Logitech G915 vs G915 TKL: What’s the difference?

This is the Logitech G915. It’s been available for about a year, so it’s a familiar keyboard. What is novel, though, is that the full-size G915s have tactile and clicky switches, while the TKL model has linear switches.

G915	G915 TKL
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
+ Comfortable, low-profile keys + Good for gaming and typing alike + Beautiful slim design + Easy to switch between Lightspeed and Bluetooth	+ Slim, sturdy build + Comfortable low-profile switches + Easy switching between wireless dongle or Bluetooth connection
CONS	CONS
Expensive – Keys show marks easily – No pass-through – No wrist rest	– No G keys for programming – No wrist rest or USB passthrough – Expensive

Logitech G915 vs G915 TKL: Specs

Logitech G915 vs G915 TKL: Likes & Dislikes

Putting the likes first If you already have the keyboard paired with a computer and want to put it in pair mode to connect to another computer, hold the Bluetooth button until it begins violently flashing blue. All G915 variants are wireless via Bluetooth or Logitech’s Lightspeed Wireless Technology.

You can control which of the two wireless modes you want to be on by pressing either the wireless receiver or Bluetooth buttons on the top of the keyboard.

The benefit of having both options is that you don’t need to bring the dongle if you lose your receiver or if you frequently travel with your setup because the input lag on Bluetooth versus the Lightspeed Wireless was surprisingly not noticeable to my eye and had no adverse effects on my performance. The Bluetooth is so responsive that while testing it for this review, I frequently forgot I was using it until I glanced at the keyboard.

Now, if you still want to bring the receiver, the TKL model is preferable for two reasons: first, it is smaller, making it simpler to fit into a bag, and second, it has a receiver slot on the bottom of the keyboard, whereas the full-size G915 does not. Losing the receiver won’t affect performance, but it will lower the item’s resale value if you decide to sell it later.

In addition to the Bluetooth button, the keyboard’s Windows function and menu key can be disabled by simply hitting the arcade stick button on Logitech’s g-hub software and any other keys you choose to disable. This is fantastic if you want to avoid making the typical error of mistakenly hitting your windows key when attempting to go for the control key, which happens to me frequently, which minimizes your game.

Logitech G915 vs G915 TKL: Backlights & Battery

On the TKL model, Logitech’s g-hub software estimates that you’ll get 40 hours with 100% brightness, 105 hours with 50% brightness, and an incredible 1124 hours with no backlight on from a full charge. Next to the game mode button is a quick brightness adjustment button that goes from 100% brightness to 75%, 50%, 25%, and off.

To give you an idea of how long that is, you can use this keyboard for eight hours a day, seven days a week, for four months without needing to recharge, but let’s be honest, I’m sure you’re going to keep the RGB enabled. The full-size model lasts about 35 hours per charge at 100% brightness, 95 hours at 50% brightness, and 1102 hours with no backlight insane.

Anyway, on that note, I wouldn’t advise using anything less than 100% brightness because, in my opinion, 75 or lower is too dark to complement the keyboard. However, some of you might not care about the beautiful colors and would rather see what keys you’re pressing instead while enjoying a longer battery life.

You can turn it off if you don’t want the keyboard to disrupt your lovely RGB party. Unfortunately, you can’t specify in the software what battery percentage you want the keyboard to enter low power mode at because I feel like 15% is just too high. I prefer something like 5% percent. But we’re still working on the lights.

Logitech G915 vs G915 TKL: Media & Mode Controls

1. G915

Moving to the keyboard’s right, you will find the media controls and the volume scroller. Some people have complained that the lack of tactlessness makes the volume scroller feel cheap, but I can’t entirely agree. I prefer the volume wheel’s free movement, but that may be because it was how it was on my k95 and I’ve never experienced a tactile volume scroller on any keyboard.

The G915 has three mode buttons on the left side of the keyboard, which you can use to assign any macros, commands, actions, etc., to any of the G keys there. There are 19 different functions available by using the g keys in any combination of up to five different modes and one g shift in place of a function.

I know that doesn’t sound very clear, so let me demonstrate. On the G hub software, under the assignments tab, you can drag any key, macro, or function to any of the G keys. For example, if I set 5 for the first mode, 5 for the second mode, and 5 for the third mode, what if I want to do 16 different things on the G keys? That’s where the G shift comes in.

This essentially allows you to create a folder for more functions, but you can do only one. You can’t add more than one and it makes no sense why. It doesn’t bother me because I never use keyboard macros but I can see where this can be useful for someone like taran from Linus media. To set it up, go to systems find or type shift for the g shift and drag it to whatever G key you want to. Keep in mind it’ll only be.

