****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I might regret making this review after only using the keyboard for a few hours, but I'm really impressed.I got an iPad Pro recently and couldn't justify spending $300 on their magic keyboard. I've used a 2013 Razer Blackwidow ultimate for nearly a decade, so I'm a home-grown clicky switch fan, but I never knew any different. I was raised in another time, and times have changed. So I started looking at alternatives that could replace my old faithful. Cue dozens of hours watching keyboard keyboard youtubers, comparing layouts, switches, keycaps, and learning the unfortunate reality of groupbuys and the vast quantity of out-of-stock options, not to mention the insane prices of some of these keyboards! I understand it's a niche hobby, but I was looking for my entry.I wanted a white keyboard (to later 'upgrade' to a vintage '80s look) with a numpad that wasn't absolutely enormous, and it had to be wireless so I could use it for both my desktop and iPad. Let me tell you about the trials and tribulations I endured trying to whack all of those moles at once. Then I found it - a compact, white, wireless, budget-friendly 98-key!Right out of the box, to my untrained ears, the keys sounded perfect. I almost didn't lube them at all! I typed around on it fresh out of the box and noticed a little rattle from the modifiers, so I decided to just go ahead and lube all the switches since I had already bought the kit.I'm here to tell you, lube the switches. It takes forever (nearly 4 hours for me as a complete noob), but not only does it sound nicer, but the typing experience is so buttery smooth and satisfying. There was a stark difference comparing the sound of the the lubed switches to unlubed even without the keycaps - the unlubed switches were almost plastic-y sounding while the lubed switches were much smoother, quieter, and lower-pitched. Just do it while you watch a show or something. It's a super repetitive process so you won't be too distracted.The stabilizers appear to come pre-lubed, so I decided not to lube them myself, though after using the keyboard for a while, I do think they could use more or a better quality lubricant as they don't rattle but are a bit sharper than the rest. I admit that the reason I didn't go ahead and do it is because the stabilizer bar runs under the plate, and I was intimidated to take them out and attempt it lmao. The spacebar is surprisingly the best-sounding of all the stabilized keys, so it's really not a huge deal to me anyway.I had settled on pinks, but I will say my only regret is not trying out the whites. I was recommended to get pinks because they have the same activation force as Razer greens, but pinks feel heavier to press while typing. This may be because of the lubricant (some of the keys felt a little slow to return once I pressed them, but this quickly passed) but may go away with time. Nevertheless, I make fewer typing errors and my WPM has gone up about 20% immediately after swapping to this keyboard. You can't argue with that.My only major gripe so far is the software/firmware. I downloaded the Cloud driver software from the Akko website and installed it, no issues. Running it? It would refresh every second or two and never recognized my keyboard. I thought, ok whatever, I'll try the wireless manager software for this specific keyboard model. It spammed my computer with popups and also failed to recognize my keyboard! At some point, I tried to show my husband how the software was acting, and it showed up fine. I tried to update it, assuming it would fix future issues, but when it restarted the same issues repeated. Now, I open it and it never recognizes the keyboard. I'd recommend not trying to update the software to 11.1.18. You can get 11.1.17 from the Akko website right now, or 11.1.11 from the Epomaker website. 11.1.11 runs better and I haven't had an issue with it so far other than its font is worse. If I can figure out how to make this software work, I'll update the review with a note to detail how I fixed it.A small, related note that isn't a huge deal personally is that I really don't care for the RGB on this keyboard. Maybe it's because I never had an RGB before and the hype has died down around it, maybe it's the pink aesthetic taking away from the RGB experience, idk, but it just doesn't work to me. I love that it's RGB-compatible so you can choose whatever colors you like, and I did change my lights to white when the software did allow me to, but I wish effort had been made to create white or pink presets that work with this keyboard's aesthetic rather than a dozen or more generic RGB effects that only work (imo) with a black keyboard.The keycaps also cast a pink glow when using white light, which is what I wanted rather than RGB. Maybe my pink switches contribute somewhat to this, but no doubt most of it is due to the hot pink interior of the keycaps, making it even more confusing why they wouldn't just go with white/pink lighting presets. Even the lettering is translucent hot pink. Why are they running RGB stock on this pink af keyboard??On a more positive note, the wireless USB works flawlessly, and it's super easy to pair and use with bluetooth for my iPad. There's no apparent latency on either, and swapping is immediate and seamless with function shortcuts.I don't yet know how easy it is to open, but I plan to do that soon to tape mod it. I also don't know yet how long the battery lasts. I'll update the review after I do both of those as well as any other notes I have from extended use.This keyboard is pretty cheap, but you would absolutely never know it. It's a nice quality material, the keycaps feel great, it's hefty in the best way, and the rubber feet are perfection. I'm thrilled with this purchase, and aside from a completely scratch custom build, this is the best intro to the hobby that I could imagine.
