Logitech G Pro X TKL Lightspeed and Superlight 2 Zip Along Nicely

Logitech has spruced up its G Pro flagship competitive gaming accessory line with a new mouse and keyboard to join the headset it launched earlier this year. The $199 (£199, AU$370) wireless Pro X TKL Lightspeed keyboard and $159 (£149, AU$300) Pro X Superlight 2 mouse are solid upgrades over previous offerings. And both come with some nice, if not necessarily essential, new capabilities.

Both come in black, white or an eye-bleeding pink. Along with the mouse and keyboard, the company shipped a matching pink version of its excellent G Pro X 2 headset.

Logitech G Pro X TKL Lightspeed

$199 at Logitech

Like

• Solid build quality
• GX Brown switches have a stable, precise feel and response with relatively muffled sound for mechanical switches
• Nice carrying case
• Software runs on Mac

Don't like

• Backlight may not be quite bright enough for the keycaps

Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2

$159 at Logitech

Like

• Comfortable, responsive and smooth operation
• Can connected to the same receiver as the keyboard
• Software runs on Mac

Don't like

• No dedicated resolution button

The keyboard has the layout of Logitech's other recent tenkeyless models -- it resembles the G715 or the G915 TKL more than the wired Pro X, or would if the G715 were a little less floofy looking and the G915 weren't low profile. Like all TKL models, the "less" means it lacks the number pad section.  

The new model adds its Lightspeed wireless with RGB lighting and Bluetooth to the G Pro X keyboard product line. It also has a set of media control keys and volume roller, and it connects via USB-C rather than USB-A. Otherwise, it's similar to its predecessor. That means a choice of GX Blue (clicky), GX Brown (tactile) or GX Red switches with doubleshot PBT keycaps. 

Logitech says this model has improved acoustics, as well -- I don't know if it's better or worse than before, but the GX Brown switches on my evaluation model sound similar to other keyboards I've tested recently with similar switches (like the Razer BlackWidow V4 75%). The spacebar does sound more solid and feels more stable, then some others, though.

For some reason, the unit Logitech sent me has the ISO layout -- it has the single-width, double-depth enter key with the backslash and bracket keys to the left of it and the euro symbol stenciled on the "5" key -- rather than the ANSI layout we're used to in the US. While it's not really an issue, be aware that if you're a touch typist and accustomed to ANSI it can be frustrating; I keep hitting the backslash when reaching for enter.

You can toggle between the Lightspeed and Bluetooth connections, which work as expected, but since the buttons don't remain illuminated you won't know which connection is active if you walk away for a bit. You can bind the function keys to a secondary set of functions (G Shift) with the G Hub software. 

The battery life is rated at about 50 hours, and if I extrapolate from current usage it may actually make it; maybe a bit less in my case, but I keep the backlight on at full brightness. It still seems a bit dim, as if the keycaps aren't translucent enough. 

I've never had a chance to test the GX Brown switches before, and I don't think I'm a big fan. The actuation force is 50g at a 1.9mm actuation point, but the tactile point is 60g at about half that distance, which makes me feel like I'm pounding the keyboard after finally training myself out of it. And it means having to adjust my judgement in games, lifting my fingers a little higher than I expect. 

I think the Corsair K70 Max spoiled me for fine tuning and I've gotten used to the 3.5mm travel of the BlackWidow V4 75% I've been using so the 4mm travel of the Pro X TKL feels like walking down a staircase where the next step is further down than you expect. But the GX Browns have a lot of fans, and switch feel and response is personal. 

The keyboard ships with a multidevice receiver, so you can connect the mouse and keyboard to the same wireless connection for convenience (it doesn't look like you can connect both the mouse's receiver, though). If you do it, the maximum report rate for each device drops from 2,000Hz to 1,000Hz. 

Both receivers ship with adapters that let you connect them to a USB cable. I appreciate it when companies do this, since it keeps all the wireless receivers on my system from being crammed together and interfering with each other.

The mouse has a lot more updates over the original Superlight. It has new optical-mechanical switches (dubbed Lightforce) that can be set to a hybrid optical-mechanical mode or optical-only. The hybrid mode requires less power and feels only slightly more crisp than optical only; the latter has less friction, so is probably more durable. Logitech rates the battery for 95 hours, a lot longer than before.

The mouse's sensor has also been upgraded to the denser, faster Hero 2, now up to 32,000 dpi and 500 in/sec compared to 25,600dpi and 400 ips of the earlier model; that speed is a little on the slow side for the resolution. You can set resolution for the x and y axes independently, which can be nice when using an ultrawide or side-by-side monitors, for instance, or in games where you need to move it back and forth a lot more than up and down. 

The Superlight 2 is still, well, super light at 60g, but that's without adding the included grip tape or swapping out the Powerplay aperture door (Powerplay is Logitech's wireless charging system) for the included cover which has a PTFE bottom for better gliding to match the rest of the feet. The mouse's design hasn't changed, and I find these ultralight mice too slippery so I always end up adding grip tape. With all the grace of a toddler who's gotten into a box of Band-Aids.

The software also has a new mouse-matching capability that lets you calibrate the Superlight to mimic the response of a particular mouse you like. You can't calibrate to liftoff distance though (how it behaves when you lift it above the mousepad), but you can set it to low, medium or high. 

In general, G Hub has been improving over time and it's at the point now where it can still be a little confusing -- seriously, what is it with gaming hardware manufacturers treating settings like Easter eggs? -- but I don't hate it anymore. And on the plus side for some people, there's a Mac-compatible version.

You can set up multiple profiles in G Hub and map them to one of the buttons, but I'd rather have a dedicated dpi button. Since there are no LEDs except the one that indicates it's connected and the battery's good, there's no way to tell which settings are loaded. If you only have it toggle between two it helps, but if the differences between them are subtle you're in trial-and-error-ville.

The G Pro X Superlight 2 and G Pro X TKL Lightspeed are a fine pair of successors to Logitech's previous models and definitely belong on your short list of choices for competitive-class gear, but unless some of the enhancements sound compelling, you may want to see how the prices for the older ones fare during the holiday shopping season.