The Keychron K13 Pro mechanical keyboard is an odd one. On one hand, it’s using mechanical switches which are typically found on gaming keyboards, but it’s seemingly trying to push into that productivity market, thanks to its lightweight size. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks with this keyboard and have a few things to say about it. Here we go.
First off, the K13 is extremely Mac-focused with its Command and Option keys. Whether I’ve just been sent this variant I am not too sure, but as a Windows user, I’ve done a bit of a sick in my mouth. I can’t see an option on their website for a Windows-style layout, but alas this isn’t the end of the world. My version here has the RGB backlight which isn’t very bright really, and I’ve got low-profile Gateron brown switches, which for the most part are pretty satisfying to type on, and in no way loud or clicky or tactile. They’re nice and muted though I’m not quite sure if you’re a mechanical switch enthusiast that you’d really like the sound profile here. And being super low profile, modding is really non-existent here. What you see and feel is what you get really.` They are hot-swappable though if you’re someone who favours a specific type of switch, though at this point I’m not sure spending £100 here on this keyboard if you’re going to be swapping out the switches is the best way to go really.
The unique thing about the K12 Pro is the fact that it’s squeezed a number pad in a TKL-sized space which is pretty unique to see as most other manufacturers just ditch this in favour of lesser space. What this has done though is remove some function keys which you may have become used to using within your workflow. Think things like Home, or Insert or the Enter key which can be found on the right-hand side of the number pad on a full sized keyboard for example.
There’s also no wireless option here and for the £99 asking price this really should have been an option. You do have Bluetooth and you can use it with a cable of which a USB Type-C cable is included in the box, but no dongle or 2.4GHz bandwidth which is disappointing. There is a 2,000mAh battery inside which is fairly decent/ It’s not game-changing but I got just about a week worth of work out of it working a normal 9-5 Monday to Friday type deal and for the most part, I’d find that fine. You can also connect up to three devices simultaneously so if you’ve got a laptop and a desktop on your desk, then this keyboard can switch between the two.
The colour scheme here being black and grey is very tasteful, though if they are going after the Mac audience, a lighter grey may have been preferable here so it can at least match the housing of your Macbook Pro or Mac desktop. It is also compatible with an open-source QMK, which allows users to create macros and save them to the keyboard itself. This is all done within a browser so there’s no software to download and install on your desktop which is very advantageous if you are out and about or if you’re on another PC.
The Keychron K13 Pro mechanical keyboard isn’t bad at all. It’s quite a nifty product really if you can get past the lack of wireless options. It’s also in reality not that expensive compared to other mechanical keyboards. I think it’s priced quite fairly really. The big thing I think people will like is the level of customisation without the need for software, though I am not keen on the fact it’s so Mac-focused. Give me some Windows keycaps. You can find out more about the Keychron K13 Pro keyboard here.
