My new favourite keyboard
Until a couple of years ago, I had never really thought much about the keyboard that I use for my work. I would generally just start typing on whichever keyboard my employer gave me or whatever keyboard was provided with the computer that I had bought.
That changed with lockdown. As workplaces shut down and we were forced to work from home, I ended up needing to build a home office that I could work from. I soon discovered that, while I was happy with the way the rest of my office had been setup, the keyboard that our IT department had given me was undermining everything else that I had built.
So I set out on a mission to complete my workspace and find a keyboard that I was really happy with.
Why does a good keyboard matter?
For almost 50 years now, our primary means of providing our computers with input has been a keyboard. If you’re working a standard eight hours a day for five days a week and spend half of that time typing, then you’re spending 960 hours a year using a keyboard.
Shouldn’t that keyboard be a joy to use then? Shouldn’t it sound just like you want it to sound and feel completely comfortable under your fingers? Shouldn’t it be configured to your exacting requirements to help you perform at peak productivity?
Mechanical keyboards offer a wide range of configurable options (from keyboard size and colour to the feel and sound of each of the keys) to allow you to build a solution that best fits your needs, so there really shouldn’t be any reason for not finding something that brings joy to your work.
What were my requirements?
I had been previously been using a Tenkeyless board with Gateron Brown switches. In other words, it was a fairly large device with keys that made a fairly loud click when they were pressed down. That click was great for me while I was writing, but it started to interfere with my day job a bit when I was using Zoom. There were fairly regularly comments about the noise the keyboard made while I was taking notes, and on more than one occasion I was muted by other people in the room. I needed to find something a bit quieter.
On top of that, I wanted a keyboard that I could connect to my iPad. Recently, I’ve been looking to get out of my office more in order to take the iPad down to a coffee shop and do some work from there. While I could technically have used the Tenkeyless board for that, it’s not particularly portable and its size means that it ends up covering the lower third of the iPad screen when I’m writing, which is far from ideal. Therefore, I wanted something that would be easy to carry and had a lower profile. I did consider Apple keyboards, but I’ve had issues with the Smart Keyboard Folio in the past and I didn’t want to spend a mini fortune on trying out the Magic Keyboard.
Given that I needed the board to connect to two different devices, my final requirement was that any keyboard I bought would also need to have Bluetooth capability, as opposed to being a fully wired solution.
What did I end up buying?
After doing a fair bit of research, I ended up going with the Keychron K7 with RGB lighting — a low profile 65% keyboard that can connect up to three devices via Bluetooth.
While the keyboard can be configured to use many different switches, I opted for the Gateron Mechanical Red Switch. This was largely down to the fact that the Red Switch is the quietest option and would allow me to continue to make notes on my Zoom calls without constantly being put on mute. I’ve been using it for around six weeks now and I’m loving it. While I had originally only planned on using it for work calls and trips down to the coffee shop, I’m finding that I’m using it for everything now.
The reasons why it has become so popular:
The size of the keyboard This is the smallest keyboard that I’ve ever owned. As a low profile board, it almost sits flat on my desk, which means that my wrist doesn’t get strained in the way that it sometimes did with higher keyboards. The board itself is height adjustable, due to two feet in the upper corners which gives the user the option to choose between three different heights.
At its lowest level, the keyboard is shorter than the height of a US quarter coin so it’s incredibly easy to carry around. It fits effortlessly into my gym bag or I can hold it on top of my iPad in one hand as I walk down the street.
What’s more, if I’m working from home, the K7 takes up very little space on my desk, which adds to the minimalist feel that I’ve been trying to create in my working environment.
The resistance of the keys Many people would consider the Gateron Red Switch that I chose for the K7 to be the ‘boring’ option when it comes to closing keys, but I have to say that I’m currently loving them. The slight resistance that they provide (coupled with the Linear profile) makes typing a real joy.
Quick Switching As I mentioned above, the K7 is capable of connecting to three different devices via Bluetooth and I’m really enjoying how easy the K7 makes it to switch between typing on my laptop and iPad with just the press of a couple of keys (fn1 + ‘Q’, ‘W’ or ‘E’). The switch between devices is instant (assuming that you’ve previously paired the keyboard) meaning that the process doesn’t interrupt your flow or focus.
It’s customisable I haven’t yet arrived at the point in my keyboarding journey where I’ve felt the urge to replace switches or keycaps with something more custom. However, I like knowing that if/when I reach that point, then the K7 is “hot-swappable” meaning that I can change the look and feel of the board in just a few minutes.
A quality build The K7 comes with an aluminium body which adds a reassuring feel of quality to the entire product. It is strong enough to add a satisfactory weight and sturdiness to the entire board — something which is often lacking in lighter, plastic solutions.
A couple of frustrations
Waking up from Sleep Mode My main frustration with the K7 is the delay that it takes in connecting to my laptop once I “wake” it. It’s unfair to blame this purely on the K7, as this is something that will occur with all Bluetooth keyboards but, when you just want to get going again, it can be frustrating again to have to wait 10 seconds or so before you can start typing.
It should probably be worth pointing out that Keychron allows you to turn off the K7’s sleep mode (by holding down fn1+S+O for 3 seconds), but I decide not to do this so that my battery lasts longer.
Battery Life I wanted the flexibility of a wireless keyboard so, once again, it’s probably unfair to raise the fact that the keyboard needs charging as a “frustration” but it’s worth pointing out that you should get into the habit of charging your keyboard at regular intervals. Otherwise, having the K7 suddenly die on you halfway through the workday can be very annoying.
I ended up going with a board with RGB lighting, which will drain the battery more quickly than the standard version. Even with that enabled though, I find that charging the board up once a week is sufficient. And if, for whatever reason, you forget your weekly charge, the K7 comes with a USB-C port on its back so that you can always use it plugged into a power source.
One last thing …
I hope you found the above useful. If you did, I’d really appreciate it if you would consider following me. I’m trying to build a regular writing habit so that I can get into Medium’s Partner Program but, to do that, I need 100 followers.
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