Under the K98M’s transparent top, you’ll find what Logitech calls a UniCushion full-frame gasket mount, with padding to reduce vibration for smoother typing. The keys themselves are marble linear switches models with a light touch (40 grams of force), actuated 1.9mm into their 3.2mm travel. They’re rated for 50 million keystrokes, not the longest lifespan on the market but many times that of membrane switches.
That key feel is aimed at mech-keyboard newbies, but tech tinkerers can swap in most 3- or 5-pin high-profile mechanical switches. You’ll need to supply your own keycap and switch puller, though.
(Credit: Eric Grevstad)
Conventional wisdom says that gamers love linear switches, which emphasize speed and smoothness, while serious typists favor the feedback and accuracy of tactile switches. (Indeed, Logitech’s MX Mechanical is available with a choice of linear, tactile, or clicky.) I’m a typist, not a gamer, but I’ve liked both, and I like the Alto Keys’ linears: They won’t please users who crave a stiff, springy click, but have a smooth, almost lubricated, precise feel for light, rapid typing, accompanied by a quiet, ticky sound. The K98M stays comfortable through lengthy work sessions.
The Logi Options+ software is a decent command center, once you toggle off “recommendations” (i.e. ads for other Logitech products). But the customization is limited to the top-row F4 through F12 and End, Page Up, and Page Down keys. By default, they perform functions ranging from useful (F5 dictation, F7 screen capture) to inane (F6 emojis), but you can remap them to shortcuts such as launching ChatGPT or an AI prompt builder to rephrase or summarize text or one of 50-odd commands. (Note that the board doesn’t offer a Copilot key.) You can save different key assignments for different applications.
(Credit: Logitech/PCMag)
“Smart actions,” which are stored in the cloud and require a username and password, include macros such as meeting mode (launching Zoom and Notepad), work mode (Gmail, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), and “social media break” (opening Chrome tabs with Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp). Options+ loses points for not letting you customize keystrokes such as Ctrl+F10, though you can do that with the Keyboard Manager of Windows PowerToys.
