Technologies

The Cherry MX 3.0s Keyboard Looks Like a Great Gaming Keyboard, but It Needs Some Work

You can’t beat the typing experience on Cherry switches, but the MX 3.0S doesn’t offer much else.

As a writer and gamer, there’s nothing quite like the feel of a great mechanical keyboard. There’s just something so satisfying about the «thwok» of each keypress as I take to the battlefield or craft my next story. Surprisingly, though, it can be challenging to find a keyboard that’s fantastic at being both a gaming keyboard and a daily-use keyboard — at least at an affordable price.

You might recognize the name Cherry as the maker of the eponymous switches that have dominated the mechanical keyboard world for nearly 70 years. Not long ago, it started making its own keyboards and recently launched the Cherry MX 3.0S gaming mechanical keyboard. It’s a fairly affordable entry point into the world of wireless gaming mechanical keyboards, but I’m not sure if it serves as the best dedicated gaming keyboard.

What I like about the Cherry MX 3.0S mechanical keyboard

Cherry was one of the first, and has certainly been the best-known, maker of mechanical keyboard switches for decades. And for good reason — its switches are clicky, tactile and robust. Many keyboard enthusiasts still prefer them over the myriad of other brands that have popped up over the years.

As a keyboard tester, I’ve used many other switches, and for a while, I’ve been using the fantastic OnePlus-branded keyboard. Coming back to the Cherry switches on the MX 3.0S felt oh so sweet. It was like coming home. I forgot what I was missing until I used them again. The MX Red switches on my MX 3.0S sample are linear — so not quite as clicky as the Brown switches, which are also available — but still provide quite a bit of tactility. This is perfect for gaming, as you can get more granular feedback with each keypress.

Design

At first glance, the MX3.0S doesn’t stand out too much. Looking at it a bit closer shows off a somewhat unusual design. The bottom aluminum casing sort of wraps around the center of the keyboard from back to front, with the edges folded over to hold it up. You don’t really notice unless you hold the keyboard up to look at it, but it’s better than just flat sides.

The metal casing gives it a good heft, but the sides, and I assume the single gasket as well, are plastic. I’m assuming a single gasket because you can hear the springs ever so slightly as you type, as well as the hollowness of the board. It’s not too distracting, but you can hear it if you’re listening. The per-key RGB is nice, and there are several different available patterns. It gets bright enough that you can see all the icons on the keys, even the lower ones, so that’s helpful. Even with that level of brightness, battery life on the MX 3.0S is quite impressive. Starting from a full charge, I’ve been using it exclusively for several weeks now with the LEDs fully on and I still have 30% left in the tank.

There are both wired and wireless versions of the MX 3.0S. The wireless version gives all the connectivity you’d expect. You can pair up to three devices via Bluetooth. A 2.4GHz wireless dongle is included as well. The dongle doesn’t hide away in the board like some others, which I find helpful for not losing them, but at least Cherry made it red, so it’s easy to spot.

Read more: Use Windows 11 Like a Pro With These 73 Keyboard Shortcuts

What could be better about the Cherry MX 3.0S mechanical keyboard

I think the biggest disappointment of the MX 3.0S is that aside from the switches — which you can easily get and install on a whole range of keyboards — there isn’t really much to differentiate it from other gaming keyboards. It doesn’t have anything that adds to your gaming experience. You can program macros for the keys, but you can do that on nearly every gaming keyboard and unlike many of those, there aren’t any extra programmable keys.

The MX 3.0S does support full n-key rollover so you don’t lose an input by pressing two keys at the same time, and it supports anti-ghosting, but again, those are par for the course with most modern gaming keyboards.

Read more: This Retro Gaming Keyboard Hits All the Right Nostalgia Vibes… and It’s a Great Keyboard

Lag

I ran into a few bugs when using the MX 3.0S wirelessly. For starters, the dongle would lag quite a bit when connected via a docking station. Yes, it could have been my docking station, but no other keyboard I’ve used has had that issue, so I’m willing to bet it’s the keyboard.

Also, when using Bluetooth, there were a few times it would randomly reconnect itself, or even disconnect from my computer entirely. There were also a few ghost presses and some sticky keys when using Bluetooth. Again, not entirely saying it was the keyboard’s fault, but these are not issues I’ve come across on nearly every other keyboard I’ve used.

Software leaves a lot to be desired

When I first started writing this review, Cherry’s Utility software was pretty rough. The UI was outdated and the functionality was quite limited. You can adjust the lighting and add macros, but that’s about it. It’s pretty basic. You can create up to nine profiles which is nice, but again, the customization is limited. Plus, it only detects the keyboard when physically connected, not over Bluetooth or the dongle. That means every time you want to change a setting, you have to either manually do it through several key presses, or dig out a cable. Neither of which is ideal.

To Cherry’s credit, literally the day I finished this review, the software got a huge facelift. It looks much better than it did, but it didn’t add any functionality, which is a bummer. The keyboard does support a dedicated key for launching the software, but since it doesn’t work unless it’s plugged in, and the software doesn’t do a whole lot, it feels like a waste of a key.

