SteelSeries Unveils Ultra-Light Mice Featuring Swappable Batteries and Ultra-Wideband Technology

The new ergonomic Rival Pro and ambidextrous Sensei Pro wireless gaming mice are among the most exciting releases in recent years. They feature familiar designs that are incredibly lightweight, weighing in at just 53 grams for the black version and 54 grams for the white. Both models come equipped with two standout features: swappable batteries and a wireless base station for easy pairing.

The circular batteries are user-friendly, easily locking and unlocking in both the mouse and the base station. The base station can keep a spare battery charged, which is handy since each battery is rated for 16 hours at the 8,000Hz polling rate. During my testing, I swapped the batteries at least six times, but if you lower the polling rate to 1,000Hz, you can extend battery life to 60 hours.

Unlike most wireless gaming peripherals that operate on 2.4GHz, these mice utilize ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, operating between 6.4GHz and 9.056GHz. This allows them to access less congested parts of the spectrum, resulting in 20 times the bandwidth and reduced latency. This technology supports high polling rates with improved consistency compared to other brands.

The mice are launching alongside updates to the GG companion app, including SuperSync, which separates click and sensor polling. This means you can have 8,000Hz click reporting while using 4,000Hz for sensor reporting. SteelSeries claims this decoupling reduces CPU load when using 8,000Hz and can help with games that struggle with high polling rates. Another feature, Smart DPI, automatically adjusts sensitivity when switching from gameplay to menu navigation, slowing down for menu selections and returning to your preferred settings when you jump back into the action.

A notable update is that GG is now available as a browser-based web app for Chrome or Edge, eliminating the need for a download. This streamlined version allows for firmware updates and basic settings adjustments, making it convenient for users.

The Rival Pro and Sensei Pro are priced at $179 each and are available for preorder, with shipping starting on October 13th. Additionally, there will be smaller versions of both models, each weighing four grams less but priced the same.

While I anticipated more gaming companies to introduce haptic-based mice to compete with Logitech’s X2 and X3 Superstrike, the introduction of swappable batteries and enhanced UWB connectivity shows that there are still plenty of innovative ways to enhance gaming mice without moving away from mechanical switches.