SteelSeries - Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 RGB 26K Optical Gaming Mouse with AquaBarrier Protection - Dual 2.4GHz/Bluetooth for PC/Mac - Wireless - Shadow

I've tested a lot of mice over the years and this Aerox is definitely growing on me as an easy to use mouse with plenty of features added through their software. The basic setup is as easy as with any mouse. No matter what kind of connection you're going to use, it's pretty plug and play. The transmitter connects as soon as you flip the switch on the mouse to 2.4ghz mode. You can also connect via bluetooth or you can just use a USB-C cable to use it in wired mode. Surprisingly (to me), the wired option doesn't offer you the greatest polling frequency in the software. The mouse feels nice to use if you enjoy this style of mouse. It's very light weight and easy to move. All of the buttons have fairly firm clicks but without being hard to click by any means. Tracking is as you'd expect from a mouse in this price range in these days. Everything works great and is quite comfortable if you prefer lightweight, flatter style mice. The software does do a good job of setting this mouse apart from some others. It doesn't feel crazy bloated or anything. It allows you to use it without creating an account (by missing out on some non-mouse related features so no big deal). Lighting can set configured in 3 separate zones on the mouse with a lot of built in options and a good deal of customization. It's nothing incredible but I usually set my RGB to some fairly simple breathing animations so it's more than enough for me. There are a lot of other options you can customize in the software. As you'd expect, you can set each button to do whatever you want. Configure a macro for each button. Or set up a specific key you want to press. The only odd thing I could see was the inability to set a button as being held down while the mouse button was held down. The closest I could get was to toggle hold, otherwise all of the options involved repeatedly pressing the button instead. There are power management features to help save battery life. You can even enable them automatically when the battery gets low. Then there's more advanced options like being able to set the angle in which you hold the mouse to define what "up" means. Very cool stuff. One of the biggest downsides to the software (and something I hope gets improved in the future) is automatic profile switching depending on what app/game is in the foreground. It looks like the software is in a transitional period where they're retiring (or just retired) an older version of this for their newer "quickset". Navigating the options for this isn't very great. I tried to add a game by filename and I could never tell if it was fully added. It does do a good job detecting most of your games you have installed via Steam and such so you won't always have this issue. But I also found that the profiles just didn't switch automatically all the time. Battery life was pretty ok. Nothing spectacular but also nothing crazy bad. Things will obviously depend on your usage but I will say that at least once in my testing, my mouse died overnight while my computer was off, so they could probably stand to do some more work on sleeping the mouse when it's not connected to anything. I don't have an exact count on how many hours I got out of the battery but I could estimate that it lasted me 5 days of fairly heavy usage before completely dying. The great news is that it really doesn't take a long time to charge it back up to 100% again so as long as you remember to plug it in every so often, you should be good to go. All in all, I like the mouse. It's comfortable to use. The software is pretty good and doesn't feel like it's bloating up my system. There are a couple of smaller issues with the software I hope get resolved but nothing is a gamebreaker. If this style of mouse is your cup of tea and you're looking for a good lightweight option, give this one a try.

I’ve been using a SteelSeries mouse for years, and they never let me down. This new Aerox 3 Wireless mouse is fantastic! It has everything I love in a great gaming mouse. First off, the buttons are fantastic. The switches they use give a satisfying click and are super responsive. The combination of these switches with the optical sensor really makes this mouse super fast. With an 18,000 DPI, you’ll get the performance you need from a gaming mouse. What really ties everything together is the mouse’s design. The perforated shell isn’t just for looks. While the holes are great for letting the vibrant RGB lights shine, they also make the mouse feel lighter. Plus, the super smooth, virtually frictionless glide skates on the bottom make it very light and fast. You can connect to your rig in three ways: wired, Bluetooth, or the 2.4GHz adapter, and you’ll always get a fast response. The lightweight design, smooth glide skates, and fast switches and optical sensor make this a very fast mouse. It moves smoothly, and the RGB lighting through the holes is a nice design. Combine that with a very long 200-hour battery life and fast USB-C charging, and you’ve got a gaming mouse that’s hard to beat. I highly recommend this new SteelSeries offering!

Opening the box and seeing the mouse for the first time, I was wondering if the openings and able to see the inside was going to be any good. After using it for a bit, I can say it helps to keep my hands from seating when playing games. And while you might think it makes the mouse easy to bend, it is surprisingly sturdy. It also has decent weight to it, not like a cheap office mouse I use at work, but some real weight but not too much so it stays light. There are RGB lights at the bottom, which are pretty bright for a mouse but I guess it helps you can see it from the opening. The hand feel is good, and playing with it is nice too. It reacts as I would expect, clicks are fast. You have the standard gaming mouse buttons, the two buttons, the back and forward, and the DPI settings along with the scroll wheel. You can also connect it using Bluetooth, directly with a USB C or through a dongle. The one thing I'm not a big fan of is the dongle, its USB C with a huge USB A adaptor, and there is no place for the dongle. If I am moving the mouse, I want to take the dongle with me and not have to think where to put it. The last part is the software, which does more then you need for just a mouse, but isn't as bad as some other ones I've used. You don't need to use it but its pretty easy to set the DPI and the lighting, plus update the firmware. Its not bad, especially if you have other Steel Series items, but it does way more if you only have a mouse. In the software, there is a bunch of customization you can do. There is also a practice mode for shooters and other games, which is interesting but I prefer to just play. Overall a really nice mouse that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a gaming mouse, especially if you have other Steel Series products already.