There is a keyboard design for just about everyones taste and Logitech has done a good job trying to cover a wide range of the typical designs. I’ve had a few of their compact keyboards in recently and the G515 Lightspeed TKL that they announced today is compact as well but in a little different way this time around. It is a TKL so it is shorter, but the big news here is the G515 is a low-profile design utilizing low-profile keycaps and switches to make the keyboard thinner and more like an old membrane keyboard. For testing today I have the Lightspeed wireless model in black to check out, so let’s dive in and see what it’s all about.
Product Name: Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL
Review Sample Provided by: Logitech
Written by: Wes Compton
Amazon Affiliate Link: HERE
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Specifications |
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Key Layout |
TKL |
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Keyboard Dimensions |
Length: 368 mm Width: 150 mm Height: 22 mm |
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Color Options |
Black |
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Weight without cable |
880 g |
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Cable Length |
1.8 m |
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Actuation Force |
Linear: 43g Tactile: 45g |
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Switch Travel Distance |
3.2 mm |
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Switch Actuation Distance |
1.3 mm |
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Battery Type |
Rechargeable lithium polymer battery |
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Battery Life (Rechargeable) |
up to 36h |
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Wireless Range |
up to 10m |
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Connection Type |
2.4 GHz LIGHTSPEED, Bluetooth, and wired data modes |
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RGB Lighting |
LIGHTSYNC RGB Lighting |
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What’s In the Box |
G515 TKL Gaming Keyboard USB-A to USB-C detachable charging cable USB Wireless Receiver USB Extender User documentation |
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System Requirements |
● PC with Windows 10 or above, macOS 12 or later, and USB-A port ● Internet access for Logitech G HUB Software |
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Warranty |
2-year limited hardware warranty |
Packaging and Accessories
If you have seen any other Logitech peripherals on the shelf before the packaging for the G515 Lightspeed TKL isn’t going to be any big surprises for you. Its box has their signature grey background with the model number in a huge font in the top left corner with the model name next to that in their blue. The Logitech G logo is in that same blue in the bottom left corner. Then most of the front of the box is filled with a picture of the keyboard across it. I love having products that actually show you the product on the front so that is great to see. The picture of the G515 Lightspeed TKL has its lighting on and is angled to show off its thin design. On the right, they have icons showing the LightSpeed wireless support as well as LightSync for the lighting. There is also one showing that this version has the Tactile key switches. Around on the back, there is a second picture of the G515 Lightspeed TKL, this time zoomed in more showing off a few features. The back has icons and descriptions of the keyswitches, wireless, lighting, and keycontrol features. They also touch on the battery life up on top with a battery icon and 26 hours below that.
When you open up the box for the G515 Lightspeed TKL, the front of the box opens up and under it, they have two flaps on the underside. One side shows how to set the keyboard up using the included wireless dongle including a link to the software and support pages. The second flap is similar but touches on connecting it using Bluetooth. Opening the box you will have the keyboard right up on top, but it comes wrapped in tissue paper. Then under that, you will find the legal documentation and it all sits in a cardboard tray. The tray has one pull-out section, which has the USB cable and adapter all tucked inside of it.
I already mentioned them but the G515 Lightspeed TKL just has a few accessories with it. You get a USB charging cable that also functions as a wired connection. That cable has a USB Type-C connection on one end and Type-A on the other end, both male. The cable is 1.8 meter long and has black sleeving for a little extra protection. The cable comes with an adapter that has a Type-C female connection on one end and a Type-A female on the other end. The idea here is that you can use the cable up onto your desk and then plug the wireless dongle in to get the best possible wireless connection. You can then unplug this and use the Type-C end on the cable to charge the G515 Lightspeed TKL itself. The adapter has a black textured finish and does have the Logitech G logo molded into it as well.
Now the wireless dongle is the last accessory that comes with the G515 Lightspeed TKL but you won’t find it in the same area as the cable. It comes already tucked away in the hiding spot on the underside of the G515 Lightspeed TKL. There may end up being some people who have trouble finding it but I like that they do this so that everyone knows that the keyboard has that hiding spot. Without that, some people might not even realize that is what it is for. The included wireless dongle has the G515 model number printed on the end which can be helpful for people who have multiple Logitech wireless devices. Beyond that, it isn’t any different than any other Logitech wireless dongle we have seen recently. It has the male Type-A USB connection end and a small plastic grip that sticks out past the connection. Simple and to the point.
