Page 3 - Subjective Performance Tests
After installing and properly configuring the Turtle Beach Kone II Air to my liking using the software, I put the mouse through our series of standard tracking performance tests. This includes normal office usage in the Windows environment as well as gaming within first person shooter games. Graphics work is done in addition to regular office usage with Adobe Photoshop. Mousepads used include the Func F-Series 10 L and XTracPads Ripper XXL. Please note these are subjective tests, but we attempt to make it as objective as possible with our cross-reference testing methods.
Personally, when I use my mouse, I prefer to establish a palm grip rather than a claw grip. What this means is that I prefer to cover the whole mouse with the palms of my hands, therefore a comfortable ergonomic fit is a priority preference. The Turtle Beach Kone II Air, being designed mainly for users like me in mind, was perfect for the occasion. This mouse generally gripped well in my average-sized hand thanks to the size and ergonomic shape of this mouse. The sides are not textured, but were reasonably grippy during use. For those who like claw grips or a semi-claw-palm-hybrid grip, the Kone II Air will also accommodate you if you have larger hands. However, its 110g weight is a bit porky by 2024 standards. This would have been fine 10 years ago, but compared to my daily driver, the Kone Pro Air at 75g, there is simply no going back. A lightweight mouse is necessary for first person shooter games to make swift, quick actions attainable, and preferred to make day-to-day Windows usage a breeze. On the positive side, the mouse's center of gravity is near the middle, which almost lines up with the sensor at the bottom.
The primary purpose of Turtle Beach's Kone II Air is intended for the performance enthusiast crowd. It is intended for gaming, but this does not exclude graphic professionals and office users demanding the edge in tracking precision. Like many modern gaming-oriented products, I found the Turtle Beach Kone II Air to be excellent for everyday office work in addition to performance demanding applications. The PixArt PAW3395-based Owl-Eye 26K is a high-end sensor from PixArt and one of the best in the market today, and you can definitely see why with this mouse. It has a sensitivity range from 50 DPI to 26,000 DPI in 50 DPI increments. This caters very well to all the different scenarios and game play strategies FPS gamers will encounter in the real world. The fact is, dipping as low as 50 DPI is definitely not something you will see every day, nor is the epic 26,000 DPI maxima. I am not entirely sure why anyone would need something that nauseatingly sensitive, but hey, it is there for those who want it.
The Turtle Beach Kone II Air is an incredibly precise and quick responding mouse at up to 1000Hz polling rate, just as we would expect from a performance gaming product. No input lag was noticed, and response time was consistently excellent from the lowest sensitivity setting all the way to 26,000 DPI. Although sensitivity range is not a direct indicator of performance similar to how resolution is not a direct indicator of digital camera performance, its incredible precision was still basically sustained across the entire sensitivity range. The lift-off distance was very low on the Turtle Beach Kone II Air. The sense of control and the smoothness of its glide over all tested tracking surfaces was excellent, and the pointer tracked accurately and precisely in accordance with my inputs. The PTFE feet helped smooth the glide too. I noticed no tracking problems with the Turtle Beach Kone II Air on all surfaces I have tested it on. I noticed what could be minor jitter at high sensitivity settings, but I could not tell if it was just my hand or if it was really the mouse itself. I did not experience any spin out nor any smoothing was noticed, which is good.
During usage, I have never accidentally pressed any buttons I did not intend to click. However, you may click the Easy-Shift[+] button by accident when you initially reach for the mouse. Accidentally actuating the Easy-Shift[+] button is inconsequential by default assignment. There are not many buttons on the Turtle Beach Kone II Air to begin with, and all the placements are pretty standard. Any feature I needed was always well within reach of my thumb or index finger. The free spin scroll wheel was blast to use -- one of my favorite features from my old Logitech mice with this feature -- and the pre-tensioned Titan Switch Optical switches made it all the better.
The rated battery life of the Turtle Beach Kone II Air is 130+ hours. Depending on how you count idle time and usage time as well as the configuration of your LEDs, your mileage will vary. From my experience, the battery life is amazing for a high-performance product, and the quick charge function works well. It is unlikely you will unexpectedly run out of juice with the Kone II Air, and if you ever do, using it in wired mode for 10 minutes will get you back on the road for a few more hours.
The Turtle Beach Kone II Air is highly customizable for users desiring wide tracking resolution, maximum responsiveness, lag-free performance, RGB LED lighting, razor sharp handling characteristics, and amazing battery life. These are all important characteristics for a performance gaming product, but its heavy weight leaves a bit to be desired.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
