At a look

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Precise and correct 26K sensor
• The sloping design elevates your set off finger
• Two scroll wheels improve your play

Cons

• The construct high quality might be higher
• The mouse toes aren’t one hundred pc PTFE
• There’s no RGB lighting

Our Verdict

It’s arduous to consider a greater worth gaming mouse in the marketplace at this time. With the Keychron M6 Wireless you’ll be able to benefit from the smoothness and accuracy of a 26K Optical Sensor in a light-weight chassis, in addition to tri-mode connectivity and the consolation of an ergonomic thumb relaxation, all for a really cheap value.

Price When Reviewed

49

Best Prices Today: Keychron M6 Wireless

Harking again to after I reviewed the 2023 Keychron M3, I can recall that it impressed me with its gamer-centric design and near-to-pro stage accuracy. But what actually left me with the nice and cozy and fuzzies was the truth that it hit cabinets for simply $49.

Such is the case with the Keychron M6 Wireless, a mouse that may match the newest specs from rivals similar to Logitech or Corsair, however because it too prices simply $49, it’ll additionally hold just a few further $20 notes in your again pocket. Sure, its less-than-perfect construct high quality is a slight tradeoff for that value, however then once more, this mouse has a bucket load of different drool-worthy performance that greater than redeems it as a superb mouse for causal gaming.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best wireless gaming mice to find out about competing merchandise.

Keychron M6 Wireless design and construct

For RPGs and MORPGs, I type of like my gaming mice to refill my entire hand — to provide me that sense of no-holds-barred management, so it is smart {that a} mouse just like the Keychron M6 Wireless, with its massive, comfy thumb relaxation, could be on my radar.

That relaxation isn’t as plush as some, in that it dispenses with a rubber grip, nevertheless it nonetheless feels good and roomy and does a good job stopping my thumb’s friction on tabletops. Apart from that, the mouse’s most notable design function is its excessive sloping prime that properly molds into the middle of my palm. That high-top slides down sharply to the appropriate, bestowing my set off finger with a good quantity of leverage. The mouse’s full dimensions measure 2.96 x 4.82 x 1.96 inches, so it simply accommodates large- to medium-sized fingers.

The M6’s button format ought to impress avid gamers who like a personalised command setup. Apart from the 2 fundamental clicks, and a four-direction mouse wheel, the M6 additionally hides two small buttons on the left and a ‘thumb wheel’ above them — just like the Logitech MX Master 3S. These two buttons are ideally positioned for accessing fast peripheral instructions — I discovered them helpful for these lesser-used spells in WoW; they made caring for foes with a number of assaults loads faster. The thumb wheel can also be a pleasant function that synced nicely into my play type — that’s, after I labored out what I may probably do with it (however extra on that later).

The M6’s button configuration additionally keenly helps its mouse wheel’s dual-mode performance — there’s a small button positioned behind the primary wheel that switches between a Standard Scroll Mode and Infinite Scroll Mode. On the mouse’s underside, you’ll discover but extra buttons: a button to decide on connectivity kind, a DPI switcher button, and a polling price button. An further button helps you to swap between as much as three completely different Bluetooth gadgets when in Bluetooth mode.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

For a mouse with so many options, the Keychron M6 Wireless can also be remarkably light-weight. It scores a house run for weighing a mere 2.75 ounces (78 grams). Compare that to different thumb relaxation bearing mice just like the Razer Basilisk V3 (3.56 ounces) and Logitech G502 Lightspeed (4.02 ounces), and consequently, you’ll be able to see how you can comfortably play for lengthy stints with out getting as a lot hand fatigue.

Now to handle the aforementioned construct high quality problem… Really, it’s not all that noticeable, however the primary mouse wheel doesn’t appear to have the steadiness and firmness I’ve encountered in different mice. I base that on the truth that after I give the system a bit of shake, the wheel, and probably a few of the different inside elements rattle a bit, one thing which will have an effect on the mouse’s lifespan over time.

Still, with no buckets of money, or a prestigious rating on the road from my gaming periods, for the worth being requested, one tiny inconsequential design flaw looks as if one thing I’d be prepared to place up with.

Keychron M6 Wireless connectivity

With all three connectivity modes — 2.4GHz wi-fi, Bluetooth 5.1, and wired — supported by the M6’s PixArt 3395 sensor, the Keychron M6 Wireless is sort of a flexible mouse which you can take anyplace and hook up with virtually any system. That’s all nicely and good if the mouse’s battery life is as much as scratch, and I’m joyful to say that it’s — you stand up to 80 hours runtime, which is sort of beneficiant actually.