Photos and Features
The G515 Lightspeed TKL is as the name would imply a TKL or tenkeyless keyboard. This means that it has a standard key layout but doesn’t have the number pad at the end. It is also Logitech’s low-profile design. So in addition to being shorter, it is also thinner and uses lower profile keycaps and switches to go with a design that is closer to an old school membrane keyboard than what most people think of a mechanical keyboard as. The G515 Lightspeed TKL is 368 mm long and is 150 mm from bottom to top. Then for thickness, it is just 22 mm thick. For comparison, the smaller Logitech G Pro X 60 Lightspeed that I took a look at is 290 mm wide and 103 mm tall because of its more compact 60% layout but that keyboard is 39 mm thick to the 22 mm of the G515 Lightspeed TKL.
Because the G515 Lightspeed TKL does use a traditional layout, it is possible to use aftermarket keycaps with it. But you will need keycaps that are designed to work with a low-profile keyswitch. It is available in both black and white color options, sadly the pink that Logitech has used in some of their Pro lineup isn’t available here and I do feel that bright colors like that and more could be a good fit for this lower profile design. Part of the extra height from the bottom edge to the top edge is because there is an inch thick bezel at the top whereas the sides and bottom edges have no bezel at all. The top bezel is raised and has a dark grey finish to the rest of the keyboards black finish. This has two pinhole status LEDs on the right, one for the battery and the other for the caps lock. Then on the left, this is where the game mode key and buttons to switch between Lightspeed and Bluetooth wireless modes. The G515 Lightspeed TKL has the included wireless dongle that you can use which uses Logitech’s lightspeed wireless technology for the fastest possible response. But Bluetooth is also available for using it with devices that only support Bluetooth. You can also switch between two different devices using this setup. All of the low-profile keycaps are PBT and double-shot so you don’t have to worry about wear in the future and every key has RGB backlighting as well. There are also a few function layer keys pre-programs and labeled on the front edge where you can see it when typing. These just handle the volume and media controls mostly but the F8 key does let you flip through the backlighting brightness as well.
The overall thickness (well thinness really) of the G515 Lightspeed TKL isn’t really obvious until you see it from a side profile. The grey used on the top bezel wraps around the back of the keyboard and on the sides, you can see how it has both the dark grey and black. The right side has the Logitech G logo molded into it as well as the G515 printed on it. Then on the back, there is one USB Type-C connection for charging and a single switch to turn the keyboard off when needed. The side profile also shows off how the low profile keycaps get rid of any extra shaping from row to row, it is completely flat. The keycaps do still have a little cup to the top of the cap but that is less pronounced than the traditional OEM keycap profile you would see on most mechanical keyboards. This is a lot closer to a laptop keyboard really.
The bezel-less design does give you a peak at the key switches as well. You can pick from a Linear or Tactile switch with both being close in resistance at 43g for the linear and 45g for the tactile. They have a 3.2mm travel distance and the actuation point is short at 1.3mm. Our test keyboard has brown tactile switches. The widest keys of course have stabilizers which have their own Cherry-like stabilizers but the stabilizer bar between them isn’t under the backplate, it is tucked in just behind the switch.
The bottom of the G515 Lightspeed TKL has a unique striped texture that I haven’t seen used before running across most of the bottom of the keyboard. The exception to that is the area at the top which has the information sticker on it. That touched on the exact model name including the switch type, all of the manufacturer information, and also your serial number as well. That is also where the wireless dongle hiding spot is as well. They have a grove carved out with a USB-sized hole at the end that the dongle will slide into for storage. They have it labeled, but the dongle also comes in this spot so once you find it the first time you will know what it is used for. For grip the bottom has five rubber grips on the main base, they are thin but wide with three along the front edge and two in the back corners. There are grips on the flip-out feet as well. For the flip-out feet, you can pick from two sizes and Logitech has those labeled by the angle that it gives the G515 Lightspeed TKL. You have 4 and 6 degree options.
There are two extremely small screws on the back visible. These can be removed and the back panel comes off exposing the battery for easy replacement. This puts the G515 Lightspeed TKL in compliance with the EU law requiring replaceable batteries WAY ahead of the 2027 implementation. It also means that you won’t have to throw away your keyboard if the battery life gets bad and on that same note from Logitech’s point of view, I bet it is a lot cheaper and easier to send out just a battery rather than replacing the entire keyboard. You will need a #00 Philips screwdriver which not everyone has to remove the screws. This also gave us a good look at the battery and we can see the G515 Lightspeed TKL has a Li-Po battery with a model number 325085 and a capacity of 1500 mAh or 5550Wh. It has a small cable and a plug that is accessible. A quick Google shows that you can get these exact batteries for $12 but none look like that will come with that plug. I wonder if Logitech themselves will sell them in the future.
Software and Performance
Like always, I did want to touch on the software side of things before getting into how the G515 Lightspeed TKL performed. Software is a big part of the overall experience and if you didn’t check out our Pro X 60 coverage, Logitech has made a few big changes in their software. Their software is called G Hub and it works with the entire Logitech Gaming lineup. When you open G Hub you have all of your connected devices listed out. For me that includes things like the StreamCam, Litra Beam LX, Superlight, and the PowerPlay in addition to the G515 Lightspeed TKL. Each has a picture of the product and because the G515 is wider it takes up more space than most. From here you can see the battery life and wireless connection. You can also turn the lighting on or off and switch to onboard memory mode.
