ASUS ROG has recently teased their upcoming ROG keyboard switches in a post captioned "Who's ready to switch up their gaming?!" with a picture of the upcoming switch. ASUS is holding a virtual launch event on September 1st where the switches will be officially announced along with a wide range of new ASUS products. This event will likely explain the rationale behind the development of these switches and their advantages compared to traditional Cherry MX switches. These switches feature the ROG eye logo indicating these will only be used in ROG branded keyboards.

ZSA Technology Labs, the makers of the excellent ErgoDox EZ Shine and the Planck EZ today introduced their latest ergonomic keyboard titled The Moonlander Mark 1. The company claims this is a result of over three years of R&D, incorporating feedback from customers and the general keyboard community as a whole on what they wanted from the ErgoDox EZ and other such split, ergonomic keyboards. The Moonlander Mark 1 boasts features including a thumb cluster that can be positioned to better suit your hand size/shape, tilting and tenting of the two keyboard halves for better ergonomics, a wrist rest (on each half) that automatically angles with tilting/tenting, hot-swappable switches with Cherry MX and Kailh BOX switches to choose from out of the box, and enhanced portability with the ability to fold the wrist rest (wing) and just plug in the left half via Type-C connectivity to use as a game/macro-pad.

The Moonlander Mark 1 continues the design scheme of the ErgoDox EZ and Planck EZ in having columnar keys, is available in black or white colors, and with ten switch options at checkout. Fully open source firmware is available here as well, for both programming the keys and layers of functions and also the RGB LEDs for backlighting of every single key. There is a first-party configurator available as well, with Windows, macOS, and Linus support without any special drivers needed. The keyboard also has status LEDs on board and, as the name is befitting here, uses audio buzzers to beep out status feedback if desired. The wings and thumb clusters are optional, and come in the package that also includes a carry case. Going for a significant $365 from the dedicated product page (shipping included), the company also offers a no-questions-asked 2-year warranty to help sweeten the deal.

ASUS today unveiled the ROG Falchion, a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard that fits into the new "65%" form-factor that's smaller than TKL. The keyboard offers 68 keys, with macros and function keys making up the deficit compared to most TKL or standard 104 keyboards. It comes in variants based on the switch used, and ASUS offers Cherry MX switches, with RGB illuminated keycaps, and per-key color customization.

The ROG Falchion also provides what ASUS calls an "interactive touch panel," which is essentially a capacitive strip that can be used as a volume rocker or scroller. Its wireless credentials include "gaming grade" 2.4 GHz RF with 1 ms response time, and up to 400 hours of battery life (with RGB lighting off), on a full charge. ASUS includes a hard case with the keyboard to help you carry it around. The company didn't reveal pricing.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the release of new Electro Punk peripherals with a striking black-and-pink color scheme. First introduced in April, the Electro Punk colors can now be found on the ROG Strix Go 2.4 gaming headset, ROG Strix Scope TKL gaming keyboard, ROG Strix Impact II gaming mouse and other gaming and lifestyle accessories.

ROG Strix Go 2.4 Electro Punk is a USB-C 2.4 GHz wireless headset that enables stable, lag-free audio on smart devices, PC, Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox or Nintendo Switch (in Handheld mode). The Electro Punk edition features pink piping in and around the headband, ear pads, and ROG logo to give it that a special touch, while the rest stays bold black to prevent stains. Strix Go 2.4 has a detachable boom mic powered by AI Noise-Canceling technology that intelligently eliminates unwanted background noise for clear voice communication for work or play.

Alienware today announced the AW410K Gaming Keyboard, an RGB-capable mechanical keyboard sporting either Cherry MX Red or Cherry MX Brown switches. The AW410K features a SB passthrough port so that you don't lose the USB port that the keyboard populates on your PC. The keyboard is a full-size type (which means it has a dedicated number pad) with integrated Macros in the function keys for multimedia capabilities.

