Asus launches its new ROG Strix Flare II Animate mechanical keyboard

The Strix Flare II Animate is a mechanical keyboard by ROG, one of Asus’ gaming brands. It features an LED display built into it that can play animations or display logos, similar to the dot-matrix screens ROG has put into the lids of select laptops.

This technology is known as the AniMe Matrix LED display by Asus, and it can be used to show bespoke pictures and animations, system information like battery life, time, and date, and even audio visualizations. To say the least, it’s blingy and more eye-catching than an illuminated logo. That could be a good thing, though, because this keyboard will set you back $220, so you’ll need to justify it somehow.

As if the Strix Flare II Animate’s 312 mini-LED display wasn’t bright enough, Asus added an RGB strip to the bottom. My hands are objecting, “But wait,” I can hear them say. “Won’t a wrist rest hide all of that lighting?” Yes, it would if the wrist rest that comes with this keyboard didn’t have a diffuser that gives it bright light.

The Flare II Animate also has a laundry list of non-screen and RGB-related features, including:

• 8000Hz polling
• Media controls, which take the shape of a knob, scroll wheel, and button
• USB 2.0 passthrough
• PBT Double-shot keycaps
• Sound-dampening foam

Finally, and maybe most crucially in a keyboard, there are the actual key switches. Cherry MX Blue, Brown, or Red switches are available for the Animate. It’s also available with Asus’s ROG NX switches, which come in three different flavours. It even features swappable switches, allowing you to change out switches based on your preferences – for example, you could make pressing the space bar harder while pressing the WASD easier.

If you don’t like the Animate’s glitter (and expense), Asus will sell a basic Strix Flare II for $180. There are a few additional caveats, however. It doesn’t have as many switch options because the switches aren’t easily swappable, and it can’t use Cherry switches.

You also lose out on the AniMe screen, which has been replaced by an RGB ROG logo (the lights on the bottom are gone too). Aside from that, it’s nearly identical to the Animate, including N-key rollover, a 2-meter braided cord, and macro support.

The Strix Flare II non-animated will be available late this month, and Asus says the Animate’s “tentative” availability is around late January as well.

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