Keychron continues to move away from mechanical switches

The Keychron K2 HE (Hall Effect) keyboard is a new and improved version of the popular K2 model but with magnetic switches rather than mechanical ones.

The special edition versions have a great minimal look to them, with either black or white keys and stylish partly wooden frames. Keychron plans to launch the new keyboard on Kickstarter next month, and you can sign up on Prelaunch now to get a notification when it goes live.

Magnetic switches, otherwise known as Hall effect switches, are still pretty new on the market. The K2 HE will be the second Keychron keyboard to use them, with the first being the Q1 HE, also released this year. This tech uses magnetic fields to adjust the voltage when a key is pressed, and this voltage difference is what registers the keypress with the keyboard’s controller chip.

There are quite a few benefits to Hall effect, the first being increased durability since there’s no longer any physical contact required between the keycap and the switch. This durability is matched by the doubleshot PBT keycaps on the K2 HE that retain color and texture for years.

The second benefit is increased speed and customization — with the magnetic switches on the K2 HE, you can adjust the actuation point of each key. This means you decide how far down you need to press before the keyboard registers a keypress. You can even assign multiple actions to a key; for example, a light press to walk and a full press to run. Other benefits include faster feedback and dynamic rapid triggering. This precision and customizability make the K2 HE perfect for competitive gamers.

For anyone who’s worried about losing the satisfying sound of mechanical switches, you can rest assured that keys using magnetic switches do still make a sound. The K2 HE uses acoustic foam inside the keyboard to dampen sound, and Keychron describes the result as a satisfying “thock” sound.

You can use the keyboard in wired mode with a USB-C cable, go wireless with 2.4 GHz mode, or use Bluetooth to connect and swap between up to three different devices. The 75%, tenkeyless (TKL) layout is a favorite among gamers because it leaves more desk space without compromising on functionality.

Conveniently, the keyboard uses a web app for configuration so you don’t need to download any software, making it easy to use with Windows, macOS, or Linux.

There’s no price available yet but the Q1 HE costs $220, so it might be somewhere close to that.