Finally, an Affordable Wireless Mechanical Keyboard for Macs

Apple may have done away with godawfulbutterfly switchesearlier this class , but I licitly can not stand the Magic Keyboard . It ’s so … matte . I ’m not super swole but I know I can break down that thing in two over my knee . It somehow costs $ 100 . And while the scissor switches are ok on my actual MacBook Pro , I prefer mechanical keyboards for farsighted typing sessions at my desk . The only trouble is most mechanically skillful keyboards that do n’t cost a fortune are optimize for Windows .

It fucking sucks , and I ’ve put up with it for year . I ’ve tried workarounds , like remapping keys via third - political party software or even just trying to memorize the difference when that felt like “ too much ” oeuvre . It ’s not that mechanical keyboards for Macs do n’t exist — they do . It ’s not that wireless keyboards do n’t exist for Macs — they do . It ’s findingthe perfect receiving set and mechanical keyboardthat does n’t cost $ 100 or more . After all , there ’s plenty of low-cost , sub $ 100 mechanical keyboard , electrify and wireless , for Windows users and gamers .

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Photo: Victoria Song/Gizmodo

Around Christmas last year , a keyboard enthusiast champion of mine recommend the Keychron K2 Version 1 . Wireless ? check over . Mac keyboard layout and mass medium keys ? Check . Tenkeyless ? Check . Under $ 100 ? check off . My optic bugged out of my skull . There was only one encumbrance . It was sold out everywhere . Then earlier this summer , I saw Keychron had put out a second version of the K2 . I pounced .

Keychron K2 Version 2

What is it ?

I prefer this to the TouchBarPhoto: Victoria Song/Gizmodo

A wireless mechanically skillful keyboard for Macs

Price

Ranges from $ 70 to $ 100 , depending on stuff and ignition options

I prefer this to the TouchBar

I prefer this to the TouchBarPhoto: Victoria Song/Gizmodo

Almost everything , but particularly the Mac - specific keys and affordability

No Like

Photo: Victoria Song/Gizmodo

Photo: Victoria Song/Gizmodo

Hard to think of crosscut

At the same time , I was wondering why the name Keychron seemed intimate . As it turns out , the K2 is n’t Keychron ’s first Bluetooth mechanical keyboard for Mac computing machine . That was the K1 , a $ 74 mechanically skillful keyboard that convey its start two years ago onKickstarter . It depend okay , but peruse the Kickstarter listing reminded me why I ’d passed on the K1 at the time . It was limit to blasphemous shift , which I ’m not a buff of , and the matted crushed - visibility keys hewed a bit too close to the Magic Keyboard for my liking . Since then , Keychron ’s been busy — in addition to the K1 and K2 , there ’s also the K4 , K6 , K8 , and a outgoing K3 .

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The USB-C port and the two toggles for switching between Windows and Mac, as well as Bluetooth and cable. My one problem is the text under the toggles is super hard to read but that’s not an issue once you know which is which.

The main dispute between all these keyboards is size , keycaps , and which keys are included or omitted . The Keychron K2 Version 2 is a compendious , 75 % tenkeyless keyboard with 84 keys . The keycaps have a height of 30 millimeter in the front , and 41 mm in the rear . you’re able to use it wired or with Bluetooth , and by nonpayment , it make out with a Mac layout and Mac - specific medium control . It does come with Windows keycaps and a keycap tugger as well — so if you dig the look but are on PC , or if you interchange between Windows and Mac , you’re able to still use this thing on up to three machine . There ’s even a modest toggle on the left side that have you switch between PC / Android and Mac / iOS .

For substitution , you may choose between Gatreon reddened , blue , and brownish . You also have options between lighting options . If you opt for only lily-white backlighting , it ’s a bit gaudy at $ 70 on Keychron’swebsite , while the RGB version cost $ 80 . If you want the RGB version with an aluminum frame , that goes for $ 90 . If you do n’t wish the available key switches here ’s also a spicy - swappable version for either $ 80 or $ 100 , depending on if you require RGB . You ’ll have to provide your own switches , but you wo n’t have to solder them onto the circuit card . In any case , whatever you pick will be either cheaper or on par with Apple ’s Magic Keyboard .

