Released back in 2021/2022, the SteelSeries Prime series wasn't particularly good, but its shape found its fans regardless. A good three years later, they may finally rejoice, as Zaopin took it upon themselves to bring this shape up to current standards. While the similarities are palpable, the shape of the ZPW Max is not an exact match. Above all, the ZPW Max sits right between the Prime and Prime Mini in terms of size. The narrow front yet wide rear, starkly raised left side, and side curvature are all shared, but differences do exist regardless. On the Prime, the apex of the hump sits further towards the front, resulting in a steeper decline towards the front, and the angular design elements found at the rear on the Prime in particular are absent on the ZPW Max. Both functionally and aesthetically, the main buttons are virtually a match, but the side buttons end up being larger on the ZPW Max. Somewhat interestingly, the ZPW Max is reasonably close to the Z2 shape as well, but the changes made are significant enough to alter the feel in hand fundamentally.

In the weight department, the ZPW Max easily eclipses the Prime and Prime Mini Wireless. At 49 g, the ZPW Max compares very favorably to competitors such as the ASUS ROG Keris II Ace at 54 g or Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed at 53 g, both of which are similarly sized and feature a solid shell. Build quality on my sample is quite good: when shaking, a rattle can be heard from the main buttons, and when applying lateral pressure, the left side will flex slightly, but not creak. In addition, when using excessive force, the side buttons can be actuated by pressing below them, though this will never happen during regular use. In summary, while the lower weight compared to previous Zaopin releases can be felt in places, the ZPW Max remains a rather solid design.

Whereas the Z2 and Z2 Mini came with hot-swappable mechanical switches, the ZPW Max utilizes the ever popular D2FP-FN2 optical switches from Omron. Given the inability of optical switches to ever develop double-clicking due to wear and tear, the lack of hot-swap capability isn't missed too greatly, and owing to low pre-travel, button response is pleasantly snappy, though the very high post-travel is a bit irritating. As mentioned, the main button pieces rattle when shaking, which is why provoking moderate amounts of lateral motion is easily possible, although I didn't notice any during regular use. For the side buttons, a seemingly unbranded set of two-pin, low-profile switches sees use, which provide surprisingly nice actuation despite their small form factor. The actuation point isn't completely even however and the forward button feels duller than the back one, but overall, these are realized well. The scroll wheel has been outfitted with the updated "Gold" encoder from TTC, featuring a blue dust cover. Noise levels are under control on this one, and the steps are separated from each rather nicely, allowing for controlled scrolling. The feet are made of pure PTFE, and their style is the same as on the Z2 Mini, with the PTFE and backing layers being clearly separated. Glide is excellent, and a set of replacements is included in the box. For the record, neither size nor shape of the skates on the ZPW Max is a match with the Prime.

As with all previous Zaopin releases, the ZPW Max utilizes a firmware and software solution from CompX, coupled with a Nordic nRF52840 MCU and PAW3950 sensor. This is basically identical to what, for instance, the SCYROX V6/V8 are using, but interestingly, the ZPW Max behaves more like the recently reviewed Teevolution Terra Pro. CPI deviation sits at +3.8%, which isn't ideal but easily corrected. General tracking shows no issues, irrespective of MotionSync being enabled or not. However, and this is shared with the V6/V8, MotionSync will not take effect at 8000 Hz, despite the 3950 being fully capable of maintaining an interval of 125 µs with MotionSync enabled. Clearly, this is a bug or oversight on the firmware developers' part, and renders the 3950 found in the ZPW Max functionally equivalent to the 3395 in this regard. Polling is largely stable on the ZPW Max aside from instances of elevated noise at all polling rates except for 8000 Hz, and the target interval is met throughout. At 1000 Hz in wireless operation, the ZPW Max achieves parity in terms of motion delay with the Logitech G403 (control subject), and attains a lead of 0.7 ms at 2000/4000 Hz and 0.8 ms at 8000 Hz, which shrinks by varying degrees if MotionSync is enabled. Much like on the Terra Pro, click latency falls short of the numbers posted by other CompX mice. At 8000 Hz, we're only seeing 0.8 ms averaged at the lowest debounce time of 0 ms, and 1000 Hz is only marginally slower at 1.1 ms. In practice, this difference isn't meaningful, and the fact that a slam-click prevention algorithm is present and implemented flawlessly is more relevant, as it allows one to use a debounce time of 0 ms without any drawbacks.

The ZPW Max shares another similarity with the V6/V8, which is the software. One is given the choice between the usual software package that requires installation and a web driver, which provides the same functionality but can be accessed through any WebHID-enabled browser such as Chrome, Edge, and Opera (desktop). In either case, all relevant options are present, and there are no critical bugs. A percentage-based battery charge indicator is also included, and while not particularly reliable or accurate, it works well enough to allow me to gauge expected battery life. For every two and a half hours of usage at 8000 Hz, the indicator went down by roughly 15%, so about 15 hours can be reasonably expected at 8000 Hz, which would translate to around 70 hours at 1000 Hz. Given the similarities in components, firmware, and battery capacity (300 mAh) to the V6/V8, these figures come as no surprise. Unlike the V6/V8, the ZPW Max also supports Bluetooth, allowing one to squeeze out a little extra in terms of battery life if performance isn't a concern. Charging is decently speedy on the ZPW Max, but the stiff cable makes playing while charging without feeling overly impaired a distinct non-option.

At $89.99 on Mechkeys.com, the ZPW Max retails for $20 more than SCYROX V6/V8, which is relevant due to the similarities shared between these releases. Ignoring shape, there isn't really much reason to pick the ZPW Max over either the V6 or V8, especially considering how even certain firmware bugs, such as MotionSync not working at 8000 Hz despite a 3950 being used, are carried over. In fact, the only things the 3950 on the ZPW Max has to offer over the 3395 are a 0.7 mm LOD option, improved tracking on glass surfaces, and marginally better efficiency, which is why an argument could be made that the regular ZPW, which features a 3395 but is otherwise identical, is the better buy at $79.99. In that case, for those who like the SteelSeries Prime, the extra $10 over the V6/V8 are certainly well-spent, and the ZPW accordingly earns our Recommended award.