In today's video, we're going to
unbox the Halo75, a mechanical RGB keyboard from NUPHY.
This is a prebuilt keyboard that has excellent
build, quality, and sound signature,
especially when you consider the price of $130.
So whether you are buying your first mechanical keyboard or
looking to add another one to your collection of keyboards,
the Halo75 is something you want to consider.
So in today's video, I'm going to show you what comes
in the box.
Talk about all the features and give you my review
of the Halo75.
Let's get started
What is going on, everybody?
It is Mike, and today we are talking about how the quality
of prebuilt mechanical keyboards has taken off,
I think, in the past 18 to 24 months since NUPHY
entered the game.
And now they are, I think, extending that lead even
further with another high-quality,
moderately priced prebuilt keyboard, which is
the Halo75
Now, before we start, there are three things that I
want to cover.
NUPHY sent me this keyboard free of charge, and there's no
expectation that I was to do a review or make a video on it.
That means that not only did I not pay for the keyboard,
but they did not pay for any type of review or
anything like that.
And while they did send me the unit out for free, they have no
input whatsoever about what I'm about to talk about, nor were
they able to watch the video before it went live on YouTube.
So just so that we're on the same page
Second, if you are watching this video
before December 8th, 2022, the Halo75 is available for
pre-order on NUPHY's website.
So if you decide to buy it or whether you want a
different keyboard, you can use 'Mike10' for 10% off your order
on their website.
Lastly, I bought my own Halo75 before NUPHY contacted me.
This means that I have an extra keyboard.
Going to be giving away to one of you watching this video.
So if you want to win the Halo75 from this video, drop a
LIKE on this video.
Make sure that you're subscribed to the channel.
Leave a comment down below and make sure that you're following
me on Instagram.
@Caputo.
I'm going to announce the winner on Friday,
December 16th on Instagram.
So make sure that you leave your Instagram username in the
comment down below so I can contact you.
The Halo75 retails for $130 and it's available in two different
colors that can match any desk setup.
You have your choice between an anodized matte black version or
the Ionic White version which I have here.
For what it's worth, the Ionic white version uses a
manufacturing technique called Electrophoresis or E-White as
is more commonly called, to create a matte finish that
is usually more common to pricier keyboards
Now, outside of choosing the color, there are six
different hot swappable switches that choose from that
are all going to offer a unique typing experience.
There's the G Pro 2.0 from Gateron in either red
or brown, as well as the baby kangaroo and the baby raccoon,
In addition to the night breeze and the Rose
glacier from NUPHY.
This Halo75 that I have here is configured with a rose glacier
that they sent me and it has the new ghostbar which is the
new spacebar design.
I plan to compare the sound of the baby kangaroo switches
later in this video so stay tuned for a typing test.
In terms of additional accessories, you can
choose between a two-tone wrist rest that is color matched to
your Keyboard or shine-through keycaps.
If you're watching this video during the pre-order, the wrist
rest is on sale for $19 with your pre-order instead of
the regular $29, and the shine-through keycaps are going
to be free instead of costing $19 dollars.
Let's move on to the hardware.
The Halo75 is the second high-profile mechanical
keyboard with a couple of unique features that make it
stand out from its smaller sibling, the Halo 65.
As the name would suggest, the Halo75 has a 75% layout
containing 83 keys, and it's compatible with Mac,
Windows, Android, and iOS.
The Halo75 is ready to use with your Mac out of the box,
and NUPHY includes 17 extra keycaps and seven switches that
can be used to change up the look and feel of
your keyboard, including
Windows-specific keys.
You can create an all-white aesthetic by
changing the spacebar, the directional keys as well
as the escape and the enter keys.
Or you can swap out those keys for colors that more closely
reflect your personality.
You might be interested in using a different set of
keycaps with this board, so as long as the keycaps themselves
support a cherry profile, any keycap should work.
Now I'm looking for something unique for my Halo75.
So if you know of something, drop me a link in
the comments below.
As far as keycaps, these are all PBT double-shot keycaps
measuring 1.3 millimeters thick.
The key letters appear to have good font uniformity,
though I've heard some people have had issues with the keys
in the past.
The black shine-through keycaps are made of ABS plastic which
is not double-shot, which by design are thinner material to
allow the light to transfer through the north
facing RBG switch.
I am not the biggest fan of ABS keycaps because the oil from my
fingers is visible on the keys themselves, and my OCD
kicks into high gear, causing me to wipe down the keys.
And I just don't want that.
I know Shine through keycaps is very big in some communities,
so if you know a set of PBT shine through keycaps, let me
know what they are.
Moving on to connectivity, you can connect the Halo75 to a
device in one of three ways.
First, the keyboard can connect to your computer using the
included color-matched Usb-c to Usb-c cable.
Second, you can connect your Keyboard to your device
using Bluetooth 5.0, which will connect up to three devices.
And lastly, the keyboard can be connected using the
included 2.4GHz
receiver.
Moving to the back of the keyboard, there is a
three-stage switch to change your connectivity mode from OFF
> WIRED > WIRELESS.
The first unique feature on the Halo75 and not on the smaller
version is that there is a dedicated hardware switch to
change from Windows to Mac right next to
the connectivity toggle.
You'll find the 2.4 gigahertz dongle here on the
opposite side, and it is magnetically held in place,
which is a cool feature because you don't have to worry
about losing it.
In terms of performance, the polling rate on Bluetooth
is 125 hertz compared to 500 hertz when you're using the
2.4 gigahertz receiver.
For most people, polling performance is not
something that you're gonna be concerned about because latency
or input lag is largely unnoticeable in
most situations.
But if you're a gamer and you are doing anything more than I
say gaming casually.
You want to use the 2.4 gigahertz receiver for better
performance than Bluetooth.