The keyboard features two levels of adjustment via the two feet on top of it, a braided cable and a metal top plate for that added premium feel. Other interesting and all-important technologies in the gaming space are also present, such as anti-ghosting, macro programming and on-board memory that allows for the storage of user-defined macros. The Alienware AW410K Gaming Keyboard will launch August 4th and will cost $129.

HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., today announced the release of refreshed HyperX Pudding Keycaps for mechanical gaming keyboards. Available in both black and white "pudding" color editions, the new HyperX Pudding Keycaps use a translucent dual-layer design to enhance LED and RGB lighting, allowing more light to radiate for extra brilliance.

The new dual-layer "pudding" design uses double shot construction with PBT material to provide style and reliability, ensuring long-lasting durability, resilience and keycap legends that won't fade like standard keycaps. The new pudding keycaps also feature a signature HyperX font to provide added style and optimal shine-through capabilities, improving the look and feel of the ultimate professional gaming keyboard. Compatible with all HyperX mechanical gaming keyboards and keyboards featuring Cherry MX style switch stems, the HyperX Pudding Keycaps also include a keycap removal tool.

Das Keyboard, the world leader in high-end mechanical keyboards, today announced updates to its 4C Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard for improved quality and efficiency. Designed without the traditional number pad, the 4C is Das Keyboard's most compact keyboard, and ideal for professionals using smaller workstations, home offices, or those that want more portability.

"Our updated Das Keyboard 4C Tenkeyless packs an amazing punch for today's professional looking to combine workspace efficiency and productivity at home or in the office," said Daniel Guermeur, founder and creator of Das Keyboard. "We're excited to deliver an improved Das Keyboard 4C to give users the highest-quality typing experience for years and years to come."

Everest is a fully customizable, mechanical gaming keyboard that is a revolution in choice. Brought to you by Mountain, Everest can be pre-ordered here, from 95€ ($90 / £85 - depending on exchange rate). The Everest keyboard is available in Barebone, Core (TKL) and Max versions. The new stretch goal enables a variant of Everest in Midnight Black, a deep black anodized aluminium design, if the campaign reaches at least 100,000€ before it ends on April 2nd. If reached, the stretch goal will enable every backer to choose between Gunmetal Gray and Midnight Black.

Many backers requested stretch goals and a large part of the community asked for an all-black version of Everest. Mountain's focus on the user-centric approach doesn't end with the product design. "We appreciate all the support we have received so far and continue to listen to customer feedback," says Tobias Brinkmann, Founder & CEO of Mountain. "With the incredible success of Everest on Kickstarter, it didn't take long until we received the first inquiries of stretch goals and a Black version was in particular high demand. We are all about freedom of choice and delivering products that customers ask for, so we are pleased to be able to do so with the Midnight Black Edition!"Support the Everest keyboard Midnight Black Kickstarter goal stretch here.

Available for pre-order today, Everest is a fully customizable, mechanical gaming keyboard that is a revolution in choice. Brought to you by Mountain, Everest can be pre-ordered here, from 95€ ($90 / £85 - depending on exchange rate). The Everest keyboard is available as the Core Version in TKL format and MAX version featuring the removable numpad and media dock.

Mountain's design philosophy is built on four pillars: Innovation, Performance, Aesthetics and Modularity. The Everest keyboard includes patent-pending features, designed from the ground up. Integrated display keys can be assigned to any game or application for a faster launch, the modular media dock with circular display dial provides unprecedented levels of control and allows you to monitor your system. The magnetic removable numpad and magnetic feet allow multiple levels of height adjustment for ease of use. The Everest keyboard is built to the highest standard - created from double-plated aluminium, combined with CNC-milling for added aesthetics.Back the Mountain Everest project on Kickstarter here.

