The new best wireless mechanical keyboard for Mac and iOS?
I’ve tried getting into mechanical keyboards for the longest time. But I must confess that I’ve never really been able to escape the uninspiring chiclet keyboards that I’ve grown used to over the years at work, and on laptops.
Even though I genuinely enjoy using mechanical keyboards, I’ve found that I’m more productive on wireless chiclet keyboards like the Microsoft Surface keyboard or even the infamous Apple Magic keyboard. To me, the shorter key travel, slimmer form factor, and superior portability of wireless chiclet keyboards outweigh the far more satisfying typing experience of conventional mechanical keyboards. I, like most people, also type faster and more accurately on chiclet keyboards compared to mechanical keyboards.
But after buying and testing the K3 keyboard from Keychron, an “ultra-slim Wireless Mechanical Keyboard,” I think I have finally found a middle-ground between the chiclet keyboards I’ve come to prefer and the mechanical keyboards that I’ve always loved typing on. Throughout this post and my accompanying YouTube video, I compare some of the standout features of the K3 with my favorite chiclet and mechanical keyboards.
Kickstarter Experience
I’ve known about Keychron since their K1 v1 keyboard came out a few years ago. In September 2020, when I learned that they were releasing a new “compact” Bluetooth mechanical keyboard with MX stems, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to try it. Surprisingly, I was one of the now ~11,000 backers of the K3 campaign which helped Keychron reach $1,000,000 campaign funding within 30 minutes of opening!
Over the course of 3 months, Keychron sent out updates via emails and posts on their Kickstarter site. Each customer received a unique deidentified number that was linked to their order. These numbers were shared in Google spreadsheets with all backers to update the production and shipment progress for customers’ particular orders. This process seemed inefficient to me and many of the email updates from Keychron were poorly written and disorganized. That said, I didn’t have high expectations being that this was my first time backing a Kickstarter project. Also, I think it’s actually quite impressive that Keychron was able to crank out the K3 during the latter half of 2020 after the pandemic disrupted so many global supply chains. Overall, I didn’t have any issues with my Kickstarter experience with Keychron but I think they could definitely improve their clarity of communication moving forward.
Using Keychron’s Google shipment spreadsheet, I was able to view and plot the 11,153 K3 orders on Kickstarter (see below). As you can tell, the optical switch K3 models seem to be the most popular out of the 18 possible model options for the K3. The most popular optical K3 model (and most popular overall) was the “K3E3” with optical brown switches and RGB. The most popular non-optical model was the “K3B3” with Gateron low-profile brown switches and RGB — the keyboard I ended up choosing.
K3 Aesthetics
The overall look and feel of the K3 pale in comparison to most high-end mechanical keyboards, specifically in terms of keycap quality and base plate material (the K3’s is ABS plastic). On the flip side, the plastic base reduces the overall weight of the keyboard compared to solid aluminum, enhancing its portability. Also, the keycaps on the K3 can be easily swapped out with your favorite MX-compatible keycaps of choice such as the HyperX Pudding keycaps I featured in my video review. Below is more detail about the RGB, form factor, and keycaps of the K3.
RGB
One of the surprising features of the K3 is its 4-level adjustable RGB. Due to the low-profile switches and slim keycaps, the K3 has a unique RGB under-glow that is reminiscent of RGB on black pudding keycaps. There are 18 RGB effects on the K3 to suit your colorful heart’s fancy. Even if you prefer the standard white backlight, then you have that option as well on all K3 RGB models and the white backlight looks really clean with pudding keycaps. Although I’m not working in a public office space anymore due to the pandemic, I can imagine that being able to switch between the standard white and colorful RGB profiles on the K3 could come in handy.
Form factor
The Keychron K3’s 75% keyboard layout has taken a little bit of time for me to get used to. The two biggest drawbacks that I have had are with the small Right Shift key and longer Space Bar. I tend to overcompensate on my Right Shift key presses, so on the K3 I frequently hit the “up” arrow instead of the Right Shift for the first few days of using it. Due to the longer Space Bar, any “Cmd + *” shortcuts on macOS seem a little off and take some time to get used to, but it isn’t really that much of a hurdle to get over.
