Razer Pro Type Ultra & Pro Click Mini & Pro Glide Review: For The Professional
It goes without saying that Razer is a gaming brand through and through. For gamers, by gamers. They make gaming accessories, peripherals, systems, you name it - and they’re really well known for that.
But Razer has also dipped into the other side of the market, which is arguably far larger as well.
Productivity.
So today we’re taking a look at a few peripherals and accessories that are part of this growing ecosystem Razer is trying to build, that might just be perfect for your setup.
A total of three things that we have on the table today, the first would be a wireless mechanical keyboard, and that’s the Pro Type Ultra. To accompany that, we also have a wireless mouse, the Pro Click Mini - which is basically a smaller, slimmed-down version of the Pro Click that was released quite a while back. And lastly, we have the Pro Glide in the XXL size which is more of a desk mat rather than a mouse mat. This complements and finishes the entire setup.
Now I’ve been using all of them for about a couple of months, and it’s been quite the experience I’ve got to say. Of course, both pros and cons. So let’s talk about this whole “Pro” setup.
Let’s first talk about the Pro Click Mini, because this might just be my favourite out of everything that we have today.
Compared to its older sibling, the Mini features a far more compact body and overall shape and utilises a symmetrical design. If you’re comfortable with Orochi V2 from Razer themselves, or the MX Anywhere 3 from Logitech, this will feel right at home.
I’m also quite liking the really clean and minimal design. The overall use of white is really soothing on the eyes and it is really well complemented with the use of grey and silver accents.
Now, because of its small size, a fingertip grip would definitely be my recommendation here, though you can also use a claw grip to a certain extent. Palm grip on the other hand is almost certainly out of the question.
The symmetrical design also means you can use this with either hand, with no issues at all. Though to note, it isn’t really fully ambidextrous as the additional side buttons are only located on the left side of the mouse.
With that said, the main buttons and the scroll wheel are probably the two main things I really like about the Mini. The mouse features Silent Mechanical Mouse Switches and it’s just downright awesome.
They are really almost practically silent as compared to any standard mice out there, especially gaming mice. But yet, they don’t feel mushy at all. It’s just a nice combination of tactility and softness which I actually really enjoy. This really makes it the perfect mouse especially if you’re at work. You’re no longer going to annoy your co-worker right beside you or even those whom you’re talking to in a video call.
The scroll wheel is also really nice as it allows you to switch between free-spin mode or tactile mode via the use of the toggle switch right on top. It also does feature tilt functionality which might be useful for some of you who frequently utilise such a function. Now, my personal choice is to go tactile and it feels just about right. Not too strong, but not too light. And it isn’t too loud either. But of course, it’s your choice and if you go free-spin mode, it’s just as silent as the main mouse buttons.
Performance-wise, this isn’t going to disappoint. There are sizable PTFE mouse feet on the bottom which ensures really smooth gliding movements and the optical sensor enables up to 12,000 DPI. Thus far I’ve no issues with the performance and it’s great for really anything you would want to do with it. Documents, general browsing and even casual gaming.
And yes, that is the experience with it either on HyperSpeed wireless or Bluetooth.
Speaking of which, battery life is one of the other main deciding factors when it comes to a mouse like the Mini. But this is also a point of debate for this very mouse. Open up the magnetic top cover and this is where you'll find slots for two double-A batteries as well as the compartment to keep the HyperSpeed dongle.
Now I’m glad to say that it’s been 2 months since I’ve started using this almost pretty much daily, and I’ve yet to change the double-A batteries, and I’ve been using it mostly on HyperSpeed no less. Razer claims up to 725 hours on Bluetooth and up to 465 hours for HyperSpeed.
Clearly, I’m not anywhere near that number.
But yes, this uses double-A batteries which some of you might be conflicted about because you’re more environmentally conscious, or simply because you prefer a built-in battery rather than replaceable ones.
I’m personally okay with using double-A batteries, but I would highly suggest getting a pair of rechargeable ones. This way you’ll be helping the environment ever so slightly and if you keep another pair as a spare, you can basically reload the Mini and eliminate any downtime.
But there is still one main con with using double-A batteries and that’s the weight. With two batteries, this mouse comes in at 111 grams which is pretty heavy. But one cool thing that Razer implemented is that you can use the mouse with just a single double-A battery. If you do so, you can reduce the weight to just about 88 grams. Of course, the caveat would basically be half the battery life instead.
