Logitech Signature K650 Review

This is a spacious keyboard with a layout that is familiar to anyone accustomed to Logitech products. It's a great wireless board on a budget, but one that perhaps tries too hard to tick every box despite its modest price tag. We thoroughly tested over a dozen wireless keyboards based on five key metrics, and our findings show that the Logitech Signature K650 is hardly the runt of the litter but certainly not the star of the show either.

Performance Comparison

Typing Experience

Under the hood, this keyboard sports tactile rubber dome switches that make each keystroke soft yet unsatisfyingly squishy. This switch type directly impacts the force and feel associated with a key press.

I took precise measurements of the necessary operating force and actuation distance when registering a press of the keys. I could feel a tactile bump 1mm into the button press, but after that, it felt like a free fall into the abyss until I finally reached the actuation point at 2.35mm and the eventual bottoming-out at 3mm.

To its credit, the distance to the tactile point gives the bump a satisfying degree of prominence, and the bottoming-out is surprisingly soft despite the 52 grams of force it takes to get me there.

The actual experience of typing on the Signature K650 is pleasant enough, though other testers expressed concerns about the rounded shape of the keys. They create an unusual sensation that can throw off your typing rhythm and make it too easy to misclick the keys adjacent to your target.

“This keyboard gives the vibes of a government building. Functional, but in no way aesthetically pleasing or overly excited to use,” noted another tester.

The layout of the whole board helps keep this product competitive. The keys' sizes and proximity to each other provide a comforting balance that doesn't require my fingers to stretch and strain.

To finally address the elephant in the room regarding this keyboard: it has a built-in palm rest that does not particularly impress. The intention is to provide long-term comfort for lengthy typing sessions, but it's too short to provide any meaningful support for most typists. It is likely to detract from the typing experience for anyone but those with the smallest of hands.

Comfort

The Signature K650 succeeds in one particular area where many of the best wireless keyboards fail: the bottoming-out experience. Some of the most expensive boards actually have a jarring effect when they bottom out hard at the end of a key press, but the keys are reliably soft. Even though this keyboard tries a bit too hard to feel premium at times, this is one aspect in which simplicity is key.

The Signature K650 is a lower-profile keyboard that keeps every key comfortably in reach for practically any user. Based on individual preference, you can adjust the angle up from its default 2º incline up to either 4.5º or 8º.

The built-in palm rest is a bit too small to be effective for some users, but having it can certainly be more comfortable than not having a palm rest at all. Be aware that this resting spot is textured and can absorb sweat in a sometimes unpleasant way. It also does not provide as much cushion as many third-party palm rests, and it is not easy to use a separate palm rest when this one already occupies that space.

Performance

As with other products in our wireless keyboard tests, we evaluated the K650 to see how its specs and design contribute to day-to-day typing performance. Three testers, each with different levels of speed-typing capability, underwent a series of words-per-minute tests to see how fast and accurate they could be on this keyboard compared to other options. The results show that, much like its price tag, this keyboard is in the middle of the pack in terms of performance.

This keyboard achieved neutral to poor results in our typing speed tests, with two of our typists scoring an average of 51 WPM and 40 WPM, respectively, each of which was two points below their overall average across all our wireless keyboard tests.

Accuracy was an even more glaring issue. Our three testers combined scored a cumulative average of 8.8/10 in our accuracy evaluation, demonstrating a common possibility for typing errors even among experienced keyboard warriors. The Signature K650 requires a very reasonable amount of force and displacement when pressing the keys, so there is no mechanical reason for this keyboard to be slower than its higher-performing competitors. Instead, it comes down to the keys' shape, slicker material, and the fact that they exist on the same perfectly flat plane as one another.

It's important to note that connection latency isn't an issue with this keyboard. We measured an input delay of only 16 milliseconds over a standard wireless connection and 19 milliseconds over a Bluetooth connection. This means there will never be a noticeable lag when typing or even during fast-paced gaming, though we cannot actually recommend this board to gamers.

We found that this keyboard has a maximum 3-key rollover, so complex actions that require pressing more than three buttons will not always be possible.

Typing Noise

The K650 is an exceedingly neutral keyboard in many ways, and that applies to its typing noise as well. We measured the average volume of a key press at 40 decibels, and even the spacebar has quite a muffled sound. It is not a perfectly quiet keyboard, but it will certainly not over-stimulate the typist or their office co-workers.

On the other end of the spectrum are people who value a satisfying clicky or thocky feedback sound as they type. Most low-profile keyboards will fail to provide that satisfaction, and the Signature K650 is particularly neutral-sounding even among its relatives. If anything, it creates a sound that is more “hollow” than clicky.

With a total travel distance of 3mm and a required 52.43 gram force when pressing a key, one might expect this keyboard to be at least a bit noisier than it actually is. We can attribute the subtlety of the typing experience to the Signature K650's rubber dome switches, which muffle the bottoming-out of the keys with a soft texture.

Convenience

Even if it falls short of excelling in certain categories, there is no denying that the Logitech Signature K650 makes an effort in every way possible. For some users, having many serviceable convenience features is preferable to only having one superb feature. This keyboard's built-in palm rest, for example, is not perfect but it certainly saves you from spending extra on a separate accessory.

This is a keyboard that can boast a respectable degree of versatility. It has multiple OS compatibility, multiple connection options, and it is customizable through Logitech's high-quality Logi Options+ software. It has a storage slot for the accompanying wireless dongle in the battery compartment, making it convenient for travel.

The next most noticeable convenience feature is the row of media keys along the top of the keyboard. This is a feature that is very useful to those who care and unobtrusive to those who don't. The layout of the media keys is unusual, though, with pause and skip buttons on the far left and volume controls on the far right. This can be a hassle if you ever feel the need to reach all the way over to mute your PC's volume at a moment's notice.

Should You Buy the Logitech Signature K650?

This is an extremely budget-friendly keyboard that gives a lot of bang for your buck. It even boasts spill resistance, helping you extend your money further by mitigating the need to replace it after a desktop accident. Buy it for yourself if you want to save money, buy it for a rowdy teenager who has a habit of making messes, or buy it if you need durable yet affordable office supplies.

What Other Wireless Keyboard Should You Consider?

The Logitech Signature K650 is one of our favorite budget keyboards, but there are even less expensive options that perform just as well albeit with fewer features. The Logitech MK270 Combo has a surprisingly generous price tag and even comes with a wireless mouse. If you are willing to stretch your budget, though, consider the Logitech MX Keys S for the overall superb typing experience it provides.