When you first open up a new device Logitech runs you through a few pages of pictures that highlight some of the key features. This can also include options like on the Lightsync part it has a dropdown letting you pick out an initial effect or on a mouse it might ask you to pick a default DPI. This is a cool way to make sure you know what the device can do and if you don’t plan on diving into the features this might have you select the only options you need to adjust.
Once past the initial setup or any time in the future when you open up the G515’s page you will start on the Lightsync page. This makes sense, this is the page that will see the most action for most people. This page has the Windows lighting settings link up top. Then below that you have three tabs of lighting effect options with presets, freestyle, and animations. The presets page has a drop-down of effects you can pick from. Any that you pick will have different options to help fine-tune that specific effect. For some this might just be the speed of the effect and brightness, others will have colors you pick from or change the direction of the effect. The Freestyle page is where you can set up your static lighting design. You can set it key by key or you can click and drag to select multiple keys at a time. Then the last page is where you can create your animations and pick from those.
The next page is the Assignments page which on the left is a square with a plus sign in the middle. This is where Logitech has changed things up and because of that, they have a slide show going over some of the features available now. Now you have always been able to remap a keyboard key in G Hub, the big change is being able to assign multiple functions to just one key by utilizing function layers. Similar to how holding shift will change things to capitals. On the Assignments page, you have three layers by default with the base, function, and G-Shift layers. With each, you can click on any and remap a key. You can select a modifier which can be Alt, Ctrl, or Shift. Then you can also pick the event type which can be pressing the key, holding it, or on release. Then from there, you can pick the key itself. With that set then you can pick what you want the key to do. The actions options are focused on other software like OBS, Discord, Streamlabs, and Overwolf. Commands is a list of actions that you can do in Windows using shortcut keys. The most basic are things like Ctrl+C for copy and Ctrl+V for paste but Windows shortcuts that use the Windows key are here as well so you can option up different Windows programs, search, and flip through opened programs. The lighting section for me is all specific to having the Litra Beam LX also hooked up, I can switch through presets, change lighting brightness, and more. The keys option just lists out every possible key which includes things like the full number pad which the G515 doesn’t have. For Macros, you can create your own macros with the macro tool to be able to bind a whole series of actions all together. Then under system, you can set it up to launch ANY application. You also have options to change volume controls well beyond just the base volume with EQ adjustments, changing audio inputs and outputs and media controls.
The last option in the top left is the game controller which is the game mode menu. Here you just select which keys you want to be disabled when you turn on game mode. You can set up multiple profiles if you have specific keys you want to only turn off when you are using specific games. This is a step beyond what most companies do for game mode which is just locking down the Windows key when in game mode.
Lastly, in the bottom left corner, there is a gear that opens up the settings page for the G515. This has more options on it than you might expect. Sometimes this page just has the firmware update button and firmware version listed. But for wireless devices like this in the top left you have the battery level and a breakdown of the power consumption including the number of hours you have left. There are also important lighting and power settings here. You pick if the lighting should come on when the G515 starts up. You also set inactivity settings here which by default have the lighting dim to 50% after a minute and turn off completely after 5 minutes. You can also turn on on-board memory mode. This will save your profile to the keyboard and not require G-Hub to be running or even installed at all. This is great if you change the G515 from device to device or if you don’t want to keep the software running all of the time.
Diving into the rest of our testing I can finally talk a little about my experience using the G515 Lightspeed TKL. I have been using the keyboard for all of my writing, gaming, and normal PC use for a few weeks now. As usual, with any peripheral that has any significant change from what you are used to it did take a little adjustment to get used to the low-profile design of the G515 Lightspeed TKL. I have been using a standard mechanical keyboard of some shape or form for 16 years now. Thankfully the G515 Lightspeed TKL uses a standard key layout, so the only adjustment was with the thin design and low profile switches and keycaps. With both of the switch types that the G515 comes with, you have a low height combined with low profile keycaps as well but on top of that the switches have a short actuation point as well. The brown switches that our sample has are the tactile switch but they do also have a linear model as well. If you are a clicky fan however there isn’t a switch that will cover that. I prefer a traditional height switch setup and not everyone is going to prefer this low-profile design, but I like that Logitech is covering a range of preferences in their lineup. The tactile switches are smooth and other than a little rocking when you crab the keycap they were solid, same goes for the stabilizers on the wider keys which didn’t have any extra noise or rattle.
