The SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is an ergonomic, lightweight wireless mouse built with gamers in mind. Available in three colours, Shadow, Ghost and Magenta Haze, the Aerox 3’s honeycomb shell and zoned RGB is a sight to behold. Throw in a 4k polling rate, the SteeelSeries TrueMove Optical sensor and mechanical switches, and the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 shapes up to be a pretty impressive mouse on paper. Priced at $109.99, is this mouse too good to be true?
Weighing in at 68g, the Aerox 3 feels great. Lightweight and ergonomic, it’s the ideal size (measuring 4.75 x 2.28/2.65 x 0.85/1.50 inches) for claw- and finger-trip gamers. The honeycomb shell looks stunning in the Ghost colour provided for review, with the three-zone RGB shining through with vibrance. The Aerox 3 is water-tight, despite its design, keeping dirt, sweat and cheeto dust away from the internal components of the mouse.
The bottom of the mouse includes two mouse feet comprised of 100% PTFE. It provides great gliding action across both soft and hard surfaces. I’ve found it to provide a consistently smooth gliding experience, no matter the surface. The bottom of the mouse also houses the Connectivity switch. With support for Bluetooth (5.0), 2.4 GHz wireless, and USB, the Aerox 3 can handle any required connection.
“The SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is an ergonomic, lightweight wireless mouse built with gamers in mind.”
As for support, the Aerox 3 can be connected to a wide range of devices. Along with PC, gamers will have no issue connecting to an Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Android or iOS device. In testing, the mouse was immediately recognized by my Xiaomi Pad 8 via Bluetooth and my Xbox Series S via the included Wireless dongle. It is worth noting that setting adjustments are only possible on Windows 10/11 via the SteelSeries GG software.
The Arerox offers up 6 buttons for gamers to leverage, all of which are programmable via the SteelSeries GG software. Button positioning is excellent, with each button easy to access. The scroll wheel features a rubberized outer coating that provides great tactile feedback and includes scroll-jump protection, which helps reduce accidental scroll bumps during intense gameplay.
The mechanical switches for the primary and secondary buttons offer a satisfying tactile response and audible clicking noise. Likewise, the two side buttons offer a similar click response, though it’s not quite as punchy as the other two buttons. The top button behind the scroll wheel serves as a DPI profile switch by default, cycling through the five onboard DPI profiles.
The SteelSeries TrueMove optical Sensor supports up to 26,000 DPI with 100 DPI increments. It provides plenty of options for gamers looking to refine their mouse sensitivity. This is supported by a 400 IPS response providing a consistently smooth and accurate response. The 4000Hz polling rate further pushes that accuracy and response, and works quite well for gaming.
In testing, the Aerox 3 performed as I’d expect for a 4KHz mouse. Responses were lightning quick and accurate. The glide action of the mouse feet, coupled with the SteelSeries TrueMove optical sensor, pairs well, delivering a smooth gaming experience. Performance-wise, the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is a great mouse.
Thanks to SteelSeries GG, users can fine-tune their mouse experience by adjusting a host of settings. From DPI and polling rate to acceleration and angle snapping, the Aerox 3 can be dialled in to fit any user’s needs. This is the most impressive element of this sub-$115 mouse. Its shere amount of customizable features and hardware capabilities make it a treat to use.
“The SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 mouse is a budget-conscious gaming mouse that does almost everything right.”
My only real critique of the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is battery life. While it is rated for 120 hours with RGB off and at a 1,000 Hz polling rate, if you venture from those settings, most notably turning on RGB, the battery life isn’t as good as I would like it to be. In the few weeks I’ve had it, running RGB at 1,000 Hz, I’ve had to charge the mouse four times. Even with illumination Smart mode active, which turns the RGB off if the mouse is in motion, I still find the battery life to be mediocre.
The simplest way to resolve this is to run it with the recommended settings, which include RGB off. It’s a bit disappointing, as it’s a beautiful mouse and you can still get about a week’s worth of casual gaming with it on. It would simply have been nice to see more battery life out of this otherwise amazing mouse.
The SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 mouse is a budget-conscious gaming mouse that does almost everything right. From Featureset to overall design, the Aerox 3 is on point. Its lacklustre battery life keeps it from really excelling, though. Despite this, I would still recommend the Aerox 3 Wireless to those looking for solid customization and a smooth gaming experience, but who aren’t willing to spend $150 or more on their mouse.
