Introduction

Another day, another Epomaker Kickstarter! It's obvious that this is the route the company is going to follow for new launches, ensuring a market and successful launch. This time, it is for a 65% keyboard, but there are a few more tricks up the sleeve—or should I say case—for the all-new Epomaker NT68. As I write this, the Kickstarter campaign is already live, and the deliberately low set goal has been surpassed many times over. It's a marketing campaign just as much as anything else, and the usual crowdfunding caveats apply, too. That said, Epomaker does have plenty of successful history with these, which does help make this review more meaningful as we start by thanking the company for sending review samples to TechPowerUp!


The Epomaker NT68 comes in two form factors. The NT68 Regular, as the company itself refers to it, uses full-size mechanical switches from Gateron and the first-party branded Epomaker Chocolate switches we saw debut with the AK84S. This Regular version has two color schemes with the aluminium frame and keycap set, and the third version and second form factor is the low-profile NT68 using Gateron Low Profile switches. I have the NT68 Low Profile here as well, which is reviewed separately for those interested. It keeps things interesting too, since we have covered a few other Epomaker small form-factor keyboards before, and then there is the so-called magic/stealth case which further merits investigation. Given the multiple versions involved, I am skipping the specifications table, which has us move directly on to the unboxing experience on the next page.

Packaging and Accessories

As with the new GK61 Red Wine, there's finally an Epomaker logo on the product box instead of just "Skyloong," which is the factory manufacturing the NT68. I also like the Skyloong mascot now on the box, and feel it just needs more contrast to the text. There is not much going on otherwise, with only a sticker on the side confirming the NT68 regular version (NT68M) is indeed inside. A double flap in the middle keeps the contents inside in place during transit.


Opening the box, we have more of the same unboxing experience I have come to expect with Epomaker keyboards. Included is a quick start guide that goes over the base and Fn layers via two key maps printed on the brochure. There is also a reminder to use the GK6XPlus software drivers for fine-tuning and further customization, including over the backlighting. This then leads to advertisement for other products from Skyloong, and the other side does exactly the same things in Chinese. With the NT68, there is a dedicated section about the included "magnet portable holder," which is no doubt just poorly translated and referring to the included magnetic carry case that comes with the keyboard inside.

The accessories are off to the side and separated by a cardboard layer, and two short cables are included in a velvet drawstring bag. These are just 3" long, braided and sleeved in black, and go from Type-C on one end to either Type-C or Type-A USB on the other. The shorter lengths are a strong indication that the NT68 is to be used wirelessly or plugged to a laptop, but not in the traditional manner, either. There are also some rubber supports for when you place the keyboard on top of your laptop keyboard, and that is an expected use case, too! Epomaker also includes the cheaper set of a plastic ring-style keycap puller and metal wire switch remover, which aren't great, but let's hold off judgment until we actually try them out.


The unique selling point of the NT68 is this stealth carry stand that goes over the keyboard and uses magnets to keep it in place. It also folds away in a variety of configurations to allow for the keyboard to be used at different elevations and hosts mobile devices, such as tablets and phones. There are clearly also magnets in the NT68, which come in handy for when you want to use it over the laptop keyboard itself. I would have liked an elastic strap over the case for it to be placed around a laptop bag or sleeve, which would have made this more portable than it is now, where you have to carry it in your hands or hope your laptop bag has the room.


Here is a look at the two NT68 profiles together, which shows that the case is seemingly shared between the two. What this results in is a saggy case with the NT68 Low Profile, which in itself doesn't look too bad until you compare the two.


The NT68 Regular also comes with a couple of extra accessories my NT68 Low Profile keyboard did not. As seen above, we get a spare sample of four Epomaker/Skyloong Chocolate mechanical switches as well as some replacement keycaps that allow what must be a more macOS-centric default configuration to be changed over to a more Windows-based setup. These keycaps are made out of thick PBT plastic with dye-sublimed legends, which is a highly durable combination that is opaque to backlighting, unfortunately.

Closer Examination

The Epomaker NT68 follows a 65% form factor, and the key layout is different than on the GK68XS we saw before. The backspace key is further in to allow four modifier keys on the right, unlike the three on the GK/SK68. The bottom row is also more cramped with four keys to the left of the space bar and two keys to the right before the arrow keys themselves. The other rows are more or less consistent with expectations for a 65% keyboard, including a shorter R.Shift key for a single bank of keys here, unlike on some other boards we will see soon.

