Keyboards review
Logitech MX Mechanical Review: Charges Over USB-C, Will Not Type Over It
One reviewer's typing speed went from 84 to 91 words per minute on it. It also has a USB-C port that only charges, which is a strange thing to discover after buying.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
Logitech
Logitech MX Mechanical
Good · researched from 5 sources
A genuinely good low-profile mechanical keyboard for an office, and the typing measurement backs that up. Check that you never want to plug it in, because the USB-C port charges and does nothing else.
- Buy if
- Offices where a mechanical keyboard has to stay quiet · Anyone switching between three machines · People who want mechanical feel without a tall board
- Skip if
- Anyone who needs a wired connection · Enthusiasts who expect to change switches later · Gamers, given no macro keys and limited software
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
The port that does not do what you expect
There is a USB-C socket on the back. It charges the keyboard. It does not carry your keystrokes.
Console Creatures found this and calls it disappointing, which is restrained. A wireless keyboard with a cable port that cannot act as a cable is an unusual decision, and it removes the fallback everyone assumes they have when a receiver goes missing or Bluetooth drops during a presentation.
None of the other sources mention it, which suggests it is easy to own this keyboard for a while without discovering it. Worth knowing before rather than after.
The typing is genuinely good
Laptop Mag measured 91 words per minute at 98 percent accuracy on the tactile switches, against their usual 84 to 85 on other keyboards.
One tester, one session, so not a law. But it lines up with what the others describe. Trusted Reviews calls the switches a low-profile form of Brown with a short travel and a soft tactile bump. Console Creatures describes smooth travel, low noise and responsiveness.
The low profile is the point. A full-height mechanical keyboard puts your wrists at an angle that a wrist rest exists to correct. This one is about an inch thick and mostly does not need one, though Console Creatures notes none is included.
The battery claim is conservative for once
Logitech says 15 days with the backlight on and up to 10 months with it off.
Console Creatures used it two to eight hours a day for a month, charged it once, and reported 70 percent remaining. Trusted Reviews never charged it during their review period at all.
The reason is the backlight logic rather than a big cell. It reads ambient brightness and switches off when your hands leave, so in a lit room it is dark most of the time without you ever choosing that.
Where the money does not go
Not into switches you can change: all three sources confirm they are not hot-swappable.
Not into software: Trusted Reviews says Options+ manages little beyond remapping the function row and adjusting the backlight, and flags the limited customisation as a potential deal breaker.
And not into the key legends, apparently. Laptop Mag's specific complaint is that an emoji key and a mic-mute key occupy the positions where Mission Control and Launchpad used to be, which they call baffling for the MX audience.
How it compares to the quiet alternative
We measured the MX Keys S at 35 dB average typing noise, which is among the quietest wireless keyboards TechGearLab has tested, and it is a membrane board.
This is the mechanical answer in the same family: better switch feel, more satisfying to type on, and audibly louder even in the Tactile Quiet flavour. If the reason you were looking at the MX Keys S was silence, this is not the upgrade. If it was feel, it is.
How it scored
The overall 7.3 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Typing experience
Laptop Mag measured 91 words per minute at 98 percent accuracy on the tactile switches, against their usual 84 to 85 on other keyboards.
Value
All three sources call it expensive. Trusted Reviews still gave it 4.5 stars and Console Creatures 9 out of 10.
Build quality
A low-carbon aluminium top plate over 45 percent recycled plastic per Laptop Mag. Trusted Reviews found a little deck flex on the full-size version.
Ease of use
Three devices over Bolt or Bluetooth with near-instant switching, plus Logi Flow. Console Creatures flags that it cannot run wired at all.
Software and customisation
The switches are not hot-swappable, and Trusted Reviews says Options+ offers little beyond remapping the function row and adjusting the backlight.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- Laptop Mag's typing speed rose to 91 wpm at 98 percent accuracy from a usual 84 to 85
- Console Creatures got a month of 2 to 8 hour days and still had 70 percent battery
- A backlight that reads ambient light and switches off when you walk away
- Three devices with switching Console Creatures calls nearly instantaneous
- An aluminium top plate over 45 percent post-consumer recycled plastic
What we didn’t
- It cannot operate wired, which Console Creatures calls disappointing given the USB-C port
- The switches are not hot-swappable, so the feel you buy is the feel you keep
- Trusted Reviews found Options+ offers little beyond function row remapping and backlight control
- Laptop Mag calls the emoji and mic-mute keys replacing Mission Control and Launchpad a baffling move
- Trusted Reviews found a little deck flex on the full-size model and notes smooth, untextured keycaps
- Every source raises the price
Specifications
| Switches | Logitech low-profile, Tactile Quiet, Clicky or Linear; not hot-swappable |
|---|---|
| Battery | 1500 mAh per Console Creatures; 15 days with backlight, up to 10 months without |
| Backlight | White, ambient and proximity aware |
| Connectivity | Logi Bolt receiver and Bluetooth, three devices; no wired mode |
| Dimensions | 17.1 x 5.2 x 1 in per Laptop Mag; 433.85 x 131.55 x 26.1 mm per Trusted Reviews |
| Weight | 1.8 lb per Laptop Mag; 828 g per Trusted Reviews |
| Materials | Low-carbon aluminium top plate, 45 percent post-consumer recycled plastic |
| Software | Logi Options+ with Flow |
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.
5
sources reviewed
Laptop Mag ran the only quantified typing test and supplies the dimensions, weight and materials. Console Creatures contributed a month of daily use with an observed battery figure, and is the only source that identified the absence of a wired mode. Trusted Reviews supplies the metric dimensions, the deck flex observation and the clearest account of the software limits. Two further reviews were read but their pages returned truncated content, so they are not cited. Where Laptop Mag and Trusted Reviews give dimensions in different units we list both rather than converting.
What we read
Common questions
Can I use the Logitech MX Mechanical with a cable?
Does it actually make you type faster?
How long does the battery really last?
Can I change the switches?
Is the software any good?
The bottom line on the Logitech MX Mechanical
A genuinely good low-profile mechanical keyboard for an office, and the typing measurement backs that up. Check that you never want to plug it in, because the USB-C port charges and does nothing else.
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