Marathon Battery Life Makes Keychron’s Ultra 8k Keyboards Its Best Yet

Keychron’s expansive keyboard catalog covers everything from basic full-size mechanical boards to niche layouts for illustration southpaw Alice aliases a one-handed half-keyboard for gaming. Its Q and V bid are among our go-to recommendations for off-the-shelf keyboards, and nan latest iterations — nan Q and V Ultra models — are a straightforward upgrade to nan lineup, pinch benefits for regular users and deep-in-the-weeds keyboard nerds alike.

I’ve been testing 2 Ultra keyboards: nan Keychron V5 Ultra 8K and Keychron Q1 Ultra 8K. The $119.99 V5 Ultra is simply a near-full-size 1800-layout committee pinch a number pad successful a integrative case, while nan $229.99 Q1 Ultra is simply a 75-percent layout (my preferred size) pinch a overmuch heavier milled-aluminum chassis and overmuch much robust build and typing feel. Aside from lawsuit worldly and layout, they’re very akin keyboards that are some excellent.

The Ultra 8K lines are nan highest-end versions of nan V5 and Q1 keyboards to date, preceded by nan Max versions (which added 1,000Hz 2.4GHz wireless) and Pro models (which first went wireless pinch conscionable Bluetooth). The 2.4GHz wireless connections person been upgraded from 1,000Hz polling to 8,000Hz (hence nan 8K suffix) for maintaining accelerated consequence times — particularly erstwhile gaming. Most group won’t announcement nan difference, but that’s not nan logic to get nan Ultra anyway.

Unlike nan older Q and V bid boards, nan Ultras tally connected ZMK, an open-source firmware often utilized by precocious keyboard enthusiasts (absolute sickos) for building their ain civilization boards. ZMK is powerful, but updating keymaps tin beryllium a pain, and ZMK’s remapping software is little polished than nan options for illustration Via aliases Vial that are disposable for QMK-based boards. (Keychron’s older keyboards tally connected QMK.) Fortunately, nan Ultra boards usage Keychron’s browser-based Launcher software to remap keys, dial successful customized lighting patterns, aliases group macros, conscionable for illustration different Keychron models.

ZMK’s astir evident use for astir group is its artillery efficiency. It’s nan logic Keychron claims you tin get up to 660 hours of usage connected an Ultra 8K committee — astir 4 times longer than its claims for nan Max models. If you usage your keyboard for astir 8 hours a time pinch nan backlight off, that’s 83 days earlier you’re bothered to plug successful — aliases longer, if you’re utilizing Bluetooth. It’s not nan 1 to 2 years of artillery immoderate membrane keyboards offer, but this benignant of artillery life successful a mechanical keyboard was unheard of not agelong ago. Even immoderate of nan champion wireless mechanical keyboards from caller years usually require charging each different week aliases truthful (depending connected your usage).

This marathon-level artillery life goes a agelong measurement to making nan V5 Ultra and Q1 Ultra my favourite Keychrons truthful far. And now that I’m spoiled by it, I dream different manufacturers travel suit pinch ZMK boards of their own. The V bid and Q bid were already very bully keyboards disposable successful tons of layouts, truthful not having to complaint them arsenic often is simply a bully plus. The 8,000Hz polling, connected nan different hand, is simply a “Sure, why not” benignant of benefit. Maybe esports champs utilizing nan fastest monitors tin show nan quality betwixt 1,000Hz and 8,000Hz. Maybe.

As for nan typing acquisition of nan caller Ultras, they’re each subtly improved complete their predecessors. Both nan V5 Ultra 8K and Q1 Ultra 8K person upgraded screw-in stabilizers for little wobble connected larger keys (enter, abstraction bar, backspace, etc.) and a amended consciousness connected their return movement. The Ultras besides usage caller Silk POM (polyoxymethylene) switches offered successful reddish (linear), brownish (tactile), and banana (more tactile). Full POM move housings are often utilized successful switches to trim scratchiness successful cardinal presses.

In nan V5 Ultra pinch Silk POM brownish switches, nan caller switches person a somewhat deeper yet clackier typing sound compared to nan V1 Max I tested past year. The last-gen Max’s Gateron Jupiter brownish switches and their nylon housings sound much subdued. I deliberation nan caller Ultras sound amended while you’re hammering distant — arsenic agelong arsenic you don’t mind a somewhat louder board. The Ultra’s caller switches and stabilizers besides consciousness smoother. The only downside is that nan tactile bump of nan brownish switches is now hardly there. They consciousness person to linears. If you want a tactile move pinch existent tactility successful this board, go banana (or switch successful your favourite switches).

I’ve been testing those tactile banana switches connected nan Q1 Ultra 8K, and it sounds deeper than nan past gen pinch Gateron bananas without losing tactility. And nan Q1 Ultra is really a touch quieter than nan Q1 Max. It’s still acold from silent, but it sounds and feels smoother. The revised stabilizers make a noticeable quality connected nan abstraction barroom and participate keys, which consciousness much tightly tuned and quieter connected their return. Underneath nan lawsuit is simply a backplate pinch an etched sci-fi / celestial design. It’s handsome-looking, moreover if you’ll seldom spot it, but it doesn’t adhd immoderate other weight to nan Q1 Ultra for illustration you typically spot connected bottommost weights from different boards — it’s a hefty 3.8 pounds / 1.72kg, precisely nan aforesaid arsenic nan Q1 Max, and heavier than a 14-inch MacBook Pro. (The V1 Ultra 8K is 1.7 pounds / 770g, for reference.)

The Ultra procreation is simply a clear upgrade from erstwhile Keychron models. The Maxes are sticking around, because Keychron seems to seldom discontinue aliases afloat switch anything, but for conscionable $10 to $20 much it’s worthy spending other connected nan Ultras for nan unthinkable artillery life alone. The improved stabilizers are a bully bonus.

Keychron will apt trickle retired nan ZMK-based Ultra features to much of its lines and grow its Q and V Ultra offerings to see much layouts, arsenic it ever does. And it’s only a matter of clip earlier different keyboard manufacturers drawback connected to utilizing ZMK, hopefully giving much mechanicals a akin large artillery boost. I emotion title arsenic overmuch arsenic I emotion awesome keyboards, pinch which we are genuinely flush these days.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge