Logitech Signature Comfort Plus MK880 hands-on impressions

Logitech has already been offering some of the best wireless keyboards and mice around – especially ones designed with productivity and professional use in mind – but the company is constantly looking into how it could improve upon them in various ways, some of which are rather… unexpected. Take the just-announced Signature Comfort Plus MK880 set and the Signature Comfort Plus M850L, for instance: sure, they look nice enough and they are clearly meant for work, but Logitech did not focus on extra functionality or software features this time around. The did on something else entirely.

Yours truly had the chance to use the Signature Comfort Plus MK880 set for about a week before its official announcement and it’s definitely worth publishing an article about… for two different reasons: for delivering hands-on impressions of this one unique feature, as well as for pointing out who this product is actually for.

There’s no point going into much detail when it comes to the standard features one expects from a high-quality Logitech set: it’s fully Bluetooth compatible, it can work with multiple devices and operating systems, it allows for extensive customization through the company’s Logi Options+ software, it promises long battery life. What actually sets this particular set apart is the integrated, cushioned palm rest surface that both its keyboard and mouse sport so as to make their prolonged use more comfortable.

On the Signature Comfort Plus M850L mouse – which is also available to buy separately – that exact spot, called the palm cushion, is located underneath the scroll wheel: that’s where the hand is always forming a curve over the mouse, closely following its shape. That curve can prove tiresome to constantly keep adjusted during prolonged work, though. By making that particular spot of the mouse less hard and its surface easier to follow the shape of that palm curve, Logitech strives to provide a more natural, relaxed grip. Yours truly found that it does work: it may not make a world of difference compared to a hard-surfaced mouse, but the M850L does feel less straining to use after a lot of button-clicking and wheel-scrolling.

Logitech has gone for something similar with the keyboard included in the Signature Comfort Plus MK880 set: it sports a built-in, extensive palm rest (just like the one found in other such sets such as the MK850 Performance), but this one’s surface is not made of hard plastic. It’s covered by a soft material that’s supported by a dual-foam layer underneath. This means that (a) the edge of the palm rest never “bites into” the user’s wrists when his/her hands touch the keyboard and that (b) when at rest on the keyboard, both wrists slightly “sink into” that surface instead of feel it resisting. The sense of comfort is obviously more felt here because the soft surface itself is much wider than the one found on the M850L mouse.

The softer material covering the cushioned rest surface on both the keyboard and the mouse of the Signature Comfort Plus MK880 is obviously cause for (some) concern: even hard plastic degrades over time, in terms of both color and texture, so yours truly has no idea how this material will fare long-term (a week of use is not nearly enough to speculate). Logitech does not mention anything about this in its promotional material or in the Signature Comfort Plus MK880 product page, but the company is certainly aware of such issues from past experience and chances are it has taken steps to ensure that this particular material will prove durable enough.

It should be noted that the Signature Comfort Plus MK880 offers a more comfortable user experience than other such sets, but its keyboard and mouse are actually not the most ergonomic examples of such products Logitech has released. Those would be the Logitech Wave keyboard and the Logitech Lift mouse, which are specifically designed for consumers in actual need of maximum ergonomics (people who either face or are concerned they’ll face medical conditions such as RSI). The Signature Comfort Plus Combo MK880 is a streamlined product, made for people looking for something decidedly better than a typical wireless set… but still one designed in a traditional way overall.

For that mainstream audience’s needs the Signature Comfort Plus MK880 is a good fit: it’s well-designed, well-built, power-efficient and supported by constantly improving software. While the extra comfort angle may not sound that important to everyone, people who do spend a lot of time working with wireless keyboards and mice at the office and/or at home will likely welcome any help that leads to a less stressing user experience overall – so, to them, this set can prove quite helpful.

Sure, yours truly is too accustomed to his low-profile, small, mechanical keyboard and the Logitech MX Master 4 mouse to use anything else, so he probably won’t be switching to this set as a daily driver. But less… well, fixated consumers may find that even a little bit of extra comfort can go a long way. A long way indeed.