Logitech MX keys mini for business and MX keys mini were released in major markets towards the end of 2021. The keyboard look very similar to the laptop keyboards but feel very different than most laptop keyboards. The business version can connect through a Logitech Ubolt USB connector provided, in addition to its ability to connect using Bluetooth. The keyboard can be configured to connect three different devices.
My Use Case
I recently purchase a Mac Mini M2 pro as I wanted to learn iOS App development. Although I had a few keyboards, I constants had to swap devices. I also wanted to be able to pack up my Mac Mini, a keyboard, a mouse and a portal monitor. Hence, I was looking for a keyboard with a smaller footprint. Since I already was enjoying experience with my Logitech MX Anywhere 3, I started looking at the Logitech MX keys but it felt insanely pricey. However, the joy of using the MX anywhere 3 kept the keyboard contention. The Logitech K380 was the top choice not just because of its price but because it also offered connectivity with three devices just as the MX keys mini. However, when I saw the MX Keys for business that was priced around $69.99, I went with it. My rationale was that the MX keys seems to have better feel that would be enjoyable to work. Furthermore, since I was planning to use the keyboard on multiple devices for a
The two models MX Keys for consumer and business are very confusing. It looks like two same products with only a few differences:
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- Packaging – Consumer version having better packaging
TGF Review Summary
Description
Premium mini keyboard with an excellent feel and battery life but with minor annoyances.Positives
- Battery life
- Travel friendly
- Premium feel
- Ease of connectivity
- Three devices connectivity
Negatives
- Missing dedicated Home and End keys
- Price
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- UBolt USB receiver – Business version having one but not the consumer version
Logitech’s pricing strategy seems to be little weird, especially when the business version is available for consumers. The business version provides a little more but at a lower price point. The only reason I can think is that Logitech has recently opened to sell the business variant to the consumer because of too many unsold inventory. However, this is just my speculation.
My Experience
Pairing the devices was fairly easy. I remember the Windows laptops quickly prompted the whether I want to connect to MX keys. It prompted me to enter a pin number and followed by enter. I was able to connect to multiple devices on the first attempt. The Bluetooth pairing with MacOS, iOS and Android all worked first attempt without any glitch.
For a week after receiving the MX keys for business, I used it only for a few minutes and pulled a full-size keyboard. The main reason that I wanted to use the full-sized keyboard was because I had a hard time typing. Eventually, I forced myself to use the keyboard. Once I started using it, I was able to function well with it. The feel of the keyboard exceeded my expectation as with the MX Anywhere 3 mouse. Beyond the feel of the keyboard, I appreciated the MacOS specific keys as I am new to the Mac. Furthermore, the keyboard does not need any batteries. It has internal battery that can be charged through a USB-C connector that is provided in the box. So far I have found that the batteries seem to hold the charge forever similar to that of the MX Anywhere 3 mouse.
The downside that I noticed was the missing ‘Home’ and ‘End’ key. Only after using this keyboard, I started realizing how often I hit ‘Shift + Home’ or ‘Shift + End’ to highlight lines for copying or deleting. After searching, I realized I found that you can use below key combination for the missing keys:
Fn + Left -> Home
Fn + Right -> End
Fn + Down -> Page Down
Fn + Up -> Page Up
I still find it a pain to remember to use these combination that I need them. Another minor annoyance is not having the ability to turn off the keyboard backlit. I often like to turn the backlit and use it only when I am working in the dark, which is very rare. Furthermore, the backlit comes on and go off without any good reason, at least I could not figure out the true logic behind it.
Over all, I am please with my purchase. I look forward to type on this keyboard as often as I can. While it is not the cheapest mini keyboard in the market, I believe it serves my use case well and will be one of my favorite tech gadget for a while to come.
Competitors
Mini keyboards by default finds its use as an alternate keyboard that will be used for a short time during travel. They generally are look for daily use. Because of such a use case, the cheaper mini keyboards will give a stiff competition to the Mini Keys. Logitech’s other mini keyboards such as K380 and K480 are comparatively cheaper and provide lot of benefits that the MX keys. Amazon.com also has many other less reputed branded mini keyboards, which are almost one fourth the price of the consumer version of MX keys. Some of the keyboards even seem to have similar key design as the MX keys. Hence, the MX keys relies heavily on the brand reputation of Logitech to compete amongst the competition. Although I haven’t tried all these keyboards, I am pretty sure that because of the premium design and feel of the MX keys, Logitech targets to sell these keyboards to the high-end consumers, who are brand loyalist and relatively less price sensitive.
Conclusion
Overall, the MX keys mini is well worth it. Well, at least at a discounted price. If you are making a switch from a full-size keyboard to MX keys mini, it will have its own challenges as getting used to a mini keyboard as a daily driver at work took some getting used to. But if you are looking at this keyboard for occasional use during travel or a backup, there may be many other alternate options available that should be considered. Some of these options are also from the same brand, Logitech.
