Keychron is finest recognized for its mechanical keyboards, and it’s the high choose in our information to the finest mechanical keyboards, however not everyone seems to be a fan of the massive, loud clicky keys. For those who’re the kind of one who likes flat, chiclet-style buttons which can be quiet and cozy, Keychron has lastly made a pair of keyboards for you. The B1 Professional and B6 Professional are gentle, fashionable, and better of all, cheap.
The Keychron B6 Professional ($45) is a full-size keyboard with flat, nearly Macbook-like keys, that may join through Bluetooth, a 2.4-Ghz wi-fi dongle, or straight through USB-C. In the meantime, the B1 Professional ($40) is sort of equivalent, however in a 75 p.c keyboard structure that lops off the numpad and compresses right down to solely the important keys.
That is Keychron’s first foray into the ultra-slim, low-profile realm of scissor swap keyboards, and primarily based on my time testing them, it’s a superb begin.
Acquainted, With Finesse
{Photograph}: Eric Ravenscraft
I’ve pressed plenty of wildly different buttons to make our information to the finest keyboards, and I’ve been utilizing the Logitech MX Keys S as my day by day driver for some time. After swapping it out for the Keychron B6 Professional, I nearly didn’t discover the distinction. They’ve very equally formed keys and structure, and the B6 Professional was delightfully snug to sort on.
The scissor switches on the B6 Professional are surprisingly springy and felt only a contact extra resistive than the MX Keys S, however in a approach that felt satisfying. A part of what I like about full-size mechanical keyboards is how punchy it feels to sort on them, and I’m impressed that Keychron has managed to provide an analogous really feel to such a low-profile board.
Connecting the B6 Professional to my laptop was comparatively easy. There’s a bodily swap alongside the highest proper that swaps between Bluetooth, 2.4Ghz, and wired connections. When in Bluetooth mode, there are three profiles you possibly can swap between by holding down Fn and urgent 1, 2, or 3.
This is a bit more clumsy than the way in which, say, Logitech handles swapping profiles. On my MX Keys S, there are devoted keys to swap between three gadgets, and people profiles aren’t restricted to Bluetooth. Nonetheless, the B6 Professional had greater than sufficient choices to connect with my laptop computer and desktop and swap between them with a easy bodily swap.
Alongside the highest of the keyboard, there’s a small ridge that has a tiny lip round it. At first, I assumed this was simply an aesthetic aptitude, however the first time I grabbed the keyboard to regulate its place on my desk, I spotted one thing: This little lip gave me a bit of further grip, making it snug to slip round as wanted. It’s a superb little contact that I’ve discovered myself wishing different keyboards had.
{Photograph}: Eric Ravenscraft
Satisfying, in a Smaller Bundle
The B1 Professional is just like the B6 Professional, however in a satisfyingly compact type. It’s about an inch wider than the keyboard on my laptop computer, and skinny sufficient to toss in my bag. It has the very same connectivity choices because the B6 Professional, however I discovered that this was a bit extra helpful in a keyboard that was sufficiently small to journey with. I don’t want to attach my desktop keyboard to different gadgets too usually, however a journey keyboard is a unique story.
My one gripe is that the bodily swap’s center place—which serves double responsibility because the wired possibility when related and the off place when it’s not—is a bit of too simple to knock to at least one aspect or the opposite. On a desktop that’s not an enormous situation, however once I toss this keyboard in my laptop computer bag, I fear {that a} jostle will by chance flip it. It’s not an enormous situation, however it’s mildly annoying to me.
