Keyboards review
Logitech MX Keys S Review: The Quietest Keyboard in the Room
Measured at 35 decibels average, which is quiet enough to type through a call without anyone hearing it. It is also a membrane keyboard at a mechanical keyboard price.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
Logitech
Logitech MX Keys S
Good · researched from 4 sources
The best keyboard for an office where other people can hear you, and the measured noise figure is the reason rather than a marketing line. Anyone who wants mechanical feel for this money should buy something else, because no amount of tuning makes a membrane board feel mechanical.
- Buy if
- Shared offices, open plan desks and anyone on frequent calls · People switching between a laptop, a desktop and a tablet · Long typing days where comfort matters more than key feel
- Skip if
- Anyone who wants mechanical switches · Typists who need a raised typing angle · Travel, given the length
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
The number that justifies the keyboard
TechGearLab measured 35 decibels average while typing, with the space bar peaking near 41. They scored typing noise 9.8 out of 10 and put it among the quietest wireless keyboards they have tested.
That figure is the product. A mechanical keyboard, even a quiet one, is audible to the person on the other end of a call and to whoever is sitting near you. This is not, and it stays that way without any of the damping work an enthusiast board needs.
It is also why comparing it to a mechanical keyboard on feel misses the point. Nobody buys this because the switches are better. They buy it because nobody can hear them.
What typing on it is like
Scissor switches with short travel, which normally means mushy. Trusted Reviews found a surprising amount of tactility for the travel available and comfortable long sessions, and TechGearLab scored comfort 8.7, their second highest category for it.
The keycaps are dished spherically rather than flat, and Trusted Reviews credits those indents with helping guide fingers to the centre of each key. On a low-profile board where you have less depth to feel your way, that matters more than it would on a tall one.
TechGearLab ranked it first of fourteen wireless keyboards overall.
The backlight is clever and expensive
It reads ambient light and it senses your hands approaching, so it comes on when you reach for it and fades when you walk away. Nobody has to remember to manage it.
The cost is battery. Logitech quotes about five months with the lights off and around ten days with them on, and TechGearLab is direct that the backlight consumes power rapidly. Trusted Reviews got slightly better than claimed at medium brightness.
So the five month number is real and you will not experience it, unless you turn off the feature that makes the keyboard pleasant in a dim room.
What is missing
No angle adjustment. No feet, nothing to flip out, one fixed low profile. Both sources raise it and there is no workaround short of putting something under the back edge yourself.
No storage for the Bolt receiver either, which is a small thing until you are packing a bag.
And at about 16.9 inches long, TechGearLab calls it impractical for travel. This is a keyboard that lives on one desk.
The honest tension
Trusted Reviews manages to call it both the best office keyboard money can buy and an expensive membrane keyboard in the same review, and refusing to resolve that is the right call.
If you want a keyboard nobody can hear, that switches between three machines and that you can type on all day without your hands aching, this is the one, and the measurement backs it up. If you want to feel the switch, the same money buys a mechanical board that will annoy everyone around you.
How it scored
The overall 7.9 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Typing experience
TechGearLab scored typing 8.3 and comfort 8.7, ranking it first of fourteen. Trusted Reviews found surprising tactility despite the short travel.
Value
Trusted Reviews calls it an expensive membrane keyboard while still awarding five stars, which is a fair summary of the tension.
Build quality
All plastic at about 810 g, but Trusted Reviews found no real deck flex and described the frame as hefty for the material.
Ease of use
Three devices over Bolt or Bluetooth, and a proximity-triggered backlight nobody has to think about. TechGearLab marks it down for having no angle adjustment.
Typing noise
TechGearLab measured an average of 35 dB with space bar peaks near 41 dB and scored the category 9.8, among the quietest they have tested.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- Measured at 35 dB average, quiet enough for a shared room or a live call
- Ranked first of fourteen wireless keyboards by TechGearLab
- The backlight comes on as your hands approach and fades when you leave
- Switches between three devices over Bolt receiver or Bluetooth
- Spherically dished keycaps that Trusted Reviews found guided finger placement well
What we didn’t
- It is a membrane keyboard priced against mechanical ones, which Trusted Reviews says plainly
- No feet and no angle adjustment at all, flagged by both TechGearLab and Trusted Reviews
- TechGearLab found the backlight drains the battery rapidly, cutting months down to days
- Nowhere to store the Bolt receiver in the keyboard
- Long enough at about 16.9 inches that TechGearLab calls it impractical to travel with
Specifications
| Switches | Scissor-actuated membrane, low profile |
|---|---|
| Typing noise | 35 dB average, peaks near 41 dB, measured by TechGearLab |
| Battery | Up to 5 months with backlight off, about 10 days with it on |
| Backlight | White, ambient and proximity triggered |
| Connectivity | Logi Bolt receiver and Bluetooth, up to 3 devices |
| Weight | About 810 g, 28.5 oz |
| Length | 16.9 in per TechGearLab |
| Build | Plastic frame |
| Software | Logi Options+ with Smart Actions |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
4
sources reviewed
TechGearLab supplies the measured typing noise, the category scores and the ranking against thirteen other wireless keyboards, and is the only source that put a meter to the keyboard. Trusted Reviews contributed the typing feel, build and software observations from extended use. The two agree closely on specifications and disagree mainly in emphasis: Trusted Reviews rates it five stars while flagging the membrane-at-mechanical-price problem, and TechGearLab ranks it first overall while marking down convenience. Both positions are represented above.
What we read
Common questions
How quiet is the Logitech MX Keys S really?
Is it worth the money if it is only a membrane keyboard?
How long does the battery actually last?
Can I adjust the typing angle?
What are Smart Actions?
The bottom line on the Logitech MX Keys S
The best keyboard for an office where other people can hear you, and the measured noise figure is the reason rather than a marketing line. Anyone who wants mechanical feel for this money should buy something else, because no amount of tuning makes a membrane board feel mechanical.
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