Until recently, Keychron was best known for its line of (relatively) affordable wireless mechanical keyboards with great quality-of-life features such as Mac compatibility. Then, in 2021, the Keychron Q1 was the first of over ten Q-series keyboards with heavy aluminum construction, customizable layouts and switches, and great typing feel. They are one of the best off-the-shelf keyboards money can get.
This year’s Keychron Q1 Pro feels like a fusion of those two lines. It has the same great build, customizability and typing feel as the Q1, but with Bluetooth connectivity that is as reliable and easy to use as Keychron’s more affordable keyboards. Keychron already makes great premium keyboards and great wireless keyboards, but now you can get both in the same device.
At $199 (or $179 without keycaps or switches), the Q1 Pro is still relatively expensive. But given that it’s only $20 more than the similarly spec wired Q1 and has no real drawbacks, it’s also a natural choice for those who plan to use it as a wired keyboard most of the time. I think.
Keychron originally took pre-orders for the Q1 Pro through Kickstarter, but now it’s available for pre-order directly from Keychron, and is expected to ship in April.
At first glance, you can’t help but mistake the Q1 Pro for the original Q1. Both keyboards use a compact laptop-style 75% layout, with a programmable volume dial in the upper right (on the Q1, this dial was optional, but here it’s standard). Like the Q1, the Q1 Pro weighs around 4 pounds. This means it’s too heavy for a wireless keyboard that can be easily packed into a backpack and used on the go. Both feature hot-swap switches, are fully customizable with VIA, and feature gasket mounting plates.
However, a closer look makes the difference more apparent. Connected to the top of the keyboard is the Q1’s physical Mac/Windows layout toggle switch, which allows you to toggle between wired and Bluetooth modes, or turn the keyboard off completely. Cutouts on the aluminum frame for better wireless reception.
Wireless connectivity is the big new feature of the Q1 Pro, and honestly, I have a hard time blaming it.In a month of using the keyboard via Bluetooth on my MacBook Air, I had no connectivity issues at all. did not. As a test, I walked around the apartment and typed on the keyboard, and the connection remained fine, even from other rooms and downstairs. The keyboard can save connections to up to three devices. This is great if you want to use it quickly to quickly type a response to a message on your phone before returning to your computer. In my testing, it swapped between laptop and phone without issue.
The only gripe I have with wireless performance is that Bluetooth is the only option. This is in contrast to other similar keyboards like the Epomaker TH80, which include a small 2.4GHz USB dongle that it uses as a Bluetooth replacement. Such dongles are useful when you don’t have a Bluetooth receiver on your main PC and are used by companies like Corsair, Razer and Logitech to provide higher polling rates than are available via Bluetooth.
But with the Keychron Q1 Pro, Bluetooth alone is enough. This means that if you use your keyboard wirelessly, you’ll stick to a 90Hz polling rate. This is not suitable for fast paced games. Outside of gaming, however, I didn’t notice any lag when using the keyboard, and you can always plug it in via USB to get a more traditional 1000Hz polling rate.
Battery life is excellent when using the keyboard wirelessly — as long as you’re prepared to live without RGB lighting. With the RGB lighting set to default, the Q1 Pro’s 4,000 mAh battery gave me four days of use, plus an additional day after the lights automatically turned off to save power. So when you use RGB, you’re effectively looking at a week of usage. But with the lights off completely, the keyboard keeps working for over a month. The last time he charged this keyboard was 6 weeks ago, and he says it still has 20% battery life left. Keychron says the keyboard offers 300 hours of battery life with the backlight off. This equates to about seven and a half weeks of use, assuming he uses the keyboard eight hours a day, five days a week.
RGB lighting and a wireless keyboard are never a great combination, but the Q1 Pro isn’t made to stand out, so you can’t miss it. Equipped with rugged and durable DoubleShot PBT keycaps that have no transparent elements to let light through, you can expect to see RGB lighting around the sides of each key. There’s no funky underglow or LED strips on the outside of the keyboard like we saw on the Sense75. Personally, I’m glad I left it completely off for battery life.
The box includes a USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A adapter for wired connectivity. Additional Windows keycap set (Mac caps are pre-installed, but easy to remove), keycap puller, Allen key, screwdriver and screws, rubber feet for use with your operating system of choice , there are also spare components such as gaskets. This is a keyboard designed to be opened up and tweaked if you’re into that sort of thing.
The Keychron Q1 Pro comes with 3 different switches. Tactile Keychron K Pro Browns, clicky Keychron K Pro Bananas, or linear Keychron K Pro Reds. These switches are 5 pins. That said, an aftermarket Cherry MX style switch should fit in the socket just fine, and be hot-swappable so it can be removed using a simple pull tool without the need for a soldering iron. The Q1 Pro’s switches are oriented south for better compatibility with aftermarket keycaps.
It’s also available in three colors: black, gray, and white, each with free colored keycaps. These keycaps are Keychron’s own KSA profile of his, slightly taller than his OSA keycaps that Keychron used on previous Q-series boards, compared to the more standard Cherry-style keycaps It has a thick retro look. Personally, I can take the look or leave it, but they are fully functional and built to look great for years to come.
The Keychron Q1 Pro feels just as great as its predecessor, and you’ll want to keep typing the Keychron Q1 Pro for years to come. Like the Q1, the Q1 Pro is a gasket mounted keyboard. This means the switch plate is effectively suspended using squeeze foam inside the keyboard case. This gives you a great deal of flexibility when pressing hard on keys. This is also aided by the more flexible polycarbonate switch plate used on this model. But more important is the soft, light feel this construction gives the keyboard during normal typing.
The Q1 Pro not only feels good to type on, it sounds great while typing. Pressing each key produces a sufficiently deep sound, and the PCB-mounted screw-in stabilizer (located under long keys like the spacebar to keep them from rattling) feels clunky like other keyboards. and does not make a noise. There’s also no hint of metal ping when typing.
Like all of Kechron’s Q series boards, the Q1 Pro is fully programmable using VIA. You can also change the function of every key on your keyboard, set macros, reprogram the volume dial, and more. Reprogramming the layout requires the keyboard to be plugged in via USB, but VIA recognized the keyboard just fine and customizing it proved to be an easy process.
The Keychron Q1 Pro is just as premium and well-made as the wired Q1, but with the added flexibility of wireless. Even if you use it as a wired keyboard most of the time, we think wireless is worth having as a backup for the relatively small price premium of $20.
One reason to stick with Keychron’s wired Q-series keyboards is if you’re not a fan of the Q1 Pro’s 75% layout. Wired Q-series keyboards range from compact 60% layouts to full-size keyboards, but if you want wireless, there are (currently) only 75% options. That will almost certainly change over time, but it’s not very useful if you need the keyboard right now.
And if you’re looking for something to use on the go with your laptop or tablet, the Q1 Pro isn’t the best choice. We recommend that you consider a keyboard with a lightweight plastic construction such as
Otherwise, if the Q1 Pro’s rugged construction and laptop-style 75% layout do the trick, there are few drawbacks. Typing is comfortable, connectivity and battery life are solid, it’s customizable, and it’s not exorbitantly priced. It’s a great mechanical keyboard.
Photo by John Porter/The Verge
