Razer's Basilisk V4 Pro Claims 275 Hours of Battery, and the Fine Print Matters

My verdict: a good mouse at a high price, and the battery number is not the reason to buy it.

Razer’s new flagship, the Basilisk V4 Pro, costs $170 and is available now. It has 14 customizable controls, a 50,000 DPI optical sensor, 8,000Hz polling in wired and wireless modes, and a second-generation tilt wheel with a 48-step precision mode. The headline claim is up to 275 hours of battery. Per Engadget, that is a maximum, and Razer’s own materials tie it to Bluetooth. On its faster wireless link the rating is up to 200 hours, and I found no battery rating for the 8,000Hz mode. Wireless charging needs the separate $70 Mouse Dock V2 Pro.

There is also a cheaper sibling. The Basilisk V4 HyperSpeed costs $110, with a 33,000 DPI sensor, fewer controls and a rating of up to 225 hours on Bluetooth and 140 on its wireless link.

I have used Razer for a long time. I own a Razer headset and a Razer mouse, and the products look good. I will not criticize this one, because it is a good product. In my view, though, there are much cheaper options that offer the same quality, and I will not pretend a premium price buys a different category of mouse.

On the two features Razer is selling, neither changes anything for me. A mouse needs to be comfortable and light, with a solid configuration and good DPI detection. Past a certain point, more hours of battery and a nicer scroll wheel do not make you play better. Engadget does not list the weight, which is one of the things I would check first.

Before you pay $170, compare the V4 Pro with the $110 model and with other brands, and read Razer’s own battery footnotes. The sources are linked below.