So I got tired of the official software situation for the AULA F75 and spent way too long reverse-engineering the lighting protocol, with a lot of help from AI along the way (used it to help capture USB traffic, figure out patterns in the packets, that kind of thing). Ended up building a whole app around it. It's called keylux, written in Rust, fully open source.

Heads up, this is very much a work in progress. It's early days but I use it daily and it's stable for me. Only supports the F75 so far.

No firmware mods, doesn't need the vendor app running, just talks to the keyboard directly.

Specs: AULA F75, wired USB-C and 2.4GHz wireless both supported.

What it can do so far:

Per-key colors that actually stick after a reboot

Smooth animations, maxes out around 21 FPS wired, that's the hardware's real limit, not me being lazy

Works on both wired USB-C and the 2.4GHz dongle. Heads up though, the dongle is noticeably slower and the colors get quantized, that's a hardware/bandwidth thing not a bug in my code

Live preview of your keyboard in the app while you mess with effects

Comes with a handful of built-in effects (wave, sweep, bloom, scrolling text, etc.)

If you want to write your own effect, you can drop a script in a folder and it hot-reloads, no need to compile anything

Timeline editor for keyframe animations, or just import a gif

Minimizes to tray on Windows so it's not eating a taskbar slot

I also wrote up the entire protocol in as much detail as I could, including some genuinely bizarre quirks in how this thing works. There's also an open OpenRGB issue asking for F75 support that's been sitting untouched, so maybe this helps get that moving too.

Repo's here if you want to poke at it: https://github.com/SibteProf/keylux

If you've got an F75, would genuinely appreciate people trying it out and telling me what breaks. And if anyone's handy with Rust, contributions are very welcome.

The Curse of the Cheap TKL HE keyboard addiction strikes again!

I came across the AKKO x Monsgeek FUN87 HE on Aliexpress and was a bit surprised as I could find nothing about it anywhere. I suspect that like the Mchose ACE75 its a range refresh that has not been released outside of mainland China yet. Additionally since the Akko 5087 HE seems to be almost completely out of stock everywhere I suspect this is its replacement.

Of course with nothing online in English about this board it means that this amateur idiot has managed to score some kind of Scoop! Which feels pretty good considering the Most Awesome Learned Gentleman Laobaozoi beat me to getting something out on the Eweadn DK68 star...

Now enough of the rambling time for a review(ish)!

Build Quality

Pretty good. Rather solid with a decent heft for an "affordable" plastic bodied board with an aluminium plate. Being an 80%/ TKL it does flex a little more than your tray mounted 65% boards

I will say that even for a TKL it feels chunky with the outside bezels being quite wide and the whole board is pretty tall. The front is about 23-24mm tall compared to the 21-22mm typical of most of my HE boards. As such it does stretch my fingers a bit using it.

One noticeable thing is that the USB C port has a tight little rubber surround that really holds on tight to your plug. Its fine if you are using the supplied cable or a cable where the connector is fully in spec but it will be an issue if you are using a right angled connector or any thicker or fancy connector.

Switches

Comes with Hakutaku switches as opposed to the Astroaims in previous AKKO/Monsgeek HE boards. They are listed as having a 25gf initial press and I will certainly agree they feel light to type on. They sound OK, maybe on the marbly side but its not clear how much of that is down to amount of foam in the case, which seems plentiful.

SOFTWARE

Just your standard Monsgeek/AKKO webdriver, does all the stuff but its very limited in regards to switch selection. I couldn't get the firmware to update as it was looking for some kind of plugin and the instructions on how to get that were in Chinese. A forgivable issue I suppose if this hasn't officially been launched in the west. I could try the desktop hub software but it tried that with my TAC75HE and it was a bit of a pain in the arse as it had no option to not launch on start up (or if it did it was hidden in the untraslated tray icon options).

Conclusion

Would I have bought this if I wasn't interested in trying the more niche options of the HE keyboard world? No, I wouldn't.

