I’ve spent the previous couple of weeks with the Keychron Q5 Professional and Q6 Professional mechanical keyboards, and I believe they’re a few of the greatest bang-for-your-buck full-size keyboards you will get right now. The Q6 Professional is a standard full-size keyboard structure with a NumPad and navigation keys, whereas the Q5 Professional is a barely extra compact 1800-style structure.
Each of them are gasket-mounted, with thick aluminum circumstances and a knob within the high proper nook. You should purchase both mannequin with Keychron’s crimson 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. If you happen to do not thoughts a twine, you can even join them through USB-C. (Learn my information, The right way to Store for a Mechanical Keyboard, if you wish to study extra about a few of these phrases!)
Why a Full-Measurement Format?
Anybody who needs a full-size keyboard structure 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 change to on a whim. These items are enormous and may have a devoted key for every little thing, particularly if you happen to reap the benefits of the flexibility to reprogram keys.
Sure, your entire 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 permits 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 infrequently use them to enter numbers. They will simply be reprogrammed and used as a devoted macro pad, or for every other variety of makes use of. (It is price 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 simple, because you don’t should take your entire keyboard aside (not like fairly a number of different keyboards that place the button in a hard-to-reach spot).
Even if you happen to don’t plan to reprogram any keys, the quantity pad is nice for shortly typing lengthy strings of numbers or if you wish to make the most of Alt Codes in order that you do not have to consistently 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 primary 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 interior 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 tender and relaxed. This meshes with the switches offered, which have pretty gentle springs, to create an general typing expertise that’s crisp and bouncy with out feeling low-cost or flimsy.
The 2 boards I acquired have the Pink 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 superb quantity of journey after the bump. I’d advocate both one since each are high-quality examples of their respective change sorts that shall be acceptable to a lot of customers.
