In the Venn diagram of office-appropriate tech versus its garish gaming equivalent, Logitech sits comfortably somewhere in the middle. The Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL is no different, coming in either a striking black matte finish or an Apple Magic Keyboard-inspired white and grey variant. The G515 fits in nicely in any environment.
The Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL keyboard is distinguished by its ultra-thin chassis and the use of Logitech-branded GL switches. These switches offer a tactile yet audibly muted experience when in use, making it ideal for both home and office use. The G515 is available with both linear and tactile switches; my unit came with the latter.
As a tenkeyless (TKL) design, the Logitech G515 Lightspeed forgoes the number pad, making it perfect for on-the-go typing. One area where I feel the keyboard falls short is its lack of dedicated media control keys or a dial, which could have comfortably fit along the top horizontal bar adjacent to the wireless, Bluetooth, and Game Mode toggles.
“The Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL keyboard is distinguished by its ultra-thin chassis and the use of Logitech-branded GL switches.”
The Logitech G515’s keys feel solid, sitting somewhere between a laptop-style chiclet key and a standard desktop-style offering due to its ultra-slim profile. At the back of the Logitech G515, you’ll find the included USB receiver, tucked away and out of sight but secure for storage or transport. Setting up the G515 is simple, whether using the wireless dongle or Bluetooth. To begin the pairing process, you must hold the respective buttons located on the top left of the keyboard for a few seconds.
The USB 2-in-1 receiver that ships with the Logitech G515 allows pairing two Logitech devices to a single dongle—a nice feature and incentive to stay within the Logitech ecosystem to avoid using up the limited USB ports available on most machines.
The overall build quality of the Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL keyboard is solid, thanks to its weighted feel and textured keycaps that offer good grip and traction when typing. Speaking of grip, the back of the device features six strips of rubberized material that ensure you don’t slip or slide during an intense gaming session or while writing a strongly worded letter. Although the G515 forgoes any use of metal, the plastic chassis feels sturdy, placing it on the higher end of the spectrum for anything under $200.
“Battery life on the Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL keyboard is excellent for the price point, offering around 45 hours of daily use based on my testing.”
Outside of build quality, look and feel, the Logitech G515 Lightspeed, as expected, takes advantage of Logitech’s existing G Hub software. This software makes it easy to tweak settings, such as changing the RGB behaviour of the keyboard or turning them off entirely. You can also assign macros and profiles through the software or even download them from other users. This allows you to, for example, change the arrow key section of the board into the numpad if needed.
Finally, in terms of I/O, the Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL features a single USB-C port for charging, located at the left of the unit on the front-facing bar next to the mode switch buttons. The placement of the USB-C port might not be essential for most, but as someone looking to find a suitable replacement keyboard to fit into an existing lapboard, the top placement of the USB-C port was ideal. It let me slide the keyboard onto the lapboard without compromising functionality (with the added help of some adhesive Velcro).
Battery life on the Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL keyboard is excellent for the price point. It offers around 45 hours of daily use based on my testing, with the lights set to the “ripple” preset and default values when not typing, set to grey or off. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on lighting modes, but Logitech estimates a battery life of 36 hours.