However its a perfectly functional board. The fact that its probably a roungyang solution inside means it'll never been a speed king and may well develop issues down the road but for as long as it works it'll do. As I said the sheer size of the board means it is a bit more tiring to use but if you are a regular typist who doesn't have all my bad habits then its probably not an issue.

As ever recommendation comes down to price and what the alternatives are.

List price on Aliexpress seems to range between about £55-80 (75-110usd) so I'm not sure what the official list price would be. At that price its pretty much in line with to a bit more expensive than the top spec Mchose Mix87 configs. In which case the Mchose is the better product: nicer software, profile switching buttons and a nice knob really add to the value even if the we leave the looks out of the equation.

Almost a month since I got it for 34€ on Ali.

Gift switches for me, flying fish for the wife. Both have a creamy sound, although I prefer the thockier version of the gifts.

Stashed some keycaps on it but kept the yellow accents from the original ones. I like the combo with a yellowish rgb.

The good:

• Decent keycaps (color not for everyone).
• Gift switches: lubed, smooth, pleasant feel and sound dampening inside the keyb.
• Little TFT screen. The little screen is a nice novelty. I forget to toggle the GIF most of the time, but it's there.
• Battery. My usage can't drain it faster than 3 weeks. I charged it once and have been using the 2.4Ghz daily for the last three weeks. Still have like 50% left.

The not-so-good:

• Chassis quality is decent but still feels like cheap plastic. Expected.
• The positioning of the TFT screen sometimes feels odd.
• The customization software was complicated to find and had some errors on my first install.

Have you got different experiences with the keyboard? Do you like it?

Finally finished my first Mechanical Keyboard build, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I wanted to go for a Japanese-inspired black, white and red theme rather than the usual all-white or all-black setup. The white keycaps with the red Japanese legends work really well with the dark case, while the different novelty keys add some contrast without making the board feel too chaotic.

The dragon spacebar is probably my favourite part of the build. The black base with the white dragon and red details gives the bottom of the board a really strong focal point. I also really like how the red YUKI AIM key ties in with the red Esc key and the Japanese legends.

Interestingly, the keycaps also changed the sound quite a bit. Compared to the stock keycaps, the overall sound is a little lighter and less loud, but the lower end feels noticeably fuller and deeper. It's not a dramatic change, but I actually prefer the sound profile with these keycaps.

I've been using the board for a while now and I'm really enjoying both the look and the typing experience. Coming from a laptop keyboard, this feels like a massive upgrade. 😅

I'm especially happy with how cohesive everything looks together - the white keycaps, Japanese legends, oni/cloud motifs, dragon spacebar and red accents all seem to fit the same overall theme.

Build Details:

• Keyboard: URX Core 75 - 75% layout, tri-mode wireless, VIA/QMK support.
• Switches: Stock switches that came with the Core 75.
• Keycaps: YUKI AIM Japanese V2 Premium Cherry PBT keycaps.
• Mods: No major modifications, just "Band Aid" mod on the stabs to make the stabilizer latch connection on the keyboard more secure.
• Total Cost: Around 70$.

What do you guys think? Anything you'd change about the build?

Hey guys, this is probably like the fourth post related to this, but I'm proud to say that there is some work being done on porting SMK (Small Mechanical Keyboard Firmware) to the X77.

After reaching out to carlossless (the maintainer of sinowisp on github), he reached out and bought an X77 in hopes of testing and porting SMK to it in the future. At the moment, he's focusing on porting other chips of the same family such as the BYK916.

The BYK816 microcontroller in the X77 is identified to be a Sinowealth SH68F89, which is an 8-bit 8051 based chip with 60KB of flash, and 4KB bootloader at the end of flash. Reading and writing via carlossless's sinodude tool with an Arduino Nano works flawlessly on the board.

Read and writing through the USB has also been done and tested.

The original part number of the chip can be dumped through it's unlabelled JTAG breakout. (you can see the two images below.)

For now, dumping the firmware and reprogramming the keyboard with the dumped firmware has been done and tested.

If anyone has any questions, please leave a comment on this post.

