Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Trash
  4. News

MSI branches out with a new microphone, keyboard with custom switches

Add as a preferred source on Google

MSI is exploring new places at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES.) During a virtual event , the company announced MSI-branded keyboard switches and an MSI USB microphone designed for podcasting, streaming, or videoconferences.

The new MSI Sonic Red Mechanical switches can be found in MSI’s own Vigot GK71 Sonic keyboard. As expected for a gaming product, the switches are linear and are actuated by 35 grams of force, which is quite light compared to competing products. Both Kailh and Gateron make similar switches, but MSI’s keyboard is the first prebuilt keyboard with these switches, according to Tom’s Hardware. Other features on the keyboard include clear keycaps, foam wrist rests, and the typical media control wheel. Pricing comes in at $109 or $120, and you’ll be able to buy one in February.

The MSI Vigor K71 Sonic
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As for the new microphone, it is called the MSI Immerse GV60. This podcasting microphone has some of the same features as the popular Blue Yeti. It sports stereo, omnidirectional, cardioid, and bidirectional modes. There is also a dedicated mute switch and a 3.5mm jack, so you can plug your headphones in and monitor your audio. Connectivity is quite modern, as the microphone comes with a 10-foot USB-C cable. Pricing starts at $109, with availability set for the first quarter of this year. That’s around the same price as a Blue Yeti.

In addition to the Vigot GK71 and the MSI Immersive GV60, MSI also announced the Vigor GK50. This keyboard is a little more compact and is for gamers with smaller desks. It has a low profile and mechanical switches, with a detachable USB cable. This keyboard looks to be a Europe and Asia exclusive for now.

Of course, you can’t forget gaming laptops or monitors, either. At CES, MSI launched an RTX 3080 Ti-powered Creator Z16P laptop, which we called a MacBook Pro killer. That pairs up with the Stealth GS77 and the Creator Z17. Other products include the RadiX Axe6600 wireless router, the Meg Treble and Meg Prospect desktop towers, and GeForce RTX 380Ti Sea Hawk X 12G graphics cards. You can see most of these products in action in MSI’s Gameverse brief on YouTube.

Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
Google’s new Magic Pointer Play Store listing reveals a Gemini shortcut built for Googlebooks
The unannounced app turns the cursor into a contextual AI tool for search, image creation, and shopping
Plant, Text, Business Card

Google has quietly published a new Play Store listing for Magic Pointer, an unannounced app built for Googlebooks. Updated on July 10, the app turns the cursor into a Gemini shortcut that can act on whatever a user selects on screen.

Magic Pointer can send an image to Lens, generate a related image, or surface a shopping action without forcing users to open a separate chatbot. Regular Android devices currently show as incompatible, so the listing offers an early preview rather than a broad release.

Read more
You can stop using AI, but this new report says you probably can’t escape it
A UK survey found that most people feel AI exposure is unavoidable, raising harder questions about consent, privacy, and whether opting out is still realistic
AI Chatbots

More people are trying to use less AI, but avoiding it altogether may already be impossible.

A survey of 2,055 UK adults found that 42% deliberately limit how much AI they use. Another 70% said avoiding AI exposure would be difficult or impossible, even when they actively wanted less of it.

Read more
The face on an AI interviewer may matter as much as the decision it makes
Researchers found that race and gender matching changed how fairly rejected applicants viewed an automated interview, even though everyone received the same outcome
File, Computer Hardware, Electronics

An AI hiring system can treat every applicant the same and still leave some people feeling targeted. Researchers found that rejected candidates judged an automated interview differently depending on the race and gender of the avatar delivering the result.

Around 220 participants completed a simulated interview for a fictional customer support role with one of four photorealistic AI avatars. Everyone was rejected, yet perceptions of fairness shifted with the interviewer’s appearance. An algorithm audit could miss that reaction because candidates don’t experience the system as raw code. They experience a face asking questions and judging their answers.

Read more