SteelSeries has announced the Apex M500, which it billed as the successor to its 6Gv2. The two certainly have the same price ($100), and both have Cherry Red switches (although the 6Gv2 has a Cherry Black option) and sport a simple, compact all-black design.
One key difference is that the Apex M500 has lighting whereas it predecessor doesn’t. The M500 has blue per-key LEDs, and there is a modicum of lighting features you can employ in the SteelSeries Engine (SSE3) software, such as brightness and breathing.
SteelSeries also stated that SSE3 affords full per-key programming, unlimited profiles, and the ability to create macros (including on-the-fly).
The Apex M500’s standard layout is designed so that you can swap in aftermarket keycaps, too.
The keyboard is available now from SteelSeries’ website for $99.99 with the promise of free 3-5 day shipping.
