Keychron is famous for its customizable mechanical keyboards but the brand is also responsible for some gaming mice. The Keychron M6 is an affordable wireless mouse with an excellent, reliable sensor. There’s no RGB lighting or smart features, and the mouse has a basic cheap-feeling design but the battery life is great. It’s a mixed bag, precisely where Keychron positions the M6, offering the best gaming features at a more reasonable price. It’s not designed to take on the best gaming mice available, but it will put a smile on your face with your favorite PC games.
About this review: Keychron provided XDA with a sample for this review but had no input to its contents.
Keychron M6
One of Keychron’s more affordable offerings is the wireless M6. This may be a cheap-looking plastic mouse with a boring design, but it houses a PixArt 3395 sensor, offering a 4,000 Hz polling rate and maximum DPI of 26,000. It’s a powerful gaming mouse.
Pros
- Affordable gaming mouse
- Comfortable ergonomic design
- Excellent reliable and accurate sensor
- Long-lasting battery life
Cons
- Design looks and feels cheap
- Heavier than some competitor mice
Price, specs, and availability
The Keychron M6 has an MSRP of $69, an affordable price for a wireless gaming mouse with a premium PixArt sensor. It’s the same sensor found inside the more expensive Keychron M3 Mini 4K Metal Edition, which I recommend as one of the best mice I’ve used. It’s not a light mouse, measuring 78g, but it’s still comfortable enough for many hours. Being a wireless mouse, the 800 mAh should be good for up to a week of use, though this depends on which connection method is used.
A maximum DPI of 26,000 is impressive for the price, though in order for Keychron to offer such specifications, the company had to sacrifice the design. The Keychron M6 doesn’t look particularly interesting. It’s about as basic as you can get. The slab of plastic also feels cheaper than other mice, though the sensor is arguably the more important specification and it’s among the best. If you don’t care for flashing lights, configurable weight, and an aggressive gamer design, the M6 ticks all the important boxes.
Specifications
One of Keychron’s more affordable offerings is the wireless M6. This may be a cheap-looking plastic mouse with a boring design, but it houses a PixArt 3395 sensor, offering a 4,000 Hz polling rate and maximum DPI of 26,000. It’s a powerful gaming mouse.
- Weight
- 78 g
- Sensor
- PixArt 3395
- Wireless?
- Yes
- Battery
- 800 mAh
- Color Options
- Black
- Connectivity
- 2.4 Ghz, Bluetooth, USB-C
- Maximum DPI
- 26,000
- Price
- $69
What I like
Premium gaming sensor
Though the Keychron M6 is designed to be an affordable wireless pointer, it’s comfortable. This is thanks to the tall profile, curved thumb rest, and angled scroll wheel. Being wireless, you won’t need to be tethered to your PC to make the most of this pointer and a hefty battery will keep you going for many hours with no LEDs to power. Inside the box with the mouse is a basic wireless receiver instead of the whacky Keyrchron miniature keyboard, and a USB-C cable with a USB-A adapter.
The PixArt 3395 sensor is also inside the Keychron M4 Mini 4K, one of my favorite gaming mice.
To connect the Keychron M6 to your PC, the cable can be used to provide power and facilitate the transfer of data. The wireless receiver offers 2.4 GHz functionality and Bluetooth is present to fall back on if you have no available USB slot. It’s nice to see three modes available but Keychron doesn’t allow the receiver to be stored inside or on the mouse. Two main pointer buttons are up top with a scroll wheel and a quick DPI switch button. Two additional buttons are on the thumb side with a secondary scroll wheel for additional functionality.
The PixArt 3395 sensor is also inside the Keychron M4 Mini 4K, one of my favorite gaming mice. It’s so good you can configure it to incredible levels, especially over 2.4 GHz wireless. The DPI can go up to 26,000, depending on how sensitive you need the pointer to be. Polling dictates how quickly the mouse updates the PC with movement and the Keyhcorn M6 can handle a rate of 1,000 Hz. The 4K sensor isn’t quite as powerful as mice with a 4,000 or 8,000 Hz polling rate, but it’s good enough for gaming and productivity.
Using the Keychron M6 is a joy. It’s comfortable, thanks to the ergonomic design, and the sensor is seriously good. Whether you’re firing up an FPS or a more chilled game, need to do some video editing, or desire something with some guts for general computing, the M6 is not going to disappoint. The battery seemingly lasts forever, although you’ll get around a week with solid use before seeing low-battery warnings pop up. Keychron offers its own Keychron Engine software to manage and control every aspect of the M6 and it’s pretty good to rely upon.
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What I don’t like
Cheap and boring design
The primary concern with the Keychron M6 is the weight and design. It’s a somewhat heavy wireless pointer that may not be the easiest to use, especially if you’re moving from lighter mice. There’s no RGB lighting, not even a subtle LED-lit logo. This is great for maintaining a long-lasting battery life, but it also adds to the basic design. Speaking of which, this is probably one of the most boring-looking gaming mice on the market. It’s an all-black slab of plastic and not even the white version improves things.
Should you buy the Keychron M6?
You should buy the Keychron M6 if:
- You want a great-performing wireless gaming mouse.
- You don’t care for RGB lighting.
You shouldn’t buy the Keychron M6 if:
- You want an interesting mouse to look at.
- You want some RGB lighting.
The Keychron M6 is designed to take on the established Logitech MX Master series with its ergonomic design, wireless capabilities, and great sensor. It’s considerably cheaper, both in cost and looks, but Keychron gets everything right that matters. It doesn’t have any RGB lighting but the sensor and capabilities of the mouse more than make up for this shortfall. The PixArt 3395 sensor is great for general computing and gaming. The ergonomic design is good for maintaining comfort and protecting against repetitive strain injury (RSI).
It’s considerably cheaper, both in cost and looks, but Keychron gets everything right that matters.
Keychron’s software isn’t the best available, but it’s still early days for the brand and software has never been the company’s strongest suit. For the price, this is an excellent mouse for getting work done through the day and enjoying a few hours in the evening lost in a virtual world. It isn’t class-leading in any area, but has the specifications to hold its own against more expensive pointers. It’s a fantastic addition to your desk.
Keychron M6
One of Keychron’s more affordable offerings is the wireless M6. This may be a cheap-looking plastic mouse with a boring design, but it houses a PixArt 3395 sensor, offering a 4,000 Hz polling rate and maximum DPI of 26,000. It’s a powerful gaming mouse.