Keyboards of The Verge | The Verge

What is a keyboard if not the original brain-computer interface? You can tap on a touchscreen or talk to the computer, but if your work involves getting information out of your head and into the computer, you’re probably spending a lot of time using a keyboard.

We’ve written about many keyboards over the years, from the legendary Optimus Maximus to the ultra-luxe Seneca to even stranger fare. But I wanted to know what my coworkers actually use. As I’d hoped, there’s a wide range. Some of us are strictly utilitarian, optimizing for ergonomics or functionality. Others obsess over every detail of feel, sound, layout, and looks. Still others — maybe the most enlightened — just use whatever’s in front of them.

NuPhy came up a lot. So did Keychron. The Apple Magic Keyboard has its stalwarts. The Kinesis Freestyle split is surprisingly well represented. And there are other, odder entries.

These are the keyboards of The Verge.

Jay Peters, senior reporter

I currently use the Kinesis Freestyle Pro, and I’ve used it for so long that I’ve forgotten when I first got it. In the late 2010s, I had wrist pain that led me to try a lot of ergonomic keyboards so I could keep using computers. The Freestyle Pro — with its optional tenting add-ons that give the keyboard a significant angle and the palm rest accessories — just feels the best under my hands. If this keyboard broke, I’d buy another one the same day.

Kallie Plagge, senior copy editor

For work, I use a simple Keychron K2. But for my gaming PC, I use the Logitech G713 wired mechanical keyboard — the one that comes with the cloud wrist rest. Did I mostly buy it for the wrist rest? Perhaps. But I do love the tenkeyless layout. My previous gaming keyboard had a number pad and two rows of programmable keys, which was cool, but I mostly used the number pad to type the alt code for em dashes. The G713, on the other hand, meets my gaming requirements without taking up half my desk. I’m not playing anything competitive on my PC that requires adjustable actuation points, so the GX red linear switches do the trick. (And they’re the right amount of clicky, unlike the overly loud ones on my K2.) So yeah, maybe I bought it for the sleek all-white look and the cute wrist rest, but it’s also a great keyboard, too.

Danielle Steussy, product manager

I’m using Apple’s Magic Keyboard with the numeric keypad. Some version of Apple’s keyboard has been on my desk for over 20 years, starting with the Apple A1048 that came with my first Mac in college. I loved that keyboard (the sound of my fingertips hitting the keys — swoon!) and I wore it down to the point of keys falling off. Since then, I’ve stuck with Apple’s wireless keyboards. Honestly, it’s a pretty keyboard, but otherwise unremarkable, and blends in with my desk setup (which also is kind of the point, right?). My biggest complaints are that the key legends wear off faster than I’d like and the Bluetooth connection isn’t totally reliable. It’s not my favorite Apple product (by far), but after two decades of muscle memory, I’m not switching anytime soon.

David Pierce, editor at large

I really want to be a mechanical keyboard guy. I love typing on mechanical keyboards! I love the clackiness, the way they look on my desk, the huge personality upgrade that comes with them. But then I start typing notes during a call, and someone goes, “Sorry, what’s that noise in the background?” and I bail on my mechanical keyboard. I used Logitech’s MX Keys S for the last few years, and love that keyboard, but recently replaced it with an Apple Magic Keyboard (black keys, number pad) because I got tired of typing my 1Password password all the time. I bought a $200 keyboard for the Touch ID button. Ugh.

Jacob Kastrenakes, executive editor

My keyboard is probably the single dumbest thing I have ever spent money on, but it brings me joy every time I look at it. The setup matches a Boop Redux case with the GMK Dots keycaps and Silent Bluish White (V2) switches. I didn’t so much want to get deep into the mechanical keyboard hobby as I wanted to have this exact keyboard after I saw images of the Dots keycaps on the (original) Boop case floating around in around 2022. It looks cool, right? (Right?) From a practical standpoint, this is fully a downgrade from the Apple Magic Keyboard I was using before: It’s bigger and louder, with fewer keys, and I probably type a bit slower on it, too, owing to the longer key strokes. It’s also a few hundred dollars more expensive. But you know what? I think it looks really cool.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto, laptop reviewer

Since I review laptops and occasionally mechanical keyboards, I’m constantly changing what I type on. But one of my personal keyboards that remains close to my heart is my TM680 (aka the Gamakay LK67). It’s a cheap bare-bones 65-percent kit I bought from AliExpress in 2021. I was inspired by the video that YouTuber Scott “Keybored” Kim did on it, so I dabbled in modding it.

