OnePlus’ Keyboard 81 Professional is a Keychron with a twist

OnePlus’ debut mechanical keyboard, the Keyboard 81 Professional, could also be little greater than a redesigned Keychron Q1 Professional with a few tweaks. However the Keychron Q1 Professional is likely one of the greatest mechanical keyboards out there as we speak, and the tweaks OnePlus has made to its design vary from “inoffensive” to “really sort of neat.” I wouldn’t go so far as to say the Keyboard 81 Professional is healthier than the Q1 Professional, however it’s a pleasant different model with its personal strengths.

As a reminder, Keychron’s Q1 Professional is a wi-fi model of the Keychron Q1. It’s made from a strong aluminum chassis, with a gasket-mounted swap plate that provides it a premium typing really feel and is filled with further options like hot-swappable switches (useful if you wish to change its typing really feel with no need to solder) and the power to reprogram it utilizing the highly effective customization software program VIA.

Relying on which design and switches you’re after, the OnePlus Keyboard 81 Professional prices between $219 and $239 (the model I’ve been testing), in comparison with $199 for the knob-equipped Q1 Professional it’s primarily based on. For many individuals, I believe that would be the finish of the dialog — why pay a premium of between $20 and $40 further for this keyboard until you’re a OnePlus superfan? 

The OnePlus branding is comparatively minimal.

The kickstand might be the largest addition OnePlus has made.

It’s a good level, however the OnePlus Keyboard 81 Professional has extra going for it than simply the OnePlus branding and shade scheme. For starters, there’s its added kickstand, which lets you alter its typing angle in a method that’s surprisingly not doable with the usual Q1 Professional. The adjustable bar is reassuringly stiff, and as soon as I set it to the peak I wished, I didn’t really feel it shifting over time. It’s a neat addition, even when it’s in a position to elevate the keyboard to a top that’s previous the purpose of being snug to sort on. 

Second, OnePlus has opted for a extra conventional keycap form in comparison with the Q1 Professional that I personally actually like. As normal, the Q1 Professional comes with Keychron’s spherical-angle (KSA) keycaps, which you may describe as having a retro-inspired look to them. However the OnePlus keyboard as a substitute ships with cylindrical keycaps, which have a extra trendy feel and appear. 

The precise fashion of keycap you get varies relying on which swap sort you go for. The $219 tactile swap model (aka Winter Bonfire) will get you largely darker grey double-shot PBT keycaps, whereas the dearer $239 mannequin with linear switches that I’ve been utilizing (Summer time Breeze) comes with extra lighter grey double-shot keycaps made out of a fabric OnePlus calls “marble-mallow.” Maintain one in every of these keycaps in your hand, and it’s doable to squeeze and flex them earlier than they pop again into their authentic shapes.

The “marble-mallow” keycaps have a bizarre quantity of flex to them.

On the board, the flexibleness of the keycaps isn’t practically as apparent.

They don’t flex like this when connected to the keyboard, however in any other case, the “marble-mallow” keycaps have the good matte roughness I’d usually affiliate with PBT and in addition really feel slightly bit cheesy like rubber. They’re pleasantly grippy with legends which are good and crisp. The massive query is how this materials will maintain up over time. PBT plastic has a status for not growing a shine because it’s worn down with use, however it’s tough to know if the identical is true of this versatile marble-mallow, not less than within the period of time I’ve had with the keyboard. You get Mac keycaps put in on the Keyboard 81 Professional by default, however there are further Home windows keycaps within the field, and just like the Q1 Professional, you’ll be able to swap between the 2 working system layouts with a small swap on the highest fringe of the keyboard.

Third, the Keyboard 81 Professional really feels fairly completely different to sort on in comparison with the Q1 Professional. They each have swap plates made out of polycarbonate, however OnePlus has opted to make use of custom-branded switches that correspond to the colour scheme of the general keyboard. So the Winter Bonfire shade scheme comes with “Winter Bonfire” switches (that are tactile and have crimson stems), and the Summer time Breeze shade scheme comes with linear “Summer time Breeze” switches, which have navy blue stems. (Sure, it’s complicated that the keyboard makes use of blue to indicate linear, which is often used on clicky switches, and crimson to indicate tactile when it’s normally the colour used for linear). 

The keyboard’s lettering is crisp and clear.

The translucent quantity dial is one other change for the OnePlus keyboard.

The Keyboard 81 Professional’s spec sheet doesn’t supply many specifics on the linear “Summer time Breeze” switches that got here in my evaluation pattern. However they share some similarities with the linear crimson Keychron Ok Professional switches within the Q1 Professional. Keychron’s identify is printed atop every swap, they usually have an identical medium weight and a smoothness. The massive distinction is in how the keyboard feels if you backside out a swap, which is much less crisp and shiny and extra of a muted thud. I wouldn’t say it’s higher or worse, however it’s actually quieter, which can enchantment to anybody who wants a keyboard for workplace use or to be used on video calls. I can’t communicate for the tactile “Winter Bonfire” switches, however right here’s a typing sound check of Summer time Breeze.

In any other case, sure, the Keyboard 81 Professional is only a Keychron Q1 Professional with a OnePlus-inspired makeover, and a few components of the redesign work higher than others. I like, for instance, the general shade scheme, the alert slider-style controls on the highest aspect of the keyboard, the crimson USB cable, and the shiny raised part across the quantity dial, which obscures the messy sq. cutout you’ll discover on the Q1 Professional. However I’m much less of a fan of the clear quantity dial itself (it seems to be slightly low cost), and I may take or depart the OnePlus emblem on the escape key. I’d love if OnePlus had included an alternate escape key with a normal “Esc” legend.

The wired / wi-fi swap has been tweaked to look extra “OnePlus.”

There’s RGB lighting, however it’s not notably seen.

Though you will get a full rundown of the Keyboard 81 Professional’s options in my evaluation of the Keychron Q1 Professional, right here’s a abstract of another specs value realizing about:

The keyboard is hot-swappable, which means you’ll be able to exchange its switches utilizing a easy pulling software without having for soldering. You get a mixed swap and keycap puller within the field.The keyboard is remappable utilizing VIA, a superb app. The software program acknowledged the OnePlus keyboard instantly and labored in addition to with the Q1 Professional.Sure, it’s RGB, however the keycaps aren’t shinethrough, so that you’re solely going to see the sunshine between every keycap, which is comparatively underwhelming. I’d suggest leaving the keyboard’s RGB lighting turned off as a result of…Utilizing RGB will considerably minimize the keyboard’s battery life. Even with its RGB turned to its lowest setting, you’re taking a look at a battery lifetime of 100 hours versus 300 hours with the lights turned off fully. Greatest save them for if you’re utilizing the keyboard wired.As you’ll be able to hear within the typing sound check above, Keychron has performed an important job on the keyboard’s stabilizers, which I can’t hear rattling in any respect. 

The OnePlus Keyboard 81 Professional is neither higher nor worse than the Keychron Q1 Professional that it’s primarily based on, neither is it a easy rebadge. It’s quieter, feels completely different to sort on, and it’s height-adjustable for good measure. I’ll depart the choice of whether or not these adjustments are value paying a $20 to $40 worth premium as much as you.

Pictures by Jon Porter / The Verge

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