Logitech G613 Wireless Gaming Keyboard Review

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Finally, a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard.

By Jason Cross

Be sure to visit IGN Tech for all the latest comprehensive hands-on reviews and best-of roundups. 

There are mechanical gaming keyboards, and there are wireless gaming keyboards, but there are no wireless mechanical gaming keyboards. Until now.

Logitech’s G613 is the first wireless keyboard we’re aware of that is both truly mechanical and truly a gaming keyboard. That is, it has real mechanical switches rather than a membrane or dome-switch mechanism, a fast 1ms polling rate, electronics optimized for low input latency, and programmable gaming keys. We’ve seen a few of these features in wireless keyboards targeted at gamers (like the Razer Turret), but never all of them in one product.

The G613 is the first such keyboard to really deliver on the fundamentals of a great gaming keyboard, and while it falls short of wired gaming keyboards in significant ways (like no LED lighting), there’s no denying the accomplishment here. If you want to cut the cord on your keyboard, the raw performance of the G613 is unmatched.

Design and Features

The fundamental design of the G613 mimics that of the G810, with a few notable differences. First and foremost, there is no RGB lighting. That might seem like a serious omission on a $150 gaming keyboard, but a bunch of lights would be anathema to this keyboard’s selling point: really, really long battery life.

Second, the wrist wrest is built-in and cannot be removed. While I personally find it quite comfortable, this seems like an oversight. I can’t imagine that there are important electronics inside that area. Why not make it removable?

Third, the G613 has a row of six programmable “G” keys along the left edge, while the G810 does not. In this way, it takes after the company’s flagship G910 keyboard. And finally, while the G810 has a nice analog roller for volume control, the G613 simply has a volume up/down rocker button. Boo! Analog volume control is vastly superior, and I expect it in a keyboard this expensive.

In most other ways, Logitech's G810 is a good model for what you’ll find here: The smooth contoured key caps with bold lettering. The Romer-G mechanical switches. The plastic but still quite hefty construction. The gaming mode and media switches in the upper right. The large, full-size-with-tenkey footprint. If you’re familiar with the G810, you know what to expect here.

Of course, the main selling point is that this keyboard is wireless. It operates via Logitech’s own LIGHTSPEED dongle or via Bluetooth, though you don’t get the ultra-low latency and rapid 1ms report rate when using Bluetooth. In fact, the G613 is only wireless, with no option to plug in a USB cord even if you want to.

Oh, and the G613 comes with a little plastic stand for your phone or tablet, for some reason. The G613 does not provide any particular features in conjunction with Logitech’s ARX Control phone app. So maybe they just figure you’ll use it often as a Bluetooth keyboard for your phone or tablet? That seems at odds with the keyboard’s huge footprint, but hey, free phone stand.

Software

 

All of Logitech’s gaming peripherals use the same Logitech Gaming Software hub, which is stable, lean, and well-designed. It’s convenient if you use a lot of Logitech gear since you can control all of it from one app.

Unlike most Logitech gaming peripherals, the G613 can’t store any on-device profiles. You must use the “per game profile” mode, which includes a default profile for non-gaming or games you don’t explicitly set up. That’s a bit of a bummer, but it doesn’t impact keyboards the same way it does mice, where your DPI settings are crucial to everyday use.

The software lets you set instructions for any of the six G keys on the left, but not any of the other keys. That, too, is a bit of a shame. Some gamers don’t necessarily need a tenkey number pad and would rather set them to macros or shortcuts (at least while gaming). For those six G keys, however, you have a ton of flexibility. Keystrokes, multi-key combos, text strings, mouse functions, media keys, shortcuts, audio control; if you want to program a key to do it, odds are you can.

By default, the gaming mode toggle switch disables both Windows keys and the Menu key, but you can change that on a per-game basis to disable whichever keys you want.

Gaming

The entire point of the G613 is that it exclusively runs in a wireless mode, with extremely long battery life (a year or more), but does not sacrifice the performance we expect in a gaming keyboard. Does it work? The short answer is, yup! The key action, response, and latency feel identical to Logitech’s wired keyboards. Whether timing my steps in Crypt of the Necrodancer, scrambling for cover in PUBG, or hijacking spaceships in Heat Signature, the G613 responded with the same immediacy and accuracy as Logitech’s wired gaming keyboards I've tested previously.

It runs on a pair of AA batteries (included), which Logitech says will last up to 18 months. That’s while using Bluetooth, but even when using the faster LIGHTSPEED dongle and tapping away for eight hours a day, the batteries could last up to a year. That’s almost impossible to thoroughly test, but my experience makes it seem plausible. I’ve used this keyboard exclusively, all day every day, for over two weeks and haven’t seen the battery meter lose a single bar. I’d be shocked if a single pair of AAs didn’t last at least six months.

The G613’s key action is nice if you like Logitech’s Romer-G keys, which are similar to Cherry MX Browns but with a higher actuation point and a similar tactile bump. I personally prefer the feel of MX Browns, but there’s certainly no mistaking this keyboard for a membrane or dome-switch model. It’s got that distinct, direct, immediate feel that you only get with truly mechanical switches. I like the placement of the volume and media keys, too, though I would prefer an analog volume dial rather than rocker buttons.

The Verdict

If you’ve been waiting for a truly mechanical wireless gaming keyboard with the same ultra-fast response as a wired keyboard, you can finally get one in the G613. That’s a real feat, but it’s not without caveats. There's no RGB lighting, no analog volume control, limited key programming, a plastic deck, and a permanently attached wrist wrest, all of which are minor annoyances we wouldn’t expect in a $150 keyboard. This is a great first attempt, but with obvious room for improvement.

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