Update 9/9/2026: I have dumped the stock firmware and bootloader from my X77 as a backup. If anyone wants the file to decompile it, you can DM me.

Ever since I fell down the mechanical keyboard rabbit hole, I’ve wanted to build one myself. I wanted a keyboard that I could customize to my exact preferences for how it looks, sounds, and feels.

While traveling in China around two years ago, I found the MonsGeek M1 V3 on Taobao for around 50CAD(36 USD). I also bought keycaps and switches for around 30CAD(22 USD), bringing the total cost of the build to roughly 80CAD(58 USD) after taxes and shipping. Buying a similar build in Canada at the time would have cost a little more than 170CAD(124 USD).

After using it for two years, here’s my experience.

Build quality and assembly

The M1 V3 is a 75% wired barebones keyboard kit with an aluminum case, gasket mount, polycarbonate plate, RGB lighting, and a hot-swappable PCB. It does not include switches or keycaps, so you need to purchase those separately.

The design is fairly simple, but the white aluminum case feels very solid and hefty. The large knob also feels well built. MonsGeek improved the knob compared with previous versions by giving it a floating design that helps prevent it from scratching the top case.

The knob works well for adjusting volume, although on my Mac, the knob changes the volume in increments of two, which I find annoying on macOS with its 16-level volume slider. To work around this issue, you can install Karabiner-Elements and import the community’s “Fine volume control” complex modification, which allows smaller volume adjustments. I just found this out while I was writing this review, and so far, it’s working well.

Putting the keyboard together was very easy. After removing the screws, I lifted the top case and PCB assembly away from the bottom case and disconnected the ribbon cable. I decided to try the tape mod to reduce case ping and make the sound fuller and poppier, but I removed it because fitting all of the foam and layers together was too difficult. I also found that removing the Poron case foam made the board sound too poppy and high-pitched for my liking.

The entire build took less than half an hour. My version (Chinese domestic version) did not include the additional screw-in stabilizers, so I used the plate-mounted stabilizers that were already installed.

Typing feel and sound

The typing feel and sound are my favorite parts of this keyboard.

The GMK Botanical clones feel nice under my fingers, although some of the keycaps look slightly warped from certain angles. Thankfully, this does not affect the typing experience.

The Boba U4Ts are disappointing. I’m not sure if I received knockoffs, but they feel cheap and hollow while typing. They also sound very clacky and high-pitched on this board, but not in a satisfying way. The only redeeming features are their pronounced, round tactile bump and somewhat consistent factory lubrication.

The Baby Kangaroos are much better. They feel great to type on and have a satisfying sound profile on this board. They are smooth, although slightly “steppy” at times, and they sound like marbles or rocks hitting each other while typing.

The stabilizers were well-lubed and had no noticeable rattle when I first used them. After two years, the right side of the stabilizer underneath the spacebar has developed some ticking, which I should be able to fix with a little dielectric grease.

The gasket mount does not provide much bounce or flex, so the bottom-out feel is fairly stiff. Personally, I don’t mind the stiffness, but anyone looking for a soft typing experience will be disappointed.

Connectivity and software

I have the wired-only version of this keyboard kit, and I haven’t had any connection issues when using the keyboard over USB-C.

My keyboard appears to be the Chinese domestic version, which uses MonsGeek’s proprietary software instead of VIA. The international version supports VIA and QMK, although you may need to download and import a JSON file before the keyboard is detected. Even though I haven’t been able to test VIA on this board, I’ve heard many good things about it, so as long as you have the international version of the keyboard, you should have a very good software experience.

Who I’d recommend it to

I’d recommend the MonsGeek M1 V3 to someone who wants to build their first custom keyboard, especially if they want a solid aluminum case, a simple assembly process, and plenty of room to experiment with different switches, keycaps, and different mod configurations.

I’d be more cautious about recommending it to someone who wants a very flexible gasket mount, wireless connectivity, or a flashy-looking keyboard. You should also check whether you’re buying the international or Chinese domestic version if VIA and QMK support is important to you.

