Keychron K10 HE Wireless Mechanical Keyboard – Hall Effect

An Excellent Full-Size Retro Stylish Keyboard, But Not Sure About Black in Low Light?
I have the UK layout and it’s difficult to fault. The typing touch, the finish, and the quirky wood styling are all highly appealing, making this a darn good keyboard overall.

Key Specs at a Glance:

* Keycaps: Keychron exclusive OSA (OEM Spherical Angled) profile double-shot PBT.

* Switches: Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula Switches (Hall Effect).

* Connectivity: 2.4 GHz wireless dongle, Bluetooth, or wired via a nice, braided USB cable.

* Weight: A solid, robust frame weighing in at 1.3 Kg.

The Typing Experience & Setup

The typing experience through those exclusive OSA keycaps does not disappoint. Some may regard it as a little noisy, but that “thock, thock” noise kinda goes with the territory! I use the Keychron Q1 HE as my absolute 10/10 benchmark, and I’d give the K10 HE Special Edition a solid 8. Chassis design, size, and damping materials all affect the final sound and feel; because this has a larger chassis and a plastic rear tray, it has greater volume and flex compared to an all-metal body. It’s not at all bad, it’s just different, and remains a highly satisfying board to type on.

The Hall Effect switches allow you to adjust the actuation points to perfectly suit your typing pressure. This is easily managed through the web-based Keychron Launcher (supported via USB or 2.4 GHz, but not Bluetooth). Curiously, the board comes configured for Mac out of the box, which is a bit of a mystery, but there is a physical Windows/Mac switch on the back, and the box includes everything you need to swap the keycaps.

The “If Only” Frustration (Aesthetic vs. Function)

The black and dark rosewood design looks undeniably cool, but in a subtly lit studio environment, there is a massive tension between aesthetic and function. I am not a touch typist, and if you need to “see” the keys, white symbols on black keycaps without shine-through backlighting is a strangely uncomfortable experience. The keyboard features RGB, but the LEDs are north-facing. In my opinion, backlighting black, non-shine-through keys actually makes them harder on the eyes in low light, so I keep my RGB completely ‘off’. Ideally, these keys need to be shine-through similar to a Macbook keyboard.

This creates a huge “if only” frustration. You could buy aftermarket shine-through keycaps to fix this, but you’d have to source standard top-left symbols, which entirely ruins the gorgeous, centered-symbol OSA retro aesthetic that Keychron clearly invested serious time and money into designing. I want the retro look, I want the black, but I need the shine-through. For low-light hide-aways and dens, the white version of the keyboard is arguably the sensible, workable solution. However, settling for the sensible choice ultimately feels like a compromise that leads to disappointment. It is truly a lovely thing in the flesh, but in a dim room, it leaves you with a feeling of ambivalence.

Build Quality & Value

Build quality, as ever with Keychron, is faultless. When you place this 1.3 Kg board down, it takes charge of your desk; you will need two hands to move it and line it up perfectly. It is screwed together tight with absolutely no rattles or creaking. But oh, those black keys. Of course, my keyboard passion madness dictates that I buy any number of other Keychron boards and swap the keycaps to my heart’s content—a prohibitively expensive idea!

There is no such thing as a cheap Keychron keyboard, but there is little doubt about the innate quality. If you are a typist looking for a new full-size keyboard or an enthusiast, and you are looking at this wood-accented beauty and thinking, “I gotta have one of those!”, just buy it. It’s worth every penny.

Why 4 Stars instead of 5?

While I absolutely love typing on this board, I’ve docked one star primarily due to that frustrating backlighting arrangement. The dilemma of either struggling to see the keys in low light or ruining the beautiful Special Edition aesthetic with aftermarket keycaps is a big irritation. Additionally, on a minor technical level, the plastic rear tray introduces slightly more flex and acoustic volume than an all-metal benchmark like the Keychron Q1 HE. Ultimately, it’s a brilliant, stylish board, but these minor quirks keep it just shy of perfection, and I’m genuinely disappointed about that.