Logitech K480 Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard

I’m overall really mixed on this keyboard. After trying it initially, I really hated it and came very close to sending it back. After letting it go a few days, I’ve warmed up to it a little. If you don’t want to read a super long review, this is the TL:DR I’d give you: It’s not really worth it for the full price of $50. If you can get it on sale for $30 (which I did) it’s not bad. If you are someone like a writer or an editor who types pretty much constantly, you absolutely should not buy this keyboard. Build quality: It’s really pretty decent. The keyboard is heavy (which makes portability kind of sketch - wouldn’t buy this if you want to carry it around in a bag) but it stays put on your desk when you type and the weight makes it feel a bit more “premium.” The overall build is matte-ish black plastic. I think it feels like decent quality. It’s much better than the “stock” keyboards that come with most office machines. I also love how the keyboard looks. The bright yellow and off-black colors look awesome together. I think it’s cheerful and fun. Connectivity: this is one where Logitech gets a 10/10. I’ve paired it to three devices so far and and it’s worked perfectly with every one. The little dial to the side to switch devices is absolute genius, and the switch between devices is perhaps a second or two. I can’t perceive literally any lag at all when typing on any device. The slot: some of the reason I bought this was because of the little slot at the top. It’s be super cool to be able to hold a phone, a tablet, or both just right there and type away to your heart’s content. Here’s the kicker, though: if you are using your phone with all but the very thinnest of cases, it’s not going to fit in the slot. I have an iPhone 13 in an Otterbox Commuter, a common and not very thick case, and it won’t fit. It’s not even really close. This was disappointing. A caseless tablet or a super, super thin phone case would probably work fine. Noise: it’s oddly loud for a membrane keyboard. Very clacky. It’s not as loud as the average mechanical, but it’s getting there. This isn’t an issue for me, but it might be if you have easily irritated office-mates. It’s also a bit weird because this kind of keyboard is usually very quiet. Keys: I’m putting this in its own section because this keyboard has some very dumb problems that absolutely didn’t have to be the way that they are. The keys on this keyboard are small and “squircle”-shaped, and there’s a ton of space between them. The combination of the smallness of the keys, their shape, and their material makes them super unpleasant to type on. The plastic they’re made of is slippery and kind of unpleasant, and the actual keypress is ridiculously stiff to the point where you feel like you’re just beating on the thing to get it to register a keystroke. And I’m a pretty hard typer. It’s a little frustrating that the actual typing experience is so bad, and that it would have been so easy to fix. Lighten up the keypress a little, make the keys bigger (seriously, there’s so much extra space) and use textured plastic and you have a 10/10 keyboard right there. To test how much the terrible, terrible typing experience decreases speed, I used typingtest.com with a wired Redragon K552 (about $30 when I bought it years back) as a control and with errors backspaced and corrected just as you would in normal usage. Redragon: 107 wpm Logitech: 69 wpm That’s obviously a huge difference, with the Redragon beating the Logitech by about 50% - and I had to backspace a lot less on the Redragon too. The substantially lighter keypress also made the Redragon much more comfortable. I’ve been typing this whole review on the Logitech, and I am already feeling some wrist and forearm tension that wouldn’t exist on the Redragon or the Keychron I use at home. So here’s my conclusion: if you need a keyboard that can switch between three Bluetooth devices, you don’t really care about typing experience or don’t have to type all that much, and you can get it for $30 or less - this is worth it. It’s still faster than typing on a phone or tablet keyboard. For the full price of $50, it’s a ripoff. Don’t buy this keyboard for $50. Spend $30 more and get a Keychron K8. It does all the same Bluetooth stuff and your wrists and fingers will thank you for the massively better typing experience.