After the city-wide lockdown, most of us are working from home more, I also have more time to take care of my home office setup, buy some miscellaneous accessories, some technology items to better support my work. Especially, I cannot miss the keyboard to support my daily Content work, currently I am using the Keychron K3v2 keyboard, what I like about this keyboard is that it is extremely compact, supporting the layout very well for my Mac.
When choosing a keyboard, my requirements are that it must have a minimalist design, be compact and easy to carry to work in many places, have Bluetooth connectivity without complicated wiring, and must have a Mac-friendly layout. And the Keychron k3v2 has met those needs of mine.
Some basic information of Keychron K3v2:
- Overall dimensions: 306 x 116 x 22mm | 483g
- Material: Aluminum combined with plastic
- Switch: Keychron Optical Switch (The version I bought is Brown Switch)
- Keycap: Doubleshot ABS plastic
- Layout: ANSI 75% 84 keys
The Keychron K3v2 has an aluminum design on the key plate and edges, but the bottom is made of plastic. The advantage is that the weight is not too heavy, only about 398g, can be easily put in a backpack and carried to work without worrying about the weight of the backpack. The trade-off is that the feeling when holding it will not be as sturdy as other Keychron aluminum keyboards.
Keychron K3v2 uses a 75% layout with 84 keys, a comfortable key layout, has an Fn row with Mac media keys, providing excellent support for those of you who are using a Mac. However, if you are familiar with the TKL or Fullsize keyboard layout, it is easy to press the wrong key when typing because the keys are quite close together.
Switch
According to my view on the Keychron homepage, the Keychron K3v2 will have two versions with two different switch variants: Gateron and Keychron switches. However, when I bought it in Vietnam, I only saw the Keychron optical switch version for sale. However, with the Keychron switch, it will use an optical switch for faster and better response speed than conventional mechanical switches.
Keycap
Keychron K3v2 uses gray ABS plastic keycaps, the keys are ergonomically designed to hug the fingertips for a better typing experience. However, the typing experience with ABS keycaps will not be as good as PBT keycaps, after a while it will easily become oily and have a lot of fingerprints. ABS keycaps are the points I don't like about this keyboard.
Bluetooth 5.1 and type-C wired connection
Keychron K3v2 is equipped with Bluetooth 5.1 for stable connection and low latency, allowing users to work and play games comfortably. In particular, this keyboard is also equipped with the ability to connect up to 3 different devices at the same time and switch back and forth quickly and easily.
In addition, if you want the most stable connection, you can use the type-C wired connection included in the box.
Hot-swap
This is a feature that I find quite interesting and useful. The last time I ordered the Keychron K3v2, it was the Blue switch version. However, I often work outside and find it quite noisy and affects people around me. So I changed the Red switch set, but I still leave the Blue switch for the navigation directions so that when playing games, I can press it comfortably. You guys can customize it to the type of switch you like, which is very convenient.
However, as far as I know, K3v2 is only compatible with the company's Keychron Low-Profile and Gateron Low-profile switches, so you should be careful when replacing other types of switches.
Battery
Keychron K3v2 is equipped with a 1,550mAh battery, which is quite low compared to the current average. If you turn on the LED and work continuously for 8 hours/day, the keyboard can last up to 3 days, which is acceptable if you often work in the office or at home. For those who often go on business trips, move to work in many places and do not have much time to charge, this is a rather disappointing battery level that you should consider.
Led
Keychron K3v2 will have 2 versions using single Led and RGB Led, the RGB Led version will have 18 different modes to help you change according to your preferences. The version I am using is the RGB Led version, a few hundred more expensive than the single Led for those of you who like colors like me.
Keychron K3v2 also comes with some pretty cool accessories for you guys.
