Logitech MX Keys S Combo for Mac Review

The MX Keys S Combo for Mac is Logitech’s latest productivity mouse and keyboard combo. Built as the ultimate productivity pairing, it offers impressive features and customization to help increase efficiency across a wide range of data processing and content creation tasks. From programmable keys to smart action automation, the MX Keys S Combo aims to refine your daily workload.

Featuring both the MX Keys S keyboard and the MX Master 3S mouse, the MX Keys S Combo brings a lot of interesting tech to the table. The MX Keys S is a full-size keyboard with hybrid membrane-scissor keys. Due to their design, membrane keys offer a softer and more cushioned typing experience. Scissor keys, by contrast, are more tactile and leverage a scissor-like design to offer a more stabilized typing experience in thinner profile keyboards. In the case of the MX Keys S, the result is a soft and comfortable typing experience that still gives some tactical feedback.

During typing tests, the MX Keys S felt quite comfortable and responded lightning-fast. There was no notable lag during the testing, with each keystroke registered instantly. While there were no official notes on the rollover capability, testing revealed that the MX Keys S can process 6 simultaneous keystrokes. This is more than enough for everyday tasks. With its thinner profile and inset keycaps, the MX Keys S feels great to type on.     

“The MX Keys S is a full-size keyboard with hybrid membrane-scissor keys that offer a soft and comfortable typing experience with some tactical feedback.”

On the note of thin profile, the MX Keys S is impressively thin, measuring at a depth of 0.81” while still offering a full 16.94” width and 5.18” height. Despite the thin profile, thanks to an included wrist rest, typing on the MX Keys S is a comfortable affair. As for design, Logitech has opted for streamlined and minimalistic. Aside from the gunmetal backplane and face keys, the MX Keys S has a single strip that runs along the top of the board and is distinctly thicker than the rest of the keyboard. This forces the MX Keys S to naturally angle toward the wrist rest, which further compliments the comfortable design.

The only critique here is the exclusion of adjustable feet to accommodate different heights and angles. While the provided angle for the keyboard will work for most people, having a few options would be beneficial for people who are not naturally comfortable typing at the singular angle provided by the design.

Another appreciated design element is the inclusion of smart illumination. While there is no customizable RGB lighting to manage the MX Keys S does offer exceptionally bright back lighting. What makes it more impressive is that thanks to smart illumination, the keyboard’s backlight will turn on when it senses motion over the top of the keys. Before a keystroke is made, the board is illuminated, making it easy to place your hands correctly on the board in lower light settings. Smart illumination works quite well, responding exceptionally fast to sensed movement, never missing a motion, even in the aforementioned low light settings.

“While the Mac version officially supports MacOS and iPadOS, I could easily connect it to a 9th Gen iPad, M1 MacBook Pro, and Windows 11 Editing PC.”

It’s this type of quality-of-life feature in the design that helps set the MX Keys S keyboard apart from other productivity boards. Another important feature that supplements the MX Keys S keyboard’s adaptability is its three-device connection capabilities (also available on the Master 3S mouse).

While the Mac version officially supports MacOS and iPadOS in testing, I could easily connect it to a 9th Gen iPad, M1 MacBook Pro, and Windows 11 Editing PC here in the office. Due to the three profile keys located along the top row of keys and the bottom of the mouse, swapping between devices via Bluetooth is fast and seamless. Jumping back and forth is done with ease, and the MX Keys S and Master 3S had no problem managing it all.

On the note of connection, Mac users that leverage FileVault should be aware that you may run into an issue of not being able to enter your password on reboot or start-up as Bluetooth is disabled until after login (again only with FileVault turned on). The simple fix is to purchase the Logi Bolt USB Receiver, which is sold separately. This fix is a bit of a disappointment, considering the cost of the Combo already. At the 199.99 price point, the USB Receiver really should be included. The workaround is to simply disable FileVault. For some users, it might be fine, but this is entirely up to the end user and not a recommendation either way.

The final note on build quality is the battery. Rated for up to 10 days at full charge (backlight on), the MX Keys S has no issue keeping up with your work week. In testing, I was well into the second week of work before realizing I needed to plug it in. Thanks to the inclusion of USB-C quick charging, bringing the MX Keys S back to full charge takes no time at all.

