TechRadar Verdict
For those looking for a premium quality gaming mouse that’s built specifically for MMO or MOBA gaming, the SteelSeries Aerox 9 is the best you can get in terms of build quality and performance.
Pros
- +
Excellent performance
- +
Premium build quality
- +
Fantastic battery life
Cons
- -
Not left-handed friendly
- -
Expensive
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SteelSeries Aerox 9: One-minute review
The SteelSeries Aerox 9 is the company’s latest foray into creating a high-end gaming mouse that’s specifically designed for MMO and MOBA gaming. The mouse goes for $149 (around £128, AU$217), which is steep but reflects its premium design. It’s lightweight, well-built, and comes with gorgeous RGB lighting.
Unlike the SteelSeries Aerox 5, which features a multitude of buttons all over the wireless gaming mouse that can be mapped for various tasks, the Aerox 9 has six buttons scattered over the rest of the body and 12 numbered buttons on the left side. These buttons can each be mapped out for a unique command shortcut, instead of having to set those shortcuts on the UI itself, which makes for lightning-fast move executions.
Just like the 5, the SteelSeries Aerox 9 comes with software in order to customize the button layout. However, unlike the 5 or even the 3, when connecting the 9 to your PC or laptop, the software doesn’t automatically load up. You have to search for it first, which is both inconvenient and odd, to say the least.
In terms of specs, it’s what you would expect from a premium gaming mouse: water- and dust-resistant, mechanical switches with over 80 million click durability, 18,000 CPI, 400 IPS, 40G acceleration, 1 to 1 tracking, tilt tracking, an incredibly long battery life, and either 2.4 GHz wireless or Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity.
Even the glide skates are high quality and work well on most smooth surfaces that, coupled with the perforated body and thin PCB, supports even faster movements and reaction speeds. All of these are vital for when you’re in the heat of battle and need your commands and abilities to activate immediately.
SteelSeries Aerox 9: Price and availability
- How much does it cost? $149 (£139, AU$159)
- Where is it available? Available now
- Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia
You can purchase the SteelSeries Aerox 9 now for $149 (£139, AU$159), which is steep for a gaming mouse. However, since you’re paying for a mouse that’s built from the ground up for optimized gaming, it’s more than worth its asking price.
SteelSeries is also good about making this mouse available globally, as you can purchase it in a wide variety of regions including the UK and Australia. Pricing is pretty fair among those regions as well.
- Value: 5 / 5
SteelSeries Aerox 9: Design
- Lightweight yet sturdy design
- Buttons located in convenient spots
- Not for left-handed people
The SteelSeries Aerox 9’s design is excellent, made to be as light, and easy to move as possible in order to enhance its speed. Just like the Aerox 5, it features a perforated body and an ultra-thin PCB, which cuts down on the weight. The glide skates offer smooth movements across most surfaces, whether wooden or metal, meaning that you won’t be worrying about the mouse getting caught up during a heated session.
There’s also the button placement, which is located in strategic spots based on where a gamer’s fingers and hands tend to rest. The six main buttons are designed to accommodate most grip types including claw, fingertip, or palm grips, while the 12 numbered ones are placed on the left side for easy reach with your thumb.
It can be a little tricky to adjust to using so many buttons at once, especially without looking at them, but eventually, it becomes second nature. The only main issue is that this is clearly a right-handed mouse so left-handed players, unless they can adapt, will find it extremely difficult to use this mouse.
- Design: 4.5 / 5
SteelSeries Aerox 9: Features
- Comes wireless dongle and wired charger
- Have to search for and install the SteelSeries GG application
The SteelSeries Aerox 9 comes with a USB Type-C dongle for the wireless connection, as well as a Type-C charging cord for fast charging. The cord also allows users to utilize the mouse in wired mode, which means you’ll never be without your mouse. There’s RGB lighting, which is great for fans of it, but we found that while you rest your hand on the mouse, it’s obscured.
The SteelSeries GG application allows you to fully customize your mouse buttons including the 12 on the left. However, it’s odd that unlike the Aerox 5, this mouse doesn’t automatically load up the software. Instead, you have to search for and open it yourself.
- Features: 4 / 5
SteelSeries Aerox 9: Performance
- Performance is excellent
- Great quality mechanical buttons
- Long battery life
With all these features, how well does the SteelSeries Aerox 9 perform? Spectacularly, we’re glad to report. All the design features like the ultra-light weight, glide skates, the build itself that allows for multiple gripe types (claw, fingertip, or palm grip), and of course, the button layout help deliver an excellent experience while playing any game, especially MMOs.
Like the other mice in the series, the Aerox 9 purports an 18,000 CPI with 1000Hz/1ms of polling, 400 IPS, 40G acceleration, 1 to 1 tracking, tilt tracking, and more. In other words, this mouse has some incredibly precise cursor control that can be customized even more with the software. Its battery life is also excellent so you can literally forget about charging it for days and then quickly charge it to full capacity within a few hours. Meanwhile, whether you choose between 2.4 GHz of wireless connectivity or Bluetooth 5.0, you’ll still get a lightning-fast connection, although the wireless one is preferable as it's far faster than Bluetooth.
Being able to assign abilities or spells to the 12 buttons on the side of the mouse’s body allows for instant execution of so many of them beyond even the other buttons. All 12 buttons utilize high-quality mechanical switches, meaning they have near-instant reaction times and a long shelf life, ideal for those who need a long-lasting mouse for their hardcore gaming sessions.
- Performance: 5 / 5
Should I buy the SteelSeries Aerox 9?
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SteelSeries Aerox 9: Report card
| Value | It’s worth the price of admission, as you’ll be getting one of the best possible mice around. And plenty of regions will have access to this mouse as well. | 5 / 5 |
| Design | A well-designed mouse that covers nearly all bases in terms of what a hardcore MMO/MOBA player would need, except it’s not left-handed friendly. | 4.5 / 5 |
| Features | Not only does it come with a USB Type-C dongle and a charging wire, the SteelSeries GG application also lets you fully customize your mouse. | 4 / 5 |
| Performance | Its performance is near flawless, with all its features and build working together in harmony to create a gaming mouse that’s perfect for MMO gaming. | 5 / 5 |
| Total | The SteelSeries Aerox 9 is the best you can get in terms of build quality and performance. | 4.5 / 5 |
- First reviewed September 2022
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