Keychron K4 keyboard review: a budget-priced 96% with a decent feature set

[Nowak]

 

It's not every day you see a wireless optical keyboard with RGB, but here we have one. The Keychron K4 is a 96% keyboard priced at under $100 depending on the configuration you get, but there's no reason to write it off because it's cheap. Over my week of using it, I have found some quirks I like about it, but there's also things not to like about this board. The standout feature is that it's offered with optical switches by LK, a type of contactless switch, along with traditional contact-based Gateron switches. Mine is configured with the Blue variant of these optical switches, as well as a plastic frame and RGB lighting; altogether, it came to $90. Without further ado, let's get on with it.

 

A lot like the Hexgears Impulse I previously reviewed, the Keychron K4 is pretty no-frills. It comes with rather thin, laser-ablated ABS keycaps, which do not feel very great, but they are shine-through. There's also no ugly "gamer" font, so thanks for that, Keychron! This is a 96% keyboard with 100 keys, so compared to a traditional full-size keyboard it's more compact, albeit missing some nav cluster keys. Well... actually, it's more of a 99 key keyboard, because Keychron for whatever reason puts a dedicated backlighting key in the upper right corner. This key does nothing but change what backlighting pattern the keyboard is using. As a result, the home, end, pgup, pgdn and delete keys are shifted over a key, and the print screen key is deleted. I do not like this, as I found this key rather useful for allowing me to be precise with what I screenshot.

 

Now, you might be saying "Oh, you can just program the missing keys onto layers!" to which the answer would be... no. There's no official software from Keychron for this keyboard. Instead, they include a slip in the box that tells you that if you want to remap your keyboard, you need to download this third party software, the Windows version of which depends on Registry hacks! No thanks, especially since I'm one of those nerds who owns more than one keyboard.

 

Perhaps most bizarre though is where the USB port is. It is Type-C, which is very nice to see, but unlike most other keyboards where the USB port is on the back, the USB port of the K4 is on the side. Not wanting to risk breaking my only USB-C to -C cable, I bought a right angle USB-C to -C adapter to reduce the stress put on it.

 

 

Perhaps mercifully, Keychron includes a right angle USB-C to -A cable in the box, but I found it too short for my desk setup.

 

Due to the lack of dedicated software, there isn't much in the way of RGB customization. You can hit the backlighting button to change between 18 presets, and then use the Fn key + left and right arrow keys to swap between colors, but... compared to what I can do with a keyboard with dedicated software, it's pretty limited. The backlighting does look nice and vivid though, and running a preference poll between this board and the similarly-sized Input Club Kira on Twitter resulted in me learning that people prefer the way how the lighting on the Keychron K4 looks.

 

As for the switches, these are a type of contactless switch, as in there is no contact leaf used to register a keypress, a la most keyswitches. Keychron says these are rated for 100 million keypresses, but in more accurate terms, tens of thousands of hours, due to the limiting factor being the lifetime of the optical sensors rather than the switch mechanism, which simply consists of a plastic slider and spring. If you need more on how these work, the spring blocks a laser from an infrared LED, and when pressed the slider allows the laser to shine through to a receptacle, which then registers the keypress and sends it to the computer. Being that these are optical, they are insanely quick to respond, with Keychron stating that their response time is only 0.2 miliseconds. However, these switches are very light, and I often found myself making mistakes when typing. It actually put some strain on my fingers the first time I tried using it! If this isn't up your alley, the K4 does come with a choice of four Gateron MX clone switches: Blue, Brown, Red and Yellow. This reduces the price by $10, so you are paying a bit of a premium for optical switches over traditional contact switches.

 

I got mine with the clicky variant of the optical switches, but I can't seem to figure out what makes them, well, click. I can't find any evidence of a click bar in them, a la Kailh switches, nor can I find a more traditional click jacket in them. There probably is a click leaf in the assembly, which would ruin the point of a contactless switch, but if there is I can't feel it. The click isn't very strong and easily gets overshadowed by the sound of the keycaps clacking and the insane amount of ping. I don't know if my board has bad springs or what, but the springs are very pingy and sometimes squeak a bit. Keyfeel is very smooth regardless, but if you aren't a big fan of ping, this is not the keyboard for you.

Also, it's worth noting that contactless does not mean guaranteed smoothness; there are enough Soviet-era keyboards floating around to disprove that theory.

 

Now as for another headlining feature of this keyboard, Bluetooth connectivity! At least on my PC, this seems to be a mixed bag. A lot of the time it works pretty great, but there are times when the signal gets weak and the keyboard begins inputting wrong, repeating characters or missing them altogether, with output on my computer delayed. Not great, guys. However, the keyboard comes with an integrated 4000mAh battery, which does last a good few days before you need to plug in the keyboard again; Keychron estimates up to 70 hours working time with Bluetooth and RGB lighting enabled. If you disable the backlighting, which can be done by pressing Fn + the backlighting key, this gets extended to 4 weeks. Damn son. Also, unlike the Anne Pro 2, wherein you could only have it plugged in or wireless, but not both, the K4 allows you to have it plugged in while using it wirelessly. Switching between wired and Bluetooth modes is quick and easy, being done with a switch on the side.

