Our Verdict
74%
Excellent performance, features and value but its size and weight limit its appeal as a travel gaming mouse.
The Roccat Kone Air is, frankly, a peculiar new addition to the company’s gaming mouse lineup. It joins the ranks of travel-oriented gaming mice, such as the Razer Orochi and Corsair Katar Pro, that rely on conventional AA batteries rather than rechargeable units to provide hundreds of hours of use between charges. However, unlike most such mice this one isn’t small or light and it can house two AA batteries rather than one.
It’s the size and weight of this mouse that really perplexes. With a whopping 82mm width and a more conventional (but still sizeable) 132mm length and 43mm height, this mouse is a classic palm-grip-only design that fills the entire space under your hand.
This bulk is matched by a considerable 96g weight without any batteries. The Roccat Kone Air weight then rises to 119g with one battery and 147g with two batteries. By today’s standard, that’s a seriously weighty rodent.
Helping considerably with the usability of such a large and weighty mouse is the fact that the sides have a double-injected rubber coating to aid grip. Unlike soft-touch coatings, this is a thick layer that should last considerably longer before wearing out.
The Roccat Kone Air battery life maxes out at 800 hours when using Bluetooth, but that’s with two AA batteries and it still falls short of the 950 hours of the Razer Orochi, which uses just one AA battery. With one battery the Kone Air drops to 400 hours on Bluetooth.
Using its faster 2.4GHz wireless connection with a 1000Hz polling rate, battery life drops to 500 hours with two batteries and 250 hours with one battery. These are still decent figures, which mean you don’t have to swap batteries for several weeks, but the Orochi again outclasses it by achieving 450 hours using one battery. A single battery is included with the Kone Air.
Like many mice powered by AA batteries, the Kone Air doesn’t include any sort of wired operation – it’s wireless only – so you must be careful you aren’t caught short without enough charge. The batteries fit via the rear of the mouse, the top panel of which slides off, and you can also store the 2.4GHz wireless dongle here. On the underside of the mouse is a sliding switch for choosing between Bluetooth and wireless modes, and to switch it off.
As with the Kone XP Air, the Kone Air also includes a few extra buttons over and above your typical left, right, middle, back and forward buttons. There’s a convenient DPI button on the top, and below your thumb there’s a button that defaults to Easy-Shift[+].
Rotate your thumb downwards onto this button and it changes the function of any of the other buttons, essentially doubling the number of functions, although good luck trying to twist your thumb to hit the Easy-Shift[+] button and either of the back and forward buttons. Roccat’s Swarm software is required to configure these functions, but they work without the software once they’re programmed.
Roccat’s latest 19K DPI Owl-Eye optical sensor is present in this mouse and it provides the excellent tracking performance we’d expect, keeping up with extreme mouse movements without missing a beat.
Roccat Kone Air pros and cons
Pros:
- Reasonable price
- Decent battery life
- Great sensor performance
Cons:
- Large width limits appeal
- Heavy for a travel-orientated mouse
- Competitors offer longer battery life
Roccat Kone Air specs
The Roccat Kone Air specs list is:
| Weight | 96g without battery, 119g with one battery, 147g with two batteries |
| Dimensions (mm) | 82 x 132 x 43 (W x D x H) |
| Sensor | Roccat Owl-Eye 19K – optical, 19,000 DPI, 50G acceleration |
| Buttons | 7 (left, right, middle, forward, back, top DPI, under thumb) |
| Cable | None |
| Battery life | Bluetooth: 800 hours with two batteries, 400 hours with one battery. 2.4GHz wireless: 500 hours with two batteries, 250 hours with one battery. |
| Extras | Bluetooth 5.1 and 2.4GHz wireless connectivity, internal USB dongle storage, one or two AA battery operation |
Roccat Kone Air price
The Roccat Kone Air price is $70 (£50) which makes it mid-range for a wireless gaming mouse.
Price: Expect to pay $70 (£50)
Roccat Kone Air review conclusion
The Roccat Kone Air offers good value and is a versatile mouse with excellent gaming performance. However, its size and weight limit its appeal, especially as a travel gaming mouse, plus its battery life is half that of at least one major rival. If it isn’t what you’re looking for, check our guide to the best gaming mouse for a few more options.
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