Logitech G715 Review: Wireless Mechanical Keyboard

Keen to break with the usual cliches of the gaming world, Logitech launched a collection that does things differently, its peripherals styled and built well away from what most makers' catalogues offer. Made up of three products — a headset, a mouse and a keyboard — the Aurora range leans on aesthetics to deliver "non-gendered" products meant to appeal to a far wider audience, with the Blue Yeti microphone now offered in Aurora colours too. The G715 mechanical keyboard also comes in a wired version, the slightly cheaper G713. This review is based on that published test, not on a hands-on trial of our own.

The G715 makes a very good impression out of the box and on first connection: you feel Logitech's intent to make a quality keyboard that shrugs off the usual codes. Dressed entirely in white with a few discreet touches of lilac on the media controls and volume wheel, it has real charm, helped by a design that looks finer and more refined than many of the brand's peripherals. It is gentler and more delicate than the sharp edges and jutting shapes of the norm — the rounded corners set the tone, with everything smoothed and softened, and the cloud-shaped wrist rest, soft and pleasant to the touch, makes the direction plain: a setup that is cute and pleasing, to look at and to use.

It comes with well-integrated RGB lighting: first a strip that almost entirely surrounds the board, then white keys and translucent characters that let the light through properly. That last point matters, because the secondary and special characters here are genuinely translucent, which is not the case on many Logitech keyboards, where opaque characters have proved hard to read in low light. To brighten the setup further, Logitech has fitted a removable top plate that can be swapped for one in another colour, though the base model ships with a white plate and there is no way to choose a colour at purchase — a shame, since the coloured plates then cost extra, which feels steep for a piece of coloured plastic on a keyboard that is already expensive. A cable-management clip is sold separately too. Three large anti-slip pads sit on the underside, backed by three smaller ones up top, and Logitech again fits its two-position adjustable feet (4° and 8°) for excellent typing comfort. There is a compartment to stow the adapter, a power button on the top-right edge and a USB-C connector on the left for charging. At 916 grams the keyboard does not budge on the desk, and special mention goes to the RGB strip that runs around and beneath the board for a pretty "floating keyboard" effect once lit.

Given the asking price, you might expect more in the way of features. Beyond being offered only in a TKL — tenkeyless — form without a numeric keypad, the G715 does not carry many functions, not far beyond a classic keyboard: there is no remapping of keys other than F1 to F12, and no USB pass-through. The media keys, volume wheel and the three keys at the top-left are handy day to day, though, letting you switch connection mode (Bluetooth or Lightspeed), enable a Game Mode that avoids accidental key presses, and adjust the RGB brightness. Lighting drives battery life heavily: Logitech quotes 25 hours on a full charge at maximum brightness, with G Hub estimating the remaining time in real time; drop or disable the backlight and that leaps to 120 hours at low brightness and over 600 hours with none. In practice the battery held for over 30 hours before the USB cable was needed, though for a classic desk it is easier to leave the cable connected — indeed the wired G713 might suit strictly sedentary use better. Like the G705 mouse, the G715 offers dual connectivity: over the Lightspeed dongle, where the signal is faultless with good range for a keyboard (10 metres) and no dropouts, or over Bluetooth, which can be a little more temperamental on latency but saves battery and works anywhere with a wider range of devices, even without the dongle. A single Lightspeed adapter can connect several peripherals, which frees up USB ports.

Unlike the G915 or G815 with their ultra-flat GL switches, or other boards using Romer G, Logitech has chosen more conventional GX switches for the 87 keys. Rated for 70 million keystrokes, they use a standard Cherry MX-style stem, opening up more scope for swapping keycaps, though the double-shot PBT keycaps here should satisfy; it is a pity Logitech did not retain hot-swappable switches. Two switch options are offered at purchase, linear and tactile, with no Clicky this time; the tactile version tested is very pleasant, close to Cherry MX Brown. Typing is markedly noisier than usual, however: the keycaps strike the chassis with a sound that grates over time, most obvious at full speed, and the space bar is the worst offender with a dull thud. The noise dents typing comfort, but the G715 is very pleasant in games — no trouble performing in shooters, the tactile bump conveying the actuation point well, with a fast, precise return and no stability issues.

The G715 made a very good impression over testing: its original look, discreet colours, pretty RGB and that wrist rest are its main strengths, and they do broaden its appeal. Typing comfort, though, is marred by above-average noise that will annoy those around you, even if Logitech has made some efforts — the secondary characters, perfectly visible even in the dark, chief among them. And it is hard to close without a few criticisms of the concept and the price: at this level you expect a little more — a full-size layout, macro keys, USB pass-through, wider key remapping, hot-swappable switches — while charging extra for the interchangeable plate, and for coloured keycaps, feels rich given how dear the keyboard already is. A charming, distinctive board, then, that asks you to pay handsomely for its style.