When I first got hands on with the Corsair K100 Air at Gamescom in September of 2022, I knew the peripheral and component giant may just have satisfied my need for a new, wireless keyboard daily driver. As a fan of low profile designs, seeing the way the K100 Air Wireless fused this together with true mechanical switches certainly piqued my interest.
Features
The K100 Wireless Air is absolutely packed with features for those looking towards a high-end design.
In terms of connectivity, you have the option of the ultra low-latency, Slipstream wireless connection through the included USB dongle, or the choice of three simultaneous Bluetooth profiles. This allows you to pair up a laptop of tablet and switch seamlessly between them, while retaining top-tier gaming performance over the wireless USB connection.
Of course, this design can also be used in a wired configuration through the included USB C cable which charges up the K100 Air. This means you can continue to use the keyboard when it’s running low on juice.
With four programmable macro ‘G’ keys, that are all easy to tweak, the K100 gives pro users the ability to tweak and customise to their hearts content. A Windows lock key is also present, preventing accidental pressures during high-intensity Warzone sessions, while media control keys also help to justify the hefty price tag of the K100 Air. Alongside the basic play/pause, and forward/backwards track buttons, you also get a volume scroll wheel which allows for tactile volume tweaking mid game or singalong.
Design
The K100 Wireless Air is one of the thinnest mechanical keyboards on the market. Clocking in with just a depth of just 17mm, it is nearly 50% thinner than Corsair’s own K100 RGB. This makes the K100 Air a great choice for those looking to build a sleek gaming setup, without performance sacrifices.
Corsair achieve this by building the keyboard around a strong, rigid, brushed aluminium frame and and using Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile, tactile switches. These switches are a real highlight of the design for me, while the fairly weighty, metal keycaps do increase the perceived per key actuation force, the switches are responsive and feel very mechanical. I was worried the ‘mechanical’ feeling might get a bit lost as the form factor of the switch got thinner, but thankfully it is still there.
All keys feature per-key RGB backlighting which is just about as bright as on any other recent Corsair design we’ve tested. As detailed in the software overview below, this can be extensively customised through software, allowing you to match this up to your setup and other peripherals seamlessly.
The whole design feels incredibly premium, and would be best suited to those looking for the typing speed associated with low-profile designs, and the gaming nouse of high-end mechanical options.
Where to Buy
Buy the Corsair K100 Wireless Air from:
Software Overview
As with pretty much all Corsair products, you get access to the fantastic Corsair iCUE software suite. Compared to some of the truly horrific peripheral software suites out there, iCUE is heads and shoulders above the rest.
You can sync up the RGB and visual effects of this keyboard alongside other compatible products from Corsair and others, and change the core settings around macros and polling rate. The RGB effects are pretty endless, as you would expect from Corsair, but do note the added impact of the RGB on keyboard battery life.
You can see a full run down of the software below. As ever, we were impressed with the ease of use, customisation options and usability. iCUE renders well at different monitor resolutions, and is good enough for your non-gamer friends to understand for good measure.
Corsair K100 Air Alternatives
A quick Google for the ‘Best Low Profile Mechanical Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboards‘ unsurprisingly returns few results. Corsair are very much so on to a market first with this design, and will charge a (hefty, but justified) price tag for the privilege.
With that being said, there are some options worth considering for those seeking out more affordable, mechanical low profile options:
1. Logitech G915 Lightspeed
The Logitech G915 Lightspeed ticks a lot of the big boxes on paper. Wireless connectivity makes this a solid match for the K100 Air, and while it is slightly less low profile, the keys are still slim. The design on this one certainly boasts the ‘wow’ factor, and is worth considering if you’re already looking at the K100 Wireless AIR.
Buy the Logitech G915 Lightspeed on:
2. Corsair K70 Mk. 2 Low Profile
Corsair’s own K70 Mark 2 Low Profile is perhaps the closest you can get in terms of criteria, but still feels worlds behind the K100 Air if we’re being honest. The keycaps are low-profile, but a more traditional gaming shape, the board is much thicker by comparison and the switches more generic. Nevertheless, it is a good second choice for those weighing up their options.
Buy the Corsair K70 Mk. 2 Low Profile on: