I’ve spent the previous few weeks with the Keychron Q5 Professional and Q6 Professional mechanical keyboards, and I feel they’re a number of the greatest bang-for-your-buck full-size keyboards you may get at present. The Q6 Professional is a conventional 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 buy both mannequin with Keychron’s pink linear switches, brown tactile switches, or banana tactile switches, they usually embrace hot-swap sockets, RGB lighting, and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity by default. When you do not thoughts a twine, you may also join them through USB-C. (Learn my information, Easy methods to Store for a Mechanical Keyboard, if you wish to be taught extra about a few of these phrases!)
Why a Full-Dimension Structure?
Anybody who desires 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. This stuff are large and might have a devoted key for every little thing, particularly if you happen to make the most of the power to reprogram keys.
Sure, the whole 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 gadgets and have almost limitless potential when you’ve discovered the software program.
Due to the utility of QMK and VIA, I discovered the quantity pads helpful despite the fact that I rarely use them to enter numbers. They will simply be reprogrammed and used as a devoted macro pad, or for another variety of makes use of. (It is price noting that with each QMK and VIA, it’s important to plug within the keyboard to reprogram it.) The position of the reset button beneath the spacebar on the highest of the printed circuit board (PCB) makes reprogramming simple, because you don’t need to take the whole keyboard aside (not like fairly a couple 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 continuously Google “Em sprint” and duplicate and paste the image on Home windows. (Scorching 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 a substitute of being immediately connected 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 smooth and relaxed. This meshes with the switches supplied, 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 Purple and Banana switches from Keychron’s Ok Professional swap line. The Reds are easy, efficient linear switches that sound poppy and really feel pretty clean. The Banana switches are tactile with a medium-strength bump and a very good quantity of journey after the bump. I’d advocate both one since each are high-quality examples of their respective swap sorts that might be acceptable to a lot of customers.