Logitech Pop Icon Combo Review: Perhaps the perfect keyboard-mouse combo for the tab-as-notebook crowd

The revival of the tablet market in recent years (it grew by more than 40 percent in 2024 in India as per IDC) has also seen a spike in the demand for Bluetooth keyboards, as many tablet consumers like to have the option of using their tablet like a notebook. Typing on a tablet using an onscreen keyboard is possible, but nothing quite beats using a “real” keyboard with keys that click when you strike them.

That said, finding a keyboard that meets your requirements can be quite a challenge – you get options that range from a basic Rs 1000 ($15) to those that are close to Rs 20,000 ($250) or more. And then comes the agony of choice – should one opt for a keyboard that is compact and easy to carry, or a spacious one that is easier to use and has a separate number pad?

Should one go for a quieter membrane-type keyboard or let the world know there’s a typist in the room with a mechanical keyboard? Should one opt for a keyboard with an inbuilt trackpad or get a separate mouse? The list goes on…and while it is impossible for a single keyboard to tick all requirement boxes, the Logitech Pop Icon Keyboard Mouse Combo comes very close to doing so.

Logitech Pop Icon Combo Design and Appearance: A mix of the serious and the flashy

Bluetooth keyboards tend to range from the predictably plain black and grey to the fashionably flashy, complete with flashing multicolored keys and lights. The Logitech Pop Icon Combo tries to hit the middle ground between these two extremes. The keyboard and mouse combination (no, you cannot purchase keyboard and mouse separately) is available in four colors and each strikes a balance between the steady and striking – Lilac and Off White, Graphite and Green, Rose and Off White, and Off White and Orange. In each case, the larger, central portion of the keyboard is of one shade and is bordered by another. The mouse body is of a single shade, while the area around its scroll wheel is a shade lighter or darker. The result is a keyboard and mouse combination that will attract attention without screaming for it.

We got the most sober variant of all – graphite and green, which comprises mainly dark grey keys with green imprints, and a row of what Logitech calls Action Keys in green on the right, with the mouse being totally grey. The rose and off-white is the most striking combination of the lot but will be tough to maintain as the off-white portion is likely to collect smudges and dust aplenty. The keyboard runs on two AAA batteries, which are lodged in a ‘bump’ below it. Incidentally, there are no adjustable angles with the keyboard – you have only one angle for using it. It comes with rubber bumpers below it that protect the back from smudges from the surface it is placed on, but has no “feet” that can let it lie flat or raise it to a different angle.

The keyboard is a six-row keyboard, with a separate row of number keys and shortcut F keys on the top. On the extreme right column is a special set of Action Keys which are set by default for home, end, page up, and page down, but these can be customized using the Logi Options+ software, allowing you to assign them to launch apps, trigger Smart Actions, or even open AI tools like ChatGPT or Spotify with a single press. The keys are island keys with distance between them, and although this is not a mechanical keyboard, the keys stick out a fair distance from the surface, giving a very “raised keys” appearance which classical typists will appreciate. The mouse slopes slightly downward and is a basic one – you get a right and left button, a scroll wheel, and a button just behind the scroll wheel as well.

The keyboard is relatively compact at 324 mm in length and is 22 mm deep and about 136 mm wide. It can easily be slipped into a backpack and, at 530 grams (with two AAA batteries), is not too heavy either. The mouse is 10.4 mm long, which makes it on the smaller side and is 35.2 mm tall and 59.4 mm wide. It weighs about 81 grams with a AAA battery inside, which makes it light enough to carry. Both the keyboard and mouse are made of plastic and have a very “solid” feel to them, making them seem capable of surviving long typing, clicking, and scrolling sessions. The best part is that 70 percent of the keyboard and 68 percent of the mouse are made of post-consumer recycled material. In a neat touch, Logitech has provided fabric covers for both the mouse and keyboard, allowing them to be easily carried.

Rather surprisingly, there is no Logi Bolt Bluetooth dongle in the package, so the option to connect through the dongle is not available. This should not be an issue with most notebooks and tablets, but those using slightly older desktops that do not come with built-in Bluetooth might be disappointed by this.

Logitech Pop Icon Combo specs: Pretty standard, pretty solid

The hardware and software in and around the Logitech Pop Keys combo are rock solid. The keyboard works with iOS, Android, Windows, Chrome, and macOS. Its layout has been made with support for both Mac and Windows, so you have Command and Option keys as well as Alt and Start keys. The version of Bluetooth is not disclosed, but we are told it supports low-energy Bluetooth, and both keyboard and mouse worked smoothly within the same room as the device they were connected to. The keyboard and mouse can connect to up to three devices, allowing you to switch between devices at work. The top row of the keyboard has the function keys, which also have alternate command options like screenshots, switching tracks, search, increasing and decreasing volume and brightness, and so on.