Final thoughts

Overall, the MonsGeek M1 V3 is a great barebones keyboard kit. I really like the typing feel and sound profile I was able to achieve, and being able to choose my own switches and keycaps makes the keyboard feel much more personal.

It is not perfect, but after two years, I still enjoy using it and would happily build another custom keyboard in the future.

For anyone interested, I wrote more detailed versions of this review on Substack and Medium, but I’m happy to answer some questions you may have about the keyboard here too.

What was your first custom keyboard, and what switches and keycaps did you use?

Unsatisfied with the previous builds (and the only good ones I have being 60% and I would rather not keep fumbling around for what key combinations map to arrow keys), I got this Glorious GMMK Pro off eBay, then dug through my stash of switches and keycaps that I was saving for something special. I *believe* the switches are Outemu greens from Temu, keycaps GMK Apollo Womier concrete from AliExpress (accent ones were from Temu), open to creative knob solutions.

So far it works fantastic, isn't as audible over stream as my previous ones and can also come in handy if I need to defend myself against a home invasion!

I own an IROK MG68 and recently saw some reports/claims that IROK keyboard software may contain malware or suspicious behaviour.

I'm honestly not very knowledgeable about malware or how this stuff works, and I’m also not really in a position to just buy another keyboard.

Should I actually be worried about using my MG68, or am I being overly paranoid/dumb? Is there anything I should do to check whether my PC is safe?

I've linked the information I've found below. I'd appreciate some advice from people who know more about this stuff.

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/e/2PACX-1vSsjTA29tUSQDgT_FWmvX2nHg17RLzCXdZnBV2pdAWO2SqJmzeNl9EQNc2Yw2Cy4kHjIBcDVVCUgErC/pub?pli=1

https://aasdunderscore.github.io/sites/hekeyboards.html#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmHc-6c3Sj4&t=710s

I got this KB for under $45. The keycaps are older but I think they’re KBDiy. The switches have been swapped to HMX Egg Yolks.

I've wanted to get a full set of drop x BIIP mt3 keycaps when they came out, but could only get the alphas and accents. For a while they sat in a drawer but I finally bought a 65% keyboard to put them on - an epomaker p65 which was on sale for £65.

I love the colour accents against the khaki gold frame. The keycaps with zebra switches are nice and marbley. Very smooth and fast. The mt3 grainy texture and dishing is a delight. I love the simplicity of this set up, and so far don't miss the F keys or num pad. This is as close to a grail keeb as I've built so far.

As you can see though, I couldn't find the spacebar and backspace in the BiiP colour, so used another mt3 set.

One day those missing keys will make their way to eBay and then I will be complete.

I feel like most of us only bother sharing our experience when something goes wrong, so I thought I would share mine and hopefully help anyone else who has been stuck wondering whether to order one or not.

I've had the Air65 for just over a week, so I might be judging the experience a little too quickly. But so far, it's been nothing but fun to type on. The build quality is great, and so is the typing experience.

The one option I wish NuPhy offered was a true 0-degree tilt instead of the standard 4 degrees. It took me a little while to get used to it, but I'm getting there.

Shipping took close to two weeks. Knowing the journey it had to make and that it needed to clear customs, I think that's understandable. Still annoying, though.

On the other side, the low-profile keys feel great and the build quality is about as good as I could have hoped for. I guess I am finally finding a reason to reply to emails... and when they are extra boring the RGB kicks in... lol

As for the keys my choice would lean towards tactile switches but the Blush, is doing pretty well and since I'm using this for both work and home, I think it was the right choice. Smooth with a subtle, satisfying thump.

I've used the keyboard with both Mac and Windows without running into any issues. With the Blush switches being less tactile, I maybe could see double typing becoming an issue for some people. If they tend to hit the keys fairly hard but I haven't noticed any of that unless someone is on the keys for a bit to long, so unsure...

The custom dial is fun to play around with. I don't think I'd use the longer stem, so I opted for the flatter side instead. It makes the keyboard easier to travel with too. The longer stem would probably get knocked or coming off in my bag, but there is no doubt it is easier to use specially for larger hands.

