The stabilizers are PCB-mounted, which is preferable to the typical plate-mounted units that many keyboards use, and are lubricated from the factory. The lube on these stabilizers, while a bit excessive (there were small clumps of lube visible on the outside housings, which is not typical), feels great. The stabilized keys are smooth and consistent, with no audible rattling or sticking when typing.

But as it turns out, the greatest downside of this keyboard is, also, the material choice. As much as unsealed, raw concrete is quirky and fun, it is ultimately a utilitarian material: It’s heavy, has an inconsistent texture, and stains easily. During my time with this keyboard, it gathered quite a few smudges and stains, nearly all of which had unknown-to-me origins. Maybe they came from cleaning sprays, or from something on my hands, but I honestly have no clue. Depending on your perspective, this can be a flaw or a bonus. What some consider dirty, others will see as “patina.” But as someone who likes keeping their electronics squeaky-clean for as long as possible, it’s definitely a bit of a bummer to me.

(Being concrete, I would assume there are dozens of ways to get nearly any stain out of this keyboard, such as a power washer or a can of brake cleaner. However, I didn’t have the gumption to try it out for myself, and as such, I can’t guarantee that it’s possible.)

Gaming on Granite

Despite my multiple complaints about Keychron’s all-ceramic keyboard, I was still fond of the Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) switches inside. They were innovative, functional, and novel, with notable advantages over standard Hall Effect (HE) switches. Because of that, I was surprised to see this keyboard going back to standard HE switches. They’re still great switches, of course, but going back to an inferior option for a similarly unique keyboard doesn’t quite make sense to me.

Regardless, these switches are still impressive by any other standard of comparison. They feel smooth, have a reasonable weight, snap back quickly when pressed. This keyboard both feels good to type on, and is responsive enough for gaming, especially with the 1,000 Hz polling rate.

Photograph: Henri Robbins