the trigger. Very light keys with positive stroke, it’s just good, end of story.
All boxes checked with this keyboard – Durability TBD but it feels pretty solid so far. Backlight can be very dim or resemble the surface of the sun (not quite but it is bright). I know they call it “Steel Series” but this thing as some weight to it, it’s not heavy but it is clearly not just a block of super thin/cheap plastic..
I have not thoroughly explored the software capability but a brief romp around the menu’s looks to be extremely inclusive and a similar type ecosystem to Corsair’s iCue ecosystem which allows the software to interface and control all aspects of the OEM’s product line. I found a lack of details or explanations for some of the features but not to terrible, most options are pretty straight forward.
I believe in HONEST reviews and this has been my honest review that i almost didn’t do but morally i have to give credit to Steel Series on a good product, they earned that much especially since this is the first product of theirs i have ever purchased.
T. Simpson –
Until now the most expensive keyboard i’d ever purchased cost me about $45 bucks. It set the bar for what I thought I liked. Not withstanding the fact I never even paid for a keyboard before, $45 was huge for me and especially since there was always two or three keyboards laying around in a closet. I was happy with purchase, what I really liked about it was it featured a number pad and a touch pad. It lasted a good while but like the other’s which came before the space bar started throwing craps. Because of my heavy thumbs. So after lots of research looking for the best quality keyboard maker the Steel Series reputation made it stand out from a sea of other cool keyboards. Right out the box the Steel Series 5 felt like the experience of a flagship cell phone or something. It has a modern feel and texture to it and lights up to boot. I didn’t start out looking for the backlit keys but they are such a major upgrade I should’ve done it much sooner. Not only can I now type with the lights off but another weakness of my last keyboard was eliminated. Letters worn off the keys. I was more then willing to sacrifice the touch pad ,which is not offered, for the backlit keys. Now I would be remiss if I failed to speak glowingly about how fast and clicky klacket this keyboard is to use. And others might also gush at how high tech the Steel Series are with their Digital display feature and the app you can download that provides you all kinds of customization options. I also love it for sure. But be warned there is a dark side to the App. I quickly discovered that depending on your operating system {I have the old windows 7) Downloading the app can make your Steel Series keyboard stop working completely and lock you out of it. Crazy Right? And this is not an uncommon problem. I am fairly computer savvy so I got past this however I had to breakout my old keyboard in order to even type for the solution on YouTube and then reset things as needed. Before downloaded the app everything was just plug and play. However one feature you will need to assign to the keyboard is a caps lock indicator. I set mine cap key to go yellow when on. I am pretty certain that If you have a newer operating systerm you will probably not have any issues but if you have an older one then make sure you are careful to download of older version of the app. If you don’t get it right the first time I would even go so far as to say a person less resourceful then myself might’ve just returned the thing. But don’t let me scare you off this is the best keyboard in the world they say.
An Amazon Customer –
The keyboard looks nice, but do not be deceived. My first keyboard developed a fault within six months, and the replacement I received has once again developed a fault after another six months.
Mark Whitlock –
************ What I liked
I liked the key response, is pretty good.
Software is ok.
USB cord could be longer but is ok.
*********** What I did not like
The keys are not embedded, so the light shines from under the keys.
This make it a light show, hard on the eyes and serves no purpose for an adult.
The Wrist rest is really heavy and is held by magnets.
This is a waste of weight, if you are going to make it heavy, make it useful weight.
Like some programable keys, which are sadly missing or a USB Hub anything else but useless weight.
Or attach it to the KB and distribute the weight to balance it up.
The KB without the wrist rest has no weight and feels really cheap.
They use Insert, Home, Delete, End, Page Up, Page Down, as programable keys.
This makes the keyboard useless, since you loose these much needed key’s.
You need to switch profiles, to access them, witch is silly.
A gaming board, is purchased for quality, response, and the extra programable keys.
And the lighting is to help separate the keys by functions, not to impress the neighbours.
The Software is ok, but the lack of extra keys and the bad lighting, makes this a $30 beginners KB.
And the wrist rest, is the only thing that feels like quality, but it’s held on by magnets, so it pop off and becomes a problem.
And the rest wont stay on if you put it on your lap, so you need to remove and reattach it all the time.
I purchased this, because my very well designed Logitech G910 is failing, to respond.
Which is really sad, because I loved everything about it.
But this keyboard on the other hand, has good key response, but the overall design suck big time.
It’s glitter for kids, and mostly a colorful regular KB.
Since it adds no extra functionality, without loosing functionality of existing Keys.
That’s my opinion anyways.
