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Comment by jabroni_salad | Hacker News Reader

Some things in favor of the keychron:

1. Wireless is kind of a rarity in the MKB landscape

2. It's one of the more inexpensive hot-swappable boards out there, which is a stellar feature if you want to try different switches but dont want to buy an entire new keyboard.

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I was not even remotely convinced that I would find a mechanical keyboard to be a superior option 6 months ago. But I was frustrated after my Apple Magic Keyboard 2 died. It was probably even under warranty, but mid-pandemic that was unapproachable.

A friend recommended Keychron. After 6 months of using the K1, I'm not sure I could ever go back. I've bought a case for carrying it around, because as another comment mentions the keycaps are prone to coming off in my bag.

I have the red low-profile switches, and they're not as quiet as a membrane keyboard, but they're not loud enough to annoy the only other person I share a work/living space with, so that's all that matters.

The wireless is definitely an important feature for me as well. My Macbook Pro is already a dongle party without needing to plug a keyboard in as well.

It's not as low-profile as the Magic Keyboard 2, but it's a tradeoff that I'm prepared to accept. It's well and truly earned it's place in my backpack.

Can confirm - Keychron didn't even come up on my initial searches a few years ago for mechanical + wireless, and I ended up with a couple (work, home) of the Logitech G613.

These are good, solid devices, with a nice response - however both are starting to give me double characters on some keys. I'm wary about popping the tops on the keys, and so far some good thumps / blowing out around the affected keys has resolved the problems. However, reviews around the net suggest this is a problem that tends to get worse with this model.

The Keychron is now on my shortlist once these Logitechs are unusable.

All mechanical switches are prone to bounce and oxidation. You can try contact cleaner or switch replacement (some keyboards have slotted switches that can be replaced without soldering).

Consider next a keyboard with programmable firmware (QMK) so you can adjust and mitigate bounce in software.

Noted, thank you - but a quick search suggests Keychron isn't in that category. On the other hand, they have replaceable caps that are (individually) quite cheap.

I'm 6-12 months away from a follow-up purchase, but will tag QMK options for the next search.

I have K2 which I bought for the form factor (75%, 84 key, laptop-like, etc).

It works fairly well for me, but I find it needs a wrist rest.

However, I would love for there to be a "autonomous" wireless option. Bluetooth works OK on both my MBP and Linux laptop. But I can't use it fully under Linux, since I have full-disk encryption and so need a keyboard during the early boot stages. Also, my main computer doesn't have Bluetooth...

All in all I'm not disappointed, I wasn't looking for a wireless keyboard and knew it was bluetooth only.

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