“Haha, Razer likes to add RGB lights to stuff.” It’s an easy joke to make for a tech reporter, and I confess that I’ve indulged in it more than once. But to tell the truth, Razer’s products are generally very stylish and distinctive, and lately they’ve been using RGB lighting as subtle accents rather than an up-front selling point. But the Firefly V2 Pro mouse pad is all-RGB, all the time.
Razer has made USB-connected, RGB-infused mousepads before, to the point that you can now find imitators on Amazon for just a few bucks. Generally they just embed a strip of lights around the edge of a cloth mousepad, like the original Firefly. The new Firefly V2 Pro replaces the cloth with a hard, frosted surface (presumably some kind of plastic), allowing the fifteen LEDs in the top to illuminate the whole thing.
Does it add any functionality? Of course not. Does it look cool? Yeah, I have to grudgingly admit that it does. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in some TV sci-fi sets, which love to stick Razer gear in a “hacker battlestation” to give it that futuristic touch.
And to be fair to Razer, they’re doing a little more than the minimum with that connection, adding an integrated USB 2.0 port and making the USB-C power cable detachable. The promotional text says that the lights won’t interfere with laser or optical mice thanks to the textured surface of the pad. Naturally you can adjust and program the lights in the Razer Chroma tool.
Razer wants $99.99 for the Firefly V2 Pro. That’s a lot of dosh for a mousepad, especially one that’s on the smaller side at 10.95 by 14.17 inches (278 by 360mm). But maybe it’s a small price to pay to turn a few heads on your favorite subreddit.