 

Speaking of switching modes, by default this keyboard is configured for MacOS, but for Windows and Linux users, reconfiguring the board for non-Apple operating systems is as easy as swapping a few keycaps on the bottom row and moving a switch also on the side, right below the USB port. As mentioned before, this keyboard comes with laser-ablated ABS caps, but what I didn't mention before is this keyboard is MX-compatible, even with optical switches. Keycap replacement will be hard, though, due to the non-standard layout and most aftermarket cap sets that don't cost over $100 being designed for a standard ANSI/ISO 104/105 key layout. If you wish to get some aftermarket caps, be prepared to spend at least $100 on a GMK set as I can't find much else that will fit on this keyboard, or many other 96% boards for that matter.

 

As for ergonomics, this keyboard is both great and not great. While the 96% form factor saves room on your desk compared to a traditional full size keyboard, this is a very high profile keyboard. The caps are OEM profile, rather than something smaller like Cherry profile, and with the flip-out feet up, it has an 8.5° angle. The rather steep profile required me to use a high profile wrist rest to avoid straining my arms as well as my fingers, so keep that in mind. Without the feet flipped out, the keyboard assumes a 0° angle, but, again, it's rather high profile. You will need a wrist rest to comfortably use this keyboard.

 

So, after about a week of use, how do I feel about the Keychron K4? Well, considering the features you get for the price, I do feel it offers a lot of value for your money, and the optical switches do provide it even more if you're a hardcore gamer. However, the Bluetooth performance, at least in my case, left a lot to be desired, and the horrible pinging can get maddening over longer typing sessions. Also, the rather high profile strained my fingers, which made longer typing sessions uncomfortable, especially for my bad right arm, and the light optical switches led to me making more mistakes than usual when typing. However, the Bluetooth mode is nice to have, and if you're a Mac user, this keyboard does come configured for it by default. Perhaps if you're looking at using a keyboard other than the terrible keyboard Apple usually includes on their laptops now, you could look into this board, just saying. Considering this comes in below $100 though, for the features you get it's hard to complain, but there are some things that left me wanting better from Keychron. Perhaps switching to lower profile caps, using heavier springs in the optical switch variant and including a second, less extreme angle for height adjustment could go a long way towards improving ergonomics.

 

Anyway, thank you for reading. No typing recording this time, but to give an idea of what it sounds like, you can hear a bit of it in this tweet of mine. I'll probably write a few more keyboard reviews in the future as I have some ideas for what I want to check out, but in the meantime, I wish you guys a nice 2020, and may you get some decent keyboards this year.

[locuturus]

Thanks for the review! (just gave it a bit of thought and went for the K4 - excited for when it shows up!)

 

for your charging cable (maybe get a good magnetic usb c clip thingy and then you can just have it magnetically snap on or off, even less strain on the cable); thinking of ordering one of these: 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Magnetic-Adapter-pogomag-Transfer-Compatible/dp/B082F63XZW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=magnetic+usb+c+right+angle+L&qid=1591294609&refinements=p_72%3A11192170011&rnid=11192166011&s=electronics&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFZNzRVMTdXMTFTSkUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAxOTMxNDRWVVVURlFWRUY2QkcmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDIxNzMzMjFSTEJCSkxMSTRFWU0md2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

[Nowak]

1 minute ago, locuturus said:

Thanks for the review! (just gave it a bit of thought and went for the K4 - excited for when it shows up!)

 

for your charging cable (maybe get a good magnetic usb c clip thingy and then you can just have it magnetically snap on or off, even less strain on the cable); thinking of ordering one of these: 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Magnetic-Adapter-pogomag-Transfer-Compatible/dp/B082F63XZW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=magnetic+usb+c+right+angle+L&qid=1591294609&refinements=p_72%3A11192170011&rnid=11192166011&s=electronics&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFZNzRVMTdXMTFTSkUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAxOTMxNDRWVVVURlFWRUY2QkcmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDIxNzMzMjFSTEJCSkxMSTRFWU0md2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

I have right-angle USB-C adapters for when I take out my K4, so I got that much taken care of. Also, what switches didja configure yours with? Gateron or optical?

[locuturus]

Picked up the optical browns aluminum RGB (they were the same price before 10% discount referral code found on twitter) - I may just sell my corsair strafe - they're cherry mx browns (and my first mechanical); but I would like more space on my desk, and a narrower keyboard, I need the numpad so TKL or anything under 90% won't work (unless I buy a separate numpad)

 

I'll write down some first impressions of the optical browns when I get it - I like the feel of cherry browns, and some noise but not too much of it. 

[Nowak]

9 minutes ago, locuturus said:

Picked up the optical browns aluminum RGB (they were the same price before 10% discount referral code found on twitter) - I may just sell my corsair strafe - they're cherry mx browns (and my first mechanical); but I would like more space on my desk, and a narrower keyboard, I need the numpad so TKL or anything under 90% won't work (unless I buy a separate numpad)

 

I'll write down some first impressions of the optical browns when I get it - I like the feel of cherry browns, and some noise but not too much of it. 