Logitech did include the three buttons up on the top bezel where you can flip between wireless and Bluetooth connectivity and turn game mode on. But with that, I was surprised that they didn’t slip in a volume wheel there as well. With the G Pro X 60, they fit one in on the side and it is a feature a lot of their keyboards tend to have. You do have volume controls using the function layer as well as media controls and G Hub allows a lot of flexibility in programming whatever you want on your own function layers now as well. This is a wireless keyboard and the lighting is bright enough to light up your entire office or whatever room you are using the G515 would drain the battery down quickly so it isn’t a surprise that the backlighting isn’t bright enough to see from outside. But it is still more than enough to light up all of the keys and make them readable in the bright daylight let alone at night.
Speaking of battery life, Logitech lists the battery life as “up to 36h” but that is going to depend heavily on your lighting settings. With my settings which include dimming the lighting to 50% after 1 minute of inactivity and turning the lighting off after 5 minutes, I have seen great battery life. Even now as I write this I am at 38% battery life left on this charge and at my current use it is projecting 26 more hours of use and 69 hours of use at max charge. That is close to what I have been seeing as well. I haven’t had to even think about the battery life or plugging it in more than once a week and I would be on the highest end of the spectrum of how much time I am at the PC. When I do charge, I see the G515 charging at 2 watts which would be on the low end compared to modern phones but is fine for a device like this. Plugging it in for a few hours or just charging overnight and you are good to go. Having the G515 use Type-C for charging makes that even easier. While Logitech does give you the charging cable, you can keep your wireless dongle plugged into that and use your phone charger if you have one on your desk when needed. As for wireless performance, there weren’t any surprises there. Logitech’s Lightspeed wireless connectivity is always rock solid, even in locations with a lot of wireless interference like my own home but you do have the option to use Bluetooth as well or to use both to switch between devices. The wireless dongle included with the G515 can pull double duty with some Logitech mice and connect to the G515 and a mouse if the mouse supports it to cut down on the number of USB ports you need.
Overall and Final Verdict
With my testing out of the way, we can finally step back and get more of an overall look at Logitech’s G515 Lightspeed TKL keyboard. I’ll get the biggest downside for me at least out of the way first. The low-profile design just isn’t going to be for everyone, no matter how good things are. If you prefer a standard keyswitch and keycap then this might not be the keyboard for you. But there are a lot of people who love those low-profile designs or at least that is what they are used to using and for those users, Logitech has done a great job with the G515. You get a great-performing mechanical switch with a short throw which for gaming means faster reactions. They have paired that up with low-profile PBT double-shot keycaps that continue the low-profile design and will mean a lifetime of use that isn’t going to wear off your legends. The longevity is also helped by this wireless design having a removable battery that can be replaced in the future. I hate that a lot of wireless devices are just dead and trash when their battery dies, not only is it wasteful, but it can be expensive to replace otherwise usable devices. I’m really happy to see that Logitech recognizes this and put the effort into including that.
Speaking of wireless and battery life. This is where the G515 shines. You have both Logitech’s Lightspeed wireless as a connection option and Bluetooth meaning you can switch between devices if you want. The wireless performance was flawless in all of my testing, but it was the battery life that I was the happiest with. The G515 is advertised as having 36 hours of battery life but in my testing with the lighting effects I run and inactivity settings, I have consistently been seeing around 69 hours of battery life which even with my heavy use means only charging after a week or more of use and a lighter use user would see longer than that. With that, I wish I had a standard height switch design with a number pad that performed similarly, the MK770 I have been using as my main keyboard before testing the G515 has almost no battery life in comparison. For charging you have a Type-C connection which you can use the included cable or any standard phone charger which is what I have been doing, keeping the number of cables on my desk down.
Logitech did go with a standard layout which makes switching to the G515 easy and in the future if you wanted to you could replace the keycaps as long as you found a keycap designed for a low-profile switch. The only thing missing as far as layout or design goes for me is a volume wheel. Logitech slipped one in with their G Pro X 60 Lightspeed and now I’m spoiled and would love to see at least a hidden wheel like on that keyboard on all of their keyboards.
For pricing, the G515 Lightspeed TKL has an MSRP of $139.99. For competition, Razer has the DeathStalker V2 Pro TKL which is a direct competitor to the G515 Lightspeed TKL and Corsair has the K100 Air Wireless RGB but that is a full-sized keyboard and the Razer is $219.99 and the Corsair is even more at $279.99. Beyond that, there are a few enthusiast-focused options like the NuPhy Air75 V2 at $119 but overall while not cheap the G515 isn’t too badly priced given the features you are getting. Especially if people see anything like the battery life that I have been experiencing. With that said, Logitech has it advertised with 36 hours of life so I would go in with that expectation. Overall, if low profile and wireless is what you are looking for the G515 is looking like a great way to go.
Live Pricing: HERE
