I have been switching from my sofa-work lifestyle to a table-work and was forced to select a keyboard and a mouse from what is being on the market now. I wanted a small universal keyboard (since I also have a PC). So Magic Keyboard is not an option because you can't just switch connections to computers there, as well the smaller version comes only in white (I wanted something darker but also do not like those extra rounded corners on current generation of apple keyboards).
Thus, I have been choosing between Keychron K3 V2, Logitech MX Mechanical Mini and Satechi X1. The feedback and comparison is below.
Keychron K3 v2 (brown switch)
-----------------------------
Pros:
- Looks very sleek, great and consistent, font is great
- Backlight (on White Backlight version) is very nice looking, consistent and non distracting
- Big and convenient arrow keys (really important for coding)
- Very quiet as for the mechanical keyboard
- It is still mechanical with removable switches, so if a specific key sounds or presses inconsistent, you can just exchange this particular switch
Cons:
- Typing is a bit slower than Logitech MX Mini and Satechi X1
- Awful light button - what a stupid decision - instead would be better to put Ins or language change or just some standard programmable F13-15 buttons there
- Non programmable buttons on normal (non Pro or Max) version
- Bluetooth after sleep might be annoying (not a very big deal for me though)
- Battery might be too small for some (I do not mind to charge it after few days) and there is no battery indicator over bluetooth (which the other have)
- Keep in mind if you're not fan of RGB, then the white backlight color within RGB version is not consistent white (shows pinkish tone). For consistency the White Backlight version is very pleasant.
Logitech MX Mini (brown switch)
-------------------------------
Pros:
- Typing is good and faster than on Keychron
- Also big convenient arrow keys
- The wireless dongle, good for PC (Bios etc.)
- All the buttons programmable through the bundled software
Cons:
- Chunky and not that cool looking compared to the others (frames around and double frame on the front with large logo)
- Looks like the font is too bold (or maybe it is because of those extra symbols), looks like a noname chinese keyboard
- Unchangeable switches, if something does not work super nice, you have to change the entire keyboard
- Much louder than the others (and inconsistent, the Spacebar for example is too loud)
- Very weird choice for special keys, no monitor brightness or play previous keys, instead there is an emoji key (facepalm)
- Rather expensive
- The self dimming feature seem to be a gimmick (you want the backlight be on when you look onto the keyboard, not have to wait for it to turn on when you hover your hands on it)
- In my specimen both Enter and Left Shift buttons had defects when pressed, like as if they were rubbing against something, preventing them smoothly go full down (could not figure out what was it)
Satechi X1
----------
Pros:
- Looks sleek, small and sturdy
- Much faster and pleasant typing speed than both mechanical (at least for me, who got used to MacBooks' keyboards)
Cons:
- Up/Down Arrows buttons are small (when working with code, at least I press them most of the time, and they are indeed one of the smallest ones of the keyboard)
- Awful backlight - light leaks everywhere and the color of the light is bluish, which looks unpleasant when usually there is a tendency to have yellowish colors in the dark room (therefore it is better to not turn on the light at all)
- The font is rather bold and the awful large bluetooth marks on 1, 2 and 3 keys look bad
- Quality of build is so so - the rattling on-switch, some specimens may come with rattling spacebar, the antenna insert plastic might not be in line with the aluminium (the Apple Magic Keyboards are also not perfect, but might be a little bit better quality-wise)
Verdict:
- If you type a lot, switch between laptop and desktop mode and do not care about the arrow keys, then Satechi
- If don't care about aesthetics and do not want monitor brightness buttons, but want configurable mechanical keyboard from Logitech ecosystem - then MX Mini (I assume other configurable Keychrons or other mechanical brands might be even better though)
- If you do care about aesthetics, consistency, typing loudness and still want those dedicated large arrow keys in the small form factor, then Keychron
I might be keeping either both Keychron and Satechi, or only Keychron. I would also try Vissles LP85, but they do not sell them anymore unfortunately (not sure if I can stand the RGB lighting there though).