Or, ultimately, you make sure you're using a wired connection
for the absolute best performance.
In terms of build quality, the Halo75 has
a three-part design.
The first part is the bottom housing made of ABS plastic
that still has the same rubber feet on the bottom and keyboard
feet that will raise the keyboard from 5.5
to 8.5 degrees to ultimately 11 degrees when fully extended.
The top housing is made from aluminum upper, which gives the
keyboard good rigidity and should not allow too much
flex when typing.
The middle section is where you find the PCB with a halo light
that wraps around the entire keyboard giving it that
floating aesthetic
Because I'm giving away this keyboard, I don't want to
potentially damage it by opening it up, and I will talk
through the various damping materials that NUPHY is using
on this keyboard
The Halo75 has three types of silicone,
including plate silicone at the top.
Below that, followed by PCB silicone,
and at the very bottom there is bottom silicone, including some
space bar silicon and individual dampeners for
the larger keys.
These materials and the 4000 milliamp-hour battery play into
the overall package weight.
Coming in at 1180 grams, the keyboard feels very
significant when you pick it up for reference, this is roughly
the same weight as a half gallon of milk or just a little
bit less than a standard bag of onions.
And knowing is half the battle.
Moving to the top of the keyboard, the top left-hand
corner is where the multi-stage highlight sits.
This communicates
battery, connection,
and caps lock status.
Where on the right side sports the embossed NUPHY wordmark.
In terms of battery performance,
NUPHY quotes that the 4000 milliamp-hour battery should
get you about 48 hours of usage with
all the RGB lights turned on or 240 hours with all the RGB
lights turned off.
In my experience, between the Halo65 and the Halo75,
both have a 4000 milliamp-hour battery,
I've been getting about six days worth of usage with using
the keyboard 5 to 6 hours a day with the RGBs turned on
at medium intensity.
So I think it should last most people in the neighborhood
for 48 hours.
In addition to the Halo light encircling the keyboard, 83 RGB
lights on the PCB and a single sidelight in the upper
left-hand corner that I talked about just a moment ago.
Overall, the Halo75 has ten backlight modes on
the keyboard, four Halo light modes, and four
hues on the side light.
To configure the different backlights,
press the function (Fn) key + left arrow key to cycle through
the different effects, or press the function (Fn) key + right
arrow key to cycle through the different colors.
If you want to configure the halo lights, press the
function (Fn) key + H+ left arrow key to cycle through
the different effects, or press the function (Fn) key + H +
right arrow key to cycle through the different colors.
And finally, to configure the side light, press the
function (Fn) key + question mark (?) + left arrow key to
cycle through the different effects, or press
the function (Fn) key + question mark (?) + right arrow
key to cycle through the different colors.
And you can also change the brightness for each mode by
pressing the up and down arrow key with the
respective key combination.
I know many of you like to use your keyboard in a dimly lit or
dark room, so I wanted to give you an idea of just how intense
the RGBs are at their highest and lowest intensity.
If you're stuck choosing between the Halo75 and the
Halo 65, here are a few data points to consider.
The Halo75 is about three-quarters of an inch long
and weighs about six ounces more than the Halo65.
The wrist rest is universal and can be used
with either keyboard.
And you can easily switch the OS mode on the Halo75 compared
to remembering the Key combination on the Halo65.
Now for raw measurements, the Halo75 is 12.58 inches long
by 5.25 inches wide by 1.5 inches high and
weighs 1180 grams.
Compared to the Halo65, which is 12.5 inches long by
4.5 inches wide by 1.5 inches tall.
The Halo75 adds a top row of 12 function keys, allowing for
quick access to commonly performed functions,
including screen brightness, mission control,
exposé, dictation, spotlight, media control, as well as
volume controls rounding out on F10, F11, and F12.
Well, if it matters to you, the cut insert and home keys
are only available on the Halo75, and the
tilde key, which has its own key on the Halo75, is merged on
the Halo65 with the escape key.
Now for the typing test, I have two different scenarios we
will test here.
First, we have the Halo75 with the rose glacier switches and
the updated spacebar design, which NUPHY calls the
Ghost bar.
Next, we will do the Gateron baby kangaroos on the Halo65
with the old spacebar.
Let's look at the new space bar design because they are awfully
quiet compared to the old one.
You can see from the design that some additional dampening
material is being used on the new spacebar, which is
helping the way it sounds.
I don't know about you, but I like the Rose Glacier much
Better than the Baby Kangaroo switches, even though
I did like the baby kangaroo when I had them.
I wouldn't necessarily, you know, kick 'em out of bed
for eating crackers but I do like it for sure.
Overall, I'm continually impressed with the build
quality that NUPHY delivers with the Halo75, especially at
the price point of $130 dollars.
And all things being equal, it's only a $10 difference
between the Halo75 and the Halo65.
The Halo series offers a unique design with Greek-inspired
columns and the halo light that encircles the entire device.
And when you consider the optional two-tone wrist rest
that further diffuses the light, you will get
something very unique on your desk.
From a functional perspective, the lighting is bright,
it's color accurate, and it offers a reasonable
degree of customization.
And there's like a million different colors that you
can choose from.
I think the customization is going to fit
most people's needs.
Now nothing is perfect and I would love to see new for you
address these two things.
First, it's the omission that there is no NUPHY Console
software that is used to customize the keyboard
and the keys, is not available for the Mac.
This contradicts the fact that the keyboard is Mac first as It
ships with the Mac option keys and features the same keyboard
shortcuts that you find on Mac keyboards.
Second, I like to see NUPHY offer a better set of shine-
through keycaps that are not ABS plastic for better
wear and tactility.
So if you're looking for a great mechanical keyboard,
it offers customization, high build quality,
and has good sound, I think the Halo75 Is worth checking out.