When we were invited to meet Cherry at CES 2020, we expected more news on the >100 million actuation rating for their popular MX switches. CORSAIR had broken the news, in a manner of speaking, when they used the new MX Brown and MX Speed (Silver) switches in their new K95 RGB Platinum XT keyboard, and Cherry confirmed to us that all currently produced MX Red, Brown, Black, and Speed (Silver) switches are now rated to this higher count (from 50 million before) with no loss in quality. This improvement comes in the form of an increased gliding surface area on the front side of the switch stem, in addition to having eight guide rails inside for added stability, which Cherry calls "Hyperglide". The company claims to also have optimized the contact force for the gold cross-point contacts, which has now resulted in a reduced debounce rate of under 1 ms. They are working on having similar improvements done to their remaining MX switches, including the MX Blue.

What was unexpected, however, was them announcing a whole new mechanical switch series under the VIOLA name. Cherry is targeting the value-oriented keyboard market here (think well under $100) which tend to use adapted membrane switches to provide a tactile and clicky feedback under various names including mem-chanical, mechanical-like, and so on. The new VIOLA switch, which currently has a single linear switch member, is fully mechanical and uses a novel contact method that allows Cherry to get away with a lower price point. Read past the break for more on this.

At the 2020 International CES, Thermaltake unveiled a plethora of new gaming peripherals that include keyboards, mice, surfaces, and headsets. The star attractions here were the TK5 RGB keyboard and mouse. The keyboard has a dual-tone face-plate design that looks refreshingly new. You get a detachable cushioned palm-rest. The face-plate around the main key cluster and function keys are silvery aluminium, while one surrounding the numerical cluster, arrow and editing keys is contrasting dark aluminium. The TK5 uses a floating keycap design, with RGB LED element of each individual key producing a glow around the key. There's an acrylic RGB LED diffuser that runs along the periphery of the keyboard, too. Thermaltake is using Cherry MX Blue or MX Speed Silver switches.

The TM5 mouse is wireless, but can also be used as a wired mouse. As a wireless mouse, it supports 2.4 GHz RF (needs a dongle, but provides 10 m range and lower latency) and Bluetooth 5.0 (no dongle needed). The mouse features a palm-grip optimized ambidextrous design with 8 buttons in total. RGB LED embellishments include the scroll-wheel and an RGB element that runs along the periphery of the underside of the mouse. Under the hood is a 16,000 dpi PixArt PMW3335 sensor and Omron-made switches.

HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., today announced it has sold over 10 million gaming headsets as it begins shipping its newest lifestyle headset, the Cloud MIX Rose Gold Edition. Since developing the first HyperX Cloud gaming headset in 2014, HyperX has produced 30 headset models, establishing itself as a leading PC and console gaming headset brand and moving into the lifestyle market with its Cloud MIX line of headsets. In addition, HyperX leads market share for PC compatible headsets according to latest NPD data.

HyperX also achieved milestones in two additional categories by shipping over one million gaming keyboards and 65 million memory modules. HyperX Alloy mechanical gaming keyboards launched with Cherry MX switches and now HyperX continues to build its gaming keyboard lineup with the release of the HyperX Alloy Origins mechanical gaming keyboard, including proprietary mechanical key switches. HyperX memory products include FURY and Predator DDR4 branded memory modules and include RGB modules with customizable LED lighting using NGENUITY software.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is releasing a new compact and durable KM360 tenkeyless mechanical keyboard for professionals and gaming enthusiasts with a MSRP of $49.99 USD, featuring long-lasting Cherry MX mechanical key-switches, wear-proof ABS double injection keycaps, and a solid brushed aluminium top-plate. Designed with a detachable USB Type-C cable, white LED backlighting, and available in a white or black version, the KM360 mechanical keyboard is the perfect daily workhorse keyboard for the office and for gaming.

The KM360 mechanical keyboard is outfitted with Cherry MX Red linear key-switches (and Cherry MX Black for the space key) for its reliability and consistency in professional and gaming use cases with quick 2 mm key actuation and 50 million keystroke rating. Taking durability a step further, the KM360 keyboard is equipped with ABS double injection keycaps, meaning that the lettering on each keycap will not fade or wear from long term use and will feel smoother than traditional printed or laser-etched keycaps. Furthermore, the KM360 is designed with a solid aluminium top-plate for extra stability and easy cleaning.

