SteelSeries has updated its longstanding Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 rodent for 2026 as it seeks to bring a veteran of the ultralight rodent world up to date. The changes are mostly inside, with a shiny new sensor, higher wireless polling and major improvements to battery life.
The £100/$100 price tag is enticing, although we’ve seen this area of the market explode with some very competitive ultralight rodents from the likes of Endgame Gear and even Be Quiet! in the last year, potentially making this quite a difficult sell for SteelSeries.
With this in mind, the one area of this new rodent that isn’t a difficult sell to me is the colour. I love this magenta/bright pink colourway and now want my entire setup covered in it because it’s essentially neon. SteelSeries bundled along a matching mousepad to at least let me live out some of my pink setup pipe dream. If you’d prefer something a little more muted, then standard black and white hues are available—just know it’ll never look as funky as my bright pink mouse.
Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 specs
(Image credit: Future)
Buttons: 5
Feet: PTFE
Connectivity: 2.4 GHz receiver/Bluetooth, USB-C to USB-A wired
Sensor: SteelSeries TrueMove 26K
Max DPI: 26,000
Max acceleration: 40 g
Max speed: 400 IPS
Polling rate: 4000 Hz (wireless) / 1000 Hz wired
Battery life: Up to 120 hours
RGB lighting: 3-zone
Warranty: 2 years
Price: $100/£100
The fit and finish here is excellent, too, with some quality plastics used, at least to my hands, and I also don’t mind the honeycombed pattern across the rear of the mouse. This has been a hallmark of SteelSeries’s Aerox line of mice since its inception, and for ultralight mice in days gone by, and still looks decent to me. I can understand why some folks may find it a little dated, but it’s there to serve a purpose.
To protect any ingress of dust, dirt or moisture, the Aerox Wireless 3 Gen 2 carries the same IP54 rating as before, which SteelSeries terms as the ‘AquaBarrier’—catchy.
Button placement is sensible, with the two main ones, a scroll wheel and one for controlling DPI on top, and two navigation buttons on the left side. On the underside, you’ll find a connectivity switch for choosing between Bluetooth and the bundled 2.4 GHz receiver, although without the aid of the RGB indicator, it can be quite difficult to distinguish between which connection you have selected.
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(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)
It’s inside where changes have been made, as SteelSeries has graduated the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 to its TrueMove 26,000 DPI sensor. This constitutes an 8,000 DPI increase over the older model, and while the move up at the top end isn’t too noticeable for most mere mortals (plus in some FPS titles, you’re also likely to keep DPI lower), it’s pleasant for added zippiness for general navigation and making wrist-flicks even brisker.
Going as high as 26,000 DPI caused especially brisk sweeping movement for me in Counter Strike 2—my usual test bed for mice—although it comes with the caveat that it may be too jumpy and jittery in day-to-day usage. To this end, the default maximum DPI with the OP1w 4K is a much more reasonable 3200, although it can be turned up in software.
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(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)
To keep up with the competition, including the Endgame Gear OP1w 4K and the Be Quiet! Dark Perk Ergo, SteelSeries has also boosted the wireless polling rate up to 4000 Hz, up from the more standard 1000 Hz on the old model. The reason why this is important is because of responsiveness and potentially lower latency, for the pro players who are likely to notice that sort of thing. A higher polling rate means a device reports its position and inputs more frequently (hence Hz as the measurement).
Note that 4000 Hz isn’t enabled by default, and you’ll need to enable it in SteelSeries’ software.
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Tested at 1,000 Hz — The closer the dots are together, the more consistent a mouse is reporting movement. More variation or stray dots makes for a less accurate sensor.(Image credit: MouseTester)Tested at 1,000 Hz — The spikes represent an increase in velocity, with more erratic spikes showing tracking going haywire.(Image credit: MouseTester)
All of this combines to make this SteelSeries choice feel especially responsive in shooters, such as CS2, with brisk and responsive movements and inputs with little noticeable latency that make this a strong choice for FPS titles. The switches inside are mechanical ones rated for up to 80 million actuations, and they felt especially tactile under finger. We have gotten to a point where hybrid switches with optical powers can be found on similarly-priced mice, potentially yielding faster response times for inputs against more traditional mechanisms. Nonetheless, I’m still a fan of how the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2’s switches feel.
Connectivity is handled either by Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz, with the latter supporting the 4000 Hz wireless polling rate. The fact that this mouse also comes with Bluetooth adds some versatility against the competition, which eschews that in favour of outright performance in one device. I found the mouse’s connection over either method to be reliable and stable, using Bluetooth on my MacBook Pro and the bundled receiver on my Windows gaming PC.
Buy if…
✅ You want some clever software: The Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 impresses with some clever software trickery that helps set it apart at this mid-range price point.
Don’t buy if…
❌ You want more of a modern look: Some may think the honeycomb pattern on the rear of this mouse makes it look a bit dated—rival choices can look a little cleaner and more modern for a similar price if it’s a big concern.
SteelSeries has also majorly improved the battery life of the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 over its predecessors, with up to 120 hours over 2.4 GHz with 1000 Hz polling, and up to 200 hours over Bluetooth. If you go up to 4000 Hz polling, there is a significant drop-off down to 35 hours, although this is still just enough to get through most of a working week between charges if this rodent is used at full pelt.
The software side of things is handled by SteelSeries’ all-encompassing GG suite, which provides access to a range of controls. On the face of it, it seems like standard fare with means for controlling DPI on several levels, polling rate, power saving modes, plus Prism RGB lighting control with varying presets or custom addressing.
The most impressive part of the software suite, though, is the clever 3D Aim Trainer and Sensitivity Finder, which puts you into a small in-software minigame that takes around ten minutes, and is designed to optimise your mouse’s DPI sensitivity for a specific FPS game. You can then take the software’s guidance and apply into the game, and even ‘convert’ the sensitivity from one game to another for a consistent experience.
I think SteelSeries has done an excellent job with the new Aerox Wireless 3 Gen 2 in taking a rodent that was already a great choice in this fiercely competitive mid-range sector and bringing it up to date with a more responsive feel, better battery life and some clever software trickery.
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