7.0 Score
It’s not everyday we come across a product that makes us go what. The last time we reviewed something close was the Razer Mousepad. This time it’s the ASUS ROG Balteus Qi. But there is something about the Balteus Qi that makes it special – time to find out about it.
Material
The ROG Balteus Qi has some handful number of features that makes the mousepad stand apart from the rest. Starting off with the dimensions, the Balteus Qi comes in a form factor of 370 x 320 mm – a portrait oriented mouse pad size.
The area is more than enough for you to move your mouse around. On the top where you place the mouse and use it has a texture that goes with it – the kind of surface that lets you move your mouse with little resistance to the material. On the bottom, the mousepad comes with a non-slip rubber base that hold the whole mousepad in place.
Features
Starting off with a feature that gets every gamer going – the ROG Balteus Qi has an Aura Sync RGB Lighting under the hood. The Mousepad has this interesting underglow which makes it look really pretty and at the bottom right corner, you can see that the ROG Logo is illuminated as well. The RGB comes with 15 different modes – my personal favorite will be the usual Rainbow. Fret not as it does support Aura Sync. Changing the lighting is easy – all you have to do is press the button on the side and voila.
The Balteus Qi comes with a USB Passthrough that lets you connect your USB at arms reach. In our case, we used it to connect the Wireless Receiver of our ROG Gladius Mouse. Finally, as the name says it all – the mousepad has a Qi Wireless charger on the top right corner – which is pretty darn cool.
Experience
Let’s talk about the material and the build quality. I personally use a ROG Scabbard Mousepad and jumping over to the Balteus Qi is definitely intriguing. The fact that its made out of hard material – polycarbonate shell which is solid and doesn’t feel too flimsy, its really nice. During my time using the Balteus Qi, I used my personal ROG Gladius II and the review unit – Gladius Wireless. Not only it was a nice surface to use, it does take a bit of time to get used to the surface – I have to say that, especially coming from a cloth material.
The RGB Game on this mousepad is by far the most lit AF I have ever seen. I use an ROG Scar and the other ROG product that I use is the Gladius II which has a gorgeous RGB light on it. Adding this mouse pad to my existing setup felt like a party happening in my room – a good one in fact. These lights have a very nice fluidic flow that doesn’t cut off anywhere and it’s definitely pleasing to the eye. With the Aura Sync, I was able to sync everything to Rainbow – so, by this you can tell how the lighting would have been.
Moving on to the Qi Wireless Charger. This is one of the very few mousepads in the market that has a Wireless Charger built in. The wireless charger works and in fact it does get the battery up and going. But take note as the charger is connected separately via another Micro USB Cable. The wireless charger lacks Fast Charging option but having one at an arms reach is definitely a nice thing to have. What’s even cool is that the Mousepad recognizes when you place the phone for charging and will use the RGB lighting to show your phone has completely charged. As someone who uses a dedicated Qi Wireless charger, I actually enjoyed using the Balteus Qi but it was more a novelty feature.
Conclusion
The ASUS ROG Balteus Qi is more of a novelty RGB Mousepad for people who wants to add more glitz and glam to their existing setup with the capability of Wireless Charging. Take note that there are only few phones in the market that supports Qi Charging. I hope the next version of this comes with a built in 10W Fast Charging Qi Standard – now that is something I can see myself using it on the desk.