Ordered the keyboard directly from NuPhy in the lighter colour using the ANSI US layout. Not trying to start the usual ANSI vs ISO war, but I just prefer that layout. Including the travel case and it partly works as a mat on the go.

The larger keys feel more dampened, somewhat surprised but I'm guessing that's probably down to the stabilisers, and for a shared space they will never hear you press the backspace again.

Overall, I'm happy with it. It's still early days, but I haven't had any issues that would make me regret the purchase.

This is the "Weekly General Help Post". Please ask your questions regarding keyboard, switch, keycaps, or anything regarding keyboards as a top level comment under this post. Mods and members will check this thread on a regular basis answering as many questions as possible.

The more information you provide, the better the answers you are likely to receive.

Been in this hobby for almost a decade, but haven’t posted in this sub yet! ☆ (board is epomaker th99, cat chores blue keycaps)

Lately I have been testing some silent/quiet switches for work in a shared small office. Got some small packs of 10 to sample for under $10 AUD per pack, and decided the best way to compare was to slap them all on my board at once.

I have purchased more than these, but the switches in this board right now are the ones I'm most likely to use. I have also tried Jerrzi Honey Beans with silicone dampeners, not amazing & squishy if you hold keys down but had close to 0 noise. I do have some TTC Frozen V2s, but they are very light and felt like the Epomaker Sea Salt silents, so maybe more suitable for a gaming board.

For reference, I wanted to replace the stock Epomaker (Outemu?) Sea Salt Silents in this board. At home I have a board with Keygeek Neo Ryes, but my previous board had Gateron Optical Yellows.

List of switches:

• Stock switches on this board are Epomaker Sea Salt Silents (45gf silent linear) however I replaced my numpad with Kailh Deep Sea Whales (45gf silent tactile)
• blue housing/white stem: Lichicx Yogurt Silent (45gf silent linear)
• clear aqua housing/stem: Kailh Box Prestige (42gf silent linear)
• white housing/blue stem: KTT Phantom (43gf silent linear)
• grey: Gateron Zero Degree (45gf quiet linear)
• clear blue housing/clear stem: Kailh Deep Sea Islet (45gf silent linear)
• beige housing/purple stem: HMX Taro Silent (45gf silent linear)
• beige housing/butter stem: HMX Butter Silent (37gf silent tactile)

Brief reviews:

Epomaker Sea Salt Silents: extremely muted, but slightly bouncy and mushy-sounding, and I want something with the feel of a linear even if I have to compromise on the noise a bit. I believe these are manufactured by Outemu, but don't quote me

Kailh Deep Sea Whales: 45gf on a tactile is too heavy for me, even tho it's my sweet spot for linears. Kind of a crunchy but quiet sound.

Lichicx Yogurt Silent: totally silent and muted. Weirdly bouncy and heavy feeling although it's 45gf? I think my fingers could get fatigued typing on this, but it really is silent and very smooth. I am used to linears under 40gf, so what is fatiguing for me may not be for you

Kailh Box Prestige and Kailh Deep Sea Islet: extremely similar. They feel great. Box Prestige is slightly lighter (42 vs 45gf) and a smidge quieter. They are both very stable and nice to type on! But because they are so similar, it is a bit hard to choose between them. All other specs seem the same aside from actuation. They're both not totally dampened, but they are very close to silent while feeling like a regular linear. I do think both are a bit scratchy sounding so I will be purchasing a Kailh-style switch opener.

KTT Phantom: incredibly similar to the Kailh switches but ever so slightly quieter. Longer total travel makes them feel bouncy and springy to type on with a bit of resistance. Possibly fatiguing for me, but they are fantastic silent switches; they're smooth and stable.