P.S. Instead of a mouse for work, I eventually decided for the black Magic Trackpad - very happy about it, for MacOS and coding works flawlessly and very quiet (but for PC there is a Dell mouse though).
Thus, I have been choosing between Keychron K3 V2, Logitech MX Mechanical Mini and Satechi X1. The feedback and comparison is below.
Keychron K3 v2 (brown switch)
-----------------------------
Pros:
- Looks very sleek, great and consistent, font is great
- Backlight (on White Backlight version) is very nice looking, consistent and non distracting
- Big and convenient arrow keys (really important for coding)
- Very quiet as for the mechanical keyboard
- It is still mechanical with removable switches, so if a specific key sounds or presses inconsistent, you can just exchange this particular switch
Cons:
- Typing is a bit slower than Logitech MX Mini and Satechi X1
- Awful light button - what a stupid decision - instead would be better to put Ins or language change or just some standard programmable F13-15 buttons there
- Non programmable buttons on normal (non Pro or Max) version
- Bluetooth after sleep might be annoying (not a very big deal for me though)
- Battery might be too small for some (I do not mind to charge it after few days) and there is no battery indicator over bluetooth (which the other have)
- Keep in mind if you're not fan of RGB, then the white backlight color within RGB version is not consistent white (shows pinkish tone). For consistency the White Backlight version is very pleasant.
Logitech MX Mini (brown switch)
-------------------------------
Pros:
- Typing is good and faster than on Keychron
- Also big convenient arrow keys
- The wireless dongle, good for PC (Bios etc.)
- All the buttons programmable through the bundled software
Cons:
- Chunky and not that cool looking compared to the others (frames around and double frame on the front with large logo)
- Looks like the font is too bold (or maybe it is because of those extra symbols), looks like a noname chinese keyboard
- Unchangeable switches, if something does not work super nice, you have to change the entire keyboard
- Much louder than the others (and inconsistent, the Spacebar for example is too loud)
- Very weird choice for special keys, no monitor brightness or play previous keys, instead there is an emoji key (facepalm)
- Rather expensive
- The self dimming feature seem to be a gimmick (you want the backlight be on when you look onto the keyboard, not have to wait for it to turn on when you hover your hands on it)
- In my specimen both Enter and Left Shift buttons had defects when pressed, like as if they were rubbing against something, preventing them smoothly go full down (could not figure out what was it)
Satechi X1
----------
Pros:
- Looks sleek, small and sturdy
- Much faster and pleasant typing speed than both mechanical (at least for me, who got used to MacBooks' keyboards)
Cons:
- Up/Down Arrows buttons are small (when working with code, at least I press them most of the time, and they are indeed one of the smallest ones of the keyboard)
- Awful backlight - light leaks everywhere and the color of the light is bluish, which looks unpleasant when usually there is a tendency to have yellowish colors in the dark room (therefore it is better to not turn on the light at all)
- The font is rather bold and the awful large bluetooth marks on 1, 2 and 3 keys look bad
- Quality of build is so so - the rattling on-switch, some specimens may come with rattling spacebar, the antenna insert plastic might not be in line with the aluminium (the Apple Magic Keyboards are also not perfect, but might be a little bit better quality-wise)
Verdict:
- If you type a lot, switch between laptop and desktop mode and do not care about the arrow keys, then Satechi
- If don't care about aesthetics and do not want monitor brightness buttons, but want configurable mechanical keyboard from Logitech ecosystem - then MX Mini (I assume other configurable Keychrons or other mechanical brands might be even better though)
- If you do care about aesthetics, consistency, typing loudness and still want those dedicated large arrow keys in the small form factor, then Keychron
I might be keeping either both Keychron and Satechi, or only Keychron. I would also try Vissles LP85, but they do not sell them anymore unfortunately (not sure if I can stand the RGB lighting there though).
P.S. Instead of a mouse for work, I eventually decided for the black Magic Trackpad - very happy about it, for MacOS and coding works flawlessly and very quiet (but for PC there is a Dell mouse though).
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