Razer might be famed for its gaming peripherals, but it always have productivity products in its repertoire for the longest time. The Pro Type Ultra keyboard is the latest of Razer’s productivity offerings, targeted at the returning office crowd.
It is a full-size mechanical keyboard using Razer Silent Yellow mechanical switches with double-shot ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) keycaps.
SPECS
PRICE: S$249, available in Razer Store, Lazada and Shopee
CONNECTIVITY: Bluetooth, 2.4GHz Wireless, USB-C
WEIGHT: 1kg (with cable)
The Pro Type Ultra supports three types of connectivity – wired USB-C, Bluetooth and Razer HyperSpeed (2.4GHz wireless via a USB dongle). Furthermore, it can be paired with up to three devices via Bluetooth and to another device via HyperSpeed simultaneously.
Out of the box, you will find the keyboard, a 2m USB-C-to-USB-A rubber cable and a leatherette wrist rest. Given its hefty price tag of S$249, I would have expected at least a braided cable instead of a rubber cable.
DESIGN
Design wise, the Pro Type Ultra shed the all-black looks of its gaming cousins. Instead, it has a top aluminium plate with a plastic white body and white keycaps.
The wrist rest comes in a colour-matching white plastic bottom with grey leatherette top. Apart from the a subtle Razer logo on top of the directional keys, you cannot find its three-snake logo anywhere. Not even on the wrist rest.
The overall package looks really sleek and professional. I think it look good with any computers especially with grey machines like the older Apple iMac.
A slight complaint is the lack of dedicated media keys above the numeric pad. Instead, three LED indicator lights are situated there.
Beneath the keycaps are the Razer Silent Yellow mechanical switches that feature dual sidewall for better keycap stability and less wobble when pressed. These silent switches are chosen, as compared to the loud clicky Razer Green switches, for the obvious reason of not disturbing your colleagues.
More surprisingly for Razer though is the lack of RGB lighting in this keyboard. Instead, the backlight only comes in white. I guess Razer thinks RGB lighting is not very professional looking?
At the bottom of the keyboard, there are six rubber feet for extra stability. You can also find two kickstands that offer a tilting angle of either 6 or 9 degrees for better typing angle of your desire. Not to mention, there is a small compartment that stores the HyperSpeed dongle.
On the right rear of the keyboard, you will find a switch that lets you toggle between wired, 2.4GHz and Bluetooth. So, you can easily switch connectivity in a jiffy.
PERFORMANCE
As mentioned previously, the Pro Type Ultra can connect to four devices – at the same time. To pair the Pro Type Ultra to your PC via Bluetooth, press the Fn and 1 keys for 5 seconds. And select the Pro Type Ultra on the Bluetooth menu of your PC or Mac.
Repeat the steps with Fn + 2 and Fn + 3 to pair two other devices with the keyboard. To switch between devices, simply press the Fn key with the corresponding number to do so.
And if you want to connect another device via the HyperSpeed dongle, just turn the rear switch to 2.4GHz option with the USB dongle plugged into that device. So, if you have multiple devices and need a keyboard to toggle through them all, the Pro Type Ultra is a heaven-send.
Being a standard full-size keyboard, there are no strange placement of keys. So, if you have been using a normal keyboard, you will be like fish in water when typing on the Pro Type Ultra.
While the wrist rest does not attach to the keyboard magnetically or has lighting to glow in unison, it offers your wrist a nice and comfortable refuge to rest on. It really up the comfort level.
However, its keycaps have a soft rubber-like feel instead of the smooth glossy feel of normal ABS keycaps. In other words, they are less greasy and not as slippery as normal ABS keycaps.
In addition, the legends on the keycaps are not printed on it but embedded instead. So, it is nice to see the letters and numbers being illuminated when you turn on the backlight. In addition, there is less likelihood of the legends fading away too.
FOR
+ Sleek design
+ Comfortable typing with wrist rest
+ Offers wired and wireless connectivity
+ Can be connected up to four devices
+ Long battery life
AGAINST
– Expensive
– Only white LED lighting
– Does not support macOS
– Might not be quiet enough for your colleagues
One issue though is the Pro Type Ultra’s mechanical switches are not really silent. While they certainly sounded softer than the likes of Cherry MX Blue or Kailh Box White switches, they still give off some clacking sound when typed on. Something your colleagues might find irritating.
Otherwise, typing on the Pro Type Ultra is as comfortable and intuitive as it gets. Furthermore, the switches are rated at 80 million presses. Thus, these switches should last for a while.
On the downside, the Pro Type Ultra does not officially support macOS even though it does work out of the box. This is because the Razer Synapse 3 software is not available on macOS.
As a result, you cannot use a single HyperSpeed USB dongle to connect the Pro Type Ultra and the Razer Pro Click Mini simultaneously on a Mac. Plus, you cannot be assigning macros or changing the lighting effects, say from static to breathing, as it requires Synapse 3 to do so. You can only do so in a Windows PC.
BATTERY LIFE
Without backlight, the Pro Type Ultra is rated to last up to 214 hours using Bluetooth and up to 207 hours using the wireless USB dongle. And I think Razer’s rating is pretty accurate based on my tests.
I have been using the Pro Type Ultra for two weeks – roughly around 10 hours per day – with my iMac via Bluetooth without backlight. I found the battery level dropping only to 65% by the end of 14 days.
Of course, the battery life will suffer significantly if the backlight is turned on. Either on Bluetooth or dongle, the Pro Type Ultra could only last around 13 hours when the backlight is at full brightness.
If you have battery anxiety, you can charge it daily at the end of your working day.
VERDICT
At S$249, it might have quite an hefty price tag to some. But compared to some customised keyboards, the Razer Pro Type Ultra is relatively affordable.
Plus, some customised keyboards might not be able to connect to so many devices like the Pro Type Ultra. And you avoid the hassle of building your own keyboard.
So, if you are looking for a durable but not-so-quiet full-size productivity keyboard that can connect to multiple devices, the Razer Pro Type Ultra is the keyboard for you.
RATINGS
FEATURES: 9/10
DESIGN: 9/10
PERFORMANCE: 9/10
BATTERY LIFE: 9/10
VALUE FOR MONEY: 7.5/10
OVERALL: 8.5/10
