Logitech Goes Tenkeyless With G Pro Mechanical Keyboard

Logitech first announced the “G Pro” lineup back in August 2016 when it unveiled the G Pro Gaming Mouse. Now, the company has released a keyboard to pair with it, the tenkeyless Logitech G Pro mechanical keyboard.

According to Logitech, everything from the ergonomic shape, to the actuation force needed for clicking, to the overall weight of the mouse was the result of months of collaboration between Logitech’s design team and eSports athletes (professional gamers). However, the pros felt the need for an accompanying keyboard to match their playstyles as well, with the primary request being a tenkeyless model.

The top of the G Pro keyboard has a matte black plastic finish, there's a glossy finish on the sides, and the bottom has a diagonally-striped pattern. For stability, the bottom has five rubber feet and two kickstands—each with two height levels—to prop the G Pro higher. The keyboard’s Romer-G switches feature surface-mounted LEDs and a through-stem design so that lighting won’t leak from beneath the keys. Finally, the keycaps are shaped traditionally, unlike the G910, whose keycaps many users felt were awkwardly shaped. Also unlike the G910, the G Pro features a traditional keyboard design based on Logitech's previously released G810 and G610. Fundamentally, the difference is that the G Pro is tenkeyless. 

Logitech found that pro players prefer tenkeyless keyboards because they’re portable and don’t take up too much room on their desks. This is more dramatic a need for some esports athletes than average users, because some pro gamers actually position their keyboards at odd angles; the numpad was simply always in the way.

The G Pro is compact, measuring 14.21 inches across by 6.02 inches, and it weighs 2.16lbs. This more compact form factor, along with the detachable cable, is designed to make the G Pro easy to pack for traveling. It's ideal for LAN parties and for competing on stage; often these stages can be cramped, as they have to accommodate other players as well as their PCs. The less intrusive your keyboard is, the more room you have for your mouse.

Other than dropping the numpad, Logitech's main focus with the G Pro keyboard is its Romer-G switches, which are optimized for fast keystroke signal processing (KPM). When you press a key, actuation can be slowed down by debounce--the switch's metal contacts create a "bounce" before an electrical signal is sent. To circumvent this, the keyboard's microcontroller (MCU) undergoes a process called "debouncing," where it waits for a brief period of time to make sure that multiple inputs aren't detected in a single key press.

Logitech attempted to cut this time frame down as much as possible with its Romer-G switches. According to the company, the reduced window allows more actuations to be performed without bounces.

Theoretically, gamers can benefit from this in competitive games that rely on "tick rates." For example, according to Logitech, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s 128-tick servers measure inputs in 128-tick intervals, or roughly 7.8 milliseconds. Now imagine that you and an opponent are in a game of CS:GO, and your opponent has a keyboard with a shorter debouncing period; if you simultaneously tap the "A" key to move left, the server should register your opponent moving left at least 7.8ms sooner than you. Logitech claieds that its Romer-G switches and MCU can accomplish this, but other factors such as your internet connection and how fast you can react will determine whether the shorter debouncing period will benefit you.

Aside from that, the G Pro keyboard will also feature the Logitech Gaming Software for RGB backlight customization. LGS has a variety of functions such as native RGB lighting integration for specific games, macro customization for the function keys, per-game control profiles, and on-board memory to store macro and lighting profiles.

The Logitech G Pro Mechanical Keyboard will be available early this month for $130.

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Header Cell - Column 0 Logitech G Pro Mechanical Keyboard
Model TypeTenkeyless
Switch TypeRomer-G Mechanical Switches
Actuation Force45g
Actuation Time5 milliseconds
Lighting16.8 Million Color RGB Backlight
Additional PortsNone
Cable TypeDetachable 6ft USB
Key CapsStandard Smooth Black white laser-marked lettering
SoftwareLogitech Gaming Software
Weight (without cable)2.16lbs
Dimensions6.02 x 14.21 x 1.34 inches (WxDxH)
AccessoriesNone
Miscellaneous12 Programmable F Keys
Price$130
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  • ohim
    You remove 10 keys and then ask for more ... can i get an only 3 key keyboard (CTRL+ALT +DEL ) for 1000$ please?
    Reply
  • Tdmitry
    Is it wireless? I cant figure it...
    Reply
  • bloodroses
    Yeah, I don't get it either. Charging quite a bit more while removing stuff; just to call it a 'gamer' keyboard. And if the reason for the cost is the Romer switches, they should have just stayed with Cherry...
    Reply
  • scolaner
    19392004 said:
    You remove 10 keys and then ask for more ... can i get an only 3 key keyboard (CTRL+ALT +DEL ) for 1000$ please?

    Not sure what you mean by that? This is basically an iteration on the G610/G810. The G810 has Romer-G switches and RGB lighting, like the G Pro, and it costs $160 compared to $130. So...fewer keys, less money.
    Reply
  • scolaner
    19392355 said:
    Is it wireless? I cant figure it...

    No. The cable is removable so that when you pack up the keyboard to transport it, you don't have to wrap the cable around the keyboard. That puts too much stress on the cable.
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    19392837 said:
    Not sure what you mean by that? This is basically an iteration on the G610/G810. The G810 has Romer-G switches and RGB lighting, like the G Pro, and it costs $160 compared to $130. So...fewer keys, less money.

    He was making a joke but it has truth to it. The G810 has dropped in price since its original $159.99 retail release this time last year. It is currently selling for $115.99 (at least on Amazon and at Best Buy).

    And regarding the removable USB connector cable, that's an interesting feature, but I've been wrapping my keyboard cables for years and never had any wire failures. A removable cable sounds like a nice feature that can be a double edged sword: I can see those getting lost/left behind/misplaced by some.

    Reply
  • bloodroses
    19394052 said:
    19392837 said:
    Not sure what you mean by that? This is basically an iteration on the G610/G810. The G810 has Romer-G switches and RGB lighting, like the G Pro, and it costs $160 compared to $130. So...fewer keys, less money.

    He was making a joke but it has truth to it. The G810 has dropped in price since its original $159.99 retail release this time last year. It is currently selling for $115.99 (at least on Amazon and at Best Buy).

    And regarding the removable USB connector cable, that's an interesting feature, but I've been wrapping my keyboard cables for years and never had any wire failures. A removable cable sounds like a nice feature that can be a double edged sword: I can see those getting lost/left behind/misplaced by some.


    I have a removable USB cable on my Rosewill mechanical keyboard. It's definitely not a deal breaker or must have feature. The nice thing is I only have to replace the cable if it goes bad. The bad thing is that you can lose the cable (cheap at least since it's standardized) or the USB port on the keyboard itself gets damaged (bad).
    Reply
  • Lkaos
    A big lol...$130 for a keyboard without numeric keyboard!? What does this thing do that my $10 keyboard from Micro$oft doesnt?
    Reply
  • DornyeiJ
    7.8 ms is actually a lot in gaming but I think this is marketing only. What matters is the delay between the push of the button and sending this push over. I think on a good keyboard this is faster than 7.8 ms. Network will add another 30 ms delay if you are lucky.
    The most important thing is actually reliability. My keyboard - what is quite old and should have been replaced years ago - sometimes doesn't register a key. And this is usually instant death in the game.
    Reply
  • Musaab
    The G810 need a palm rest to be used for more than ten minutes this keyboard is like G810 TKL and miss some G810 important features like volume control wheel.
    I have the Logitech G910 and G810 and the G810 keys have click sound like Cherry MX Blue while the G910 keys are silent like Cherry MX Brown, they supposed to be the same but maybe Omeron changed the design of switches since I bought the G910 one year before the G810.
    Reply