Today we’re back into the value mechanical keyboards.
Super important category as I’ve explained before.
While high end custom mechs are really cool and all, they’re definitely not attainable
for everyone.
So today we check out the Keychron K2.
I believe they started it on Kickstarter, which has come and gone, and now have them
available on their website in either plastic or aluminium versions, as well as white backlighting
or RGB backlighting.
But the one I have here is the aluminium RGB version which comes in at 89USD.
First impressions in the hands, it feels pretty good.
Doesn’t feel cheap, with minimal flex, although it is pretty light.
Because it’s not really like a typical aluminium keyboard, it’s more like half alu, half
plastic.
And yeh, there’s actually a lot of unique aspects of the case design of this keyboard.
So the aluminium bit, it’s not a singular piece, but basically like a frame, like how
a photo frame is put together.
The seams are noticeable of course, but it’s not bad, and some of you might like that style.
And the whole bottom piece is just standard plastic, with a couple of rubber feet, and
2 flip up feet that are also rubber tipped.
But you may have noticed something a bit off about it all.
It’s a 0 angle keyboard, with the feet in.
We don’t often see that, but because the bottom plastic piece is quite thick, this
keyboard is quite high at the front.
While it may not look like a lot, it’s really noticeable in use.
Like this other keyboard essentially has the same kind of frame design, and is wireless,
like this, but doesn’t have the added bulk at the bottom.
If you rest your wrists on your desk when typing like I do, this isn’t great, as it
increases the angle of your wrists, and just straight up feels uncomfortable.
And if you hover, which is the recommended technique, you’d just have to increase your
chair height.
So with this, I felt a wrist rest was absolutely necessary.
I hardly ever use one, but with this, even after 10 minutes, I could feel that strain,
and just mentally it was really getting me.
And using a thick wrist rest was just so so much more comfortable.
Although aesthetically, it gives it this unique floating look.
Not to be confused with floating key design, where the switches are exposed, but the top
has that illusion.
Anyway, to the layout.
Another great feature of the keyboard is the 75% form factor.
Always good to see these alternate compact layouts in value boards.
It has 84 keys, so only 3 less than a standard tenkeyless with 87.
So essentially it has the primary functionality of a TKL, while being more than 2 columns
shorter.
It may not seem like much, but you do feel it.
Gives you more space on your desk, and for your mouse as well.
I personally really like the 75% form factor.
As said, pretty much like a tenkeyless, so we get the dedicated arrow keys, and the dedicated
function row on top.
And if you don’t need those, then you just hop down to 65%, 60%, and lower.
It is a very standard 75% layout in regards to keycap sizes.
However like many compact boards, you will need an extended keyset to cover it.
Although the keycaps do look quite nice.
The dark and light grey colourway looks clean, and there’s a pop of colour with the orange
in the corner.
The legends are simple.
And right now, I have the Mac keycaps on here, so yep, works great with Mac and iOS, with
those extra functions working.
But we do get the Windows keys in the box as well.
They have this nice smooth finish to them, which doesn’t really pick up oils, which
is a nice touch, because these are just thin 1mm ABS laser etched caps, which I never like.
But these feel decent for these types.
Now let’s go back to the side for the other big feature.
We have 2 switches, because it’s a wireless Bluetooth keyboard.
There’s the switch to choose between Bluetooth, wired mode, or off.
And then the other switch allows you to choose between Windows / Android.
And Mac / iOS.
Pairing it is super simple.
Have it in Bluetooth mode.
And then we have 3 profiles on the 1, 2, and 3 keys.
Hold FN plus one of those keys for 3 seconds, and it will start flashing.
And then pick the keyboard on your device.
Easy.
For casual use, like typing this script for example.
Performance is fine.
No latency issues, no missed keypresses or anything.
Between Bluetooth and wired mode, they feel very similar to me.
But I’m definitely not as sensitive as other people, especially serious gamers, that may
find some noticeable latency.
It does go to sleep after 10 minutes without use to save battery, and it does take like
2 keypresses to wake up again, not being the most responsive, which was annoying at times.
But you can turn that off with FN + S + O.
I wasn’t able to gauge a proper battery life.
Didn’t get enough use, and had it plugged in at times, so apologies for that.
It does have a 4000mAh battery though, and they state this, so take that as you will.
It can be used in wired mode.
And the USB type C port is in a weird place on the left.
The included cable looks fine with it, but with any other cable, it’s not the best
looking thing.
Now to the typing experience.
To my surprise, when I took off a keycap to see what it was, it had a Gateron keyswitch.
And it’s available in either Blue, for clicky.
Brown for tactile, and Red for linear, which I have.
Gateron’s a good for linears, typically being a tad smoother than Cherry MX and Outemu.
The Brown’s and Blue’s however are pretty standard.
I would really like to see companies implement Yellow’s if they use Gateron switches.
It’s a linear switch, and heavier than the Red’s.
And is just a great stock switch in my opinion.
Keyboard feels great.
The typing experience feels solid.
The smoothness of the switch helps it out.
Bottom out feels pretty good.
And yeh, just fine, not amazing, not bad.
The stabilised keys are pretty good.
There’s minimal rattle which is nice to see, but the spacebar does have a bit.
There is however quite a noticeable ping when typing.
Using a bunch of keys kind of masks it, but I could always tell like when pressing the
backspace key, it’s pretty loud.
So let’s take it apart to see what’s inside.
It uses Torx screws for the frame, and Phillips heads for the plate.
Surprising construction I gotta say.
Unique to every other board I’ve disassembled.
First of all, there’s just way too much space here.
It’s just empty wasted space, which probably contributes to the ping we get when typing.
From what I can see, the only possible reason they didn’t have it angled, was because
of the switches on the side.
But yeh, pretty poor in my opinion, if you had the switches on the back, you could have
had a more comfortable keyboard, a better sounding keyboard, and possibly better feeling.
Anyway, the aluminium was also surprising.
I knew that they were just side pieces, but they actually just slide onto the plastic
sides.
From the outside when it’s all together though, it feels and looks good.
But this explains why it’s so light.
In addition to that, the plate is also made from aluminium, rather than steel.
That’s not a bad thing, but the alu does contribute to the lightness.
So yeh, I guess it still counts as an aluminium version of the keyboard.
But surely this is the bare minimum for it to be classified as so.
But again, assembled, I like it.
Alrighty.
Tough one this one.
I really like how the keyboard looks.
I think the case design along with the keycaps looks classy and clean, especially with white
backlighting.
And paired with the 75% form factor, it really does look the part.
The Gateron switches are solid.
However more choices would be nice, like Gateron Yellows for example.
The RGB backlighting is a plus, and its Bluetooth capabilities help keep the desk nice and tidy.
So that’s all cool.
But.
The case design kind of gets to me.
First of all, it is plastic.
Usually when a keyboard is described as aluminium, it’s aluminium.
Rather, it’s just thin pieces that are slapped on the sides.
Again, it’s fine, but goes against expectations.
And the bottom case design, you saw the inside, there’s no reason for it to be like that.
There is so so much space there, causing ping, but worst of all, it creates this high front
end, which makes the keyboard uncomfortable to use.
So a wrist rest is definitely required, which they conveniently sell.
If you ignore that aspect, and look at the features, it really does deliver at the price
points.
And would easily be the best of its class, if it weren’t for the bottom case design.
Basically, add a wrist rest, and it’s good to go.