ROG Azoth Extreme is a brand new wireless gaming keyboard with a whole lot of extra bits.

The most immediately noticeable extra is the OLED screen in the upper right corner. This full color panel may have limited resolution, but it's a touch screen — the animation changes when you swipe the screen. It looks surprisingly good in a person, and it's a lot of reactions.

The Azoth Extreme consists of an aluminum alloy surround, a carbon fiber top plate (the new ROG Harpe Ace Extreme also has carbon fiber), a silicon pad, and a metal leaf spring in the Poron Suis chassis, all of which sit on it.

"We chose carbon fiber for the metal like rigidity, providing a crispy typing feeling while its versatility absorbs vibration. Second, a metal plate spring is integrated inside the keyboard, giving Azoth Extreme a more cushioned and comfortable typing feel," said Eason Lee of Asus.

The idea is that combining all these layers allows for a seriously smooth operation - and I tend to agree.

I only tried the keyboard for a short period of time with Asus HQ, but it was nice to type. I expect no less: We rated the original ROG Azoth as the best high-end gaming keyboard, and I used the ROG Strix Scope II96 wireless most of the day at home, however, the new Azoth Extreme sounds better in pitch than the Strix scope.

That's probably because Asus implements a feature that feels really extreme - the ability to switch between soft and hard key presses.

ROG Azoth Extreme isn't the first keyboard to do this, nor is it the first keyboard I've used. Topre has long provided the ability to change the working point on its weird but great keyboard (my favorite keyboard is maybe ever Realforce R2). But you will not see it used very often, especially not in the field of gaming.

This is probably because dual option switches add cost and complexity to what most people don't think so often. In Azoth Extreme, the hard mode is for gaming and the soft mode is for long typing. It is adjustable by a switch on the underside of the keyboard.

"Under the nameplate is a hidden panel that allows you to easily adjust the feel of typing. All you need to do is switch the paddle and you can enjoy 2 different levels of softness."

I don't know about you, but I know myself well enough, and I definitely use mode switching for about 2 weeks and forget to set it up.

Ironically, one of the things Azos doesn't have in Spades is the key — it's 75% layout. Although it is almost more than a compact board and, importantly, holds a handy switch as a dedicated arrow key.

Oh, there's the co-pilot key to summon Microsoft's Windows-based AI assistant. This addition I do not understand well here — on the co-pilot + laptop I will maybe see inclusion, but you can use this keyboard in any way machine. The user may not have installed Windows11, but the co-pilot is running.

One of the things Asus hasn't told me is the Azoth Extreme price tag.1 The standard ROG Azoth, which is already a premium gaming keyboard, will be very high, as it is about2200 today. But at the time of launch it wasド250, but the Extreme model will certainly be much more.

Azoth Extreme is scheduled to land in 2024 Q3, so we'll look into the damage at that time.