A mechanical keyboard the Keychron K3

I’ve had the Logitech MX Keys for years, and they still do their job. Unfortunately, the surface of the mouse doesn’t feel as nice anymore.

Introduction

As I said, I’ve been using the set of MX Keys and the corresponding mouse since 2020, so for five years now, on various devices. These include Windows PCs, tablets, and even MacBooks, both the Air and now the MacBook Pro.

Logitech offers me either Bluetooth connection or a connector, which then takes over the connection. However, I wanted a smaller keyboard, since I never need the numeric keypad.

The Keychron K3

Mechanical keyboards are practically a science in themselves because of the switches. I’ve now opted for the Keychron K3 with brown switches. But first, you have to consider the size difference.

This is quite noticeable, because it not only affects the numeric keypad, but also some of the control keys, which have been saved in terms of space.

I opted for the version with the Mac keyboard, but you can also swap out the caps if you wish.

Connections

The Keychron can be operated via Bluetooth or wired via the USB port. The latter also charges the internal battery.

In Bluetooth mode, the keyboard can be paired with a maximum of three devices. This doesn’t represent an advantage over the Logitech.

Next to it is a switch that allows you to switch between Windows and Mac mode. What the Keychron lacks is a connector. This is required, for example, to access the BIOS on a PC or to select a different operating system in a boot manager. This only works in wired mode, because Bluetooth is only available after the operating system (Windows, Linux) has started.

Conclusion

The Keychron is a beautifully designed, well-thought-out, and above all, compact keyboard. The typing feel is simply great, but the compactness also means some getting used to it, as I still miss some keys. What I haven’t tried yet is programming the keyboard via the launcher app. But that doesn’t work with Firefox, for example, but only with browsers like Chrome and Edge.

ciao tuxoche