Are you purchasing a wireless mouse or keyboard? You can choose Bluetooth or wireless peripherals that communicate over radio frequency (RF) via USB. According to our experience, USB-RF has short delay. However, Bluetooth has its advantages.

Which one is faster?

Delay is critical to any keyboard or mouse. The screen should reflect the input as quick as possible. This is more essential when you are playing games requiring quick response, like first person shooting games. The USB-RF provides lower latency. According to data of developers, low power Bluetooth (BLE) devices can achieve delays as low as 1.3 milliseconds. However, the delay of the USB-RF is 1 millisecond. A speed difference of 0.3 milliseconds is why some keyboard and mouse makers only offer USB-RF equipment. These companies focus on games, so they will choose the fastest one.

Which one is more compatible?

Delay is not everything. USB-RF Mouse requires USB encryption. However, not all devices have those traditional full-size USB (known as USB-A) ports.

Bluetooth is more compatible with more devices. You can use it even when your device has no USB-A ports. With the development of USB-C, wireless RF mouse or keyboard will be more complex. You do can purchase a USB-C mouse. But what should we do when a laptop has only USB-C ports while a desktop computer has no ports?

Bluetooth peripherals do not have this problem. It is wireless in a thorough way. You can use an external Bluetooth module to solve the problem when your desktop does not have Bluetooth.

Which one is easier to set?

For simple settings, peripherals using wireless encryption are the winners. After inserting the dongle, the operating system will detect the new device and add the driver by itself. You only need a few seconds to start and run it.

Bluetooth mouse or keyboard need more steps. First, you need to put everything in pairing mode. After this, you need to wait for your laptop or tablet to be paired with your mouse or keyboard. If you have both, you must pair the mouse and keyboard one by one. When you move to the next device, you will have to complete the whole process again.

However, after the initial setup, Bluetooth will make your access easier. Are you ready to move from PC to a tablet anytime and anywhere? You can disconnect your tablet, keyboard, or mouse by keeping it at an enough distance from your PC. Also, you can turn off the Bluetooth on your PC to enforce this process.

When using USB-RF peripherals, you must remove the dongle from your PC. Later, you need to insert it into your next device. If you are on the road, it is easy to lose it. Some mouses have a place to store a dongle, but not all. Some keyboard and mouse kits have permanent association with a single dongle. If you lost or damaged some of them, you have to replace the entire kit.

To sum up, Bluetooth is a better choice in common case. However, we have to know USB-RF has lower delay than Bluetooth does in wireless devices.