Zaman –
Apart from the minor fact the led flashing/ cracking effect so many people talk about ( which has eventually been fixed somehow) it is a brillaint, beautiful keyboard. Plenty of customisation. However word of warning the flashing thing may happen if you alter the light settings on the app thing. Other than that definately a fine keyboard
Kevin W –
I was a little hesitant to buy this after reading some reddit reviews. I’m not sure what’s changed since those reviews came out but this is an awesome keyboard! I love have all my info on the small lcd screen. I can keep track of Temps, loads and a ton of other things. Integration into games works great. Rgb changes with what’s going on in some games like Rust. The feel of the keyboard is solid. Keys feel great and the build quality seems top notch. I caught this on sale but I’d happily pay full price. Still cheaper than a majority of major name brands. If you’re looking at new gaming peripherals I’d go with steelseries. Just picked up the Apex 6 mouse to go with it also!
Christine M. –
Bought as present for my son for christmas he hasnt said anything bad about this so i take it its a thumbs up as he does lots of gaming one happy son
LDW –
The good:
Looks good. Feels good.
The meh:
RGB but doesn’t sync well with other apps.
Construction looks ok, kind of cheap in some aspects.
The bad:
Out of the box this thing did not work well. The connection to the PC will drop without provocation (tested on 3 different PCs, varying USB ports).
It wouldn’t be that irritating if it dropped, reconnected and resumed function. However, once it drops NONE of the keys work except for the volume / media button. So you have to unplug and replug which then requires a software update.
How is that ideal for gaming?
I love Steelseries products and I wish they still made the 6GV2 mechanical keyboard. I have one that still runs after 8 years.
I was baffled by this keyboard. Not what I expect from Steelseries.
Chris Z. –
I am not easily impressed and i am not one who would normally spend $50 on a keyboard… This is my first product from Steel Series
Let me just get this 1 Major Negative out of the way first. This prevented a 5-star review that i nearly never give
1. The default light pattern is RGB and you have little control out of the box, at best you can control the speed at which the color changed across the zones. Quick google search said you need to install the OEM software to get more control over the colors. Hmm, i wasn’t pleased about that but so be it, a lot of OEMs do it and its just more crap running on your pc to slow it down..
2. Software installed was 270MB, pretty darn big TBH, It installed tons of irrelevant stuff for products i do not own.. This could certainly have been done better.
3. YOU MUST CREATE AN ACCOUNT with Steel Series to change anything about your product!!!! WHY??? Just another account username and password to track just so i can set a static color???
**On the bright side, the control software Does Not need to run to keep your color settings, i do suspect if you use the other feature the software provides then you may have to have the software running in the background.
OK, that is the ONLY gripe i have so far, Tempted to give a 3- star but that would be me placing too much weight on something that really annoys me and not fair to this product.
So, What is good about this item? Taking the software issue out of the equation, it would be a 5 star product for sure. The only thing that would make it better is a lower price.
I had just a few simple requirements for my keyboard.
– Quiet – I hate the clackity clack typing sound especially when gaming
– Backlit – I hate RGB and rolling RGB on a keyboard, i find it distracting. I like a nice soft glow to illuminate the keys so i can see the letters in the dark. I used to use blue or purple but have settled on red these past few years.
– Compact, but full keyboard layout (108 keys?) – I hate big @$$ keyboards with tons of buttons, switches and misc. macro keys. Yes they have their purpose and are useful to some people, guess I’m getting old an traditional.
– Durability – Who doesn’t want that???
Side note, Ergonomics IMHO is a personal preference but i kind of feel like the buttons are too high against the base but the keypresses are solid and actuation defined like when pulling the trigger on a quality firearm, you barely feel the slack being taken up and the you get a crisp break of the trigger.
Very light keys with positive stroke, it’s just good, end of story.
All boxes checked with this keyboard – Durability TBD but it feels pretty solid so far. Backlight can be very dim or resemble the surface of the sun (not quite but it is bright). I know they call it “Steel Series” but this thing as some weight to it, it’s not heavy but it is clearly not just a block of super thin/cheap plastic..
I have not thoroughly explored the software capability but a brief romp around the menu’s looks to be extremely inclusive and a similar type ecosystem to Corsair’s iCue ecosystem which allows the software to interface and control all aspects of the OEM’s product line. I found a lack of details or explanations for some of the features but not to terrible, most options are pretty straight forward.
I believe in HONEST reviews and this has been my honest review that i almost didn’t do but morally i have to give credit to Steel Series on a good product, they earned that much especially since this is the first product of theirs i have ever purchased.