Wasn't aware that there are now more optical switches available now. When I bought mine it was only available with clicky Blues and linear Reds as far as optical switches went.

 

You may find them to be significantly smoother than MX Browns, since there's less in the actual switch mechanism that can cause friction.

[locuturus]

Llooks like they expanded the lineup a bit then; I am a little worried about the height of the keyboard, but I did use to play the piano, so raised wrists are not completely alien to me. 

 

Mine ended up being about 80 bucks after discount, was 104.60 USD after tax+shipping (which at the terrible exchange rates is about 141.99 Canadian pesos xD, not counting duties when it comes across the border); I thought about having a package receiving service in Point Roberts, WA forward it - but can't cross the border anyway, and 24 USD to ship it across the line is worth it I suppose....

[Nowak]

If the height's concerning to ya, get a wrist rest. This is a 0° angle board, which is supposed to be more ergonomic than a more typical angle, plus it's a non-standard 96% board, so it'll take some getting used to.

[locuturus]

Yup got one from work already, so it should be good :) 

 

Excited for it to ship (guess COVID hasn't helped with shipping times I suppose)

[locuturus]

Arrived! 

 

First impressions: 

 

Optical browns (non-cherry) are very very light.  I do have to get used to the even lighter typing than on the corsair strafe keyboard's cherry browns, but it's very comfortable so far! 

Build is definitely sturdy (got the aluminum rgb one) - there was more flex in my wrists trying to flex it than the keyboard deck.

 

RGB lights work as intended - though I don't know why anyone would like just RAINBOWS all over the place even though it's pretty, it's pretty distracting for when you're trying to get some work done. So i've just picked a colour and left it at that.

 

so far so good - shipped and arrived very quickly.  instructions are pretty clear on what you need to do to set up - it comes preconfigured for mac, so if you're using windows you'll need to dig out the key puller and replace those keys. 

 

I'll also do a typing sound test at some point so there's a comparison for sound since @Nowak (whose review by the way was the one that clinched it for me to spring for the keyboard, thanks!) has put one up, but it's definitely perceptively quieter than mx browns, not sure if that's preferable for some people, but personally I prefer it.

 

 

[treefroggy]

I bought this Keychron K4 V2 based on recommendation from Short Circuit channel. It is my first mechanical keyboard since my IBM model M that I had in 2011 and was stolen by my roommate to sell. Since then I've been using 90's keyboards with decent rubber domes.

I got the Gateron Brown switches, full rgb and aluminum frame.

I found it pleasing enough to type on. The cramped space on the right side had me fumbling a lot, ssince I use arrow keys and page up / page down a lot. Next time I'll probably go full size. The switches are good. Not what I expect from "mechanical" or "tactile", again this is me coming from my Model M buckling leaf springs... I like feeling like I'm switching gears on a manual transmission when I type.

 

The first thing I noticed was it shipped with stripped screws on the side. I couldn't open it.

The bluetooth has trouble staying connected, even within 2 feet of my PC. Lost of repeaaaaaaaaatttttttiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnggggg lettttttterssssss. I used it in wired mode most of the time, a disappointment since I use my PC in my bed with a wireless track ball mouse. wireless is, therefore, pretty important. When I'm not using it, I unplug the usb cable and set it on the shelf.

I was hoping the aluminum frame would mean it was a sturdy enough design. Boy was I wrong.

The USB C connector fell inside the keyboard within a couple days of use. I could no longer use the keyboard in wired mode, or charge the battery at all. It was now useless. Soldering the shoddily-sodered surface mount connector is technically the solution, but with stripped screws I couldn't access it.

I e-mailed support, and they asked for a video. I sent the video and they sent a replacement. In the mean time, I'm using an old imac rubber dome keyboard....

 

The replacement came. The screws were in better shape.

Within 2 days, the USB C connector on the replacement keyboard also fell off.

I e-mailed support and they offered to ship me another connector to solder myself. While I do have intermediate soldering skills, I don't need a new usb c connector since I already have 2 floating around inside the keyboards. I found this unacceptable and asked for a full refund, as I clearly need to purchase a sturdier keyboard from another company with better quality control.

 

They asked me to ship both keyboards to their warehouse on the west coast first to get a refund. I find this somewhat reasonable. At least it's within the continental US and not shipping back to China.

 

Either way, while this keyboard has nice design (I hate most gaming keyboards, looking for something more professional and understated) I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, since the most important bit, the USB connector, is a weak point in the design. It should have been through-hole soldered instead of surface mount.

 

I'm open to suggestions for other keyboards. I don't need crazy RGB necessarily, but backlight is important so I can check keys in the dark. I like having a numpad, page up / down, delete key. I know I don't like blues or reds, and I like browns. Aside for that, I'm a keyboard noob. Was thinking of getting one of those replica Model M's but, they don't seem ideal...