I’ve spent the previous few weeks with the Keychron Q5 Professional and Q6 Professional mechanical keyboards, and I feel they’re among the finest bang-for-your-buck full-size keyboards you will get right this moment. The Q6 Professional is a standard full-size keyboard format with a NumPad and navigation keys, whereas the Q5 Professional is a barely extra compact 1800-style format.
Each of them are gasket-mounted, with thick aluminum instances and a knob within the high proper nook. You should buy both mannequin with Keychron’s purple linear switches, brown tactile switches, or banana tactile switches, and so they embrace hot-swap sockets, RGB lighting, and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity by default. When you do not thoughts a wire, you can even join them through USB-C. (Learn my information, Find out how to Store for a Mechanical Keyboard, if you wish to study extra about a few of these phrases!)
Why a Full-Dimension Structure?
Anybody who needs a full-size keyboard format 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 modify to on a whim. This stuff are enormous and might have a devoted key for the whole lot, particularly for those who make the most of the flexibility to reprogram keys.
Sure, your complete keyboard is totally reprogrammable. Keychron’s Q Professional line helps QMK/VIA, an open supply third-party software program that permits you to reprogram each key. QMK is a system for keyboards that enables 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 practically limitless potential when you’ve discovered the software program.
Due to the utility of QMK and VIA, I discovered the quantity pads helpful though I rarely use them to enter numbers. They’ll simply be reprogrammed and used as a devoted macro pad, or for every other variety of makes use of. (It is value noting that with each QMK and VIA, you need to plug within the keyboard to reprogram it.) The location of the reset button beneath the spacebar on the highest of the printed circuit board (PCB) makes reprogramming straightforward, because you don’t need to take your complete keyboard aside (not like fairly a number of different keyboards that place the button in a hard-to-reach spot).
Even for those who 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 continuously Google “Em sprint” and replica and paste the image on Home windows. (Sizzling tip: The Alt code for an em sprint is Alt + 0151.)
The Typing Really feel
Each the Q5 Professional and Q6 Professional use a gasket mount, which means the principle keyboard meeting (plate, switches, PCB) is suspended contained in the case utilizing two compressed layers of froth as an alternative of being straight hooked up 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, which means the important thing presses really feel smooth and relaxed. This meshes with the switches offered, which have pretty mild springs, to create an general typing expertise that’s crisp and bouncy with out feeling low cost or flimsy.
The 2 boards I obtained have the Purple and Banana switches from Keychron’s Ok Professional change line. The Reds are easy, efficient linear switches that sound poppy and really feel pretty easy. The Banana switches are tactile with a medium-strength bump and a great quantity of journey after the bump. I’d advocate both one since each are high-quality examples of their respective change sorts that will likely be acceptable to a lot of customers.