BTW, if you watch my video review, you might have noticed that I have the Alt/Windows/Ctrl key layout on my K3. I use the program KeyTweak on Windows to swap the Left Control and Left Alt keys so that it essentially mimics the Cmd keyboard position on macOS. This way, I can seamlessly switch between macOS, Windows, and iOS without having to change up my typing style.
Compared to the Microsoft Surface keyboard, the K3 is noticeably shorter and more compact. This has definitely opened up more space for my mouse which is a much-appreciated perk. I also compared the K3 to a more conventional mechanical keyboard, the Durgod Taurus, and immediately noticed just how much thinner and lighter it was. While I enjoyed typing on the Durgod Taurus more than the K3, I still prefer the K3 due to its portability and slim aesthetic.
Keycaps
The MX-compatible key stems on the K3 are a standout feature of this keyboard. In my opinion, this feature is enough of a reason alone to choose the K3 over the K1v4 keyboard which has low-profile switches but no MX-compatible stems. Being able to customize the keycaps of your keyboard means more than changing up its look. If you are a mechanical keyboard n00b like myself, you might be surprised to learn that there are several different types of MX-compatible keycaps and each has its own particular sound and typing feel. Thus, being able to change your keycaps also means being able to customize the overall typing experience of your keyboard. If you want more info, this youtube video by Chyrosran22 nicely discusses this topic in more detail. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a complete keycap set for the K3, but I’m testing out different products and I’m sure that more manufacturers will start offering sets in the coming months.
K3 Functionality
Connectivity
During my K3 usage, I’ve had no issues connecting the Keychron with multiple Bluetooth devices. I’ve read online that some Keychron customers despise the second(s) required to turn on and pair their keyboard after an extended period of unuse. This wasn’t an issue for me as I never found myself immediately needing to use my K3 with a connected device that has reached hibernation mode. On iOS, the media keys like play, pause, and even screenshot work surprisingly well. Also, the ‘Full Keyboard Access’ feature under Settings>Accessibility>Keyboard on iPhone makes for a surprisingly functional keyboard/phone experience with the latest version of iOS. I connected my K3 with an iPhone 12, a Lenovo X1 Yoga running Window v2004, and a Macbook Air running macOS Catalina and had little delay switching between the devices. Also, I found the flashing Fn + 1/2/3 keys during Bluetooth pairing to be handy as it reminded me what device I was connected to.
Typing
As I mentioned before, I preferred the sound and feel of Cherry MX brown switches on the Durgod Taurus over the low profile Gateron brown switches I had on my K3 with the stock keycaps. However, when I swapped out the thin ABS stock keycaps with double shot PBT HyperX Pudding Keycaps, I actually thought the sound was comparable to the Cherry MX Brown switches on the Durgod Taurus with stock double shot PBT keycaps. However, the typing experience on the Taurus was definitely more enjoyable in my opinion, with smoother actuation and generally more ‘tactility’ than on the K3. Despite this, I don’t think the typing sound and experience on the K3 is terribly worse with the HyperX Pudding keycaps. Given all of its other resounding features, the K3 is a better overall keyboard to me compared to the Durgod Taurus with its nice Cherry MX brown switches but beefy, wired frame.
Final thoughts
Overall, I’m really happy with the K3. And at a cool $69 for the lowest-priced model on Keychron, I don’t think there’s a better keyboard out there like it. Despite some of its quirks, I think I’ve found my go-to keyboard for the foreseeable future. I’m looking forward to testing out the K3 with hot-swappable switches and different keycaps, so stay tuned if you’re interested in that. If you’re like me and you have in the past preferred using chiclet keyboards, the K3 might be that goldilocks keyboard that sits just right between a mechanical and chiclet/laptop keyboard.
