The Corsair K100 Air is an interesting move from Corsair. The company has taken a bold move to transform its top-end flagship keyboard into an ultra-low profile one.

This is a surprisingly slimline keyboard with all the usual eye-catching aesthetics you'd expect from Corsair as well as the features and specs to match its flagship status. The price though is fairly eye-watering, so is it worth it? We've been working and gaming with this keyboard to find out.

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Ultra-low profile design

• Aluminium anodised black brushed finish
• Individually backlit LED keys with per-key programmability
• Four dedicated macro keys and media keys
• Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile Tactile key switches
• 65g actuation force, 0.8mm actuation distance, 1.8mm total travel
• Bluetooth (4.2), 2.4GHz Slipstream wireless and USB-C

As you might have guessed, the first thing that strikes about the Corsair K100 Air is its low-profile design. This isn't just low profile though, it's ultra-low profile. This means the frame is just 17mm thick and it sits incredibly low to the desk.

We've been fans of low-profile designs for a while, ever since we got our hands on the Logitech G915 TKL. But this design is even lower than the competition.

It seems that Corsair has been sitting up and paying attention to the market. Logitech's G915 has been popular for a while and just recently Razer dropped its low-profile effort in the form of the Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro (and its small sibling). So it makes perfect sense that Corsair would follow suit.

The Corsair K100 Air isn't the same as the others though, it's quite a bit different. All the usual highlights are present including an elegant brushed aluminium frame, satisfying RGB lighting and more. But the K100 Air stands out from Corsair's other keyboards thanks to a minimalistic aesthetic and keycaps that sit barely a smidge above the board itself.

The benefit of this is there's very little movement in the keycaps when you type. Far less wobble than other keyboards we've tried lately too. Under those keycaps are Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile Tactile key switches.

We wish Corsair had somehow managed to work its optical mechanical switches into the design, especially at this price point, but Cherry's switches are clearly backed by an expertise that should see them last and not let you down.

That said, they are tactile switches, which means they're not especially quiet. Not as loud as Cherry MX Blues or Browns, but not as quiet as reds either. Red linear switches are the usual favourite for gamers, but low-profile tactile switches do fit a nice middle ground that makes the keyboard a potentially good all-rounder. And that was certainly our experience when testing it while working during the day and gaming in the evenings.

Connectivity

• Wired USB-C (3.0) - also gives 8,000Hz polling rate
• Wireless encryption 128-bit AES
• Battery life - up to 50 hours with RGB on or 200 hours with it off
• 8mb on-board memory

The K100 Air is a wireless keyboard which supports connections over either 2.4GHz with the Slipstream wireless dongle or via Bluetooth 4.2. Interestingly though, if you want the best performance you can plug it in with the USB-C cable and turn on the 8,000Hz polling rate in Corsair iCue.

The battery life claim is around 50 hours with the RGB lighting on or 200 hours with it off. We certainly found that we were plugging it in more often when we had the RGB on, but fortunately, the keyboard is well-designed so it's easy to see the lettering even with the lighting off.

This keyboard has per-key RGB with as many as 20 layers of programmable lighting. It's not quite as fancy as the RGB on Corsair's K65 RGB Mini but that's quite a different beast. Sadly the lettering of the keys isn't as cleverly thought out as that on the DeathStalker V2 Pro where both the standard key and additional action light up, but it's still easy to see.

When it comes to connectivity though, the K100 Air is certainly flexible. You have the option to connect to multiple devices (it'll work with console as well as PC) and there are three Bluetooth profiles you can switch between using the G keys on the right-hand side. Those same keys can be used for macros as well.

Programmability

• Up to 50 onboard profiles and 20 layers of RGB lighting
• Dedicated media keys with pause/play, skip, rewind, etc
• Works with Windows, Xbox, Playstation and more

The logic and layout of the K100 Air is well thought out in our mind. You have the four G keys on the top right that can be used for macros (and for actions via Elgato Stream Deck) and more. Those keys are a nice extra but well placed and in a spot that won't get in the way like they do on the previous Corsair K100 flagship.

There are also dedicated media playback buttons which we thoroughly appreciate and buttons to let you adjust lighting, disable the Windows key and other buttons when gaming and one to switch profiles.

Talking of profiles, you can program as many as 50 different profiles for this keyboard using iCue. So there's plenty of programmability here.

Verdict

The Corsair K100 Air is an interesting effort from Corsair. We thoroughly appreciate the ultra-low-profile design. This makes it easier on the wrists and more comfortable to type on. It also has a stylish aesthetic, good build quality and plenty of specs to make it appealing.

The lack of keycap wobble is great, though we think it's a tad loud but that's a personal preference. Other highlights include the layout and the extra keys that add convenience without getting in the way.

All that said, the K100 Air is probably too expensive for what it is. Especially when you can get the DeathStalker V2 Pro and Logitech G915 for quite a bit less. If Corsair releases a K100 Air TKL at a more reasonable price point, that'll be a keyboard to reckon with though.

The Corsair K100 Air is certainly a flagship keyboard and one that comes with a price to match. This price tag alone may be the biggest bugbear with the keyboard and will put many off.