If the Roccat Kone XP Air sounds like any other gaming mouse, you’re right. Roccat’s flashy new wireless mouse shares a similar silhouette with Logitech’s G502 and Razer’s Basilisk Ultimate.
They also share a similar price point of $170. This makes it more expensive than all the other mice on our best gaming mouse list, as well as everything else on our best wireless mouse list.
Roccat’s Kone XP Air is a wireless, RGB-infused, ergonomic gaming mouse with 11 physical buttons and multiple functional layers that can be programmed with up to 29 different functions. The Kone XP Air is highly customizable, features both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, and boasts 100 hours of battery life with fast charging. Plus, it comes with a handy fast-charging docking station with its own RGB lighting.
But even with all these features, $170 is sudden. of Razer DeathAdder V3 ProOur peripheral editors are currently obsessed with is $150 alone, or $165 when bundled with Razer’s HyperPolling Wireless Dongle, $5 cheaper than the Kone XP Air.Roccat’s latest gaming mouse is dazzling Maybe, but you need more than pretty, colorful lights to justify that price.
specification
| sensor model | owl eye sensor |
| maximum sensitivity | 19,000DPI |
| voter turnout | 1,000Hz |
| programmable button | 11 (physical), 29 functions |
| LED zone | Five |
| cable | 6 feet, braid |
| connectivity | 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, wired (USB-C) |
| Dimensions (length x width x height) | 126×72×40mm |
| Weight (excluding cables) | 99g |
| software | – |
Kone XP Air Design and Comfort
I’ve never been impressed with RGB on a mouse because my hands cover the lighting, but the Kone XP Air is an exception. This mouse is beautiful. The mouse’s shell is translucent and the interior has a funky design reminiscent of an energy sword. HelloMy review model looked particularly good in Arctic White, but the Kone XP Air also comes in an Ash Black colorway. Of course, not everyone agrees. On the other hand, editor Michelle Erhardt Corn XP (The wired version of the Kone XP Air) Felt and performed, but she didn’t like the look of it.
The Kone XP Air is fairly light, weighing just 99g. It’s lighter than the Asus ROG Chakram X at 127g and only slightly heavier than the Razer Basilisk V3 at 93g.
The Kone XP Air has 11 physical buttons. Left and right mouse buttons, a “4D” scroll wheel with DPI buttons, and seven side buttons. The scroll wheel scrolls up and down and can also be pushed left and right, hence the name “4D”. Side buttons include two near the top left of the mouse, four under the thumb, and a paddle-type button on the thumb rest.
The left and right mouse buttons use Roccat’s Titan Optical switches, which bounce well and aren’t noisy. The 4D scroll wheel has a notch and provides good tactile feedback, but it’s very noisy (not in a good way). It’s hard to explain how bad the scroll wheel sounds, but it’s loud enough that you’ll know it’s bothering your partner or co-worker.
The Kone XP Air has 11 buttons that can be programmed for up to 29 functions. Yes — you read that right — 29. The Kone XP Air features “Easy-Shift” technology that is activated using the thumb rest button (unless you remap it). Easy-Shift works like a modifier or function key on your keyboard, allowing an extra layer of programming.
The Kone XP Air is an ergonomic mouse, so I found it comfortable. The mouse worked well with my large hands, but the easy-shift button on the thumb rest is so sensitive that it’s very cumbersome to use. You can remap. Other mouse buttons are well placed. By default, his two buttons on the top left of the mouse adjust RGB, and the button below the scroll wheel adjusts DPI.
The bottom of the mouse has a power switch, a pairing button, and storage for the mouse’s 2.4GHz wireless dongle. The mouse has heat-treated PTFE feet for smooth operation. I have always been a fan of Roccat mouse skates.
The Kone XP Air comes with a 6ft Phantom Flex USB-C to USB-A cable. This cable is great because it has a solid construction yet is flexible enough to prevent tearing. Roccat also includes a charging dock with RGB (which also diffuses gorgeously). The mouse offers fast charging, and 10 minutes of charging via cable or dock gives you 5 hours of battery life.
Kone XP Air Performance
In the process of remodeling my desk at home, one of the items I threw away was an old desk mat. While waiting for my new desk mat to arrive, I’m stuck with my mouse pad. Luckily, the Kone XP Air had no trouble tracking on my particleboard desk surface, and his heat-treated PTFE legs weren’t very smooth. I’ve traveled with this mouse too, and the Kone XP Air tracked well even on a glass desk in my hotel room.
The mouse is pretty comfortable overall, tracking and glides seamlessly across multiple surfaces. – I found my right thumb stuck to the side of the mouse because the Shift button was on the thumb rest.I prefer gesture buttons Logitech MX Master 3Shidden at the bottom of the thumb rest, making it easier to use without accidental clicks.
Scroll wheels that feature horizontal scrolling movements are rare, so I was excited to try out the Kone XP Air’s 4D scroll wheel. But this 4D scroll wheel doesn’t feel like it was designed to move left or right. Horizontal scrolling worked but didn’t work — I often accidentally pressed the mouse button straight down instead of scrolling left or right. Does horizontal scrolling work? yes. Will it work? yes.
At the time, online first-person shooters allowed users to bind the most obscure actions in the game.This mouse has a lot of buttons, so I booted the original Call of Duty Modern WarfareAfter setting the two side buttons on the bottom of the XP Air up and down the page, I set those keys in-game so the player could spin and attempt trick shots.
After disabling the Easy-Shift button, I had no typing issues. I also liked the performance of the Kone XP Air. Happily, I find that I’ve only scratched the surface of this mouse’s possibilities with my gaming experience. You’ll find this to be the perfect MMORPG mouse, with programmable functions spread across multiple buttons, most of which are well-placed and easy to use.
Kone XP Air features and software
The software that powers the Roccat Kone XP Air is Roccat’s peripheral companion software Swarm, which is feature-rich but extremely easy to use. Swarm lets you adjust just about everything on your Kone XP Air, including polling rate, LOD, RGB, button assignments, scroll speed, DPI, and even double-click speed.
Thanks to Easy-Shift, the Kone XP Air offers many possibilities for button mapping. With Swarm, you can do just about anything from remapping any button on your mouse and adjusting DPI on the fly to viewing DirectX diagnostics (seriously).
Another great feature of Swarm is pinned pages. The pinned page is the first page that pops up when you launch the software and allows you to view the specific features you want, such as battery level or DPI adjustment. The Kone XP Air has onboard memory and can store up to 4 profiles.
Kone XP Air battery life
The Kone XP Air’s 100-hour battery life is impressive considering the mouse has 5 RGB zones and 29 programmable button functions. Kone XP Air features fast charging, so just 10 minutes of charging gives you 5 more hours of playtime. 100 hour rating is for 2.4 GHz wireless connection. Roccat doesn’t mention the mouse’s battery life when connected to Bluetooth.
Roccat includes both a USB-C charging cable and a fast charging dock. It’s heavier than other charging docks I’ve used and has more built-in RGB than most ergonomic gaming mice on the market today. The charging dock looks especially cool when it’s on.
Conclusion
The Roccat Kone XP Air is no traditional ergonomic mouse. It has both RGB and programmable features. On top of that, Roccat’s Swarm software is efficient and feature-rich. The mouse’s 100-hour battery life, charging dock, and dual wireless connectivity make it a great wireless option. That look isn’t for everyone, but I think it’s attractive.
But it’s not perfect: the 4D scroll wheel is a good idea, but it’s badly implemented and incredibly noisy. And at $170, the mouse is expensive (even though he has competitors such as the Razer Basilisk Ultimate priced similarly).