I started with basic Gateron Milky Yellow linear switches and some crummy knockoff Evangelion keycaps, but I later upgraded to a much nicer MT3 3277 keycap set. I then spent hours individually lubricating and adding switch films to each of the Gaterons, lubing the stabilizers, inserting some foam into the base of the chassis, and adding layers of painter’s tape to the bottom of the PCB. This combination made my basic build sound and feel much better, and it shaped my preference for deeper, “thockier”-sounding boards that I still have today.

My old TM680 is easily outdone by just about any budget board these days. Many switches now arrive pre-lubed from the factory, and even a sub-$100 keyboard can sound and feel nicer right out of the box. But doing the mods myself felt special. I doubt I’ll ever bother with all that work again, because lubing and filming switches is just too tedious and time-consuming, but I’m glad I at least experienced it once. And no matter how many new keyboards I test, I intend on keeping my TM680.

TC Sottek, former senior editor

I used to buy pretty expensive gaming keyboards that I can’t even name now without digging deep through email archives for receipts. I know I once spent nearly $200 on a full-size Razer mechanical keyboard with a numpad that took up a ton of desk space. The key travel felt amazing and it had a great sound. But what I really remember was knocking over a full glass of water on it. Oops! Farewell, keyboard.

Unfortunately, this happened not once, not twice, but three times for me with relatively expensive keyboards over the years. Yes, I should have learned to contain liquids in bottles on my desk. But now I’ve settled for cheap–but–still-good options the same way I’ve done with the several pairs of earbuds I’ve ruined over the years. (Former serial AirPods Pro user here, now fully on board the Nothing Ear train.)

I’m currently rocking a Keychron K2 with a 75-percent layout. It took me a minute to get my 120-plus WPM back on a cramped keyboard, but now it works just fine and I like the look. I’ll probably splurge again someday on a really compelling set of keycaps.

Meredith Haggerty, senior reports editor

I use the laptop that is attached to the M2 MacBook Air I was issued by my employer. It’s right there whenever I need it, but I think they should make a version that’s covered in way fewer crumbs.

I have a toxic relationship with my keyboard, a Corsair K55 RGB Pro that I picked up for half the price at a thrift store a few years ago. It’s a decent, budget-friendly keyboard that’s fine to use for gaming and writing. But recently, it’s been getting on my nerves. The keys no longer light up when I turn my computer on, and it sometimes doesn’t sync properly with my Corsair iCUE software. I can’t see what I’m pressing unless the keyboard is lit up (the keys are translucent), so I’ve had to resort to unplugging the keyboard and plugging it back in when I turn on my computer, which usually does the trick. The issue is probably software-related, but I might just get fed up enough to buy myself a fancy new mechanical keyboard.

Andrew J. Hawkins, transportation editor

I have never been a keyboard guy. I was content to use the one attached to my laptop or whatever wireless Apple version I could get for cheap. But I changed when a coworker turned me on to the NuPhy Air75 mechanical keyboard. The keys feel great, the “clack-clack” sound is so satisfying, and the overall design is retro without seeming outdated. That big yellow spacebar, the delightfully orange Enter button, the subtly aquamarine Escape key — chef’s kiss. Connectivity is robust and the battery lasts for days before needing to be recharged. It took some getting used to, but I chalk it up to not being able to use my left ring finger while typing since breaking it in a freak scooter accident years ago. But that’s a different story.

Nathan Edwards, senior reviews editor

These days I mostly swap between a Leopold FC660C and a couple of Omnitype Bauer Lites. The Leopold is a Topre board I’ve had since 2017; I’ve modified it a fair bit over the years, with silencing rings, a new controller board, and Ursa keycaps. I fell in love with the unbeatable tactility of Topre switches early, but I love the customizability of regular mechanical keyboards too, so I’ve spent a lot of time over the past decade trying to find something that combines the best of both.

I got most of the way there with my first Bauer Lite a couple years ago; its Kailh Deep Sea Silent Islet switches are linear, but they’re the closest to Topre I ever found in an MX-compatible switch. (They’re basically identical to the ones in the HHKB Studio). It’s also fluorescent orange, which just makes me happy. I built another one recently with DynaCap electro-capacitive switches and MTNU Space Cadet keycaps. Do I need three wired 65-percent keyboards with very similar layouts and pretty similar typing feel? Probably not. But I have them anyway. Also several other keyboards.

Stevie Bonifield, news writer

I love trying out new mechanical keyboards (and have reviewed dozens of them), but for the last year straight I’ve been using a NuPhy Halo75 V2 as my daily driver. I’ve built several custom mechanical keyboards over the years, but I haven’t changed anything on this one yet. I may swap out the switches and keycaps at some point. NuPhy’s tactile Mint switches are fairly good, but I miss the Leobog Juggle V2 switches I have on a wired keyboard that used to be my daily driver.

