Steelseries recently unveiled a pair of mice that aims to shake up the PC gaming market. The Sensei Pro and Rival Pro, along with its Mini variants, are set to release on November 15 at a launch price of $179.99. New tech doesn't come cheap, but these mice promise to deliver several unique features to justify that hefty price tag. Among them include Steelseries' ingenious hot-swappable battery system for what is essentially unlimited battery life, as well as high-speed ultra wide band connectivity to avoid 2.4GHz congestion.
Preorder the Steelseries Sensei and Rival Pro Gaming Mice
The Sensei Pro and Rival Pro are essentially the same mouse with one primary difference: the Sensei Pro features a symmetrical layout that accommodates both right- and left- handed gamers. The Rival Pro adopts an ergonomic layout that's catered specifically for right-handed users. Both are also available in a "Mini" sized variant for smaller hands.
Wireless freedom with zero downtime
Amongst the bevy of features packed in the Sensei Pro and Rival Pro, one stands out in particular, and that's the infinite battery system. This is essentially a hot-swappable battery system much like what you'll find in the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro and Omni headsets, which I consider to be one of the best gaming headets on the market for this reason. The mice basically include two removable, rechargeable batteries: one to use in your mouse and the other to remain charged and ready to go in the base station that doubles as a charger. You won't be constantly swapping during each session either; each battery lasts up to 120 hours on a single charge.
UWB wireless connection avoids 2.4GHz congestion
The Sensei Pro and Rival Pro connect to your PC via ultra wide band wireless (6GHz or higher), thus bypassing the 2.4GHz band that's used by nearly all other wireless peripherals on the market, including headphones, controllers, keyboards, and more. Combined with the hyper-fast 8K polling rate, you're not going to experience any dropouts, stutters, or lag. For gamers who are still married to a wired connection for its reliabilty, this might just be your cue to finally move on.
Pro-grade features and an ultra lightweight body
The new mice don't really compromise on anything else. Quite the opposite, in fact. In addition to the 8K polling rate, the Sensei Pro and Rival Pro are equipped with a TrueMove 42K Pro optical sensor with automatic DPI switching depending on what you're doing (i.e. navigating menus are shooting down your opponents), a total of six programmable buttons that use optical switches rated for 100 million clicks, limitless customization options via Steelseries' GG PC app, pre-applied low friction PTFE feet, and an ultra lightweight design that starts at only 49 grams.
If you're going to spend $180 on a gaming mouse, there can be no doubt in your mind that the mouse you're purchasing is the best of the best. SteelSeries' new entries look fully equipped to occupy that niche.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.