It is a incredible course for peripherals. Gaming keyboards have lengthy been extremely homogenized with angular, all-black instances and unavoidable shiny shine-through RGB. I usually discovered myself shopping for keyboards with sub-par efficiency purely as a result of I wished one thing handsome on my desk. That’s why I really like the K2 HE’s design a lot. It signifies a shift in gaming peripherals, particularly performance-oriented ones, to extra numerous and trendy designs.
I usually suppose it is vital for merchandise to look good, not simply operate as marketed. A lot of what we personal immediately might be handled as momentary and might really feel simple to throw away with out a second thought. A thoughtfully designed product, whether or not it’s a keyboard, a pc case, a pen, or a lamp, can compel you to maintain it for longer, even care about sustaining it. Better of all, you’re feeling higher utilizing it. This has been potential for years with high-end, $500+ mechanical keyboards, however I’m glad to see it develop into extra democratized and accessible.
Software program Customization
The Corridor impact switches work extremely properly and are deeply customizable utilizing Keychron’s browser-based Launcher software. Identical to on the Q1 HE, every key’s inputs and actuation distance might be independently personalized, and so they may even be programmed to have a number of inputs at completely different distances.
The fast set off characteristic, which I really feel is without doubt one of the largest attracts of Corridor impact switches, works completely. This setting permits for quicker key inputs by actively altering the actuation level of the change. A standard mechanical keyboard change has one predetermined level the place it registers a keypress, and to register a second keypress, the change must be launched, return to above that time, after which be pressed down previous it once more. With fast set off enabled, a Corridor impact change solely has to maneuver again up a slight quantity, then it may be pressed down once more to register one other keypress. This permits for a lot quicker reactions when gaming and a few critical typists even report that they will write quicker with the setting enabled.
{Photograph}: Henri Robbins
Like each different Keychron keyboard, I’m a bit annoyed that it must be plugged in to edit the structure utilizing Launcher, however that’s a essential sacrifice when constructing a keyboard on well-documented open supply software program like QMK.
The RGB is straightforward to regulate and has numerous settings starting from static colours and RGB colour shifts to a “warmth map” setting that progressively adjustments the colour of a key primarily based on how usually it’s pressed. The wi-fi connectivity works flawlessly, however I discovered that urgent a key wouldn’t routinely reconnect the keyboard after it sat idle for some time. As a substitute, I had to make use of the slider on the aspect to change from wired again to wi-fi mode.
I don’t have any real points with the K2 HE. For the worth, it is a discount. It seems to be incredible, has a clear and deep typing sound, feels nice to kind on, and comes with a few of the greatest Corridor impact switches out there immediately. For $140, there isn’t one other keyboard that’s wherever close to as strong as this one.