One shock after I unboxed the system was that in addition to the ever present 2.4GHz USB-A Wi-Fi dongle that I often get with new mice, the field additionally inlcuded a USB-C dongle. This turned out be tremendous helpful after I wanted to hook up with a laptop computer that solely has USB-C ports — the HP Spectre Foldable being certainly one of them.

The M6 helps a normal polling price of as much as 1,000Hz in Wi-Fi mode, which an increasing number of professional avid gamers are abandoning in favor of faster 4K and even 8K HyperPolling charges. That considerably reduces its effectiveness for esports, however for quick informal gaming 1,000Hz is completely nice.

How is the Keychron M6 Wireless’ gaming efficiency

On stability, the Keychron M6 Wireless is a quick, easy, right-handed rodent. Its 26,000 DPI sensor tracks motion at a really fast 650 inches per second (IPS) and feels each exact and correct. The indisputable fact that this mouse retains your set off finger so elevated means you’ll be able to milk a bit of extra pace on brief, sharp blasts of your fundamental clicks than you in any other case would with a flat-topped symmetrical mouse, which I actually favored.

Speaking of the buttons, for the M6’s value, they may probably be its finest worth function. They boast Huano 80M micro switches and really feel mild and clicky. They’re additionally rated for an extended lifetime of as much as 80 million clicks.

The M6’s wonderful scroll choices additionally make it a pleasure to make use of. If you haven’t but used a mouse with a thumb wheel, it’s a bit of arduous to say the way you may reap the benefits of it, because it largely is dependent upon the video games you need to play. For me, I settled on utilizing it to pick out objects from secondary lists in video games and to flick via movies when in Windows, for which it proved tremendous helpful.

Also handy was the four-directional fundamental mouse wheel. I evaluation plenty of FPS mice that solely provide the two instructions (up and down), so I discovered 4 clicks an actual deal with in RTS video games, the place I may rapidly scroll left and proper sooner via a map, in addition to up or down.

The twin scroll-mode performance, however, was extra of a boon to my work life. I may both use the Standard Scroll Mode to precisely land on pages in paperwork, or else constantly scroll to the tip of a doc with the Infinite Scroll performance, which proved an actual timesaver.

What would I alter? Only one factor involves thoughts for efficiency: That is, the mouse’s toes aren’t one hundred pc PTFE, however reasonably a mix of PTFE and Teflon. It’s a small level nevertheless it does make a distinction to 1’s play — it implies that you don’t fairly get as fast a glide over surfaces as mice with one hundred pc PTFE — mice just like the Razer Basilisk V3, for instance. On a secure floor like my neoprene mouse mat that wasn’t very noticeable, however on wooden surfaces, that restriction in motion was all too apparent.

Keychron Engine software program

Keychron’s Engine software program is a simple app that allows you to assign instructions, change polling charges, change DPI settings, select between liftoff distances, and an entire lot extra. With all the superb scrolling choices obtainable to the M6, I used to be happy to see that the app additionally helps you to tweak and personalize scrolling settings too, just like the scroll pace and scroll course.

One of the good options of Engine is the app’s macros editor, that allows you to create, import, and export macros. It options clear subcategories that permit you to distinguish between your macros, their attributes, and simply assign performance like time delays. It makes the entire course of loads simpler than it might be elsewhere, permitting you to concentrate on how finest to win your video games.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Should you purchase the Keychron M6 Wireless?

At $49 the Keychron M6 Wireless is priced very nicely in opposition to comparable, however costlier choices just like the $70 Razer Basilisk V3, and $100 Logitech MX Master S3, which implies you’ll be able to hold a couple of dollars in your pocket to purchase one other good little bit of {hardware} — a Raspberry Pi 5 maybe?

What you get for that value is greater than value it for what you miss out on, particularly when you simply want a quick, light-weight, no-fuss causal gaming mouse… I imply, the M6’s barely less-robust construct high quality is totally value residing with contemplating that you simply get a fast and exact 26,000 DPI sensor, two mouse wheels, and tri-mode connectivity — and all for lower than $50. That truth and the truth that the M6 performs extraordinarily nicely in video games, makes it a category act value placing in your want record.