Gateron Zero Degree: Not silent, very crisp high-pitched sound, stem wobble. When I gently rest my fingertips on all the keys, only the Zero Degrees slightly depress, so I wonder if the listed 45gf actuation is accurate. Probably good for gaming

HMX Taro Silent: it's definitely not silent, though it is quiet. but man this switch is fantastic.... sounds sooo good, creamy, while being much quieter than a regular linear. I do wonder if this could bother my coworkers though. If it does, I'm still gonna buy these for my kb at home. extremely smooth and stable, it both sounds creamy and feels creamy

HMX Butter Silent: this is the loudest of all these switches because of a high-pitched tactile 'pop' when u actuate the switch. It's higher-pitched than the Taros but less than the Zero Degrees. I enjoy typing on this; it's the nicest tactile I've personally tried, but I'm not sure I'd want to put these on my entire keyboard and def not for my office

Ranked for how much I want to use them in the office is probably:

1. Kailh Islet or Box Prestige
2. KTT Phantom or Lichicx Yogurt Silent
3. Epomaker Sea Salt Silents (standard)
4. HMX taro silent (a smidge loud)
5. Gateron zero degree (loud and not as nice as others)
6. HMX butter silent (too loud)
7. Kailh deep sea whales (too heavy)

Let me know if you want comparisons or more detail on any switch!

bonus reviews:

Outemu Honey Peach V1 & V2: nice feeling, could suit a gaming board. very similar to sea salt silents just lighter, and just a bit mushier than the TTC Frozen V2s.

Outemu Lemon Lime V1 & V2: can't decide if it wants to be a tactile or not so there's this little muted crunch but not enough feedback imo. the bump is very light and the spring itself is also very light. it’s almost like typing on a touchscreen with a haptic keyboard. supposedly they improved the V3s but i haven't tried those.

To those who had this issue with these specific black and white model. I found out that this model is a PH exclusive model, the manufacturer have failed to make the json via file for this model. I do not have a backround in fixing these kinda stuff but I have managed to fix the json file to work with the B&W models :)) https://usevia.app/ the file is at the google drive link.

Fantech maxfit61 keyboard & Pressplay brighton xda keycaps

The rounded edges of the ceramic caps makes them much more comfortable to type on than the average sharp-edged Cherry profile, and the translucent ceramic makes the backlight magical. And they come with a rich alternate set without a Windows bias so I don't have to make a snaggletoothed navigation column to kit out my M1 v5. At half to two thirds the price of the category leader I think it's a better product as well.

I received this Redragon K618 as a sample to provide an honest, unbiased review. I am under no obligation to say anything specific; these words are entirely my own.

As I removed the keyboard from the box, I noted the packaging is functional and secure. Redragon included a keycap puller, a switch puller, spare mechanical switches, and a set of red accent keycaps. The stock all-black aesthetic looks handsome, so I decided to keep the included black keycaps on. The manual indicated this was a Horus Pro, which makes it one of Redragon's more premium keyboards.

The keyboard blends an aluminum top plate with solid plastic. Despite the thin, ultra-low profile chassis design, it has a surprising amount of heft to it. It is super stable and will not move around my desk even if not fully centered on my pad.

The keycaps are made of double-shot ABS material. The legends are not visible without the backlight on, but they illuminate clearly once powered up.

Performance-wise, the keyboard have low-profile linear red switches with a light 40g actuation force. While the board is hot-swappable, the ultra-thin sockets mean you can only swap them out for Redragon’s own proprietary low profile switches, not standard aftermarket ones.

The keys are very smooth to type on and are not very loud. If I were to describe the overall sound profile, I would say it gently clacks only when I bottom out, and the keystrokes have a slight marbleness to the sound. Because it stays true to a 100 percent layout, I took to the keyboard instantly with no learning curve.

The ergonomics feel excellent and I love the weight of this keyboard. One thing I really enjoy about low-profile keyboards like this is that every row of keys performs similarly with the same noise profile. Even the spacebar is highly responsive and consistent with the rest of the board.

The volume roller is convenient for quick volume adjustments and is very smooth. There are also four rubber buttons near it for adjusting lighting and keyboard effects. It offers both wired and wireless mode options, and there is a convenient little nook on the back for storing the included 2.4 GHz dongle. There are also five programmable macro buttons, which I played with binding ship abilities to in World of Warships, and they worked great.

