The controls are mounted on a PCB, which is better than the standard plate-mounted units that most keyboards use, and are lubricated from the factory. The oil in these controls, while a little runny (there were small patches of lube visible on the outer housings, which is unusual), feels good. The reinforced keys are smooth and firm, with no audible vibration or sticking when typing.
But as it turns out, the greatest side of this keyboard is, also, the choice of materials. Raw concrete, like unsealed concrete, is a wonderful and fun, utilitarian material: It’s heavy, uneven in texture, and stains easily. While using this keyboard, it collected dirt and a few stains, almost all of which were of an unknown origin to me. Maybe they came from cleaning spray, or from something on my hands, but I honestly have no clue. Depending on your perspective, this can be a drawback or a bonus. What some see as dirty, others will see as “patina.” But as someone who likes to keep their electronics clean for as long as possible, it definitely bothers me a bit.
(To be fair, I’d imagine there are several ways to get almost any stain off this keyboard, such as a power washer or a can of brake cleaner. However, I wasn’t in the mood to try it myself, and therefore, I can’t vouch for its feasibility.)
Gaming on Granite
Despite my many complaints about Keychron all ceramic keyboardI still loved the Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) switches inside. They were innovative, functional, and novel, with the greatest advantage of scale Hall Effect (HE) Switches.. For that reason, I was surprised to see this keyboard revert to standard HE switches. It’s still a great switch, of course, but going back to a poor choice for a similarly unique keyboard just doesn’t make sense to me.
Regardless, these switches are still impressive by any other standard of comparison. They feel soft, have a reasonable weight, bounce back quickly when pressed. This keyboard feels great to type on, and it’s responsive enough for games, especially with a 1,000 Hz polling rate.
Photo: Henri Robbins
