After using an MX Keys in our church A/V booth, I finally stopped borrowing it and got one myself. It is a nice change of pace from both the MBP M1 keyboard and the Magic Keyboard. I know the key size/spacing is the same, but it somehow feels more spacious when typing on the Logitech; maybe it’s the depressions in the keys? The travel is farther too and is much more comfortable to me, without the long travel of a high profile keyboard. There are a few extra pre-programmed function keys which can be reprogrammed or set to follow macros, which the Logi Options+ software can facilitate.
The Master 3S doesn’t quite fit my palm as naturally as my dearly departed G602, but the horizontal scroll wheel is a very nice option along with the additional programmable buttons, so I think I’ll get used to it.
The keyboards have been in the $110 (PC/Mac keys) to $120 (Mac only) for a while, so when I got a price watch notice that it dropped to $89.99 at Best Buy (and a few other places), I thought it might be time to strike. At least at Best Buy (not sure where else this offer applies), Logitech offers 20% off any of their accessories when recycling any other computer accessory. So that was nice, plus the discount I got for being in some or another Best Buy “club” I ended up getting the keyboard for $68 plus tax. I got similar discounts when I got the new mouse too.
Logitech makes such great peripherals. I use a Logi MX Mechanical Mini with a Logi Lift ergo mouse at home with an MX Anywhere 3S in my backpack. The newer mice like the Lift and MX 3Ss have a very quiet click, it’s always hard to go back to the old MX Master 3 when I’m in office because of how loud it is in comparison.
The Logi software gets a lot of hate for being janky (rightly so) but it gives some pretty cool customization options. I always crank my pointer speed beyond what Windows and Mac OS allow by default. I will admit I always forget to use the side buttons.
Yep, I have been rocking that same keyboard and mouse for probably 18 months now and I can’t imagine using anything else. And this is after going through a mechanical keyboard phase as well. Definitely very happy with the Logitech gear.
I’m right there with you. I have all the Logitech things. An Mx Master 3S, Vertical, and Ergo. I never thought I’d like a trackball mouse but it come in handy. I also have the most clickity clackity MX Mechanical keyboard they have.
They are great! I had a light one for some time. But it started to take on smudges rather quickly. So I sold it.
I am back to my good old K780. Now I am eyeing a Keychron K3/K7 Pro because of QMK/VIA customisation. I am a pedantic regarding layouts and having them to work more similar across Windows and Mac.
Totally agree regarding the Master 3S Mouse - which I use.
I presume that means you really like custom keys. If so then the best customizable keyboard made is the Corsair K100 - it is intended for PC gaming but also works well as a productivity tool for a Mac power user.
I have the MX Keys and a MX Anywhere for home use, I found the Master too big for my hand and my desk space. I also happen to have a Logitech Brio webcam, but while Logo hardware is top notch the software is something of a mess.
The newer mice like the Lift and MX 3Ss have a very quiet click, it’s always hard to go back to the old MX Master 3 when I’m in office because of how loud it is in comparison.
I got hearing aids for the first time last week, so I have just experienced something similar. I thought my mouse had a nice quiet click. It does not.
I love their hardware, but their software…not so much.
I recently bought a Master 3S to use across 2 computers, a Mac and Windows 11 PC. I won’t install Logitech software on a Mac due to some past problems with it and not finding it all that useful on a Mac. But On the PC…
I already had the Logitech gaming software on the PC. For the Master 3S I had to install the Logi Options software as well. So I have the G software for the keyboard, and the Logi Options for the mouse. I would rather not have to run two sets of software them just because one is a gaming device and one isn’t. Plus, the Logi Options likes to crash or get into some state where my laptops fans have to come on when not in use.
For mice, I don’t think anyone can beat the Master 3S, but I am probably going to ditch the keyboard for a company that makes better software for it. Not sure who that is yet (it’s not Corsair!). I spend way too much money on keyboards.
