Lighting and Performance

The CORSAIR K100 AIR supports N-key rollover USB and 2.4 GHz out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. It defaults to 6KRO with Bluetooth as expected. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either, and seen above are all the functions with dedicated keys on the base layer. There are 108 mechanical keys in total here with the R. Win key replaced by an Fn key and a dedicated Menu key surprising me pleasantly. The larger form factor means you have all the keys you are thinking of and more—especially once you consider the extra keys and the volume wheel at the top. Key mapping also helps test different typing layouts as needed, and there are also profiles that can be saved onboard for further customization.

Regardless of whether the software drivers are installed or not, the keyboard lights up in a rainbow wave effect seen above when first connected. This is a dynamic lighting effect that goes through the 16.8 M colors and confirms the keycaps are indeed backlit and also that the keyboard is powered on and recognized by the PC.


Seen above are some of the other available lighting effects, accessible via both onboard controls and software, with full 16.8 M RGB per-key lighting for some static RGB modes having me test for light bleed. There is very little light bleed, owing to the LEDs themselves not coming off as bright as your typical CORSAIR keyboard. The brushed metal frame and the low profile keycaps also add to this, to where this isn't a keyboard I'd recommend for those wanting a light show on their desk. On the other hand, it does the job in lighting up all the legends on the keyboard well enough for functionality. I then used the software drivers to set all LEDs to white, testing for color fidelity, since RGB LEDs can struggle to put out true white and require calibration on the hardware and software fronts from keyboard makers. CORSAIR managed to put out a very good white here that merits commendation. I will also give a shout out to the extensive hardware playback and controls here over the LEDs, as well as the unique adaptive brightness feature that works better than I anticipated in controlling the LED brightness based on the ambient light. You still have a quick brightness control button going through 20% increments as needed.

Wired mode gets CORSAIR's AXON processing fully as previously mentioned, but wireless connectivity here is going to be a primary feature of interest for potential customers, with the CORSAIR K100 AIR having both 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity on offer. The latter does seem to be a check box to hit through a feature list given the absence of Bluetooth 5.x support, but admittedly most users would go with the 2.4 GHz dongle given it supports CORSAIR's SLIPSTREAM wireless technology. It allows for higher bandwidth than usual to where you can pair the same dongle with up to three compatible devices so as to have the K100 AIR and, say, a mouse off the same USB port too. Fn + G1, whereby now the G-keys are now wireless Fn keys too, toggles between it and Bluetooth with the keyboard switched on. You get up to 2000 Hz polling and automatic 2.4 GHz channel switching in addition to 128-bit AES encryption and a longer, more stable connection range too. I did experience the keyboard lagging when coming out of device sleep (not OS sleep) though, over 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth, with the latter also exhibiting the occasional input lag as well as repeated keystrokes. That in itself can be attributed more to Bluetooth, but I can only wonder if things would be better with a newer wireless chipset. That said, I do appreciate the central area having eight indicator LEDs in addition to the CORSAIR logo, although I would have still preferred to see an integrated and updated iCUE NEXUS screen here. While I am at it, having actual Stream Deck keys instead of the G-keys would have further helped justify the K100 AIR as a flagship keyboard, although I acknowledge those keys can be expensive.

One of those indicators aforementioned concerns battery life, that can be checked on demand using Fn + Enter. The use of different colors and flashing/static modes helps show whether the keyboard battery level is high/medium/low/critically low, as well as the battery charging status. I will say that CORSAIR promises 50 hours of use with the LEDs on in adaptive brightness, which again is a cool implementation of this feature that doesn't result in you having to set an aggressive LED sleep cycle to preserve battery. If you do have the LEDs mostly turned off, then expect closer to 200 hours of use that I can vouch for. This means that you can have the K100 AIR good to go for a couple of weeks depending on your use case and also have it fully charged in ~5 hours max courtesy the USB 3.2 Gen 1 charging available.


As for the actual typing experience, I mentioned before how the K100 AIR only comes with the new Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile (ULP) tactile switches at this time. This is a unique design that goes beyond the usual low profile switches which are ~12 mm in height compared to the full-size 18-19 mm mechanical switches. These ULP switches have an overall height of just 3.5 mm, which is ridiculously small when you think about how it still employs a mechanical actuation, complete with tactile feedback. Indeed, there is even a clicky version of this switch which debuted earlier, and I can only imagine it will make its way onto standalone keyboards too based on the interest our readers have shown in seeing these switches get out of the laptop world. The design here is different from usual in going more horizontal than vertical, including with the tension spring connecting the two stainless steel wing pieces that move up and down similar to scissor switches. The stem here is an actuator/polymer socket that also holds a modified gold-plated crosspoint contact system, which in turn sits on a metal base that doubles up as a frame for other components being soldered together onto the PCB. The base has an opening to allow for RGB LEDs to be placed centrally, underneath the switch. These switches are also rated for 0.8 mm actuation/pre-travel at 65 cN and 1.8 mm total travel to where bottoming out is inevitable. They do feel quite crisp to type on admittedly, but the stabilizers on the K100 AIR feel flimsy.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the CORSAIR K100 AIR keyboard sample at ~105 WPM as it comes out of the box with the Cherry MX ULP tactile switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches. I did bottom out constantly, which isn't surprising for the reasons mentioned above. The lack of any foam dampening here is mitigated by the low profile nature of the case itself to where the primary sound signature is just that of the switches bottoming out on the plate. These are louder than you'd think going in and can be a potential deal breaker to those who prefer such low profile keyboards because they are quiet. Indeed, I can only imagine how loud/pingy the clicky version of the MX ULP is so I am glad that CORSAIR is breaking the ice with these switches. I also need to point out that the tension spring causes the keys to bounce back hard so there is a second sound as the keycaps travel back up too. It's not my favorite sound signature but also there does not seem to be a whole lot to change here easily.