Skip to content
Nungeum

Tech head-to-head

Keychron Q1vsSteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3

Age hasn't cost the 2021 Keychron Q1 the lead: it averages 8.4 against 7.9 for the 2024 SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3, and takes Value 7.6 to 6.2.

Keychron Q1

Keychron

8.4

A gasket-mounted aluminum board with QMK firmware, sold assembled instead of as a kit.

Price and availability change constantly, so we don't quote them here — the link opens the current Amazon listing.

SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3

SteelSeries

7.9

Actuation you set per key, from a hair of travel to the full stroke, on a board that charges for it.

Price and availability change constantly, so we don't quote them here — the link opens the current Amazon listing.

Where they diverge

The widest gap is Value, Keychron Q1 ahead 7.6 to 6.2. They come closest on Design, 8.8 to 8.6. Left of center is Keychron Q1, right is SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3.

Keychron Q1 versus SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 — axis scores out of 10Horizontal bar chart of editorial scores out of 10 across 5 axes. Bars for Keychron Q1 run left from the axis labels, bars for SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 run right. Keychron Q1: Performance 8.8, Value 7.6, Durability 9.0, Ease of use 7.8, Design 8.8. SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3: Performance 9.4, Value 6.2, Durability 7.8, Ease of use 7.4, Design 8.6.Keychron Q1 (left)SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 (right)PerformanceKeychron Q1 — Performance 8.8 out of 108.8SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 — Performance 9.4 out of 109.4ValueKeychron Q1 — Value 7.6 out of 107.6SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 — Value 6.2 out of 106.2DurabilityKeychron Q1 — Durability 9.0 out of 109.0SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 — Durability 7.8 out of 107.8Ease of useKeychron Q1 — Ease of use 7.8 out of 107.8SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 — Ease of use 7.4 out of 107.4DesignKeychron Q1 — Design 8.8 out of 108.8SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 — Design 8.6 out of 108.6Editorial score out of 10 — higher is better

Which one to pick

Take the Keychron Q1

Leads on Value, Durability, Ease of use and Design.

  • You want to remap every key without vendor software running in the background
  • Typing feel is worth more to you than portability
  • You expect to swap switches rather than replace the board

Take the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3

Leads on Performance.

  • Competitive games where actuation depth is worth tuning key by key
  • You want a handful of keys set shallow and the rest left normal
  • Media control and profile switching without opening an app

What each one gets wrong

Keychron Q1

  • You need it to travel — this is close to two kilograms
  • Wired-only, or the wireless variant premium, is a problem

SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3

  • Typing is the main job — shallow actuation punishes resting fingers
  • You would rather not have the SteelSeries suite installed to configure it
  • You expect to change switches later; these are not sockets

Specs, side by side

SpecKeychron Q1SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3
Layout75 percentTenkeyless
CaseCNC aluminum—
SwitchesHot-swappableOmniPoint 3.0 magnetic, 0.1–4.0 mm adjustable
FirmwareQMK and VIA—
Top plate—Aluminum alloy
Extras—OLED display, onboard profiles, double-shot PBT keycaps

Rankings they both appear in

Questions

The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 is 3 years newer. Why does it score lower?
Because the axes didn't move the way the release dates suggest. The 2021 model takes Value, Durability, Ease of use and Design, widest on Value at 7.6 to 6.2. Performance is where the 2024 model answers, and whether that is enough is the whole question.
What did the 2024 model improve?
Performance. Performance runs 9.4 to 8.8. That is not enough to move the average, which stays 8.4 to 7.9.
Which of our lists do both of these appear in?
Keychron Q1 sits at #1 in "Every board here is sold on exactly one feature", SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 at #4. They also share 1 other list on the site.