Roccat Kone Air guide

A while back we saw the stunning Roccat Kone XP with its glorious 3D RGB lighting and 15 programmable buttons. Since then the company released a wireless version of that mouse with even more RGB. Not everyone is a fan of rainbow colours or having a glowing hand though, so along came the much more understated Roccat Kone Air.

Roccat Kone Air review: Understated ergonomic greatness

BY

ADRIAN WILLINGS

PUBLISHED MAR 8, 2023

The Roccat Kone Air is a sensible alternative for gamers who don't like RGB.

This mouse offers some of the best features of those other mice (including Titan Optical switches, a 19K optical sensor and more) but with a much more office-friendly aesthetic. Perfect if you want something capable but slightly more subtle.

The Roccat Kone Air is an understated version of Roccat's most iconic mouse. With a comfortable fit, plenty of buttons and great specs too. There's no RGB to speak of and that might be a good thing.

For a mid-range wireless mouse, the Roccat Kone Air is a fantastic choice that comes with a comfortable chassis for those with larger hands as well as good sensitivity and some perfectly usable software. The battery life is fantastic for the price, although the fact there isn’t any RGB may not mean it’s right for some.

The Roccat Kone Air is pitching itself as a stripped-back, budget wireless gaming mouse. However, there are a few too many sacrifices to design and everyday quality of life to fully justify its price tag. While it may be a solid fit for those with larger hands, or with extra portability needs, it's difficult to recommend against the current competition.

The Roccat Kone series is well known for its chunky, comfortable form factor paired with a wealth of programmable buttons, and focus on unique RGB lighting effects. With the high-end and mid-range slots filled (the Kone XP and XP Air launched last year), it falls to the Kone Air to satisfy those with a more budget-minded approach. It's got some big shoes to fill, considering we rank the wired XP model as one of the best gaming mice on the market right now.

Clocking in at $69.99 / £59.99, the Roccat Kone Air is a noticeable step away from the flash of its XP siblings. There's not a lick of RGB here, where we previously celebrated the over-the-top LEDs of its predecessors, and the larger stature, battery operation, and reduction of programmable buttons move the latest model away from the strengths of previous iterations.

At its core, though, you're getting a wireless gaming mouse with a solid battery life and no-frills programmability for a great price here - so we put the Roccat Kone Air to the test to see just how the cheap seats feel.