A bit of a letdown is the fact that the keyboard comes with no backlighting, which tends to be expected at this price point, and some might also be disappointed by the fact that there is no USB Type C charging support, but given Logitech’s claims that the two AAA cells in the keyboard will last close to three years and the single one inside the mouse will last two years, we do not see this as a deal breaker.

Logitech Pop Icon Combo performance: Sterling, especially for tablet users, but appy fizz only for Mac and Windows

We used the Pop Icon Combo with our iPad Air, Xiaomi Pad 7, iPhone 16 Pro Max, Redmi Note 14 Pro+, and also with an Asus Expertbook. Connecting them was as easy as switching on Bluetooth, entering pairing mode, and choosing the keyboard or mouse from the list of Bluetooth devices on the tablet, phone, or laptop.

While the keyboard and mouse combination can work with a notebook, desktop, tablet, and smartphone, we think its real strength lies in being used along with a tablet. This is because all notebooks come with their own keyboards and trackpads, and desktops have space for larger, wired keyboards and mouses, and portability is not that essential for them. But with tablets, the Pop Icon Combo becomes pretty much a must-have, with the mouse being particularly useful with slightly larger tablets, now that both iPad OS and Android have become uniformly mouse and pointer-friendly.

The keyboard is extremely portable, and while it is built sturdily, it is light enough to pick up and carry from place to place. The typing experience on it is very good too -it tries to hit the middle ground between membrane and mechanical keyboards in terms of the typing experience. There is sufficient travel and hitting the keys provides a satisfying click-y sound, which is not as noisy as a mechanical keyboard or even as much as Logitech’s own legendary K480, but is loud enough for you to know that a key has been struck. The action keys on the extreme right are handy, but as with other Logitech keyboards, here too, customization of these keys depends on the Logitech Options+ app, which runs only on Windows and Mac computers. Yes, most of us have one of these systems with us, but the whole exercise of downloading the app, pairing the keyboard with it, and then tweaking settings, only to use it with another device, seems a little too much to do.

Switching between connected devices is easy. There are three buttons on the keyboard, each of which can be ‘locked’ to a device, and to move to another device, all you need to do is hit the button associated with it. We often switched between our tablets and our phones easily, typing out emails, messages, and this article by turns, without having to change the keyboard. Even the mouse can switch between three devices using special buttons below it, and while phones are not supported, it was nice to be able to quickly move from a notebook to a tablet on the rare occasion when we were using both at the same time. We ended up using the keyboard more with the tablet and the mouse more with the notebook. Battery life seems exceptional on both – the two AAA cells on the keyboard are believed to last up to three years, while the single one on the mouse will last two years. We have been using both for almost a month, and battery life seems barely affected.

But while the keyboard is comfortable to use, it does have its slight eccentricities. The additional column of keys on the right is a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes, the shortcuts can help, but if you are used to having the backspace key at the end of the ‘main’ part of the keyboard, you will find yourself hitting the ‘home’ key that is right next to it purely by accident. Similarly, the “control” key on the right is too close to the direction arrow keys, and we ended up striking it accidentally a little too often for comfort. But all said and done, the typing and clicking experience we got on the Pop Icon combo was streets ahead of any ‘keyboard cover,’ and yes, we are always going to insist that using a mouse is a much better option than a trackpad.

Logitech Pop Icon Combo Review Verdict: Premium, but delivering solid value

The Logitech Pop Icon Combo is priced at Rs 7,999/$69.99, which is definitely on the premium side when you consider that you can get Bluetooth keyboards and mouses for as little as Rs 1500 ($20) each or even lower. In fact, if you are on a relatively tight budget, you can get Logitech’s own Pebble 2 mouse and keyboard combo for a much lower price (generally in the region of Rs 4,250/$50). Another decent option from a major brand is the Asus Marshmallow mouse and keyboard combination, which is also available for about Rs 4,000/$50. And if you are a mechanical keyboard enthusiast, you can get wireless mechanical keyboards for less than Rs 5000 ($60) from the likes of Zebronics and Portronics. So why on earth should one shell out close to Rs 8,000 ($90) for the Logitech Pop Icon combo?

Well, the answer is really summed up in a single word: experience. The keyboard and mouse are super portable, well built, have great battery life, and best of all, are an absolute pleasure to use. You do not get the iffy connectivity and compatibility issues that accompany lower-priced products, and in terms of typing, the more substantial build quality, and deeper key travel of the Pop Icon is much more satisfactory than the slightly more shallow keys on the Asus Marshmallow or the Logitech Pebble. The Logitech Pop Icon Combo does not come cheap, but it definitely delivers a clean, hassle-free experience for all the tablet warriors wanting notebook feels on their devices.

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