Here at Design Milk, we’ve long been a fan of Keychron and its mechanical keyboards. These keyboards not only jump on the mechanical bandwagon but do so in stunning style, offering a strong build and a unique look that’s sure to appeal to anyone looking for a great keyboard for their desk. The latest Keychron keyboard is the new Keychron K2 HE, which is now available on Kickstarter with prices starting at $130 (with discounts for early backers).
While the keyboard won’t start shipping to customers until October, I’ve had the chance to use the K2 HE for a while now and can safely say that it’s indeed a superb looking and feeling keyboard that will appeal to any fans of mechanical typing. Here’s a deeper look.
A Modern and Sleek Design
The excellence of the Keychron K2 HE starts with the design. The keyboard has a 75% layout, and it comes in three different editions for different design preferences. There’s a Standard Edition model with an aluminum frame and plastic body, and two Special Premium Edition options in either white or black. Both of the Special Premium Edition models have a natural rosewood and aluminum frame with a plastic body.
I really like the use of rosewood in the build of the Special Premium Edition model, especially when paired with the white color option. The black clearly looks great too, based on the press images I have seen of the black model, but I think the white model has a little more of an approachable vibe to it, and it looks excellent on the black desk mat I have.
After shipping me the review model that I have, Keychron did alert to some minor changes in the design, like a very slight change to the white color that will apparently better match the frame to the keys.
I also really like the tan accents in the Escape and Enter keys. Again, this helps give the keyboard a little more personality and flair while still ensuring that the keyboard looks stylish and modern.
The keycaps themselves aren’t shine-through, so the keys aren’t backlit, but there is backlighting in the bed of the keyboard that’s RGB and gets quite bright. RGB backlighting in a keyboard isn’t for me, so I mainly kept it off, but if you’re a fan of the look, you’ll love it. So, if you want that, you may want to go for the Standard Edition. You can customize the lighting in the Keychron Launcher web app too, which is pretty easy to use.
As mentioned, the Keychron K2 HE is a 75% layout keyboard, which means it does not have a number pad on the right side, and lessens the gap between the letter keys and arrows. On the right side of the keyboard, you’ll find a number of shortcut keys, like the home and end keys, and on the top, you will get function keys. If you regularly use a number pad, there are other Keychron options to consider, but I don’t, so I didn’t miss it.
On the right edge of the keyboard, you’ll find a few different controls. There’s a switch to toggle between Windows and Mac OS, and a switch to toggle between the 2.4GHz connection, a wired connection, and Bluetooth. The 2.4GHz connection relies on a dongle that’s included in the box, along with an angled charging cable, a few replacement keys for switching between Mac OS and Windows, and even a USB-A to USB-C adapter.
A Great Geel
The Keychron K2 HE doesn’t just look great; it feels good too. The keyboard is very solidly built, and while that does translate to a slightly hefty weight, most people aren’t buying a keyboard like this to take on the road anyway, so the weight doesn’t necessarily matter all that much. Everything felt premium and strong, and I never felt like any aspect of the keyboard would break.
More important than the build quality, perhaps, are the switches on offer by the keyboard. The keyboard comes with Keychron’s Gateron Double Rail Magnetic Switches, which are equipped with Hall Effect Magnetic functionality to allow for better precision overall. In general, I found the keyboard to be incredibly responsive and precise. You can actually customize each key individually with 0.1mm precision and set actuation points. This allows you to make the keyboard as precise and responsive as you want it – though most users will be happy with the general responsiveness of the keyboard.
The linear switches that Keychron uses in this keyboard are incredibly smooth-feeling. They’re not necessarily as clicky as some might like, though – and keep in mind that the keyboard is built to use magnetic switches, and not the traditional mechanical switches that are more widely available.
High-Tech Features
The Keychron K2 HE is incredibly versatile when it comes to its connectivity options. You can use it as a wired keyboard through the USB-C port, or you can use it as a wireless keyboard through both a 2.4GHz connection that uses the dongle included in the box, and a Bluetooth connection. It even supports up to three Bluetooth connections that you can switch between as needed.
The keyboard also supports Keychron’s web app to customize keys, lighting, macros, and switch settings. It’s relatively easy to use while still being very feature-rich. Really, you could dive into as many settings as you want, or only adjust a few basic things here and there. Most will find that the keyboard is set up perfectly fine out of the box. But again, if you’re nerdy about your keyboards, you’ll find it easy to adjust settings. You can even adjust keys to control different things depending on how firmly you press them, which is pretty neat.
A Stunning, Feature-Rich Keyboard
The Keychron K2 HE is an excellently built keyboard with a great design. I love the look of this keyboard, and while it may not be for everyone, I think it’s one of the most premium-feeling keyboards out there right now.
The Keychron K2 HE can now be ordered straight from Kickstarter. The Standard Edition model starts at $130, though there are discounts for early backers, while the Special Edition models start at $140. Keychron estimates that the keyboard will start shipping in October.