ASUS today rolled out the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Strix Scope TKL Deluxe gaming keyboard. This tenkeyless keyboard is roughly 60% the volume of a full-size keyboard, and has 84 keys. The keyboard features a detachable cushioned palm-rest with faux-leather upholstery. This palm-rest snaps into place with magnetic locks, much like an iPad Smart Cover. The top-plate of the keyboard is made of brushed aluminium. The keycaps are raised above the top-plate.

Function keys F5 to F12 are macroed out, and in their place, ASUS put media control buttons as the primary function. You don't need to hold down any key to switch between the media keys and the Function keys, a 2-way switch does that. The "Stealth Key" is a glorified boss key that hides all your apps and mutes audio for instant privacy. Under the hood, the ROG Strix Scope TKL has Cherry MX RGB mechanical switches, and comes in a variety of flavors such as MX Speed Silver, MX Red, MX Brown, and MX Blue. The electronics provide N-key rollover and anti-ghosting. ASUS Aura Sync RGB handles the keyboard's lighting including color configuration for individual keys. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Kinesis Gaming is a new entrant in the ergonomic gaming hardware market, and launched the first of its two debut products, the Freestyle Edge RGB split mechanical keyboard (the other being the Vektor mouse). The keyboard features a tenkeyless layout that's split vertically along the middle, with a 6-inch cable connecting the two halves. An internal compartment located at the top lets you wind in excess cable. This split allows you to angle the two halves apart to better align with your hands, and minimize strain on your wrists. Adding to the ergonomics of the Freestyle Edge RGB are its soft-touch wrist-rests.

It may be a TKL keyboard, but the Freestyle Edge RGB comes with 10 macro keys along the edge of the left half. You can remap every other key and build macros of your own with the included software. There are 99 keys and buttons on this keyboard. Its electronics offers full NKRO and a Game Mode, with 1 ms response time, and 100% anti-ghosting. An onboard 4 MB memory stores your macro- and lighting-profiles locally. The keyboard offers full RGB LED lighting across a 16.8 million-color palette, and lets you configure lighting and profiles via software. Among the mechanical switch options are Cherry MX Red, MX Blue, and MX Brown. All three variants are priced at USD $219.99.

Cooler Master, a global leader in designing and manufacturing innovative gaming peripherals and computer components, today released two limited edition low profile switch mechanical keyboards, the SK650 White and SK650 White. "Earlier this year we created the SK series with design and functionality in mind and now we are excited to offer the series in sleek white to further allow our users to stand out from the crowd." says Bryant Nguyen, Peripheral General Manager.

The SK650 White and SK630 White are mechanical keyboards with the perfect balance of "work and play." The SK series features Cherry MX low profile switches that provide a reduced travel distance and actuation point with the same signature durability and precision as a standard red switch. The boards are equipped with Type-C USB for convenience. Per-key backlighting, surrounding light bars, and macros can be fully customized through Cooler Masters easy to use Portal Software Application. On-the-fly-controls allow real-time adjustments to lighting and macros without the need of software, including Windows Lock On/Off to prevent accidental actuation during game play. Users can choose from two sizes depending on preference. The SK650 White is a full layout keyboard while the SK630 White is its little brother, a tenkeyless layout for users with limited desk space.

Kailh introduced their newest lineup of mechanical keyboard switches at Computex 2018 in the form of the Sun switch. The aim of this lineup was to retain the Cherry MX keycap compatibility with the same stem design, but allow for centralized lighting akin to what Omron did with their light pillars in the Logitech Romer-G and Creative PRES switches. This meant designing new molds for the various switch parts, and also finding a wider spring that together all still work into providing a tactile and clicky switch with a 1.8 mm actuation depth, total travel distance of 3.5 mm, an actuation force of 50 gf and tactile force of 60 gf.

