Over the past few years, one might have come to the conclusion that SteelSeries had started falling behind. While other companies continued to innovate with lightweight designs, button switch and wireless technology, or improved feet and cables, SteelSeries' line-up seemed somewhat stale by comparison. The Rival 3 already was a step in the right direction, and the Rival 3 Wireless builds on it by bringing a top-tier sensor, dual connectivity (2.4 GHz and Bluetooth), and above average battery life to the $50 mark, which is quite remarkable.

In terms of shape, buttons, and components used, the Rival 3 Wireless isn't much different from the Rival 3. The feet are identical as well, but the coating is different. The biggest difference is of course the absence of a cable. Although the Rival 3 Wireless ends up weighing more than the Rival 3, this difference can be brought down by using only one instead of two AAA-batteries. The freedom afforded by the lack of cable drag, on the other hand, no doubt makes up for the slightly higher weight. While 2.4 GHz connection mode is best suited for gaming, the Rival 3 Wireless can also be used in Bluetooth mode, which makes it perfectly suited as a travel mouse, especially since the USB dongle can be stored within the mouse. The only real contender SteelSeries has in this regard is the ASUS ROG Strix Carry, but that one retails for $74.99—not to mention that the Strix Carry needs two AA-batteries for 400 hours of battery life, while the Rival 3 Wireless only needs two AAA-batteries.

The Rival 3 Wireless uses the TrueMove Air sensor, as SteelSeries likes to call it. I believe this to be based on the PixArt PAW3335, which previously was mostly found on much more expensive mice. Performance is very good for the most part, although I did find three issues during testing. First, motion delay is somewhat significant at roughly 2.5 ms in total. Even though that is still better than several other 3335 implementations, it's not quite at Razer's or Logitech's level. The contender for the Rival 3 Wireless in this regard is the Logitech G305, which does win in the motion delay department (roughly 1 ms). The second issue is CPI deviation; i.e., by how much actual CPI differs from nominal CPI. The deviation on the Rival 3 Wireless is massive, which can make it difficult to get accurate CPI steps, such as 400 or 800. I've seen several other 3335 implementations suffer from the same problem, so the Rival 3 Wireless isn't alone in this regard. Lastly, I've been able to measure occasional polling outliers. Other than that, the 2.4 GHz connection was perfectly stable throughout testing. As for the click delay, I'm not entirely confident in my numbers, but it should be around 10 ms.

As far as software goes, the Rival 3 Wireless offers the usual options within SteelSeries Engine. Additionally, there are several options that help extend battery life, such as illumination automatically being disabled when the mouse is stationary. Speaking of which, RGB lighting is kept to a minimum to keep battery life high. Still, scroll wheel illumination is present, unlike on the Logitech G305, for example. The only issue I've found on the software side of things is related to sleep mode: Once the mouse enters sleep mode, it cannot be awoken and, rather, continues to slumber. The only fix is to turn it off and on again. For the record, I've informed SteelSeries about this and the other issues (CPI deviation and polling), so fixes can be expected down the road.

To sum it up, while the Rival 3 Wireless isn't without flaws, there is no denying that it gets a lot of things right. A top-tier sensor, 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth connectivity, impressive battery life, and the ability to use just a single AAA-battery are a novelty at this price point. With the Rival 3 Wireless, SteelSeries doesn't have much competition, which is why it gets our Recommended and Budget awards from me.