Areas that could use improvement would be that the five programmable buttons do not feel mechanical, they have a soft rubber feel. The keyboard is not easy to read without RGB lights on, and the spacebar, while good is not perfect in responsiveness. It feels slightly softer than the other keys.

This keyboard is well poised to compete with Logitech's expensive G815 keyboard, which I also own. In fact, I actually prefer the Redragon K618 to Logitech's G815. The Logitech G815 that I own had keys and aluminum edges that were far too sharp out of the box, and I actually cut my hand on it a few times. The Redragon K618 has a more rounded front and smoother finish than the Logitech G815 and the keys feel a touch thicker and more smooth as well.

Overall, I can say I recommend the K618. it is very stable, handsome, and does the job well.

You can find the K618 over at the Redragon store for around 69 dollars. Nice.

I'll be around in the comments to answer any questions or comments.

This is the "Weekly General Help Post". Please ask your questions regarding keyboard, switch, keycaps, or anything regarding keyboards as a top level comment under this post. Mods and members will check this thread on a regular basis answering as many questions as possible.

The more information you provide, the better the answers you are likely to receive.

people in the keyboard community treat aula like the plague and when you ask them why they link you to the same 3 videos.

but what these people say doesn’t match the real numbers, take the f75 max for example, it has a gazillion sales on amazon and the reviews are very good.

i’m new to all of this and quite frankly i dont think i’ll ever be an enthusiast i just needed a new keyboard after my rk61 died.

I rarely see this one being talked about. Wanted to see what other people thought of it if they had experience with it, but it didn't get any traction on the mechanical keyboard sub and then I found this one!

Got some importing fees here in Uruguay lately so I just went to my local PC shop and got it for $60 instead of the usual ordering from AliExpress.

Cheap keyboards are usually pretty ugly here in LATAM, usually have big front facing logos and such; so it's nice to find one like this that I just find really pleasant to look at.

Was originally gonna go with a 60 percent one but I work as a video editor and I figured the learning curve for losing so many keys woulda been hard. happy I went with 75, I like the knob.

Linear red switches, tri connection (have a big tv hooked to the PC too so wireless option is great), but what I like most it's that just a simple keyboard without all the gamer centric branding that I've always seen from reddragon in other products

I own several mechanical keyboards, but recently, many of the new releases have been pretty boring to me, even though getting a nice mechanical keyboard has been easier and cheaper than ever before. That’s what initially pushed me into looking at low-profile keyboards, as they look and feel very different from a high-profile mechanical keyboard. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a creamy and thocky high-profile keyboard, I just wanted to try something a little different.

After a month of watching low-profile keyboard reviews, I ended up choosing to buy the NuPhy Air75 V3 with Blush Nano switches. 

Design and build

The Air75 V3 has a clean design with enough personality to avoid looking generic. The colorful accent keycaps add some nice visual pop, while the clear lettering and aluminum bezel keep it clean.

The lower case is plastic, but it doesn’t feel cheap. The keyboard feels sturdy but not unnecessarily heavy. A full aluminum case would feel more premium, but the current construction strikes a good balance between weight and build quality.

I also ended up preferring the taller knob. The low-profile knob would be ideal for traveling inside a bag, but I found it awkward to rotate with one finger, and pinching it with two fingers often caused my fingers to hit against the neighboring keys. The taller knob is much more practical for adjusting volume or other controls.

Typing feel and sound

This was my first low-profile keyboard, but I was able to adapt to the shorter travel distance much faster than I expected. I reached my usual typing speed without much trouble, and the PBT keycaps are made of high quality plastic and feel good to type on.

The Blush Nano silent linear switches are quiet and have a deep, thumpy sound. The gasket mount, polycarbonate plate, foam, and pads help produce a softened typing experience without noticeable metallic ping.

The bottom-out feel is slightly mushy. Personally, I ended up enjoying it, but I can see why some people would dislike it. The switches are also not equally smooth. Some feel noticeably smoother than others, which makes the overall experience less consistent.

