Even if you’re not a mechanical keyboard fanatic, it’s fun to keep tabs on what’s happening in this famously creative and competitive cottage industry. Previously, we spotted the debut of gasket-mounted and foam-filled keyboards that upgraded the typing experience, plus some truly strange layouts all the way down to tiny 40 percent size options that fit in a jeans pocket. New for 2023? It’s tiny full-colour displays, eye-catching hues and powerful knobs – if the keyboards I’ve been testing recently are any indication.
Here are short reviews of the six most interesting keyboards that have passed over my desk so far in 2023, from sci-fi designs with cruel and unusual colour schemes to hearty, tank-like models made even heavier with the addition of brass weights. You might not find your keyboard here, but some of the trends pioneered by these more boutique brands are sure to arrive on more mainstream designs too – so take a look at the future, in roughly ascending order:
6. Nubia Redmagic GK001J
After testing quite a few tasteful keyboards last year with stylish, retro-inspired designs, I was happy to see the Nubia Redmagic GK001J – a keyboard that runs shamelessly headlong into the gamer aesthetic.
Pretty much every stereotype is fulfilled here: metal accents, superfluous RGB lighting zones, a tiny colour screen in the upper right, a ‘smart knob’ and RGB-emitting pudding keycaps with a collection of fonts, symbols and colours that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi cockpit. The overall effect is a little overwhelming – but is sure to delight its target audience. The GK001J feels reasonable to use too, despite its compacted 100-key layout and silver (soft, short, linear) key switches. Switch maker TTC isn’t the best-respected producer of Cherry MX clones, but these are at least hot-swappable if you love the design but want a different feel.