If Razer’s recent stripped-down lightweight FPS-focused gaming mice haven’t been quite your flavor, Roccat is out with a much different take on the gaming mouse – the Kone XP Air. This cord-cutting wireless variant of the Kone XP is marketed as a multi-purpose gaming mouse with up to 29 assignable functions and an RGB-infused charging dock. Coming in at $169.99, we got our hands on the latest gaming mouse from Roccat. Be sure to hit the video below to see all of the details.
Kone XP Air: Overview
Instead of an array of thumb buttons like the Logitech G600 or Razer Naga, the Easy-Shift duplicator, a thumb-activated button, allows for a second layer of input customization. These multi-button mice are usually genre-bending, meaning they can be used in FPS games, MOBAs, and battle royales, and can even shine in productivity thanks to the variety of inputs available.
The Kone XP Air comes in black or white colorways. Included in the box are a charging dock, a USB wireless dongle, a USB-A to USB-C cable, and some literature.
Bright Aimo RGB shines through the semi-transparent shell – this wireless mouse can run for up to 100 hours on the internal battery but is easy to recharge thanks to the dock.
Big, bold design
A right-handed ergonomic mouse – meaning that it is slightly sloped to the right for a more natural hand position – the Kone XP Air measures 126mm long and 40mm tall. The total width is 72mm with the large flair for the Easy-Shift button, but the actual grip width is more like 65mm. This puts the Kone XR Air a bit smaller than the Razer Basilisk V3, which is a similar multi-genre mouse.
Weighing 99g, the Kone XP Air is by no means a lightweight gaming mouse but it’s not the heaviest either. For a mouse that features everything – wireless, RGB, multiple buttons, and a multi-function scroll wheel, that weight is fairly reasonable. For example, the wired Basilisk V3 from Razer weighs 101g.
Roccat Kone XP Air: Video
With large PTFE skates on the bottom, though, the Kone XP Air moves smoothly and doesn’t feel overly cumbersome.
The shell is very smooth plastic. On the left and right is a slight grooved finish for a little more grip. All-in-all I never had an issue gripping the Kone XP Air.
Button layout
One of the biggest features is the wide variety of buttons available. First up are two buttons on the left side of the mouse 1 button. By default, these are set to changing the DPI settings. Personally, when frantically battling in FPS games, there were times when I accidentally hit the buttons mid-firefight which did not end well for me. I ended up disabling these buttons in the standard layout, but for me, they offer more usability in the Easy-Shift mode.
Also on the right side of the mouse are four thumb buttons. The top two are relatively high for my hand and take a decent amount of effort to reach and actuate – all four buttons have a nice tactile click that feels solid in use.
The 4D scroll wheel can be clicked in and pushed left or right for more custom actions. It has a stepped feel to it with a solid satisfying click down. Pushing left or right takes a bit less force and isn’t as clicky as pressing down.
Behind the scroll wheel is another button that, by default, will change the active profile. Once again, this can be disabled or altered from the Swarm app to a different function.
Easy-Shift
And lastly, the big feature here is the Easy-Shift button. Located under the thumb rest, this button is large with a clicky tactile feel and by default, when held, enables the Easy Shift function that unlocks the second level of programmable functions.
While I’m not sure that I’d use the Easy-Shift mode much while gaming with the Kone XP Air, I found it quite useful for productivity. By default, the scroll wheel will control media with play/pause when pressed in, skip tracks by pushing left or right, and volume with the scroll wheel.
If you have a smaller keyboard like a 60%, having this extra functionality available on the mouse is pretty useful.
On the battlefield, though, these buttons make it easier to use abilities or accessories in a battle royale, MOBA, or really any other genre of game.
If the thumb button isn’t the ideal way to actuate Easy-Shift, any other mouse button can be changed to this as well.
Adjusting the button assignment is easy from the Roccat Swarm app – in a column right next to the standard buttons are the easy shift assignments.
I can’t find a way to use the default Easy-Shift button and the four thumb buttons at the same time, but it’s possible to assign an additional button to enable the Easy-Shift mode. For example, I set both the bottom thumb button and the minus button to the left of mouse 1 to take advantage of the secondary thumb button functions.
AIMO RGB
One of the most unique cosmetic aspects of the Kone XP Air is the AIMO RGB that illuminates the insides with the translucent shell where the palm of your hand rests. Combined with RGB in the scroll wheel, it’s a brilliant light show that by default dims when the mouse is in motion and brightens back up when it stops.
There are five RGB zones in total and while it may not have the complete customizability as Razer’s mice and interactivity with other devices/apps, each zone can be controlled, and the lighting can be synced between the mouse and the dock.
Kone XP Air: Charging Dock
Beyond the RGB on the mouse itself, the Kone XP Air comes with a sleek dock that also has RGB around its base; mounting the mouse on the dock is easy thanks to the large connection points. It also holds the mouse at an angle that shows off the RGB.
The dock has a USB-C to USB-A cable that will run to a PC and a USB-A port on the front for holding the wireless dongle.
Kone XP Air: Hardware
On the hardware side of things, Roccat is using its 19K DPI Owl-Eye sensor and Titan Optical switches. While I don’t have a setup to really test latency from the mouse, the Roccat Kone XP Air felt snappy and responsive. I also never had any issues with tracking – everything seemed to perform as it should.
All of the buttons around the mouse have a very satisfying click feel and sound to them. It seems like Roccat went the extra distance to make sure they all have a premium feel.
9to5Toy’s Take
Coming in at $169.99, the Roccat Kone XP Air might cost a lot, but it also delivers a lot. That really is the price of the wireless premium. If you don’t mind a cord, the wired Kone XP gives all of the same features minus the wireless dongle and charging dock and currently is only $75 – down from the usual $90 price tag.
The combination of a wireless connection, RGB, a charging dock, and a total of 29 programmable functions make the Kone XP Air a great multi-purpose mouse for different genres of games as well as productivity. Hardcore FPS players will probably want to shed the weight, but that’s not really the intention of the Kone XP Air. It’s a fun mouse that looks good, feels good, and can be customized to your heart’s content with tons of buttons and the Easy-Shift mode.
Buy Roccat Kone XP Air
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