There are a few tech brands and products that I remember well from my early days using personal computers. These include the HP Laserjet IIP, the US Robotics Sportster, Norton Utilities and the Logitech First Mouse.
Logitech is probably the brand I have been most loyal to. I’ve had countless mouse and keyboard devices – even the Logitech hand scanner back in the mid-90s. And every new Logitech product series seems to always be better than the previous one.
For example, take their latest MX Keys S Wireless keyboard and the MX Anywhere 3S mouse.
I had to admit those are two good-looking devices out of the box. The MX Keys S keyboard is beautifully designed. The low square keys shaped for your fingertips, the spacing between the keys and the responsiveness all combine with the striking silver colour to make this an elegant and satisfying product.
It also has a backlight, which is turned on and off automatically thanks to sensors that detect when your hands approach the keyboard. It can also set its brightness depending on the environment. It works great, and from my experience, I recommend you leave the backlight settings at the default - I discovered that extending the time it remains on or changing the brightness settings can impact its battery life.
The keyboard is rechargeable via a USB-C cable, and if the conditions are right, you can go almost ten days on a full charge or up to five months if the backlighting is not in use.
The full-size keyboard is a delight to use, and it has space for dedicated keys – backlight on/off, dictation, calculator, screenshot, emoji and mute/unmute keys are available in addition to media control and volume keys. And the fact that it can wirelessly connect to up to three different devices makes it a very versatile tool.
The MX Key S keyboard connects to your computer either using the supplied Logi Bolt receiver or Bluetooth.
First-time users will find it very easy to use since the keyboard comes pre-paired to the Logi Bolt receiver provided in the box. You plug the small dongle into a USB port and use your new keyboard - no fuss. If you want to connect a second or third device you can use Bluetooth - press a different connection key to start the pairing process with this new Bluetooth device or to switch between paired devices. If you use a modern operating system you don’t have to do anything else, as a small notification will appear offering to connect to the keyboard the first time it is put in pairing mode. Just like magic.
Why use the Logi Bolt receiver at all? You might not have Bluetooth on your computer, or your company might block Bluetooth connections for some reason (some organisations consider wireless connections a security risk).
The MX Anywhere 3S mouse is perfectly sized for a minimalist desk environment. It fits nicely in your hands, and it borrows some of the contour and materials from the other Logitech mouse series, the MX Master, for a silky feeling when holding it.
This mouse is very quiet – the clicks and scroll wheel practically make no noise. You can switch between a ratched or a smooth scrolling with the click of a button, and it has back and forward buttons on the left side of the body. The smooth scrolling is absurdly fast.
Thanks to a high 8K DPI tracking, you can cover more of the screen area with smaller hand movements, making this a great mouse for small work areas or travel with your laptop.
Like the MX Keys S keyboard, the MX Anywhere 3S mouse can be used with up to three devices, either using the Logi Bolt or Bluetooth. While it can wirelessly connect to the same Logi Bolt dongle used with the keyboard, it doesn’t come with the Logi Bolt device.
I personally use the keyboard and mouse combo between my desktop, personal laptop and work laptop.
But not everything is in the hardware. The Logi Options+ software will be offered automatically when one of these two devices connects to your Windows computer for the first time, allowing you to configure even more settings. You should accept and install it because it brings a few more features, including the option to save your mouse and keyboard configuration to an online account so that you can then restore it when using a different computer.
One of the coolest features enabled by Logi Options+ is the Flow feature, which allows you to move your mouse pointer to the edge of the screen and into another computer without you having to push the button to switch connections. This feature works even if one computer runs Windows and the other runs macOS.
Combining the MX Keys S keyboard and the MX Anywhere 3S mouse makes work a lot easier and more comfortable, and I recommend it.