It found little interest, however, with only Hexgears choosing to adopt it to date in their GK760 keyboard. In a move to drum up more business, Kailh have already updated the Sun switch to allow for a clear stem with walls surrounding the stem to help add some dust and spill resistance, with the clear housing now allowing more light to pass through. The rest of the switch is identical, as seen below in samples we received recently (old switch at the left/top of the new switch), although now there is little scope left for a more diffused backlighting experience. Time will tell how the changes work out, and yours truly would have rather seen the older design in use.More pictures follow.

Ducky Channel is one of the oldest mechanical keyboard OEMs and whitebox manufacturers in Taiwan, and brought a vast selection of new mechanical keyboards to Computex 2019, with a focus on space-saving TKL (tenkeyless) and sub-TKL form-factors without compromising on the size of the keycaps. A running design theme at the Ducky booth has been a fusion of the Chinese Year of the Pig in a rendition by Formosan artists (indigenous people of the island of Taiwan). We begin our tour with the Shine, a lineup of full-size 108-key units that now come in the new Gunmetal Grey color option. These keyboards feature a zinc-alloy top, with PBT double-shot seamless keycaps, and another in hot-rod red+black color scheme. You can have the Shine in a number of Cherry MX switch options. The 2019 edition also comes with USB type-C cabling in addition to type-A.

Leopold is a boutique keyboard manufacturer based out of Korea, and one we have not yet had the pleasure of covering in detail on TechPowerUp. That is about to change, however, as we were invited to meet representatives of the company and go through their products at their Computex booth. I have been familiar with their existing lineup to an extent, noting that they use both Cherry MX and Topre switches in their keyboards designed for the high end market. The FC660 especially is quite popular among keyboard enthusiasts wanting a small form factor keyboard for ergonomics, and Leopold showed off their new version of an electrostatic capacitive switch based on the Topre switch.

The new switch finds its way in the equally new FC660PT keyboard, with the primary design change being the location of the spring relative to the switch housing and rubber dome that gave Topre switches the unique tactile feedback which people either loved or did not. The new design attempts to appease users who long since have wanted compatibility with Cherrry MX stem keycaps, which account for the vast majority of aftermarket keycap sets. The spring is thus right on top, and makes for an interesting two-step feedback mechanism seen in the force-travel diagram below, which may well be just as divisive as the Topre switch itself. Noting that the springs may work loose and possibly be lost, Leopold tells us they plan to also include an extra set of springs with the keyboard as well. The rest of the keyboard is unchanged, and that by itself is a good thing in my books given it is hard to improve on the build quality provided by the thick metal case paired with the 1.5 mm thick PBT keycaps with dye-sub legends. Read past the break for more Leopold offerings at the show floor!

VORTEXGEAR, or simply Vortex for convenience, is another keyboard company that goes the path of atypical form factors, similar to Mistel Keyboard whom the company often collaborates with. Vortex especially gained popularity with the enthusiast keyboard market thanks to their 60% form factor Poker keyboard lineup, with the current iteration being the Poker 3, or Pok3r. At Computex, Vortex showed off a low profile Pok3r using the relatively new Cherry MX Low Profile switches, and the Red RGB variant in particular.

The Pok3r Ultra Slim will come with different keycap options to choose from, with some colors seen in the images below. As with the standard Pok3r, it features near-complete programmability with onboard macro support and three layers to work with. The keyboard will use an anodized CNC-machined aluminium case, with a detachable USB Type-C cable as well. Expect pricing to be similar to the standard Pok3r when this comes out later this year. Read past the break for more new keyboards from Vortex!

G.Skill at COMPUTEX 2019 showcased its range of products for gamers. The KM360 is being hailed as a professional tenkeyless keyboard. Its top plate is made of aircraft-grade aluminum, and it sports Cherry MX mechanical switches (in the photos, Cherry MX Red), which are paired with ABS keycaps made via a double injection technique for improved feel and durability. There are the usual gaming features as well: Full N-Key Rollover and 100% anti-ghosting.

