OnePlus Keyboard 81 Pro review: The expensive type

Price When Reviewed

$239

Best Prices Today: Keyboard 81 Pro

$239

OnePlus has lengthy made stable Android telephones. But now it’s attempting its hand at totally different merchandise by collaborating with different tech firms.

The Keyboard 81 Pro is the primary product of this new initiative. It’s a mechanical keyboard that’s OnePlus branded however made in partnership with Keychron, the model of alternative for a lot of mechanical keyboard nerds.

And the mannequin I examined affords wonderful construct high quality and a easy, quiet typing expertise.

If you don’t thoughts keys that aren’t backlit and don’t want to hold your keyboard round with you when travelling, the 81 Pro is a high quality alternative.

Design & construct

• Heavy aluminium physique
• Lovely keycap materials
• Useful kickstand
• RGB lights, not backlit

There are two variations of the 81 Pro (so named for its 81-key format), every with totally different gray tone key caps and totally different key switches.

I reviewed the pricier ‘Summer Breeze’ model, which has principally mild gray keycaps fabricated from ‘marble-mallow’ materials that’s new for this keyboard, and makes use of quiet linear switches that OnePlus says it developed with Keychron.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

The ‘Winter Bonfire’ model makes use of PBT keycaps in a darker gray, alongside louder, optimised tactile switches (additionally co-created with Keychron) that I haven’t tried.

Keychron followers might be aware that the format of the keyboard bears resemblance to the Keychron Q1 Pro, although the general design and keycaps are very totally different.

Essentially, the keyboard is a big chunk of silver aluminium with two-tone gray keys, a clear dial within the higher proper, and two pink keys – an escape key with the OnePlus brand on it, and the enter key.

An adjustable bar kickstand on the underside of the keyboard, used for reducing or elevating the typing top, feels very luxurious. But the entire product is premium and really nicely put collectively.

OnePlus has designed the keyboard to be flipped and stood up when not in use, revealing the corporate’s ‘Never Settle’ motto beneath. Rubberised contact factors stop the keyboard from sliding round or scratching your desk, although at a whopping 1.87kg (sure, it’s that heavy) this factor ain’t going anyplace.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

In truth, it’s so heavy that this actually is a set and overlook keyboard. If you want throwing your ‘board in a backpack to hold round or to the workplace, this isn’t the keyboard for you..

RGB lighting underneath every key may be programmed to a number of totally different modes, from a sweeping rainbow to 1 that stays unlit however then sprays mild outwards from every key as you sort earlier than fading away (my private favorite).

The results are cool, however a drain on the 4,000mAh battery. Of course, that’s solely a difficulty in the event you’re utilizing the keyboard wirelessly, somewhat than plugged in utilizing the stunning braided USB-C to C cable within the field. It takes 5 hours to totally cost, however as soon as at 100% and with the lights turned off, I acquired over one complete working week of wi-fi use.

However, I really feel that for this worth you may anticipate backlit keys, which these will not be. OnePlus does at the very least present swappable Windows or Mac keycaps with all the mandatory instruments, and you need to use both format on both working system (it additionally runs on Linux, Android, and iOS units).

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Keyboard really feel and typing expertise

• Quiet actuation
• Comfortable for lengthy periods
• Needs a wrist relaxation

The Summer Breeze mannequin has a really quiet motion that I actually like. The keys solely make a delicate thunk noise, even if you end up typing shortly. There’s additionally little or no of that plasticky clack sound, so you would undoubtedly use this in a busy workplace with out annoying anybody.

Pairing these marble-mallow caps with the quiet switches is a good mixture, and provides to the ultra-premium really feel of the product.

I discovered my private finest consolation when typing with the kickstand elevating the board barely – it’s totally adjustable at any angle. But I did want to make use of my very own wrist relaxation, as trying to sort with out one shortly led to wrist ache.

Even so, I made fairly just a few typing errors, however that’s in all probability extra as a result of I often use the just about flat Logitech MX Keys Mini.

I examined the keyboard with a Mac, and the dial within the prime proper nook is preset to manage quantity when turned and toggles sound on or off when pressed. It’s a neat contact.

As nicely because the kickstand and swappable keys that don’t require soldering, the keys are remappable utilizing the VIA app. It works on any Chromium-based browser (see the right way to apply it to the Keychron website) and is efficient, however may be complicated.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Price & availability

The OnePlus Keyboard 81 Pro prices $219/£249 for the Winter Bonfire model or $239/£269 for the Summer Breeze model I used and reviewed right here.

You can purchase it now from OnePlus US or OnePlus UK.

All entries in our best keyboard round-up are extra inexpensive, with the Logitech MX Mechanical ($149.99/£149.99) the obvious various. Keychron itself additionally makes the same mechanical keyboard within the Q1 Pro ($199/£169).

Verdict

If you could have the money and desire a premium mechanical keyboard with a wonderful typing sound and really feel, the Keyboard 81 Pro is an efficient alternative. Collaborating with Keychron has labored out nicely for OnePlus, and the previous’s standard high quality shines via right here.

The spectacular aluminium construct and wonderful key switches are each highlights, whereas the marble-mallow keycaps really feel beautiful and keep away from the click-clack plastic really feel.

But it is a keyboard to place in your desk and by no means transfer, given it weights almost 2kg. And at this worth you may balk that the keycaps will not be backlit. I ended up turning the beautiful however functionally ineffective RGB lights off as they sapped the battery life, too.

But for pure typing pleasure, this is a superb keyboard that can be utilized on any trendy computing platform and comes with all of the equipment you want.

This overview initially printed on techadvisor.com.