ASUS - ROG Azoth 96% Wireless Magnetic Hall Effect RGB Gaming Keyboard with Hot-Swappable ROG HFX V2 Switches - Black

I really wanted to love this but it's just not quite good enough to justify the MSRP cost. I'm leaving this at 4/5 stars because it is pretty high quality overall if you can get it at a good price, I just can't seem to give this a full recommend. And I'm also assuming they will fix the bluetooth issue I mention below. Otherwise it's unusable completely. Overall, it's pretty difficult to find a full-size keyboard with the Hall effect technology. I also like the screen and dial, which I really have become used to because of the ease of use to turn the volume up and down primarily during games. The biggest issue I've had is actually connectivity via bluetooth. Perhaps this will be fixed with further firmware updates. But I use my MacBook Pro for work during the day via bluetooth and then have the dongle connected to my PC for gaming. But every time I turn off my MacBook Pro, the connection is lost. This is frustrating because when starting up MacOS you have to type in your password. I had to get another keyboard out each time to type in the password. I have done full resets/firmware updates/etc. It does the same thing with Windows -- but I have the camera vision that unlocks the computer so I can at least re-connect the bluetooth via mouse. There are a variety of premium features included on this board that are with every premium board these days - swappable switches, etc. But I just can't find anything that makes this unique or premium enough for $359. The Rog Extreme is more well-built and I felt like that board- - even without the Hall effect -- was more responsive. And the Rog Falcata has Hall effect and is now around $250. And I think the last version (non Hall effect) of this keyboard is around $125 now, which is what I would recommend if you need the 96% layout.

This keyboard is awesome. I was very skeptical of buying an expensive keyboard but it was well worth the money after using the keyboard for a day. This keyboard is very high quality. It’s heavy and sturdy which I really like. The kickstands on the bottom flip out nicely and snap into place to tilt the keyboard to your liking. The keys feel nice and the OLED screen is pretty awesome. Once you figure out how to use the keyboard and the OLED screen, the custom settings are awesome. I was able to adjust the key actuators a little bit so when I type I wasn’t accidentally typing random letters by a slight touch of a key. Connecting to Gear Leak was super easy and it allows you to customize everything in the keyboard and do software updates. I easily changed the animation of the OLED screen and the colors of the keyboard. All I can say is I’m never going back to a cheap low quality keyboard. I’m very happy with the purchase of the ROG Azoth 96 keyboard. The keyboard comes with three translucent keys which look awesome and were very simple to swap on the keyboard.

The build quality is very impressive, the keyboard looks and feels very premium, it is very customizable without need for separate software installation (it's done online through ROG Gear Link), it has an insane wireless polling rate of 8000Hz which makes wireless feel just as fast and lag free as wired mode, the battery last a very long time too, so no need to constantly charge it, I really like the 96% form factor, in my opinion is the sweet spot for compact feel but without compromising functionality, I like that it has a full numpad unlike other compact keyboards. The three connection modes switching is also very useful and seamless, specially in multi-device setups, I often switch from wireless (2.4GHz dongle) for my desktop PC to Bluetooth for my laptop or my Steam deck.

The ASUS ROG Azoth 96 HE combines excellent build quality with an incredibly smooth and responsive experience thanks to its magnetic Hall Effect switches. The 96% layout gives you all the functionality you need while keeping a clean, compact footprint, and after using Hall Effect, I can’t see myself going back to traditional mechanical switches. It’s a premium keyboard, but if you want something that feels fast, refined, and genuinely enjoyable to use, I highly recommend it.