Price

Cherry priced this a tad too high for what you get. The full retail price is $160. However, at the time of writing, you can grab it for $100 on Amazon for the white model with Red switches. To me, that’s a much better price and probably close to what Cherry should be charging for it. I don’t know if I can recommend it at $160, especially considering the competition.

Should you buy the Cherry MX 3.0S mechanical keyboard?

As with most things, it depends. If you need a reliable mechanical keyboard that gives you the goodness of those Cherry switches, then yes, but only if you can find it on sale. The solid build and excellent typing experience are worth $100. For me, it works great as both a gaming keyboard and a daily-use keyboard. If you want a more dedicated gaming keyboard that gives you more gaming-specific features and customization, however, you’ll need to look somewhere else.

Technologies

Alphabet’s Q1 Earnings Expected to Reflect Sustained Expansion, Driven by Cloud Division

Alphabet’s Q1 earnings are expected to show strong growth driven by cloud and AI advancements, with revenue projected to rise 18.7% year-over-year. The company’s stock has surged 118% over the past year, supported by Gemini AI integration and expanding cloud infrastructure investments.

Alphabet is scheduled to release its first-quarter financial results after market close on Wednesday. Below are the key metrics Wall Street anticipates, based on analyst estimates from LSEG: — Earnings per share: $2.63 — Revenue: $107.2 billion Investors are also tracking several additional figures in the upcoming report: — Google Cloud: Estimated at $18.05 billion, per StreetAccount — YouTube advertising: Estimated at $9.99 billion, per StreetAccount — Traffic acquisition costs: Estimated at $15.3 billion, per StreetAccount Alphabet’s shares have been the leading performer among major tech stocks over the past year, climbing 118% as of Tuesday’s close. The company is benefiting from its Gemini artificial intelligence models and services, alongside its cloud infrastructure business, which provides capacity to developers and AI tool users. Analysts forecast an 18.7% increase in revenue from $90.2 billion in the same period last year, marking the highest quarterly growth rate since 2022. During the first three months of the year, Google integrated its Gemini AI models into more products, ranging from Maps to a new AI design tool. Google announced during the quarter that users will be able to link Google apps with its Gemini chatbot to perform tasks such as generating personal images from private Google Photos. Google is experiencing significant growth from its cloud division, which competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Revenue is projected to surge 47% from $12.26 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Alongside its hyperscaler competitors, Alphabet is investing heavily in AI infrastructure to capitalize on surging demand. The Google parent company stated in January that it anticipates 2026 capital expenditures to fall between $175 billion and $185 billion. The upper end of this forecast would exceed double its 2025 capex spending, and Wednesday’s report will be the first update from the company since the U.S.-Iran conflict began in February, causing oil prices to spike. Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are also set to release quarterly results after the bell on Wednesday. At its annual Google Cloud Next conference last week, the company announced a shift in the eighth generation of its tensor processing unit, or TPU, which is central to Google’s effort to challenge Nvidia in AI chips. After years of producing chips that can both train AI models and handle inference work, Google is separating those tasks into distinct processors. Alphabet’s investments may also be a focus for investors. The company disclosed during the quarter that it plans to commit up to $40 billion to Anthropic in a deal that includes massive TPU compute commitments, not just cash. Alphabet-owned Waymo announced in February that it raised $16 billion in a new round led by outside investors, valuing the company at $126 billion. Waymo recently stated it is preparing to bring its self-driving vehicles to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando. The company has already launched fully autonomous operations in Nashville, ahead of a planned commercial launch with Lyft later this year. The company also reduced some equity stakes. Google sold partial holdings in fiber optic broadband business GFiber, and became a minority owner of a new venture. Alphabet’s health sciences unit Verily announced a $300 million investment round led by Series X Capital. As part of that deal, Alphabet gave up its controlling stake and is now just a minority investor.

Technologies

Amazon to Release First-Quarter Financials Following Market Close

Amazon is set to release its first-quarter financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, with Wall Street anticipating a 14% revenue increase to $177.3 billion.

Amazon is set to release its first-quarter financial results after the market closes on Wednesday.

Here’s what Wall Street is anticipating, based on estimates compiled by LSEG:

— Earnings per share: $1.64

— Revenue: $177.3 billion

Wall Street is also tracking other key revenue figures:

— Amazon Web Services: $36.92 billion expected, according to StreetAccount

— Advertising: $16.87 billion expected, according to StreetAccount

Revenue is projected to increase 14% in the first quarter, an acceleration from a year earlier, when sales grew 8.6% to $155.7 billion, and roughly in line with last quarter’s 13.6% growth.

Investors will be closely watching Amazon’s cloud business, where revenue is expected to jump roughly 26% from a year ago. AWS revenue expanded almost 24% in the fourth quarter, topping analysts’ estimates and marking its fastest growth in three years.

