The Razer Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% wireless gaming keyboard is the latest iteration in the Blackwidow lineup. With a long history of impressive predecessors, the Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% aims to set a new standard in the wireless gaming keyboard arena. Featuring Razer Orange Tactile Switches, a hot-swappable design, and True 4K Hz Wireless, there’s a lot to like about Razer’s latest keyboard release.
Drawing inspiration from previous models, the V4 Pro 75% takes the basic shape and design of the Blackwidow V3 tenkeyless and compresses it even further, all while maintaining the key spacing found in earlier generations. The result is a board that occupies less space while maintaining the same feel for typing and gaming.
The build quality of the V4 Pro 75% is incredibly robust, offering some of the best polish and detail I’ve seen in recent wireless boards. Starting at the top, the Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% features exceptionally comfortable doubleshot PBT keycaps. They offer a durable, textured finish that feels great to use, even after hours of typing or gaming.
“The Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% keyboard sets a new gold standard for tenkeyless and 75% gaming keyboards.”
Shifting to the top right corner, Razer has included a bright 2” OLED display and clickable wheel (command dial)l that gives control over multiple system functions. Including everything from media control to keyboard brightness, many functions are accessible from the keyboard. Additionally, thanks to the new Synapse v4, the OLED display itself can swap out various preset home screens. System information, fun animations and customizable banners are all ready to be loaded up onto the board with ease. The display and command dial essentially act as a shortcut to many of the keyboard and system functions that typically require software to access.
The RGB lighting has also seen a nice update from previous generations of the Blackwidow. Along with standard per-key RGB control, Razer has added a two-side underglow bar on either side of the keyboard, giving the entire unit a nice RGB accent. Razer has even included a layer of white FR4 plate under the keycaps, which doubles as both a board stabilizer and a reflective surface to bolster the RGB lighting. It works exceptionally well, with the RGB appearing bright and vibrant when active. Thanks to the new and improved Chroma software (more on that in a moment), setting up RGB profiles is a smooth and easy experience.
The included leatherette wrist rest is magnetically attached and offers just the right amount of support while typing. It’s comfortable to use, providing a slight downward angle away from the keyboard that feels natural and relieves strain on the wrists. As for the magnetic connection points, they hold the wristrest firmly in place, allowing you to adjust the angle and position of the board on your desk without needing to adjust the wristrest separately.
“The build quality of the V4 Pro 75% is incredibly robust, offering some of the best polish and detail I’ve seen in recent wireless boards.”
All of this is housed in an impressively sturdy aluminum top case. When held, the keyboard feels substantial, sturdy, and well-crafted. It’s comparable to the build quality and weight of the ROG Azoth, offering the same premium feel.
Moving below the surface, the Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% houses Razer Orange Tactile Mechanical Switches (gen 3). This is a marked improvement over the green mechanical switches found in the V3 tenkeyless, which was my biggest critique of that board. The Orange Tactile Mechanical switches offer an incredibly satisfying response when engaged.
In fact, they offer a similar sound and response to traditional brown switches and feel weighty when pressed. Thanks to the inclusion of Poron gaskets and plate foam, the Blackwidow V4 Pro eliminates unwanted residual sound from key presses, resulting in a clean, clicky sound. Lubricated stabilizers further enhance the design, providing smoother and more consistent key engagements.
Typing and gaming on the Blackwidow V4 Pro is superb. Keystrokes are smooth, consistent, and responsive, and thanks to the aforementioned switches, they are extremely satisfying to hear. The Doubleshot PBT keycaps also offer a comfortable experience, and their textured finish provides an engaging keystroke feel.
Perhaps what makes the Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% stand out the most is the hot-swappable switches. Thanks to its smart design, the Blackwidow V4 Pro allows for switch swapping without the need to disassemble the board. Using the 2-in-1 switch/keycap puller, the Orange switches can easily be swapped for greens or yellows, allowing for full customization of the tactile and audio feel. In testing, the puller worked well, and swapping a switch took only a matter of seconds.
As a wireless board, the Blackwidow V4 Pro comes equipped with a 4200mAh battery. While it’s rated for 2100 hours of battery life using Power Saving Mode, let’s be honest—we want our RGB. In testing with full RGB set to 100% and a polling rate of 4000 Hz, the Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% averaged about 8-10 hours of use on a single charge. While this might vary based on the use case, it was a decent average (though it would have been nice to see a bit more life) considering I had everything turned on and maxed out.
“The new Synapse V4 beta and Chroma Studio software have brought some welcome quality-of-life changes and overall better functionality.”
Another feature that helps elevate the Blackwidow V4 Pro is the inclusion of true 4K wireless. Thanks to Razer’s HyperPolling, the V4 Pro can handle 4000 Hz polling with ease, delivering an incredibly responsive keystroke experience. In testing, it offered a crisp, responsive gaming experience, performing excellently while grinding for gear in Remnant 2 and then playing some DOOM Eternal to relax.
The V4 Pro also allows for three Bluetooth connections that can be toggled between on the fly, thanks to the built-in Bluetooth 5.1. Once connected to various devices, holding the Fn and Alt keys and hitting the number key associated with the device allows for seamless hot swapping between devices. It worked flawlessly during testing, with no issues encountered.
Razer has also integrated an interesting feature called Snap Tap into the Blackwidow V4 Pro 75%. Defined as “advanced input priority” on the official site, Snap Tap allows you to hold two buttons down at the same time, prioritizing the most recently pressed one.
“The Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% offers an excellent wireless performance, combining True 4K Hz Wireless with a respectable battery life under full RGB use.”
In practice, this allows you to strafe left by pressing the A key and then seamlessly strafe right by pressing the D key without removing your finger from the A key. On a normal keyboard, pressing these keys simultaneously would result in your character standing still as the two directions cancel each other out. With Snap Tap, the keyboard prioritizes whichever key was pressed last. In this example, once the D key is released, your character would continue strafing left thanks to still holding the A key. This eliminates character movement pauses when you accidentally press keys at the same time.
At first, I thought it was a bit of a gimmick, to be honest. However, after using it during testing, it turns out to be quite handy. While I’m certainly not a pro-level gamer who will experience the full benefit of such a system, I still found it helpful when quickly trying to navigate away from an enemy or dodge incoming fire. It’s a slick idea that works well in practice.
The final area to touch on is the new and improved Synapse V4 beta and Chroma Studio software. Both have received updates with the release of the latest generation of Razer peripherals, and these updates are quite welcome. Historically, I haven’t been a fan of Synapse, as I found it a bit clunky and unresponsive at times during the V3 days.
This latest iteration of both software suites has brought some welcome quality-of-life changes and overall better functionality. Managing hardware settings and building profiles is now a much more user-friendly experience. Chroma Studio also allows for greater customization and configuration of the RGB across all my Razer devices. While both are still in beta, I have been mostly impressed with the changes and updates.
The Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% wireless gaming keyboard from Razer is a superb piece of hardware. It feels premium and offers a pro-level keyboard experience. While there are some minor critiques, my overall experience with the Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% has been excellent. The Blackwidow V4 Pro 75% keyboard sets a new gold standard for tenkeyless and 75% gaming keyboards.