_____ *Pros: -Premium look and feel. -Excellent build quality. -Highly fine-tuned adjustable actuation (0.1mm to 3.5mm) for each key. -Offers high-tech options to give competitive edge in games (Rapid Trigger, Speed Tap, 8000Hz polling rate). -Has full number pad. -Excellent sound dampening and pleasant marbly sound. -Excellent battery life. -Three connection modes (wired/USB-C, Bluetooth, and 2.4GHz wireless/dongle) -OLED touchscreen is cool. -The Gear Link web app is responsive and easy to use. _____ *Neutral: -It’s pretty heavy and thick. Not very portable. -The Gear Link web app is not 100% stable. -The 96% condensed form-factor takes some time to get used to. -No dedicated Macro keys. -Awkward location for the Del key. _____ *Cons: -Gear Link could not set my custom GIFs – not even the included presets === Build Quality and Design === Upon unboxing, I couldn’t help but be very impressed by the presentation, the feel, the heft, and the sound of the Asus ROG Azoth keyboard. I have gone through many gaming keyboards before, premium or not, but none were as nice and full featured as the Azoth. The first thing that got my attention was the solid metal feel and heft of the device. The top frame is made of machined aluminum, and it provides the Azoth with a solid and durable feel and structural rigidity. The bottom panel is made of plastic but it’s a nice and dense plastic that doesn’t feel cheap, which is fine because the plastic will lead to stronger signal transmission for the 2.4GHz SpeedNova wireless dongle. The quality feel continues as you move on to the keys – they’re made from PBT doubleshot plastic which resists wear and “shining” over time better than standard/regular ABS. The Azoth sounds great, too. Thanks to its six-layer dampening system, use of PORON foam, and a bottom layer silicone pad, the keystrokes don’t make the annoying metallic ping sounds and instead produce non-echoey and marble-like “thocky” sound which I found to be very soothing and pleasant. With metal being used exactly where it counts and the inclusion of high-tech materials, the ROG Azoth is on the heavy side, weighing 3.07 lbs (~1.4 kg). This weight will make the keyboard less portable and convenient to lug around, but I think the trade-off is totally worth it as you get 96% the layout of a standard keyboard and you get a full-size number pad which is necessary for productivity tasks. \ The ROG Azoth is 96% the size of a standard keyboard and I highly appreciated the full-size number pad that comes with it since that means I can use the keyboard not only for games but productivity as well. Due to its condensed form factor, it took me a while to get used to the awkward placement of the Del key and the location of the zero (0) on the number pad. Out of the box, the keyboard was too sensitive for regular productivity activities, so I had to access the Gear Link web app and adjust the actuation level higher to prevent accidental keystrokes. All in all, the ROG Azoth exudes quality and high premium-ness, justifying its high cost. === How is the customization? === I eschewed the resource-heavy Armoury Crate app and relied heavily on the Gear Link web companion app for customization. Gear Link was reliable, responsive, and worked well except for one thing – every single time I tried to load a custom animation onto the OLED display – preset or custom – Gear Link would get stuck in the loading setting phase, and my changes were not loaded nor saved. I waited up to 30 minutes but nothing happened so I was forced to close the browser tab and initiate a new Gear Link session. Besides the above issue, Gear Link worked just fine for the other options such as setting actuation point and dead zone levels and Rapid Trigger and Speed Tap customizations, which admittedly, are far more important and crucial than a somewhat gimmicky OLED animation screen. The actuation points can be changed in increments of 0.01mm increments, and they can be individually applied to every single key, which is awesome. Befitting a keyboard at this price level, the ROG Azoth offers a healthy and high level of customization that offers gamers a real competitive edge. === How does it perform in games? === The ROG Azoth did not disappoint or cause me any grief during both my short and long gaming sessions. Once I discovered and dialed in the most comfortable and balanced actuation level settings for my hands and body, it was supremely comfortable and responsive. The 8000 Hz polling rate is a nice option to have for twitchy and fast-paced FPS titles, but I’m not sure it’s worth the extra battery life hit. Thanks to the Rapid Trigger and Speed Tap functions, movement-heavy action games will see the most benefit, such as Split Fiction, Cyberpunk 2077, and fast-paced FPS games. By adjusting the Rapid Trigger setting, you can make your game character feel more responsive and less sluggish and improve movement precision. And Speed Tap, which controls how the keyboard handles simultaneous pressing of opposing directional inputs (e.g. A & D), results in smoother and continuous character movement that can mean the difference between life or death in a competitive match. === Is it worth the coin? === Yes. The ROG Azoth is an excellent keyboard for gamers who is willing and wanting for finely tuned customization options, premium feel and build quality, and pleasant sound acoustics. It’s a 5-Star Win!