Delivery and Unboxing:
From order placement to delivery, I was very pleased with the process. The unboxing experience revealed a well-packed, well-designed product with clear documentation that had me up and running quickly—as soon as I figured out how to turn it on. I appreciate that it's not a manual switch. The keyboard comes with nice extras: a black coiled cable, aluminum keycaps, additional caps for Windows users, and a keycap puller. These thoughtful touches are often overlooked by other keyboard manufacturers in this price range.
Pushing me over the edge:
To share a secret: like many others out there, I don't like low-profile keyboards. I've tried half a dozen of them so far, and none sparked any joy. I had been eyeing this board on and off for about a month, thinking it might be the one to change my mind. When I saw the video posted by Hippotech, I took the plunge. His comments on the board's sound, build quality, and overall features did the trick. I also like the looks and features of the Pro version, as I use it with an iPad and frequently use the multimedia bindings. I'm a fan of the volume wheel and the direct access to play, skip, and mute via the X pad.
General Feedback:
It's hard not to like this board. The design, overall sound, features, cost, build materials, and switches all create a truly unique vibe. However, two things keep it from being a perfect choice for me. First is the lack of a tactile switch option. It's hard to justify replacing these switches at a cost of nearly 1/3 of the board's price—so you either love them or learn to. Second, who doesn't love a shine-through keycap? That said, a barebones edition or build options would certainly help push others over the edge.
Preferences:
While the Kailh switches provided are certainly smooth, I find my typing style needs to change to accommodate them. With linear switches, I feel I have to bottom out my keystrokes, typing more aggressively to reduce errors. In contrast, tactile switches offer a bump at the top, giving me confidence that the keystroke is complete and allowing me to move on more quickly. The upside to the linear switches, of course, is the sound. When bottoming out, this board's tone is truly enjoyable. It's a pleasant, deeper clack on the alphas, lighter on the space bar and other locations with stabilizers. Arrow keys and others are almost silent…
Speaking of the stabilizers, I'm not impressed with the work they did here. Each of them has a rattle to it, which is a bit disappointing. My go-to mod would be the Holee mod to correct them. That said, if I put that much work into it, I'd end up swapping out the switches and the keycaps too. Doing so would get me further invested in a board that, like so many others, was a "good deal" to start with, but by the time I'm done, it's nearly twice the cost. That's an old man gripe though—it is what it is.
Summary:
Despite not being a fan of most low-profile keyboards, this is the first one I'd consider adding to my collection. It comes packed with great accessories right out of the box, is stunning to look at, thoughtful in its design, and practical with its multimedia pad and volume wheel. My current preferences are the only thing keeping me from loving it completely. However, preferences are shaped by experience, so I'll continue using the board for the next week or two and see where it leads me.
Side note, this is the first review that I have used the app “Notion” to write with. FWIW, Its fun to use and has a ton of features. I appreciate u/mehyar10 telling me about it.