Keychron is finest recognized for its mechanical keyboards, and it’s the high decide in our information to the best mechanical keyboards, however not everyone seems to be a fan of the massive, loud clicky keys. Should you’re the kind of one that 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 delicate, fashionable, and better of all, cheap.
The Keychron B6 Professional ($45) is a full-size keyboard with flat, virtually 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 almost an identical, however in a 75 % keyboard format 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 change keyboards, and primarily based on my time testing them, it’s a wonderful begin.
Acquainted, With Finesse
{Photograph}: Eric Ravenscraft
I’ve pressed numerous wildly various buttons to make our information to the best 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 virtually didn’t discover the distinction. They’ve very equally formed keys and format, 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 means 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 present an analogous really feel to such a low-profile board.
Connecting the B6 Professional to my laptop was comparatively easy. There’s a bodily change 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 best way, say, Logitech handles swapping profiles. On my MX Keys S, there are devoted keys to swap between three units, 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 change.
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 noticed one thing: This little lip gave me just a little further grip, making it snug to slip round as wanted. It’s a wonderful 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 units too usually, however a journey keyboard is a unique story.
My one gripe is that the bodily change’s center place—which serves double responsibility because the wired possibility when linked and the off place when it’s not—is just a little too straightforward to knock to at least one facet or the opposite. On a desktop that’s not an enormous problem, however once I toss this keyboard in my laptop computer bag, I fear {that a} jostle will by accident flip it. It’s not an enormous problem, nevertheless it’s mildly annoying to me.
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