Photo : Victoria Song/Gizmodo

I’ve long griped that gamers have held the monopoly on mechanical keyboards and nifty mice. Would it kill companies to make sleek, non-mushy keyboards and mice for non-gamers that don’t look like they came straight out of the 1980s? Well, Razer seems to have heard my rants because it’s teamed up with Humanscale to release three new peripherals as part of its Productivity Suite. After using it for a few days, I’ve got to say I wish more companies would follow suit.



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The three peripherals are the Pro Click mouse, the Pro Type keyboard, and the Pro Glide mousepad. The idea is that all three have the durability of gaming peripherals, but are meant for the office crowd. Professionals, even. The other draw is that all three were designed in collaboration with Humanscale, which is known for its office furniture. So you know, these guys are also ergonomic.

It’s a long-winded spiel for saying Razer is trying to expand its audience. Logitech dabbles both in the productivity and gaming spheres, so why not Razer?

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All three feature an all-white, neutral gray and silver accented color scheme that is honestly quite nice to look at. It’s not unique to Razer—I have a similar white-and-silver mechanical keyboard from some knockoff company in China that I bought off Amazon. But I will say Razer’s Pro suite looks and feels quite luxe in comparison.

So maybe the plushies UNDERMINE my Adulthood but at least the peripherals don’t. Photo : Victoria Song/Gizmodo

The Pro Type, for instance, has a soft-touch coating. I wouldn’t call it matte, but it does give it a smooth, sleek feel when you’re typing. Likewise, the Pro Click features a metallic scroll wheel that looks expensive, even if it probably isn’t. The Pro Glide mousepad... is a gray mousepad. Granted, it’s a very well constructed gray mousepad. Very thick and anti-slip, though nothing particularly exciting. In general, though, the entire suite has more of a grown-up feel than Razer’s usual black-and-RGB fair.



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(Look, okay, I’m not saying RGB lighting isn’t cool. I, too, have spent hours of my life customizing several mechanical keyboards to light up in every which way and color imaginable. I’m just saying there comes a time in your thirties when you might want an adult-looking work desk and that in your old age, flashing rainbow lights might be a little distracting for you and your asshole cat.)

You can toggle between Bluetooth and wifi, and it charges via USB-C. Also teeny kickstands for better angles. Photo : Victoria Song/Gizmodo

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As for capital P Productivity features, both the Pro Click and Pro Type can connect to up to four devices either via 2.4GHz wifi or Bluetooth. Both also have neat storage options for their impossibly small wifi USB dongles, which I appreciated because I would lose them in exactly two seconds if given the opportunity. The Pro Click features eight programmable buttons, including a tilt-click scroll wheel. If you’re a PC user, you can also use the Razer Synapse 3 app to program macros on the Pro Type. (Mac users will have to opt for something like BetterTouchTool.) As for battery life, the Pro Click can get up to 400 hours over Bluetooth and 200 over wifi. The Pro Type gets up to 12 hours with LED backlighting; without lighting, you get 84 hours on Bluetooth and 78 hours on wifi—so maybe stick to USB-C most of the time.



But how do they hold up? The Pro Type is rated for 80 million keystrokes, while the Pro Click supposedly lasts up to 50 million clicks. I may be a windbag, but I definitely have not reached 80 million keystrokes. I also have not reached anywhere near 50 million clicks. That said, the keyboard is satisfying to type on. The Pro Type uses Razer’s Orange switches, which it says keeps things “quiet and tactile.” My partner is glaring at me while I type this, so take “quiet” as “quiet for a mechanical keyboard.” Nowhere near as obnoxious as a Cherry MX Blue keyboard; it’s more like the Cherry MX Brown.

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Neat lil storage for dongles. Photo : Victoria Song/Gizmodo

Meanwhile, the Pro Click is nice but feels like it might be a bit of overkill. Is it cool that I can switch the DPI to 5 different settings up to 16,000? Yeah, but unless I’m going hardcore into maybe video editing or Photoshop, you don’t need that for everyday web browsing. It’s mostly useful if you want a mouse that’s can double as a gaming mouse when you’re off hours. Does my hand feel less fatigued thanks to the 30-degree angle? Well, it’s more comfortable than the Razer Mamba I was using before the Pro Click and I like the thumb rest. That’s something, I guess?



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But, if like me, you want the gaming functionality in a stealthy “I’m an Adult Now!” form-factor, the Productivity Suite isn’t a bad option. That said, you do have to pay gaming peripheral prices. The Pro Click is $100, while the Pro Type is $140. The Pro Glide is $10. All three are available on Razer’s website now and will hit authorized resellers on the 27th.

Source: Gizmodo.com

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