The MX350 is an optical gaming mouse sporting RGB lighting, as almost all of them do these days. A Pixart 3327 sensor with up to 6200 DPI resolution is the weapon of choice here, and the MX350 features six pre-programmed DPI stages that can be changed on-the-fly according to the gaming scenario you're facing. a 1 ms polling rate, dual side keys for action mapping, and two specific DPI up-down buttons are present.

Cooler Master, a global leader in designing and manufacturing innovative gaming peripherals and computer components, today launched its first Bluetooth wireless mechanical keyboard, the SK621. "We created the SK621 with design and functionality in mind. Especially for those who are on the go, workers by day and gamers at night." says Bryant Nguyen, Peripheral General Manager.

The SK621 is a 65-key compact design Bluetooth wireless mechanical keyboard with all the essentials. It uses Cherry MX's new low profile switches providing a reduced travel distance and actuation point with the same signature durability and precision as a standard red switch. The wireless hybrid design allows users to choose between a corded or cordless set up based on preference. The keyboard grants approximately 14 hours of usage while backlit or up to four months without lighting. The board is equipped with Type-C USB for convenience, per-key backlighting, surrounding light bars, and macros can be fully customized through Cooler Masters easy to use Portal Software Application. On-the-fly-controls allow real-time adjustments to lighting and macros without the need of software, including Windows Lock On/Off to prevent accidental actuation during game play. Its chiclet keycaps are slim and slightly contoured to provide a comfortable feel. The SK621 will be available on Amazon starting May 7, 2019, respectively, for $119.99. For more information, please visit the product page.

ZSA Technology Labs, Inc. is the company behind the Ergodox EZ keyboard that we had taken a look at in great detail, and appreciated a lot. It was a retail take on the open source Ergodox keyboard concept which, until then, was available as a kit or pre-assembled by artisans in low numbers, and was not a mass-market product. One could argue the Ergodox EZ is still not a mainstream keyboard, but it certainly made things much more accessible via options to choose from for a pre-assembled keyboard, as well as a powerful, GUI-based configurator for those wanting easier firmware access and control.

In that same vein, the parent company has now introduced the Planck EZ which, as the name suggests, is based on the 47-key Planck keyboard design. Designed in conjunction with Jack Humbert, the creator of the Planck, the Planck EZ aims to be a simple, complete, portable, mechanical keyboard built with layers and ergonomics in mind. The Planck EZ goes a bit further with adding in not only multiple switch options, but also backlighting and a buzzer that can also be controlled to play 8-bit tunes from the keyboard- definitely a first in my books! The Planck EZ is up for pre-order now beginning at $180, with an estimated shipping date in June 2019.

Cooler Master, a global leader in designing and manufacturing innovative gaming peripherals and computer components, announces it's the addition of its two new tenkeyless (TKL) mechanical keyboards, the MK730 and CK530. "As a mainstream company to pioneer one of the first tenkeyless form factor keyboards, it was a no brainer to offer our two best-selling keyboards in TKL form." says Bryant Nguyen, Peripheral General Manager.,"

[Editor's note: Our own review of the Cooler Master SK630 is published here for those interested.]

Cooler Master, a global leader in designing and manufacturing innovative gaming peripherals and computer components, today launched two low profile mechanical keyboards from its new SK series, the SK650 and SK630. "We created the SK series with design and functionality in mind. Especially for those who are workers by day and gamers at night." says Bryant Nguyen, Peripheral General Manager.

The SK650 and SK630 are slim profile mechanical keyboards with the perfect balance of "work and play." The SK series features Cherry MX low profile switches that provide a reduced travel distance and actuation point with the same signature durability and precision as a standard red switch. The boards are equipped with Type-C USB for convenience. Per-key backlighting, surrounding light bars, and macros can be fully customized through Cooler Masters easy to use Portal Software Application. On-the-fly-controls allow real-time adjustments to lighting and macros without the need of software, including Windows Lock On/Off to prevent accidental actuation during game play. Users can choose from two sizes depending on preference. The SK650 is a full layout keyboard while the SK630 is its little brother, a ten keyless layout for users with limited desk space.