Roccat Kone XP Air Review

The Roccat Kone XP Air is difficult to miss with its impressive RGB lighting that extends to the included dock. Look past the light show, however, and there’s a gaming mouse that has the potential to rival the likes of the impressive Logitech G502 X LIGHTSPEED and Razer Basilisk V3 Pro. After using it for the past couple of weeks, here is my Roccat Kone XP Air review.

Dock in

Yes, the RGB is indeed cool and will sync across other Roccat products, but it’s important to look past that to see what game-changing features the Kone XP Air boasts.

Buy the Roccat Kone XP Air from Amazon.com

The first upgrade is made clear during the unboxing, where the black or white mouse is joined by an included charging dock, in addition to a “PhantomFlex” cable and quick start guide. An included charging dock makes it easy to top up the already good battery life, while also helping to justify the high price tag.

Button balance

The next feature worth highlighting is the number of buttons. This mouse has 10 buttons, in addition to the scroll wheel clicks. There’s a total of seven side buttons, one of which is “Easy-Shift +” compatible, increasing the potential number of programmable functions to 29. This is going to be huge for MMO players who don’t want to deal with an absurd number of tiny side buttons, or battle royale players who want extensive control at their thumb tip.

These side buttons feel fantastic, too, which makes the mushy M1 and M2 a lot more apparent. Compared to other premium mice, Roccat’s optical Titan Switches are a generation behind and need some work. While they do register accurately, they don’t feel responsive enough.

Almost great

It’s a shame that a key aspect of the mouse has been overlooked here, as the Roccat Kone XP Air is a great mouse, otherwise. Wireless connectivity is great with no perceptible latency, the shape will be pleasing for palm-grip users, and software support is good in the dedicated app. It’s just those M1 and M2 buttons that need looking at.

Kone XP Air vs. G502 X vs. Basilisk V3 Pro

It’s clear that the Roccat Kone XP Air was gunning for the Logitech G502 X LIGHTSPEED ($139.99) and Razer Basilisk V3 Pro ($159.99) with its flagship $169.99 price tag. However, while the value of an included dock is worth acknowledging, the mouse itself isn’t in the same tier of quality. This is most evident with the M1 and M2 clicks. 

Kone XP Air review samples provided by Roccat.