Shifting the focus to the other half of the MX Keys S Combo, let’s discuss the MX Master 3S for Mac. The design of the MX Master 3S is unique. Featuring a higher palm rest than the average work and gaming mouse, the MX Master positions your hand in a more raised posture. While it did take a bit to grow accustomed to this new position with time, it felt quite comfortable to use for longer periods.

The MX Master 3S has 6 programmable buttons, a secondary thumb scroller, and the standard index scroll wheel located atop the mouse. Thanks to the aforementioned raised palm design and a longer thumb rest, reaching all 6 buttons is easy and feels natural when working.

“Featuring a higher palm rest than the average work and gaming mouse, the MX Master 3S positions your hand in a more raised posture for longer comfort.”

On the note of the scroll wheel, the MX Master 3S features Smartshift scrolling, which allows you to change the behaviour of the top scroller at the press of a button. Swapping between line-by-line scrolling and hyper-fast scrolling on the fly allows for quick searching through web search results and scrolling through timelines while editing or searching long PDFs. Again, this is another nice quality-of-life feature that helps create efficiency.

As for the build and design, along with the raised palm rest, the MX Master 3S features a Darkfield high-precision sensor for smooth and quick mouse movement. The casing is comprised of hardened plastic and a rubberized coating that helps maintain a consistent grip on the mouse over long periods. The MX Master 3S feels comfortable to use, albeit a bit different at first compared to most mice on the market.

Much like the Keys S, the Master 3S is built for longevity. With a rechargeable 500mAh battery and hyper power-efficient low-power Bluetooth on board, the Master 3S is rated for up to 70 days of use on a full charge. While I’ve not quite reached the 70-day mark, I’ve also not charged it since receiving it two weeks ago, and it’s still at 85% charge.

In usage tests, the MX Master 3S performed well. It has no issue gliding across multiple surfaces, and the sensor easily adapts to each one. Thanks to 8K DPI support, the MX Master 3S can easily accommodate any user’s mouse preferences and settings.

Like the MX Keys S, the Master 3S is highly customizable, allowing for impressive automation and app-specific programming. This customization helps set the MX Keys S Combo apart from other mouse/keyboard combos in its price range. Thanks to the Logi Options+ software, the MX Keys S Combo is a powerhouse of customization and automation.

Starting with button assignment, almost all of the buttons on the Master 3S and most of the top row of the Keys S can be reassigned both on a global level and on a per-application basis. Logi Options+ also auto-detects which software you are currently using and automatically switches button profiles to match your presets for that application. It works well instantly, swapping profiles without any additional input from the user.

For testing, I created multiple profiles across several apps, each leveraging the same side scroll wheel and button on the keyboard for different inputs. Without fail the mouse and keyboard adapted instantly to whichever program was currently highlighted. It works consistently and without issue. This can potentially be a game changer for those who jump back and forth between software suites regularly. 

Moving beyond simple key reassignment, Logi Options+ also allows for task automation thanks to Smart Actions. Smart Actions allows you to take repetitive tasks, such as opening a series of applications or doing a relative task in a specific application, and automate the process, mapping the automation trigger to a specific key or button. While it takes a few moments to acclimate yourself to how Logi Options+ handles automation, it is relatively simple to get up and running.

This is the power of the Logi Options+ software when paired with the MX Keys S Combo. It allows for an impressive amount of customization and automation. Logi Options+ features a simple but informative UI and makes navigating and programming the Keys S and Master 3S an easy affair. While the mouse and keyboard are solid hardware in their own right, it’s when they are paired with the Logi Options+ software that the magic happens.

The MX Keys S Combo for Mac is a solid mouse/keyboard combo that offers an impressive amount of customization and optimization thanks to the Logi Options+ software. The design of both the mouse and keyboard feels premium and offers quite a bit of comfort even after long periods of use. While there are a few areas of critique, namely excluding a USB dongle from a $200.00 Mouse/keyboard combo and lack of adjustable feet, the overall quality, design and functionality of the MX Keys S combo for Mac is solid and offers an impressive amount optimization for your daily tasks.

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