Exquisite, portable, multifunctional: Logitech G915 TKL keyboard review

Most of us (sadly) spend a good eight hours of the day in front of a computer, typing away on a keyboard. For the masses, you've probably never spared a thought about an upgrade to your keyboard, or even entertained the thought of a wireless, ergonomic keyboard.

Now know this — there are options available, from wireless office keyboards to ergonomic keyboards, or even gaming keyboards. You don't have to limit yourself to the horrible compact keyboard that comes with the laptop you're issued at work.

I'm more of a mechanical keyboard man myself. After upgrading the keyboard in my gaming rig at home to a Ducky One, I have been using my spare Razer mechanical one in the office. It's a lot better to type with compared to a regular keyboard, but it does tend to be noisier and bulkier. I haven't heard any complaints about the noise though. Well, I have heard complaints actually, but I just chose not to listen to them.

ALSO READ: Top mechanical gaming keyboards to level up your rig in 2020

Larger brands aside, if you are looking, there are several other brands of mechanical keyboards you can consider for your daily keyboard grind. 

Today, we'll be looking at one from Logitech. 

This is the Logitech G915 TKL Tenkeyless Lightspeed Wireless RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, or the G915 for short.

We received a set of Logitech's wireless offerings (including their G773 headphones and MX Anywhere 3 mouse) on loan for a review video, but the G915 in particular caught my eye — I decided it had to be written about.

Tenkeyless, or TKL, refers to a keyboard without the usual numpad on the right. The "G" in the model name points to its G-series lineage, Logitech's branding for its line of gaming peripherals.

Straight out of the box, it looks sleek and refined (this ain't a sponsored article, if you're wondering).

This unit comes with white keycaps on a silver, brushed metal texture base plate, but there is also a Carbon colourway for those who prefer darker colours. The plastic keycaps look powdery-white and almost rubber-like. 

The lettering on the keycaps is translucent when the keyboard is off. When turned on, they smoothly transition through cycles of RGB lighting.

At the top row is a glowing Logitech logo, along with several other keys to switch between the USB receiver provided in the box, or Bluetooth connectivity with other devices. Then there's the Lightspeed button (the Lightspeed mode basically promises "super-fast 1ms performance"), a light up indicator for low-battery warnings and the caps lock key, followed by some media control buttons and a customisable scroll wheel.

You'll notice that the keycaps are rather thin and low compared to a regular, full-height keyboard. The G915 is marketed to be compact, but that also means you can't push the keys down as low as you'd be able to on a regular keyboard. I personally prefer typing with deeper buttons, but this is what the G915 comes with.

The keyboard can function wirelessly and has an internal battery that requires charging through a cable.

Mashing away on the keyboard, you'll notice that it isn't particularly loud. It's clicky for sure — your colleagues nearby are sure to hear your button mashing. But it's not too loud to be annoying, even in an office setting, and can be easily covered by music or talking.

For those new to mechanical keyboards, they're named as such because of the mechanical switches under each key of the keyboard which make up the mechanism registering each keystroke. Logitech has three switches available: linear, clicky and tactile. I prefer the clicky for a more pronounced experience when typing, but this review unit uses the tactile switches.

On the underside of the keyboard, you'll find white plastic in matte white. The brushed-metal finishing is only on the top surface, where it matters, I guess. When are you ever going to be looking at the bottom of the keyboard while using it? 

There's also a handy slot to stowaway the USB receiver when you want to bring the keyboard out. You'll also find two pull-out kickstands with two height modes for a total of three height levels: flat, half, and full-out.

There are light customisation options as well as button macro settings you can toggle using the Logitech app that's free to download.

The G915 is marketed as portable, so it can be used with the dongle or through Bluetooth connection.

It's also on the lighter side, weighing in at 810g without the micro-USB cable that doubles up as a wired connection and charging option.

Logitech claims the keyboard lasts up to 40 hours on full brightness at full charge. After all, if you're splashing out the cash to get this keyboard, you're not going to want to use it without its RGB on, so you can get the full experience. 

While 40 hours technically works out to just a bit under two days, keep in mind that it only applies to the hours that the keyboard would be on. In actuality it should last anywhere from three days to a week depending on your usage, so you likely won't have to be charging it every other day (which would be annoying). 

If you're largely using it on your main gaming rig, it'll probably be plugged in, but it's still great to have the option to easily bring the keyboard out for a school project or a work meeting in a cafe.

Final thoughts

In the two days I've been using the keyboard, it's been a very pleasant piece of equipment to be typing on. While I do prefer a fuller-actuating keyboard, and am more drawn to the looks of the keyboard over its sound and feel, the G915 is no let down in usage.

White seems to be the choice option for this model, especially with the brushed metal finishing and RGB lighting adding a cool complement to the keyboard's design. It definitely catches the eyes of passing coworkers around my desk.

Its portability and weight make it very easy to uproot my workstation and move, whether its from my laptop at work or my desktop at home. Though I prefer the full-sized, the TKL fits snugly in my 15-inch by 9-inch gym bag.

The USB dongle connects smoothly, be it Windows or Mac. The media buttons also do their job without any extra configuration or having to install the Logitech software.

My main gripe would be the price point, though it's not really that far off from a good mechanical keyboard. The G915 TKL goes for $229 and the numpad variant goes for $299. You might think it a bit steep (as do I, to be honest) but a full-size, wired, basic mechanical keyboard from Ducky would usually go for about $150. So $230 for the wireless TKL with its fancy lights and metal finish isn't that much of a leap.

I do really like the look of it (and I bet I'd like the full-sized one more) but the price might just be a bit too steep for you if you're not really looking for a RGB keyboard. Nevertheless, it would be nice to have.

jayjaylin@asiaone.com