That’s about it for the Pro Click Mini. I honestly do love this thing and it’s the one mouse I would bring everyone with my Surface Laptop. It’s great.
Now let’s talk about the Pro Type Ultra.
This is a full-sized wireless mechanical keyboard and the overall design is really sleek and minimalistic just like the Pro Click Mini.
The main body is made using hard plastics with a pretty nice textured finish, while the top is a single piece of aluminium which also acts as the plate for the switches. On the bottom, you do get six rubber feet which ensure the keyboard doesn’t budge at all when placed on the desk and you also get flip out feet which will offer an inclination of six degrees and 9 degrees respectively. Near the edge is also where you’ll find the compartment to keep the HyperSpeed dongle should you not be using it.
Apart from that, you get the USB-C port and a toggle switch between Bluetooth and HyperSpeed on the right side of the keyboard.
The keycaps themselves are white in colour and made of ABS plastic. There are really standard keycaps and they aren’t particularly amazing or anything. They do however feature a soft-touch coating which does make it feel more akin to PBT than ABS.
My main gripe however with the keycaps are the quality of the legends.
Some of the legends are right smack centre aligned, which is great, but most of them are off centre and you can clearly tell, especially more so with the white backlighting turned on. And compared to their doubleshot ABS keycaps, the secondary functions aren’t lit up.
It just isn’t great, especially for what this is supposed to be.
Now what’s great however is the addition of a wrist rest. It features a soft leatherette cushion and it really does make the typing experience quite a lot more comfortable. Now it doesn’t attach to the keyboard magnetically, but rather just slides into place. Not too much of an issue really, because it complements the look of the keyboard perfectly and thanks to six huge rubber feet, it really doesn’t budge at all.
Now let’s talk about the switches, and the only switch offering for the Pro Type Ultra are the Razer Yellow switches. Now I’ve covered these switches a little more in-depth with our review of the Blackwidow V3 Mini Hyperspeed, but in essence, these are fast linear switches.
The Razer Yellows have an actuation force of 45 grams, an actuation point of just 1.2mm and a total travel distance of 3.5mm. Overall, they sound pretty great and are smooth to operate, though, of course, the stabilisers do need more work as usual.
But now let’s talk about battery life for, after all, this is a wireless mechanical keyboard. Razer claims up to 214 hours on Bluetooth and up to 207 hours on HyperSpeed. This was quite surprising to me in a way, because I thought Bluetooth would give way more battery life, but that is not the case.
No surprises here, the keyboard lasted just about what Razer claims.
If you like your keyboard with the lights on, however, battery life takes a huge hit. With the lights on full brightness, the keyboard barely lasted 14 hours of use. So if this is your preference, I would suggest leaving the keyboard plugged in.
I honestly quite like the Pro Type Ultra. It’s comfortable to use and it looks really minimalistic and clean. I’m personally not a fan of a full-sized keyboard, because I don’t like how much space it takes up and I don’t use a numpad, but I see why this is needed given the nature of the goal, that being productivity.
If Razer can release a TKL version in the future, that would be awesome.
Last but not least, it’s the Pro Glide.
There’s really nothing much to talk about this. It’s just really smooth and great to use. Depending on your desk setup, it’ll complement really nicely. We have the XXL variant here, but if you want something way smaller, there’s the standard medium size as well, meant just for your mouse.
My only gripe is that the edges aren’t weaved to prevent fraying in the future, but apart from that, it’s just a standard everyday mouse or desk mat.
To sum everything up, let’s talk about price.
The Pro Click Mini comes in at US$79.99 USD or S$129. For the price, I honestly do think it’s great and definitely worth taking a look at. As for the Pro Type Ultra, that’ll set you back US$159.99 or S$249. This is definitely a tougher sell and I personally do think it’s overpriced for what it offers. Thus, my preference is for a TKL.
As for the Pro Glide, It’s US$29.99 or S$46 for the XXL variant.
Overall, the Productivity Suite from Razer does offer a little something different from their usual lineup of gaming-oriented peripherals. The Pro Click Mini is definitely my favourite and a really easy recommendation. But as for the rest, that’s up to you to decide for yourself.