I ’ve been test the K2 for about two calendar month now and I ’m a sports fan . I opted for browned switch , which are appropriately tactile but not so loud as to annoy my hubby . ( Loud , clicky keyboards are formally banned from our flat . ) One thing that I really appreciate is , as you ’d expect , the layout . I no longer have to readjust every meter I switch from typing on my laptop to typing on the keyboard . It sounds like a small affair , but it make a difference — especially since I fucking hate the TouchBar and the Houdini act it does on function samara . I love that I have a specific screencap push button . It issue forth in handy , especially when I ’m covering tight - pace event .

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Also , I wish that this keyboard comes with several RGB lighting options that do n’t postulate me to download extra computer software . This is more common for gaming mechanically skillful keyboards , but I ’ve yet to enjoy the process of tailor-make my dumb rainbow light with proprietary software . The firing result themselves are pretty standard . You have your typical color wave and breathing outcome , as well as more static backlighting . Still , there ’s enough variety that you should find something you care and not get bored . you could also just disable light solely if for some rationality you have no soul and hate RGB .

Which brings me to another thing . Because the Keychron K2 is compact , it ’s not going to fulfill people who absolutely need a num launchpad . Though you do get the arrow key at least . ( If you really need a num pad , Keychron ’s K1 Keyboard has one and is only $ 2 more expensive ; their K4 Keyboard also has one , albeit in a more thick manakin agent , and ranges from $ 64-$84 , depending on material and type of backlighting . ) You ’re also not going to get spare programmable macro keys here , so if that ’s an absolute must , you ’re out of luck . Keychron also does n’t have an official program to remap keys , but you’re able to use other third - political party software like Karabiner for Windows and Sharp Keys for Mac .

For the most part , the lack of native software package is n’t a Brobdingnagian flock . There ’s just a chip of a learning curve when it come to remembering shortcuts . While there ’s a specific lighting Francis Scott Key , you have to weigh fn and either the right or left pointer key to change colors . The same is true for Bluetooth pairing — you have to hold fn + 1 , as well as switch a toggle on the left side to Bluetooth . you’re able to also press out fn + X + L for four seconds to swop between role and multimedia keys . There are shortcuts for thing like turning off auto - rest musical mode , switching between paired devices , factory resets and turn off backlighting . None of this is severe , but I personally had to write some of them down on a sticky note for reference .

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In price of Bluetooth connectivity , I was pleased . I had no problems with pairing and never had to re - pair the keyboard to my MacBook Pro , which I sometimes have to do with other Bluetooth peripheral gadget . For electric battery life , the K2 is pack a 4,000mAh rechargeable battery with an judge 240 hours of typecast time with the backlighting off . With it on , you may get anywhere from 68 - 72 hours . How much you get out of a single charge will calculate on how you use it . That say , I used the keyboard with RGB lighting and set to automatically sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity — and I got a piddling over two workweek of daily utilisation before needing to recharge . It ’s a lot better than what I got with theRazer Pro Type keyboard , which only acquire about 12 60 minutes with light-emitting diode lighting and command every night charge . There ’s an indicator light that let you know when you ’re at 15 % battery or lower , but otherwise , there ’s not really a respectable direction to acknowledge how much electric battery you ’ve got left .

For the cost and lineament set , the Keychron K2 offer up great value , specially if you ’re not too picky or new to the world of mechanical keyboards . Sure , it ’s right smart more expensive than a wireless membrane keyboard , but as far as Mac - specific mechanical keyboards go , it ’s pretty dang low-cost . It ’s also much , much , much more enjoyable to type on than the Magic Keyboard — thrust that plane piece of overpriced crank in the fiery pits of hell . And while some keyboard snobs might wrick their olfactory organ up because the K2 is n’t the fancy keyboard around , I frankly do not give a damn . I ’m not one ofthose mechanical keyboard enthusiastswho would willinglyplop down over $ 300 for the gross keyboard . I am unapologetically chintzy and do n’t like keyboards that much . I ’m just someone who want a middling price , non - mushy wireless keyboard for my Mac — and the Keychron K2 is double-dyed for that .