Logitech G, the company’s gaming peripheral arm, recently announced a new crop of budget-friendly devices. The new (but still familiar) G305 X Superlight mouse and the G316 X 98 keyboard. The pair join the G325 and G321 gaming headsets that were announced earlier this year.
New G305 mouse, same G305 shape
It’s been a while since Logitech last updated the ever-popular G305. The previous ‘Lightspeed’ model is still available, but now it’ll see competition from the new G305 X Superlight. If Logitech is good at one thing, it’s making gaming gear. The second thing would be slapping an ‘X Superlight’ onto that gear.
The G305 X Superlight gets its fresh name from Logitech finally moving away from the AA battery that has powered the series for ages. That means the new one won’t be able to match the previous model’s 250 hours of battery life, but it’s roughly 40g lighter, tipping the scales at 59g.
You’ll still get a very respectable 130 hours from the USB-C rechargeable battery, and landfills everywhere will thank you for not giving them more AA batteries. A two-minute charge will be enough to net you about 3.5 hours of gaming.
For connectivity, the G305 X Superlight now supports a Bluetooth connection, a wired connection, and a bundled wireless dongle that can be swapped out for Logitech’s Pro Lightspeed 8kHz receiver (sold separately), if you really want it. That’s thanks to the other upgrade, Logi’s Hero 44K sensor, previously reserved for more expensive mice. Also, exposed screws on the bottom mean you don’t have to rip your skates off to get inside. Simply wonderful.
For those wondering, the same symmetrical egg shape is sticking around. There are many reasons why Logitech’s G3 mice are so popular, and the price is only one of them.
New keeb, who ‘dis?
Joining the G305 X Superlight is the G316 X 98 keyboard. This is a wired mechanical keyboard that uses a 98% layout. That means you’re getting nearly all the dedicated buttons of a full-sized keyboard, minus the home/insert island. Those buttons now exist as functions on other buttons.
The biggest upgrade here is the 8kHz polling rate, something previously unheard of on a budget keyboard. Whether you’ll need all those extra hertz is debatable, but they’re there. Logitech is also making some noise about this keyboard’s construction, saying it is “[o]ptimized for sound and feel.” Apparently, the board’s “innovative multi-layer snap-fit gasket design ensures structural integrity without screws while delivering a satisfying “thocky” sound.”
Customisation includes a lightbar and per-key RGB lighting, as well as a small dot-matrix LED display, which will help you change report rate, RGB brightness, or adjust music controls via the purple control dial.
We’ve reached out about local price and availability and will update this article when we hear back, but for now, we’ll have to guess. Both the G305 and G316 will only be available elsewhere from the end of June, so we reckon we’ll get them sometime after that.
In the US, the G305 X Superlight is priced at $80 (about R1,300), while the G316 X 98 goes for $120 (about R2,000).