I’ve been pretty happy with how the Halo75 sounds and feels out of the box. I also appreciate that the design’s simple enough to not be distracting while still having a few pops of color. The battery life could be a bit better, but there’s not much to complain about overall — the build quality feels solid, the keycaps and switches have held up well over months of heavy typing, and the Halo75 works smoothly with both Mac and Linux. It also has Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless connectivity, which was a must-have for me since I like to hop between multiple devices from the same keyboard.

I’ve had a great experience with the Halo75 so far, but I’d recommend it mainly for Mac users — macOS is where it really shines. It works fine for gaming, but I’d suggest configuring it with linear switches if you want to use it for gaming, rather than the tactile switches I went with.

Brad Bourque, commerce writer

I started building mechanical keyboards a few years ago, and have a few in my quiver, but the one I use most often is a NovelKeys NK65 in white. This 65-percent keyboard is sturdy and compact, with just enough extra buttons for work or surfing the web, and arrow keys in case I want to sneak in some gaming. It’s a hot-swap board, so I change up the setup occasionally, but it’s currently equipped with SA Mizu keycaps and C3Equalz x TKC Dragonfruit tactile switches, with a matching desk pad and metal Escape key.

Adi Robertson, senior tech & policy editor

I’ve upgraded my writing equipment since 2021, when I proudly displayed an Apple Magic Keyboard on top of a piece of cardboard on top of a MacBook with several nonfunctional butterfly keys. And as much as I love collecting dedicated typing machines — I’ve got a Freewrite, a 1990 Smith Corona word processor, a beautiful 1930s Underwood manual typewriter, and an impressively awful faux-vintage one from the zombie-brand era of Royal, among others — I discovered my perfect work setup is low-profile mechanicals: clicky enough to be satisfying, short enough travel to not hamper my typing speed. (I’m still slightly faster on a chiclet keyboard, but I’ll take the hit.) I spent a few years with a NuPhy Air75, but fell victim to its fairly well-known swollen battery issues, so I’ve since switched to the Iqunix MQ80 — which has less of a fun retro color scheme, but a more satisfying heft. I love the idea of giving it a cool custom keycap makeover someday, but for now I’m too cheap and lazy, and perfectly satisfied with its Mirror’s Edge-y sci-fi white.

Sean Hollister, senior editor

I noped out of mechanical keyboards for years because they were too clicky! No good for my shared office space. Then, Verge alum Dan Seifert clued me into the near-silent Boba U4 switches, which I installed in a Keychron V1 (love the small size, love the QMK programmable lighting, love the volume dial!) and I almost never looked back.

I did have to re-spring and lube all the switches to get a familiar level of spring action, which was easy enough. Some of the switches have spontaneously stopped working over the past four years, but it only takes seconds to hot-swap another one in. And a family member bought me 8BitDo’s awesome Nintendo-themed wireless mechanical numpad, so I’m covered there too.

But I don’t think it’s endgame. When I switch back from my laptop, I often miss the faster, more effortless typing I can do on its lower-profile keys. Maybe it’s time for something new.

I should preface this by saying I know absolutely nothing about keyboards. My standards for what I want are pretty modest: It should work, move easily around my desk, and not hurt my wrists. Looking cool doesn’t hurt.

I’ve cycled through a few over the years, mostly geometric oddities — sorry, ergonomic — like the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop and Logitech Ergo K860, which were rather unwieldy. I also tried ordering the Kinesis Freestyle Pro Jay uses, but gave up after the supplier tried to pass off clearly damaged kit (read: tangled hair clogging everything) as brand-new.

I’ve been using the Keychron K2 Pro for a few years now. It’s compact, looks great, and holds a charge well. It has no number pad, but that keeps things nimble, and it handily switches between multiple computers I use on the go. There are also fancy lights, though I usually turn them off. The main downsides are having to regularly Google the key commands needed to control it — a pain when those lights won’t stop strobing like a hyperactive Christmas tree. It supports key remapping, so I may attempt a new layout like Dvorak sometime soon.

Elizabeth Lopatto, senior internet typist

First of all, keyboards should be clacky. I want to sound like I am firing a machine gun while I write. Second, due to assorted repetitive stress injuries, my keyboard needs to be split. So I am typing with a light-up gaming keyboard — the lights are optional, I just like them — called the Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge RGB. Do I game? Uh, well, I do crossword puzzles. But the Cherry MX Blue switches guarantee I sound fucking productive while I do them.

Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief

Very boring Apple keyboards. Every five years the right side of the spacebar stops working and I buy a new one. Full-size. Numpad for life.