Keychron Q1 HE Review: A Nearly Stepless Keyboard with an Impressive Design

Keychron Q1 HE looks great on your desk and feels great in your hand, too.

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Keychron Q1 HE

4.0/5 Buy from Keychron

Keychron Q1 HE is a keyboard designed — or, more precisely, recycled — for demanding users with special needs and is one of the most complex and customizable keyboards I've ever tested.

For most people, the standard keyboard that comes with their Mac is all they'll ever need. However, a standard keyboard may not be enough for select Mac users, especially gamers, video editors, and certain types of writers.

Keyboards come in two types: mechanical and membrane. Membrane keyboards, such as those found in the MacBook or Apple Magic Keyboard, press against a thin film of material that records the keystroke when enough pressure is applied. Unlike the Keychron Q1 HE, the membrane keyboard is not adjustable.

Membrane keyboards feel softer than mechanical keyboards. Some typists prefer membrane keyboards because they make it easy to move your finger from one key to the next, but a mechanical key provides more feedback that a key has been pressed.

Mechanical keyboards, like the Q1 HE, have keycaps that sit on a physical rod rather than springs like membrane keyboards. Pressing a key pushes the stem down and it makes contact with a physical switch, causing the key to be pressed.

Although membrane keyboards are silent, mechanical keys make a loud click or clang every time you press a key. Mechanical keyboards are ideal for gamers, providing physical and auditory feedback when they press a key. As someone who learned to type in the typewriter era, I find reviews of the Keychron Q1 HE nostalgic and comforting.

Keychron Q1 HE view— unique design and functions

The Q1 HE is billed as the world's first 75% layout keyboard and is part of the open-source Quantum Mechanical Keyboard (QMK) community. Instead of proprietary technology, QMK devices use open-source firmware and standard software development tools to simplify design and allow users to tinker with them.

The HE symbol in the name refers to Hall effect keys, specifically Gateron 2.0 Hall Effect switches. These magnetic switches can be customized for users and have user-adjustable actuation points. Magnets on the keyboard can detect how hard a key has been pressed or released and trigger various actions based on magnetic feedback.

Keychron Q1 HE Review: Advanced Design for a Unique Feel

Press a key halfway to trigger one action, and press the button all the way down to perform another. For gaming, you can set one key to crouch when pressed lightly, and the same key to lie flat when pressed fully.

The result is an extremely customizable typing experience, even from key to key. More about the keyboard customization options a little later.

Redesigned for customization

75% layout keyboard has fewer keys than a full-size keyboard , and is smaller in size. The Q1 HE has a Home button but no free End button. The left side of the keyboard contains small Command, Option, and Control keys, while the right side replaces the Option key with a function key.

The Q1 HE is highly customizable, so missing keys is fine. Hall Effect Gateron 2.0 magnetic switches enable per-key multifunction keys. This allowed me to set the standard alphanumeric keys to be more comfortable to press, but required the function keys to be pressed harder.

The keyboard is made of aluminum and is incredibly heavy. This is not an insult.

The keyboard is stable and does not allow movement. The body's weight keeps it from moving, which is a boon for typists and gamers.

Keychron Q1 HE Review: Designed for Modification

The interior is padded over sound-absorbing foam, making the keyboard more comfortable to use in a quiet office environment. The foam slightly softens the action of the keys. The Q1 HE can be opened to remove foam, increasing tactile feedback from the keys.

The OSA and PBT keys themselves. Translated from engineering parlance, the keys have a spherical top surface, and each row has its own height, much like a traditional typewriter keyboard.

Many people find this typing style much more comfortable than a flat membrane keyboard. Fingers rest naturally on the middle row of letter keys, and gentle hand movements allow the typist to easily reach the remaining keys at a natural angle.

In the spirit of customization, the QMK system allows you to replace keys and even the internal parts of the keyboard. You can easily replace the keycaps and even the key mechanisms themselves.

The Q1's ARM processor has built-in flash memory, allowing developers to modify the keyboard firmware and load it into the keyboard to change its functionality.

Keychron Q1 HE review: Colorful backlit keys are great for streamers

Many wireless keyboards are too slow for gamers because their data transfer rates are not designed for high speed use. The Q1 HE has a 1000Hz polling rate, which means the keyboard checks and transmits keystrokes 1000 times per second.

The keyboard has built-in Wi-Fi and an adapter that plugs into a USB port to connect to a Mac or Windows. It also has Bluetooth, wired connectivity, and a switch on the back to switch between modes. The Bluetooth connection allows you to use the keyboard with your iPad, iPhone or Mac laptop.

Keychron also features south-facing lighting that is brighter and more visible than traditional lighting. The backlight can be switched to specific colors or fade into multiple colors. While I don't need a backlight since I'm almost always in a well-lit area, I do like seeing my keyboard cycle through the colors of the rainbow.