I have the NT68 Regular Profile, which is also different from the low-profile version in that there are two color option with either a black or silver-colored aluminium trim that has a bead-blasted finish. The keycaps are a mix of carbon/gray/red for the black case version or silver/white/red for this silver case version. The bezels are non-existent, and the beveled top and bottom edges add to this effect, making it slightly smaller even in length and width compared to the GK68XS I also have here. There are plenty of secondary and in some cases even tertiary legends aside from the usual ones. This helps easily visualize all the pre-programmed functions that bring back some of the missing functions from a TKL keyboard via layers. The macOS-centric design is all the more obvious, with the top row in particular adopting the same pre-programmed functions as on a MacBook Pro keyboard.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker in the middle of the white plastic case, as well as the Skyloong logo, serial number of the unit, and the power draw confirming USB 2.0 will suffice with a maximum of 380 mA needed over the 5 VDC rail. Four small round rubber pads at the corners lift the case up to prevent scratches to the plastic bottom while adding friction against the resting surface.


We get hybrid wired/wireless connectivity with the Epomaker NT68, with a Type-C port on the left side where the provided two short cables can be used to plug into a source right below. This is why the port is on the left side and not the usual top. There is also a dedicated slider switch to toggle Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity on/off, which is always nice to see.


The regular version of the Epomaker NT68 is clearly taller than the low-profile version seen alongside above, but not by much. Note that the buttons on the side appear to be more centrally placed in the low-profile version, and the adoption of the low-profile keycaps also reduces the height of the low-profile version from 35/25 mm here to the 23/18 mm there. The case that comes with the NT68 is not unique on its own; we have seen similar implementations with tablets in particular. It allows for multiple configurations of the keyboard with the case either underneath or as part of a stand, and it thankfully is a far more pleasant experience with this regular version than it was on the low-profile version.



Epomaker also shows off four use cases of the stand with the NT68 regular version, and note that the low-profile version is different, as covered separately. The case on the regular version has three integrated rubber pads to hold mobile devices as in position 1, with the included white rubber pieces from the unboxing section meant to support these devices. They end up being nearly useless since they are not tacky or large enough to do anything. This keyboard series is clearly targeting MacBook users, which I understand given the lucrative market, but it means I don't have anything here to test the NT68 fully in position 3, either.


The side view shows that the regular version of the NT68 is still relatively low in profile compared to other full-size mechanical switch keyboards, with the case 16 mm at the top and just 10 mm at the bottom, and the GSA profile PBT keycaps making it 35 and 25 mm respectively. There is the slightest of contouring, which explains the differential height from the top and bottom relative to the case itself, but it is otherwise quite flat on the typing surface, making it harder to distinguish between rows when touch typing. This can, however, aid in using typing layouts other than QWERTY, which is an unexpected bonus. Unlike the low-profile version, the included keycap puller is usable here, even if not the best. The stock keycaps on this regular version are also more durable, with the other two colors also following the same dye-sublimed legends on thick PBT plastic as with the replacement ones in gray we saw before. The legends are still opaque across the board, so any lighting on offer is purely for aesthetics.


There are far more switch options with the regular NT68 compared to the low-profile one, including four from Gateron and five from the new Epomaker Chocolate series, which are now just referred to as Chocolate switches. Being hot-swappable also means you have plenty other aftermarket switch options. I have the Chocolate Blue switches on my sample. These are characterized by the blue stem placed inside the same light pink housing as on the chocolate optical switches used on my Epomaker AK84S sample from earlier this year. But gone is the GK branding. Instead, we see "Skyloong" printed on the switch housing. This may explain the lack of Epomaker branding for the switches and is another clear sign of Epomaker effectively being a label for Skyloong for these switches and several retail products. The larger keycaps use plate-mounted Cherry-style stabilizers, which come lubed, too. The amount of lube was well-applied across all the stabilizers, albeit with enough disparity to show that this was a manual job.


The provided switch remover works as expected in hooking into two notches at the top and bottom of each switch to pull one out for closer examination, which also reveals the 5-pin mechanical switch socket. This means you can use any 3-pin (or clipped 5-pin) mechanical switches conforming to the MX style and form factor on the Epomaker NT68, which is always nice to see. With an example switch removed, we get a closer look at the Chocolate Blue mechanical switch, which is a 3-pin RGB-compatible switch in that the top is translucent and has a diffuser in the bottom housing for light from the SMD RGB LED in the socket below to shine through.


Since the PCB is effectively the same across both NT68 versions, I did not want to repeat the whole disassembly process and refer you to this page for more on what powers these keyboards. The switches are different, so seen above is one example Chocolate Blue mechanical switch taken apart. It looks no different from most MX Blue-style tactile and clicky switches with even a similar white bumper over the slider for the clicky feedback, and as per usual for clicky switches not to affect the feedback, no lube has been applied. The spring is different from the Chocolate optical switches we saw before, going back to the usual native steel color. Actuation is also quite identical to other such tactile and clicky switches, with the bumper and an integrated bump on the slider making contact with one section of a metal leaf placed in the bottom housing, which then gets pressed in to touch the other section and complete the circuit for actuation that is read by the USB microcontroller on the PCB itself.