The Corsair K100 Air Wireless is so thin that the brand doesn’t call it low profile. Please. That’s a moniker for gaming keyboards more than 20 mm thick. No, at only 17 mm thick and 11 mm thick, this latest offering deserves the title of ULTRA-Thin. But its form factor is actually the least surprising aspect of this wireless gaming keyboard.
What’s really impressive is that Corsair has managed to pack just about everything from the usual fully programmable keys, dedicated media buttons, multi-device connectivity to rarer features like up to 50 hours of battery life, dedicated macro keys, enough onboard memory for up to up to 50 profiles and 20 layers of lighting effects, and what else is a lightning-fast polling rate of 8000 Hz.
However, it is also one of those products that you should absolutely get no matter the price, because it is simply worth every penny. This is what makes the K100 Air especially remarkable. The keyboard features the latest Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile mechanical switch with just 1.8mm of travel. This has enabled Corsair to create a mechanical gaming keyboard that is just 17mm high and is incredibly comfortable for everyday use.
Design
The Corsair K100 Air is incredibly thin. It is only 0.43″ (11mm) at its thinnest point and only 0.67″ (17mm) at its thickest. It lies completely flat, and at first glance you might be forgiven for thinking that it is equipped with old-fashioned rubber keys. However, enter it, and you will quickly realize that you made a mistake. The K100 Air is the first keyboard we reviewed with Cherry’s new Ultra Low Profile (ULP) tactile switches. They are very different from traditional MX switches in that they use a spring and a pair of metal wings to attach to the keycap, but they provide nearly 2mm of travel and a nice tactile feel.
With an overall height of only 3.5 mm, they are the perfect choice for such a keyboard and allow the keys to be placed closer to the plate than any other low-profile mechanical keyboard we have seen. The keyboard offers much more than its thinness. It is also wireless, with full support for Corsair’s Slipstream 2.4GHz technology for wireless speeds of up to 2000Hz-double the speed of most wired gaming keyboards-and is compatible with PlayStation 5 and Xbox. It supports Bluetooth with up to three devices that can switch between connections on the fly.
And if you choose to keep the cable, you can push the connection up to 8000 Hz by unlocking 0.125 ms of response. Compared to the full-size K100 RGB Air, it is almost indistinguishable. The same AXON processor is used inside its sleek body. This is a redundant keyboard processor, but it opens the door to many functions. This processor provides the fast response times described earlier and allows you to create custom lighting effects using up to 20 Photoshop-like layers.
Keys
The K100 Air has mechanical keys with tactile feedback, but they are almost silent compared to keyboards of this type. Cherry MX key switches and drastically reduced body travel mean typing long streams of text or switching between teams in the midst of an intense Over watch match is a breeze, and the reduced profile doesn’t deprive you of all the features you’d expect from a gaming keyboard. The numeric keypad is present and counts along with several macro keys that can be assigned to specific inputs.
At the top of the aluminum body is a streamlined media panel that allows you to fast forward, rewind or pause any music or video clip with the touch of a button. There’s also a volume scroll wheel, cool to the touch, but sensitive enough to make precise movements. We usually ignore these commands on more complex keyboards, but Corsair has made them simple yet accessible in the way they fit into the overall design.
Gaming Performance
When connected, the Corsair K100 Air Wireless has all the technology in the world, making it one of the fastest gaming keyboards in the world, with a polling frequency of 8000Hz and a response time of less than 1ms. Even if you opt for 2.4 GHz wireless, you can get a polling frequency of 2000 Hz. So, the board has everything you need for esports performance, but the switches will let you down.
The tactile feel of the card is excellent for typing, but relatively unsuitable for casual gaming in esports. Slower games or MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV were fine, but the high-octane action of Doom: Eternal and Warzone made us wish we had used a line switch board instead. Before writing this review, we were sent a disassembled version of this switch to see how it all works, and the mechanism is pretty darn simple but innovative.
However, we believe that this is more of a solution for laptop keyboards than a full-size desktop model. Especially when boards like the Deathstalker V2 exist, it’s hard to justify the price of this keyboard with the amount of money Corsair is asking for, which ends up looking a little mediocre no matter how much fancy tech Corsair has put on the line. hood.
Connectivity
One of the best features of Corsair K100 Air is the number of possible connections. You can set it up via wired connection, the included Slipstream dongle, and via Bluetooth. During our testing, we used all possible connections. We connected it via Bluetooth to my desktop, laptop and phone, with easy switching between devices.
A simple keyboard shortcut combination lets you switch between a Slipstream connection and three Bluetooth connections. we even connected it to my PlayStation 5 without any problems and kept going back and forth. Obviously, however, you can only use it with one device at a time. Otherwise, you would have nothing but a headache. For those who love macros, the Corsair K100 Air Wireless includes four G-key macros right above the number pad.
You can also save up to 50 different profiles for the keyboard using Corsair iCUE software. These are a set of options that allow you to use different macros for each program and game. RGB lighting for each key can also be customized individually or via preset zones. If you have owned a Corsair peripheral before, none of this will be new to you.
Performance
Beneath the K100 Air’s rubber key covers is a collection of ultra-low profile Cherry MX tactile switches that made their debut in desktop gaming keyboards after proving their worth on gaming laptops such as Corsair’s Voyager a1600. Unfortunately, we were equally impressed and disappointed. Let’s start with the positives, such as the 0.8 mm actuation distance, which helps make actions as fast as possible. For some, the K100 Air is better suited for gaming than typing, but we did not notice an increase in typing errors in our work.
We feel Corsair lives up to the K100 Air, with a light feel that does not tire the hands after long gaming or typing sessions. It is a bit more than we are used to with the Razer Huntsman V2, but that is to be expected given the difference in spacing between the two boards. The K100 Air does not seem to hinder us during competitive matches of Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone and League of Legends. The quality and consistency of the wireless connections have not yet let me down noticeably, to the point where we could use the wired model as well.
Battery Life
The K100 AIR’s wireless functionality is by far its biggest selling point, and for good reason. Wires are a pain, especially given how technology is evolving today. We’ve been using the standing desk for the past few months, and while it’s great, accommodating the various wires and connectors is often difficult. The K100 AIR eliminates this problem with ease while remaining responsive and taking up minimal desktop space. Battery life didn’t prove to be an issue during our tests. Even with the keyboard equipped with RGB backlighting and used regularly, we had to charge it about once a week.
The keyboard is expected to last around 50 hours on battery with the lights on, and a staggering 200 hours if you leave the backlight off. One of the keyboard’s coolest features is the Bluetooth feature, which allows you to switch between multiple devices on the fly. It was as easy as pressing a function key with a macro to seamlessly switch between typing on the desktop via wireless and typing on the phone via Bluetooth.
Final Words
The K100 Air performs well in normal use, while at the same time it is equipped with almost all the innovations introduced by Corsair. It’s the best manufacturer out there, although the new ultra-low profile switches may not be for everyone. But its finish profile doesn’t make up for its high price tag, which ruins an otherwise fine product. It is stylish, light and functional, but too expensive.
