Keychron Launches Q1 HE 8K All-Aluminium 65% TMR Gaming Keyboard

Keychron recently unveiled the first keyboards in the 8K refresh of its Q series analog gaming keyboards, and now it has revealed the Q2 HE 8K, which is a 65% version of the Q1 HE 8K. Much like the bigger versions that launched in November, the Keychron Q2 HE 8K features an all-aluminium chassis with a gasket mount, and it uses Keychron's OSA profile double-shot PBT keycaps for a slightly different look than the regular Cherry or OEM profile. It also uses the Keychron Ultra-Fast Lime Magnetic switches, which are lightweight, short-throw magnetic switch, coming in at just 35 gf actuation force and 3.35 mm of total travel. It also features an updated controller, which now delivers 8,000 Hz polling rate, although it has sacrificed the wireless connection of the prior Q HE series keyboards for the reduced latency. The updated sensors in the Q2 HE 8K also make the Q2 HE 8K keyboard compatible with a wider assortment of magnetic switches, rather than being limited to the south-pole Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic switches like previous Keychron HE keyboards.

The Keychron Q2 HE 8K is available from Keychron directly for $229.99 , and it is available in both white and black colorways, both of which feature purple accents on the enter and escape keys and the CNC-machined aluminium knobs. The 65% layout is a slight variation of the traditional 65% layout, in the sense that it only features two navigation keys to the right of the alpha column, instead of the regular four keys. This is partially to accommodate the knob, but it is also because the Q2 HE 8K uses an exploded 65% layout, with space between the alpha cluster and the arrow keys and the navigation column. The Q2 HE 8K is fully customizable in Keychron Launcher, with support for analog features like Rapid Trigger, SOCD, Snap Tap, controller emulation, and Mod Tap, but there are also traditional mechanical keyboard customization options, like macro recording, layer setup, and key remapping. Actuation point customization is adjustable from 0.01 mm to 3.35 mm, with a minimum sensitivity of 0.001 mm.