The programmable knob in the top right corner of the keyboard is set to change volume by default, but can be used to control almost any function thanks to the web-based configuration tool.

Configuring the keyboard

Most programmable keyboards use special software to change settings, but Keychron uses a web interface. Surprisingly, I found it much easier to use than many dedicated software tools for other keyboards, and the Internet allows you to instantly access improvements when Keyrchon updates the tool.

I thought connecting to the web interface would be difficult, but the process is simple and incredibly easy to use. The lack of guidance on web features meant that it took several minutes to figure out how to use them.

The web configuration tool is based on VIA, which works with QMK firmware in keyboards. Currently, the setup launcher only works in Chrome. The Q1 HE must be connected via USB-C to run the setup software, but the keyboard comes with a cable to make connection easy.

Keychron Q1 HE review: The web configuration is almost endlessly customizable.

You can save multiple layouts to quickly change features. There are default configurations for Mac and Windows, and the keyboard comes with an Alt key and a Windows key to replace the Mac-centric Option key. The keyboard can be configured with different layouts for different tasks. I've used them to set different layouts for different types of work.

The web-based tool can customize your keyboard and create macros, eliminating (or reducing) the need for software like Keyboard Maestro to customize your device for specific games or other applications. With the ability to use multiple profiles, I created a setting for typing with less keystroke (i.e. lighter button presses) and for gaming and video editing with more keystroke logging actions.

Every use

Although I'm just a casual gamer, I've been a video editor for a long time and have used several video editing decks with mechanical keys.

The Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor is one such board, and the mechanical keys make editing more precise as there is no doubt as to whether a key was pressed. The resistance required to press a key in the speed editor also ensures that keys are not accidentally pressed.

I think Keychron is great for video editing. It has the same tactile feedback as dedicated editing decks, and virtually limitless key customization options make editing easy. For example, I changed the function key to trim the clip, delete footage on the left when pressed lightly, and trim and delete footage on the right when pressed fully.

The keyboard showed excellent results in gaming tests. My first tests were with Starcraft II, as I had been playing the game for many years and became addicted to the original Starcraft when it came out. Starcraft doesn't require particularly fast keystrokes, though. Reliable required. The Keychron felt much better at issuing squad commands than my regular keyboard, and the ability to program macros meant I could eliminate keystrokes to issue orders.

Keychron Q1 HE review: multiple connection types

My son played a lot of Helldivers 2 on Steam, and now the game is not available on Mac (a story as old as time ) I connected Keychron to a Windows laptop to try it out. It took me a while to get used to playing with a keyboard and mouse instead of a controller, but I paired the keyboard with a Logitech gaming mouse and found it to be less flexible than a controller but much more precise.

Disadvantages and limitations

During my testing, Mac users had only one problem – the lack of fingerprint sensor. I'm used to logging onto websites and checking the authenticity of updates with the touch of a finger.

I touched the corner of the keyboard several times to unlock Passwords or 1Password or install an update.

Entering a user password isn't a big deal, but switching between different keyboards on different machines meant that my muscle memory from Touch ID keyboards was disabled. This shortcoming applies to all third-party keyboards, since only the Apple Magic Keyboard has a Touch ID sensor.

Almost perfect keyboard

Keychorn Q1 HE costs $219, which is approximately $100 more than the Logitech MX mechanical keyboard. The $100 difference is well worth it for avid gamers, video editors, and anyone looking for a fully customizable mechanical keyboard. Those who value a mechanical keyboard for touch typing will like the feel of it, but for traditional typists, a full-width keyboard may be a better choice.

The Keychron Q1 HE is too user-friendly for the average user, but it is designed for a very specific group of customers. Keychron offers a line of full-size keyboards at a lower price than this dedicated keyboard, but I have yet to try them.

Keychron set out to create an exceptionally designed keyboard, and it succeeded. Gamers, video editors, and speed typists will love the feel of the keys, while tinkerers and developers will love the customization capabilities of the Keychron Q1 HE.

Keychron Q1 HE Max Review – Pros

Built like a tank

Infinitely adjustable keystrokes

Multifunctional macro capabilities

High-speed polling and wireless connection, perfect suitable for gaming.

Comfortable keys, their location and angle.

Backlight is great for Twitch and other streamers.

Keychron Q1 HE Max – Cons

The absence of Touch ID is expected in the future Apple keyboards, but may frustrate Magic Keyboard users.
The price is high enough to push many mechanical enthusiasts to other solutions.

As with other Keychron keyboards that we've reviewed, the Keychron Q1 HE is well built, reliable, and easy to use.

Keychron keyboards are bulletproof and chosen by professional gamers — but they go beyond that. If you don't care about the price, they are an ideal tool for video editors, and also for writers if you like the clicking sound that Mac users had in the late 80s and early 90s.

Rating: 4 out of 5