Keychron K3 HE Wireless Magnetic Switch Custom Keyboard
design
I didn’t expect to be saying this about a keyboard, but the Keychron K3 HE cuts a handsome figure in the black variant I’ve been testing. It’s finished with real dark rosewood accents running along the side edges and a colour-matched pair of highlight keys on Esc and Enter that lift it above the usual sea of all black keyboards. I dig it, it’s restrained rather than showy, but has plenty of character for a mature setup. There’s a white colourway too, paired with a lighter wood accent instead, for anyone after a softer look on the desk.
Something I’ve noticed on Keychron boards before that happens again here is the quality of printing of the keycap legends. I’m not sure what’s gone wrong but the font has inconsistencies in font weight and some characters almost seem half a point larger than others. There’s per-key RGB lighting across the board and while the range of colours and options available is pretty comprehensive, the lighting itself is on the dim side even at maximum brightness. It lacks punch in its colours and coupled with solid keycaps the entire effect isn’t particularly noticeable in a room filled with daylight.
Keychron’s usual generosity in the box carries over here and I’ll continue to praise any brand that goes above the bare minimum with inclusions until it becomes industry standard. Alongside the keyboard you get a keycap puller, a small screwdriver for anyone wanting to get inside the case, along with a spare set of keycaps. Not only are there alternative black keycaps for those jazzier Esc and Enter keys, you also get Mac labelled options to swap in too. It’s such a small thing that, without knowing the manufacturing cost of a keycap, cannot cost a brand much to include yet delivers massive value in the end product.
Being a low profile board, the K3 HE sits at just 22mm at its tallest point, and the two stage feet let you dial in a bit more height if flat isn’t your preference. I found myself reaching for the highest setting most of the time, but that’s just me. What I didn’t love, however, was how the board sat on my desk once propped up. There’s not much heft to it, and combined with feet that don’t grip especially hard, it has a tendency to shift around under a firm keystroke rather than staying rooted. It’s not dramatic, and I am using a satin-finished Secretlab MAGNUS Evo so there’s little friction on offer in the first place, but it’s noticeable if you’re used to a heavier board that simply doesn’t move once it’s placed.
performance
As someone who does most of his day-to-day writing on a MacBook Air with its ultra-low profile chiclet keys, I’m a fan of a low profile keyboard and very accustomed to them. I came into this with high hopes of an elevated experience from a low option, but was surprised at how things panned out. The Ultra-Fast Lime switches Keychron has built specifically for this board have a particularly firm feel, heavier than I’d generally associate with a low profile board, and honestly a fair bit beefier than I’d personally want. I immediately noticed the extra effort each stroke took and extended typing sessions did take some adjusting to. Rather than that light, gliding sensation you’d expect fingers to fall into on a slim board like this, there’s a real, concerted push needed on every key. It doesn’t feel bad exactly, but it does feel like it’s working against what I would consider to be the low profile format’s own strengths.
I’m approaching this as someone who does more typing than gaming on his keyboard, however, and there are redeeming features. That heavier switch feel brings with it an improved sense of accuracy, or at the very least, a reduced sense of accidental misfires. That’s helpful in typing but more noticeable while gaming and here, despite their weight, my inputs felt considered and clear. There’s plenty of potential to dial in your experience too and offset some sluggish physical travel with lightning fast actuation distances.
Sound wise, the Keychron K3 HE is pleasantly muted and understated, with a rounded quality that suits the overall aesthetic rather well. There’s a restrained feel to the whole thing that carries through from how it looks to how it sounds. It won’t turn heads with character the way some louder, more thocky boards do, but it’s well suited to an office or shared space, and I can’t see this one annoying anyone sitting near you.
Keychron Launcher remains one of the better software experiences in this space, and the K3 HE makes full use of it. It’s feature rich, easy to navigate, and there’s a serious amount of depth on offer if you want to dig into per key actuation points, Rapid Trigger, and the rest of the Hall Effect feature set. Dialling in your own preferences is worthwhile, though no amount of tweaking actuation distance changes the underlying physical weight of the switches themselves, that firmness is baked into the hardware rather than something software can iron out.
There is an analog input and controller emulation mode on offer here, though unfortunately I couldn’t get it working. Either I was missing something or it just doesn’t do what it says it does, as enabling analog mode in Launcher didn’t produce any movement in its own testing panel. Connectivity across wired, 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth was trouble free throughout testing, though, and battery life wasn’t something I ever had to think about.
summed up
The Keychron K3 HE is a good looking, deeply customisable board that does plenty right, and the wood accents, restrained sound and Keychron Launcher software all make a strong case for it. It’s a mature board in both its lineage and execution, favouring subtlety over extravagance wherever possible.
That switch feel is going to be the deciding factor for most people however, and for me it counters much of the reason to go low profile in the first place. If a firmer, weightier keystroke is what you’re after, there’s no reason this couldn’t suit you brilliantly. For me, it wasn’t enough to displace the boards already vying for a spot on my desk as a day to day option.
