Have you been eyeing the full-size Apple Magic Keyboard but can’t stomach the $129 price tag? How about a Logitech peripheral that borrows those styling cues, and is essentially a no-nonsense keyboard? That’s the MX Keys S for you — and it’s $20 cheaper than the Magic Keyboard. But is it one of the best wireless keyboards?
The MX Keys S is a productivity powerhouse that harnesses the power of dual-labeled keycaps and tech that automatically detects the operating system, letting you work effortlessly across macOS and Windows. With scissor switches and concave keycaps, it’s great to type on, and it’s got a long battery life too. But I expected more at this price point. While it’s still cheaper than the Magic Keyboard, $109 is still a lot for a keyboard that sports dim and lackluster backlighting, has a dongle that can be easily lost, and ultimately, is built to stay put in one place.
For the full breakdown, read my full Logitech MX Keys S review.
Logitech MX Keys S review: Specs
Logitech MX Keys S review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? A full-size ultra low profile keyboard and the bigger sibling of the Logitech MX Keys Mini
- Who is it for? For typists looking for a keyboard to stay put on their desk
- How much does it cost? The Logitech MX Keys S is available for $109 / £109
- What do we like? The typing experience, its construction, a design that makes it great for productivity, and user-friendly companion software
- What don’t we like? The white-only backlight is dim, there’s no dongle storage, and it’s expensive for what it offers
Logitech MX Keys S review: The ups
If you’re looking for a productivity keyboard that offers a great typing experience, is comfortable to type on, boosts your productivity, and doesn’t run out of juice easily, then the Logitech MX Keys S could be well worth considering.
Typing experience
The Logitech MX Keys S is lovely to type on. Its ultra low profile concave keycaps reduce typos, and the low profile scissor switches provide good tactile feedback. The keyboard isn’t very loud either, so you can type away without worrying about disturbing your coworkers. Instead of retractable feet, the MX Keys S has a raised back and the height provides a comfortable typing experience.
While I prefer using mechanical keyboards, I enjoy typing on membrane keyboards too — case in point, the Cherry KW 7100 Mini BT ($49). I took a typing test on 10fastfingers.com and was overall pleased with how the MX Keys S fared, as can be inferred from the results above.
Great for productivity
Unlike the Logitech MX Keys Mini ($99), its younger sibling, the MX Keys S is best suited to staying put on your desk as it measures 16.93 x 5.18 x 0.8 inches. It also weighs 1.78lbs, which means it isn’t exactly portable. But this is a brilliant keyboard for productivity. Its dual-labeled keys and its ability to automatically detect the operating system and remap keys makes it easy to work across macOS and Windows.
Additionally, the Bluetooth connectivity keys are better placed than on the MX Keys Mini. We criticized that board for having Bluetooth functions bound to F1-3, and these buttons couldn’t be remapped. Thankfully, this isn’t the issue with the MX Keys S. The three separate dedicated Bluetooth buttons make it easier for you to switch between your devices, and you can remap F1-3 to use them as you desire. I remapped F3 to App Exposé using Logi Options+ as that is a function I constantly use on my MacBook Air M2.
The MX Keys S makes work more accessible too, with the addition of a mute mic button and a dictation button, alongside an emoji button, giving you all the shortcuts you need to make the work day a little easier.
Intuitive companion software
Available on Windows and macOS, Logi Options+ lets you customize the Logitech MX Keys S by remapping keys, assigning Smart Actions (macros, Logitech means macros), and changing brightness settings. It's a no-frills, well-designed app that’s easy to use. You need to install it on your machine if you want to utilize the emoji button and dictation tool.
Programming macros — sorry, assigning Smart Actions — is really handy if you know there are certain actions you repeat on the daily. For instance, the first thing I do on my work laptop is open Gmail and Slack, so I assigned these two actions to a key, and pressing the key instantly brought up both pages. Nifty!
Good battery life
The Logitech MX Keys S is fitted with a 1,500mAh battery — the same as the one in the MX Keys Mini and the MX Mechanical Mini ($149). Logitech claims a single charge can last up to 10 days with backlighting on, or 5 months with backlighting off. With backlighting set to full blast, I used the keyboard for approximately 40 hours, and the MX Keys S had dipped to 45%.
However, if you want a productivity keyboard that isn’t nearly as expensive as Logitech’s offering and has a better battery, we love the Keychron B1 Pro ($39) for its 8-month battery life.
Logitech MX Keys S review: The downs
The Logitech MX Keys S costs a lot, and at $109, I wasn’t expecting many flaws, but the handful of issues has left me feeling short changed.
Dim backlighting
The Logitech MX Keys S’ backlighting, much like that of the MX Keys Mini, is quite limited and dim. This is a productivity keyboard so Logitech has stuck with simple white LED lighting, but I don’t think I’m asking for a lot when I say, “I wish it was brighter.”
By default, the backlight is set to light up on ambient lighting conditions, which saves battery but makes the keyboard look like any other board — like you wouldn’t believe it cost over $100. You can change this via the Logi Options+ software, and choose to manually adjust the backlight. But even at its highest level, the light isn’t bright enough — nowhere near as bright as the one on my MacBook Pro M1.
Built for staying put
In addition to the Logitech MX Keys S’ massive desk footprint contributing to it not being portable, the keyboard doesn’t have a compartment to slot the 2.4GHz Bolt USB receiver into. Not a dealbreaker, of course, but this means you’ll have to keep a close eye on the dongle. The other workaround is that you can keep it plugged into your PC. But wouldn’t it be nice to not worry about losing the dongle amongst other items in your backpack, should you decide to travel with the MX Keys S?
We’ve seen cheaper keyboards like the Epomaker DynaTab75 ($89), and similarly priced boards like the Gamakay LK75 ($129) feature dongle storage, but it’s worth pointing out that those are chonkier keyboards. But the MX Keys S has a raised back which is wide enough to fit the dongle, so it feels like Logitech misses a trick here.
Expensive
There’s no sugarcoating it: the Logitech MX Keys S is an expensive peripheral. It has a retail price of $109 / £109, and the lowest we’ve seen it drop to is $107 at Amazon. There are other full-size keyboards that carry the MX Keys S’ best qualities and offer extra customization on account of being hot-swappable, such as the Keychron V6 ($89) or the Epomaker TH80 Pro ($99).
If you’re still keen on the MX Keys S, I’d suggest waiting for it to go on sale as at its retail price, it’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend.
Logitech MX Keys S review: Verdict
There are a lot of things that the Logitech MX Keys S does well. It’s a great productivity keyboard, thanks to its dual-labeled keys and its ability to automatically detect the operating system and remap keys. The Bluetooth connectivity keys are well-placed and don’t compromise on the F1-3 keys like on the MX Keys Mini. I’ve really enjoyed typing on this keyboard too, as the concave keycaps reduce the possibility of mistypes, and the scissor switches provide good tactile feedback.
While the MX Keys S’ battery life is good, it’s bested by cheaper keyboards like the Keychron B1 Pro. Logitech’s offering also has a big desk footprint. It’s heavy and long, and combined with the missing dongle storage, it’s best suited to staying put in one place. The white LED backlighting doesn’t shine as bright as I’d like it to either.
The MX Keys S is, by no means, a bad keyboard. But is it the best keyboard I’ve ever used, especially at this price? No. As we said in our MX Keys Mini review, wait until this keyboard goes on sale — if you’ve got your heart set on a Magic Keyboard look-alike, that is.
