When Das Keyboard offered to send the Prime 13 along with the flagship Das Keyboard 4 Professional, I was curious to see what made this keyboard justify a mere $20 decrease despite the lack of the dedicated media buttons Das Keyboard is famous for. This being a newer keyboard, they did add backlighting, which is a nice feature to have, but I am not convinced that alone will stop people from saving up the extra and going with the latter anyway.

Das Keyboard has some work on their hands here - in a market where companies are pumping out multiple keyboards each year with newer features added to help justify their purchase, a company releasing a keyboard every couple years has to stay on top or risk being judged outdated. They are aiming to do so with their upcoming 5Q internet-connected keyboard, but at this point, there needs to be more to justify the price tags of their existing ones.

The Prime 13 has a lot of things going for it - the excellent build quality carries over, and the USB pass-through port is appreciated. However, there are so many keyboards from companies big and small that have these very features and cost less, or offer other features that cater to the same market as Das Keyboard - better stock keycaps, macro/function reassignment - that has this keyboard fall into the same category as the other. Missing from the Das Keyboard 4 Professional are the dedicated media buttons, USB 3.0 hub, and rubber pads on the feet/top. I still think this is a better deal than the Das Keyboard 4 Professional, however, since a lower price and backlighting will get a different set of people interested as well vs having dedicated media control. As such, it does merit the same recommendation with the same caveat - if you can avail the 3-year warranty and applicable discount from Das Keyboard directly, this is a good deal. If not, wait for a sale from a reseller or weigh your options. Amazon currently has a sale listing of $130, for example, which looks much better.