2. G915 TKL

The modes on the Tkl version are combined with F1, F2, and F3. You must hold the function button down to activate those modes while pressing one of those keys. If you’re wondering, even when the game mode is activated, which disables your function key, switching modes still functions.

Okay, so you know how to change modes, but how do you use those functions? There are no g keys, so the f keys from f1 to f12 are used instead. The setup is the same as it is for the full-size model. Drag whatever you want to the appropriate function key and activate it when necessary. Finally, there is the Mr key, which is simply a macro record button.

Logitech G915 vs G915 TKL: Features

1. Buttons

Now, all of these round buttons are nice and everything, but there was one thing that bothered me about how they felt when you pushed them. They are made of rubber, which is fine, but when you push the button with a regular amount of force, only part of the button goes down while the rest stays popped up, even if you push from the center.

Now, whenever I want to press any of those buttons, I just quickly hard tap it, so I don’t feel the cheapness of it because this feels so incredibly cheap and pleases my fingers to that point.

Regarding the buttons, the keycaps are standard ABS plastics, which is fine but doesn’t match the rest of the keyboard’s high-quality design. Nevertheless, I can overlook this because what else could they have done but use metal keycaps?

2. Design

And from a design standpoint, I think this is one of the best gaming keyboard designs I’ve seen. It’s made of aluminum, has a very low profile, is pretty minimalist in design, and has a nice font. Those features aren’t particularly novel, but finding one keyboard that combines them all isn’t easy. However, remember that this is all personal preference, and you might prefer a more gamer-styled keyboard.

On the other hand, the build was uneven. Although the chassis is made of gorgeous aluminum, the rubber buttons on top and the plastic keycaps I previously mentioned aren’t that big of a deal. However, the keycap stability and the keycap legs were essential.

3. Keycaps & Durability

If I compare that to the k95, the k95 looks like it has a similar play to the G915 but that’s all switch movement because these two tiny legs only hold in the keycaps. There’s no support on the top or bottom of the keycap, just the sides, which causes it to wobble very quickly, especially the bigger keys.

It just doesn’t feel as high quality as I would expect for the price. As for the keycap legs, these little legs feel very fragile compared to your standard cherry-style keycaps. This becomes very apparent and a big issue when you say you want to take your keycaps out and clean your keyboard. These switches on the G915 don’t move when you’re moving the keycap. The keycaps themselves do because of the lack of support.

The Logitech manual states that you must slide both legs in evenly, which is fine, but you must do it slowly and precisely; otherwise, you’ll only get one leg in and have to remove it and try again; otherwise, you’ll risk breaking the legs if you force it in. This is a drawback in comparison to something like a cherry-style switch.

Logitech G915 vs G915 TKL: Switch Types

How about the switches now? Logitech placed the microphone next to the switches when recording these because they sound nothing alike. As for how they feel, there isn’t yet the technology that allows you to experience what I feel, so I’ll do my best to describe how they feel. However, it would help if you still visited your local tech store to experience it. Also, remember that these are my opinions; you might feel differently.

I like all three of these switches. Each switch has advantages and disadvantages, and they are all very competitive. At first, I preferred the tactile switches because their name implies they would feel the best, but that wasn’t the case for me. As the name implies, it has some tactility at the top at the actuation point before becoming smooth the rest of the way.

The switches are linear. The linear switches, to my ears, sound the most satisfying out of all of them, producing a lower tone thump compared to the tactile switches’ slightly higher pitch. They have no tactility resistance and feel incredibly smooth down. The linear switches, to my ears, sound the most satisfying out of all of them, producing a lower tone thump compared to the tactile switches’ slightly higher pitch. They have no tactility resistance and feel incredibly smooth down.

When you type on the clicky switch, the clicking sound tricks your brain into thinking that it feels lighter than the other two switches, even though they all require about 55 grams of force. Returning to the rubber feel, after forcing myself to use the tactile and linear switches over time, I felt that that’s not an ominous feel even though I initially associated the switch feel of the t keyboard with the rubber feel.

Logitech G915 vs G915 TKL: Benefits of GL Switches

However, if I had to choose between the linear gl switches and the cherry MX browns, I would go with the gl linear switches because of how low the key sits, in addition to how they feel and sound. As a result of the G915’s low profile, I have to use a lot less wrist arching to tap the keys than I did with the k95, which has a much higher profile, increasing typing accuracy and decreasing fatigue.

This is also not something specific to the g915, just low-profile keyboards in general, but I appreciate this benefit after using it. This is my first experience with a low-profile keyboard.

Conclusion

This is a definite mixed bag, but if I had to choose between all of them, I would personally choose the linear switches because they’re the best for my fingers and have the most satisfying sound of the bunch, as well as a smooth linear slide from top to bottom without any tactility, which I prefer. So, in conclusion, which of these three would I choose? Is it worth at least $230+tax and should you get one?