Software

The software driver for the CORSAIR K100 AIR is called iCUE and can be downloaded from the downloads page here. Normally, I would use the latest public version supporting the product, but with embargo releases, it tends to be an advanced version sent to the media before the public release, in this case iCUE version 4.29.135. This version number is all the more important for reasons I will get to shortly. The installer continues the trend of being larger than previous iCUE versions and comes in at a whopping 1.15 GB by itself. Actual installation has been given a revamp from iCUE 3, with a more colorful skin as well as some embedded videos to play if the installation takes a while. The install options are also on a single screen, in four colored bars to either toggle or press for further options, which seems like a strange move, and animations and splashes of color are meant to keep your attention. The final install is also well over a gigabyte to where iCUE is not light on system resources. Sometimes you will have a few weird things such as the entry "iCUE service for MSI motherboards process," take up more CPU and RAM utilization than necessary on my MSI system. Having multiple complex lighting profiles will do the same, so be aware of this, lest iCUE not be for you. To be fair, it does seem to tax the CPU less than previous versions, even though it supports hundreds of products across CORSAIR and other hardware brands (MSI, ASUS, and Lenovo, to name a few). Still, I would like to see a modular installation system sooner rather than later, since the average end user will only be using a tiny fraction of that ecosystem. I understand CORSAIR is working on this very modular software concept as we speak though!


When you do open the program, it is best to have the keyboard connected, although you can still play around and get familiar with iCUE without any connected hardware. We now get a look at iCUE in its latest iteration, which we have seen multiple times already by now. Helpful cues pop up with a fresh install, and can be toggled to appear again in the settings. Scaling with high DPI displays and Windows 10 and 11 worked flawlessly too, but iCUE is going the way of becoming more of a platform to integrate game libraries similar to ASUS Armoury Crate, and I'd rather all this be cut down to save on system resources. I can't even say this is still the most polished keyboard software experience I have had, in terms of UX design and product support either, and this is before I mention that there is an ongoing bug which results in iCUE crashing each time the system comes out of sleep. All your software profiles are no longer working until you re-start iCUE thus and this is why I mentioned the specific iCUE version above, since I was told there will be a fix coming in the public release of iCUE that will be available when the K100 AIR goes up for sale.

The home page allows the ability to choose and create profiles, as well as a dashboard tab to customize previews for devices, which is useful for a quick look at your system's current status. Canvas lighting still allows for unified lighting across all connected devices, and we see a sensor module that is quite handy for quickly taking a look at system and device-specific information. The keyboard specific menu begins with key assignments where, as the video above shows, you can record a macro, edit it completely, and assign it to a key—make a key stroke input pre-configured text, assign mouse actions to keys, completely change the typing layout if QWERTY is not your cup of tea, etc. All these software controls make this a fully programmable keyboard within the limits of what is allowed for the device, and changing the language in the settings page opens up more options too. Given the increased onboard functionality of the K100 AIR, there is plenty of hardware playback too which is separately put into "Hardware Key Assignments" to exactly show what is available with iCUE running, and what can be saved onboard irrespective of software presence.

We see a similar approach with lighting, in that software profile-based iCUE lighting effects are separated from hardware lighting effects, which of course have fewer options since they are saved on the keyboard itself. Actual backlighting customization is still similar to before, with layers being the name of the game to create all the complex iCUE lighting profiles others have, any of which would take me too long to create myself. The effects themselves are still split into three groups. Presets are for the dynamic and reactive effects, Custom for static and gradient effects, among others, and Lighting Link goes back to the "Scenes" on the home page. Each effect has associated sub-options, including brightness level, speed, direction, and the actual color chosen from among 16.8 M options (256 brightness steps per R/G/B channel). There remain per-key options as expected, and groups/zones to choose from and create as desired. The keyboard in wireless mode also results in fewer effects available from software profiles and this also continues in the device settings tab, where you will have CORSAIR AXON features including up to 8 kHz polling available in wired mode and battery/wireless settings when in either of the two wireless modes.


At this point I also wanted to see whether the four G-keys on the K100 AIR are recognized by Elgato Stream Deck software to function as "S-keys" as seen before on the K100. While the program does allow you to bring up the CORSAIR G-keys as seen above, it does seem to be a generic placeholder from the K100 itself, given the position and number of keys. I did try placing some functions on the G1-4 keys when the keyboard was wired up to see if it would still work but to no avail. So far it does feel like the K100 AIR is losing out on features.