Roccat Kone Air XP review

Our Verdict

80%

The Roccat Kone Air XP is expensive but offers a lot of features for its price, including a charging dock and 13 buttons.

The Roccat Kone XP Air wireless gaming mouse sets aside the current trend for ultra-lightweight mouse design and minimal features. Instead, it packs in just about every feature you could imagine, including a charging dock, 13 buttons, and plenty of RGB lighting.

It’s essentially the wireless version of the Roccat Kone XP, which is our choice for the best gaming mouse for MMO gamers or those needing lots of buttons. That mouse ingeniously packs in loads of buttons without them becoming difficult to hit and without the mouse being unwieldy.

That button configuration consists of conventional left and right-click buttons plus a scroll wheel that tilts left and right and presses down. Behind the scroll wheel is a button that defaults to switching the mouse profile while to the left of the left-click button are two extra buttons for your index finger to tap, which default to switching the DPI up and down.

Above your thumb is a cluster of four buttons, the top two of which default to back and forward functions, then under the thumb is a button that can be activated by tipping your thumb down towards the desk. This button defaults to an Easy-Shift mode that acts like a keyboard’s Shift button to modify the function of the mouse’s other buttons. The whole combination works superbly, putting dozens of functions at your fingertips for genuinely easy activation, with minimal risk of hitting the wrong button.

The overall ergonomics of the Kone XP remain the same as before, with a highly-sculpted right-hand-only design. The gap for your thumb could be a bit tight if you have quite thick fingers but it worked fine for us.

The sides lack of any soft-touch or rubber areas to aid grip, which isn’t ideal considering the mouse weighs 99g. That’s a low figure for a mouse with this many buttons – and 5g lighter than the standard Kone XP – but 50 percent heavier than many ultralight mice.

New to the Air version of the XP is wireless connectivity and a charging dock. The latter is a neat little unit with a fetching strip of RGB lighting around its base and a tiny footprint of just 56 x 56mm, yet it’s sufficiently weighted to remain stable and not slide around. The mouse effortlessly slides onto the two charging pins and charges quickly enough to provide five hours of game time on ten minutes of charge.

The wireless receiver slots into a USB slot on the front of the dock, while the USB Type-C cable plugs into the back. That same cable can be connected to the front of the mouse for charging and wired used, and the USB dongle can be stowed in a slot on the underside of the mouse. The mouse also supports Bluetooth.

Meanwhile, the Roccat Owl-eye sensor tracks flawlessly, keeping up with all our most extreme gaming movements without issue. Likewise, the main buttons all feel crisp and responsive. The only issue is that, even with the clever layout, we still occasionally hit the wrong button or nudged one of the many extra buttons during very fast mouse movements, but you can always disable some buttons during certain games.

Roccat Kone XP Air pros and cons

Pros:

• Masses of easily reachable buttons
• Convenient charging dock
• Excellent gaming performance

Cons:

• No rubber to aid grip
• Comparatively heavy
• High price

Roccat Kone XP Air specs

The Roccat Kone XP Air specs list is:

Roccat Kone XP Air price

The Roccat Kone XP Air price is $150 (£150), making it an expensive mouse but one that delivers a lot of features for the money. 

Price: Expect to pay $150 (£150)

Roccat Kone XP Air review conclusion

The Roccat Kone XP Air is a fantastic do-it-all mouse with its mass of extras buttons, multiple wireless and wired connection modes and a convenient charging dock. It also can’t be faulted for gaming performance. It’s comparatively heavy, and its price is high, but if you have the money it’s ideal if you want every possible function at your fingertips. If this mouse isn’t all you were hoping for, check our guide to the best gaming mouse for a few more options.

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