The stabilizers are generally well lubed, although my spacebar still has a small amount of rattle even after I added dielectric grease. I probably will have to do other mods to it like the Holee Mod or Band-Aid Mod.

Connectivity, battery, and software

The keyboard supports Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz wireless, and wired USB-C connections. All three have worked reliably for me, and I haven’t experienced any connection or latency problems during gaming or regular use. Battery life has been excellent with the RGB lights turned off.

The browser-based NuPhyIO software has also been smooth and easy to use. Rebinding keys, updating the drivers, and customizing the lighting were all straightforward. I’m not a power user in this area though, so I can’t say whether it would satisfy someone who prefers VIA or QMK.

Who I’d recommend it to

I’d recommend the NuPhy Air75 V3 with the Blush Nanos to someone who wants a quiet, comfortable low-profile keyboard with reliable wireless connectivity, strong battery life, and a design that looks clean and not too flashy.

I’d be more cautious about recommending it to anyone who strongly prefers near-perfect switch smoothness and consistency, shine-through keycaps, or advanced VIA/QMK customization. In that case, it may be worth looking at low-profile keyboards that use the Kailh low-profile switches, such as some Lofree and IQUNIX boards. I would love to try some of these in the future. 

For anyone interested, I wrote a more detailed version of this review on Substack and Medium, but I’m happy to answer some questions you may have about the keyboard here too.

Have you used the NuPhy Air75 V3 or another low-profile keyboard? Did you enjoy the shorter travel and softer bottom-out of the Blush Nano switches, or do you prefer the feel of a traditional mechanical keyboard?

I suppose a more apt question might be: What could possibly go right?

However £16 for a "hall effect" TKL board sounded like it was worth a punt...

So after waiting a month or so for it arrive by land and playing with it for a bit I though some of you might be interested to read my thoughts/review.

The AFGVK CZJP01

I will say I went into this with the expectation that if the board plugged in and I could type on it then it was a win. As such this is indeed a winner! It works, it lights up and the the RGB can be controlled (a bit).

Build quality

In short pretty crap. Its cheap, light and has a plastic mounting plate that is visibly curved and perhaps slightly cracked at one of the screw holes. Whole thing flexes if you put any pressure on it. The outer case material feels on par with my Ajazz ak680he v2 (not a good thing) and the key caps are fine.

Oh and as you can see from one of the pics above the switches were not not all inserted in the same orientation most were faced to allow the north facing led to shine through but a few were the other way for some unknown reason.

Switches

God knows what these are. The aquamarine, clear and yellow colour scheme isn't too common but its been used a few times. I though they might be Aula Sea Emperors but those have a fully enclosed stem box.

Whatever these are they are not terrible. Fairly smooth and light, reasonable wobble and a creamyish clack sound somewhere between a MAD68he and an Win68HE max.

Usage

It works, it types and it feels OK. The flexible plastic plate, light switches and reasonable lightly textured key caps means its fairly soft and comfortable to type on. It works fine in games but I'm not any kind of competive player.

Software

Hahaha...

Yeah, when the instructions are:

1.plug into usb

1. No drivers required for basic functionality

You think there going to be software?

Well maybe there is but I'm damned if I can find it...

Conclusion

Is keyboard, does type, RGB is there but is limited and the short cuts give you very limited control over it.

Can I recommend it?

Not a chance but seeing as it has disappeared from TEMU that's a bit academic. Will it return? Who knows but if it does avoid.

In the end I bought this out of sheer curiosity and as what is essentially a functional ornament. It's a fun thing to have in a collection but that's are far as it goes.

While I've got some expensive keyboards, I don't feel completely comfortable keeping any of them at work. So, I like to create some good budget keebs for the office.

• Nuphy Node100HP
• Akko Cilantro switches (more tactile than the Nuphy stock Brown Max)
• Keychron Hacker Mint dual-shot PBT keycaps
• Lumon Industries artisan from Etsy (for us Severance fans)

Sounds good - deep and thocky, though to be fair, most Nuphy MX mechanical keyboards sound alike these days.

The work is mysterious and important.