I’ve spent the previous couple of weeks with the Keychron Q5 Pro and Q6 Pro mechanical keyboards, and I believe they’re among the finest bang-for-your-buck full-size keyboards you will get at present. The Q6 Pro is a standard full-size keyboard structure with a NumPad and navigation keys, whereas the Q5 Pro is a barely extra compact 1800-style structure.

Both of them are gasket-mounted, with thick aluminum circumstances and a knob within the high proper nook. You should purchase both mannequin with Keychron’s purple linear switches, brown tactile switches, or banana tactile switches, they usually embody hot-swap sockets, RGB lighting, and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity by default. If you do not thoughts a wire, you can too join them through USB-C. (Read my information, How to Shop for a Mechanical Keyboard, if you wish to study extra about a few of these phrases!)

Why a Full-Size Layout?

Anyone who desires a full-size keyboard structure already is aware of they need it. In my expertise, it’s one thing you’re already acclimated to, not one thing you’re going to change to on a whim. These issues are enormous and may have a devoted key for every part, particularly when you make the most of the flexibility to reprogram keys.

Yes, the complete keyboard is totally reprogrammable. Keychron’s Q Pro line helps QMK/VIA, an open supply third-party software program that allows you to reprogram each key. QMK is a system for keyboards that permits customers to flash new firmware and keymaps, and VIA is a system that makes this reprogramming fast and seamless inside an internet browser. These keymaps persist throughout units and have almost limitless potential when you’ve realized the software program.

Because of the utility of QMK and VIA, I discovered the quantity pads helpful though I hardly use them to enter numbers. They can simply be reprogrammed and used as a dedicated macro pad, or for every other variety of makes use of. (It’s price noting that with each QMK and VIA, you need to plug within the keyboard to reprogram it.) The placement of the reset button beneath the spacebar on the highest of the printed circuit board (PCB) makes reprogramming simple, because you don’t need to take the complete keyboard aside (not like fairly just a few different keyboards that place the button in a hard-to-reach spot).

Even when you don’t plan to reprogram any keys, the quantity pad is nice for rapidly typing lengthy strings of numbers or if you wish to make the most of Alt Codes in order that you do not have to always Google “Em dash” and duplicate and paste the image on Windows. (Hot tip: The Alt code for an em sprint is Alt + 0151.)

The Typing Feel

Both the Q5 Pro and Q6 Pro use a gasket mount, that means the primary keyboard meeting (plate, switches, PCB) is suspended contained in the case utilizing two compressed layers of froth as an alternative of being immediately connected to the case. This creates a bouncier typing really feel and isolates the inner meeting to create a softer, extra crisp typing sound.

Keychron’s gasket-mount system is pretty bouncy, that means the important thing presses really feel mushy and relaxed. This meshes with the switches supplied, which have pretty gentle springs, to create an total typing expertise that’s crisp and bouncy with out feeling low cost or flimsy.

The two boards I obtained have the Red and Banana switches from Keychron’s Okay Pro swap line. The Reds are easy, efficient linear switches that sound poppy and really feel pretty clean. The Banana switches are tactile with a medium-strength bump and a very good quantity of journey after the bump. I’d suggest both one since each are high-quality examples of their respective swap varieties that might be acceptable to a lot of customers.