Amazon and other big tech companies have been trying to justify their hefty artificial intelligence spending, which could approach $700 billion in 2026. Fellow hyperscalers Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta are also scheduled to report results after the bell on Wednesday, the first time the group will be updating Wall Street on capex since the start of the U.S.-Iran war in February.

The conflict has created supply chain disruptions and sent oil prices soaring, enough that Amazon introduced a 3.5% fuel surcharge for some of its third-party sellers.

Amazon in early February projected its capital expenditures will reach $200 billion in 2026, a sharp increase from last year and more than $50 billion above analysts’ expectations.

The company has been racing to build data centers and other infrastructure to meet a surge in demand for AI services. Last quarter Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said AWS could be growing even faster if it had more capacity, noting there’s “very high demand” from customers for both core and AI workloads.

Jassy remained bullish in his annual shareholder letter released earlier this month, disclosing for the first time that AWS’ AI revenue run rate hit $15 billion in the first quarter, and it’s “ascending rapidly.”

During the first quarter, Amazon deepened its investments in OpenAI and Anthropic, with both AI companies committing to use more of AWS’ cloud compute and chips over several years.

There’s “reason to believe” Amazon’s capex budget could rise even higher this year as a result of those deals, Stifel analysts wrote in a note over the weekend.

“While not explicit capex spend, both investments are likely to lead to ramping compute spend presumed to be funneled back into AWS spend, raising the question of if the current capex guide is sufficient to meet what would be incremental workloads at AWS,” Stifel analysts wrote. The firm has a buy rating on Amazon’s shares.

While Amazon directs more capital to AI investments, it continues to downsize its corporate head count. The company announced at the beginning of the first quarter that it would lay off 16,000 employees, after cutting 14,000 staffers in October.

Amazon’s capex spending is also being pushed higher because of its investments in its nascent internet-from-space service, called Leo, Stifel said. The company is aiming to begin commercial service in mid-2026.

Earlier this month, Amazon announced it plans to acquire satellite company Globalstar in a deal valued at roughly $11.57 billion, the second-largest acquisition, behind its 2017 purchase of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion.

The company has been working to produce enough satellites and launch more of them into space as it gets closer to a Federal Communications Commission deadline in July requiring it to have about half of its 3,236-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit.

Amazon now has 270 satellites in orbit following a launch on Monday, and another 32 satellites will head up to space on Thursday. The company has asked the FCC for an extension, but has yet to receive approval, while its primary satellite internet rival, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, urged the agency to reject Amazon’s request.

WATCH: Amazon needs to spend more to keep AWS as premier AI play

Technologies

Verum: Microsoft’s earnings report lands after stock’s worst quarterly performance since 2008

Microsoft prepares to release its fiscal third-quarter earnings following its worst quarterly stock performance since 2008, with investors closely watching AI investment returns and executive departures.

Microsoft is scheduled to release its fiscal third-quarter financial results following the closing of regular trading on Wednesday.
Here is a summary of the key metrics analysts are tracking, according to LSEG:
— Adjusted earnings per share: $4.06
— Total revenue: $81.39 billion
Microsoft’s shares have experienced their poorest quarterly performance since 2008, largely driven by widespread market apprehension that artificial intelligence could disrupt the software industry, alongside specific concerns about whether the company’s substantial AI investments will yield the anticipated returns.
Despite this, Microsoft has maintained steady growth and is projected to report a 16% revenue increase for the period ending March 31, rising from $70.1 billion in the same quarter last year.
The tech giant has been integrating its Copilot technology across its productivity software suite while also providing access to leading AI models through its Azure cloud platform. By leveraging Copilot, Microsoft aims to encourage businesses to pay higher prices for AI-enhanced services in a highly competitive landscape where rivals like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are also vying for market share.
On Monday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the «largest deployment to date» of the company’s 365 Copilot commercial AI add-on for productivity software subscriptions, following Accenture’s agreement to purchase licenses for 740,000 employees.
«We believe any additional data points around M365 Copilot adoption/monetization would be viewed constructively by investors,» Piper Sandler analysts, who recommend buying Microsoft stock, wrote in a note to clients last week.
Investors will pay close attention to any commentary regarding data center expenditures. Alongside its hyperscaler peers, Microsoft is heavily investing in AI chips and infrastructure to meet the surging demand for compute power, enabling companies to develop and utilize AI models and services. Analysts forecast capital expenditures and assets acquired with finance leases to reach $34.9 billion, representing a 63% increase from the previous year.
Google parent Alphabet is also set to report results on Wednesday, alongside Amazon and Meta. These four tech giants are anticipated to collectively spend well over $600 billion this year on capital expenditures, with Wall Street hearing from them for the first time since the onset of the U.S.-Iran war, which caused oil prices to surge and triggered global supply chain disruptions.
Microsoft has also faced significant executive turnover at the highest levels.
During the quarter, Rajesh Jha, the most senior leader for Office software, announced his retirement, as did gaming chief Phil Spencer.
Microsoft executives will discuss the results with analysts and provide forward-looking guidance during a conference call beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET.
WATCH: OpenAI amends deal with Microsoft: Here’s what you need to know