This was me for a year. When I got my M1 Studio I used the Apple extended keyboard just for TouchID. I loved having Touch ID on a Mac, but whenever I had to do any long form typing I found myself using a different computer with a better keyboard (mechanical). So last month I retired the Apple keyboard for the old Keychron I was using before I got the Studio. I miss TouchID a lot, but I don’t use it enough to justify the worse typing experience.
Maybe one day Apple will enable FaceID on the Studio Display? I am really curious why they haven’t.
I generally (i.e., always) delete or do not install unneccesary software that is packaged with computer accessories… until now. I did install the Logi Options+ app as I was curious about the button and key customization. I’m not referring to any older software, but this current 1.64.527952 software has been seamless to overall operation and without issue.
That being said, I had difficulty with reprogramming an older Logitech mouse with older software on this M1 MBP. That doesn’t seem to be the situation any more.
It generally does work for me and I always install it on Windows machines, but not Macs. A decade ago they released a solar keyboard that I had been using with Logitech’s software. No issues, everything worked great. Then one day, I was troubleshooting something else and went into the system logs. They were covered in Logitech errors every 5-10 minutes as far back as I could see. So I uninstalled it, but whatever it was doing was still happening in the logs. I wrote their support and received no real help. I don’t think I have installed anything Logitech on a Mac since then.
If I did want to program my mouse (the 3S Master does everything I need with Apple’s default setup), I would go with Steermouse or one of the others.
For someone who’s used them both: How does the feel of the MX Keys compare to the feel of the Ergo K860? I’ve heard rave things about the MX Keys (and not just in this thread), but as a Microsoft Sculpt user, I think that if one of them were to be in my future, it’d be the K860…
For me it’s not that the software is exactly badly written but that, for example, you can get no less than 3 or 4 apps for a webcam. Some of them are older, some are newer “unifying apps”, their software line is a mess: The keyboard and mouse thingy (“Logi Options +”?) is nice, but then why is there a separate app for the webcam (“Logi Tune”)?
Also there seem to have features that don’t belong there: why would I want my webcam configuration app to show me alerts for my calendar appointments? That’s for my Calendar app!
I have installed the strict minimum and then use Better Touch Tool for customizing the keyboard and mouse.
Thanks for the suggestion. Based on your example, I went into the logs and searched for any Logitech errors and came up empty. So either our luck is different, or the software has just improved since then.
That was a long time ago, and Logitech, at least on Windows, seem to revamp their apps every couple of years, so I wouldn’t think that would be a problem today. I was just pointing out that there often seem to be issues with Logitech software and this goes back years. Personally, I feel like their software is an afterthought for them. Just last month when I was trying to figure out why Logi Options (Windows) was giving me problems, I found lots of posts about the software on Reddit and various forums and their support answers were not helpful (and even wrong in some cases).
The MX Keys Mini has me converted from Apple’s keyboard, but as awesome as the MX Master 3S mouse is (I have one–I use it daily at work), I can’t get past the touchpad interface on a Mac. For me, it’s really gotten to the point where PC=Mouse, Mac=Touchpad.
Oddly (at the risk of mild threadjacking) I recently bought a pair of Jabra Elite 8 earbuds to use at the office because my Beats headphones kept pushing the arms of my glasses into my skull and it was super uncomfortable after a short time. Those things are so much better for me than the AirPods Pro. They never fall out of my ears, which the AirPods did all the time, and the controls on them are push-button, which I love way more than grabbing that little stick. They seem more discreet, too. They lose on the compatibility (you need to futz more with Bluetooth to set up) and the ANC is both worse and better. But overall, I don’t think I’ll be going back to the AirPods anytime soon.
My point is, in my newly expanded experience, Apple doesn’t always make the best things by way of accessories. I’m glad my fanboism came down enough to realize that.
I am using a Logitech MX Mechanical Mini, I do have a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID right below my desk for quick Touch ID access when needed, I’ve gotten an under-desk laptop holder which I’ve adjusted to fit my magic keyboard and it works really well.
It’s almost like you’re touching a panic button every time you need to authenticate
