Keychron Q1 HE Keyboard Review

The Keychron Q1 HE has a compact (75%) layout, which means it lacks a Numpad and several keys from the navigation cluster. However, it takes up considerably less space on your desk than a conventional full-size keyboard. This keyboard is quite heavy for its size, partly due to its solid aluminum chassis.

The Keychron Q1 HE has amazing build quality overall. The case is made of solid aluminum and exhibits no deck flex whatsoever. Inside the case, this keyboard has an aluminum plate and a double gasket-mount design, which incorporates two separate sets of rubber gaskets sandwiched between components. This mounting style helps reduce felt vibrations and contributes to a softer, more cushioned-feeling typing experience with a bit more rebound. Four rubber feet on the bottom of the keyboard keep it firmly in place on your desk without sliding.

This keyboard also has several layers of sound-dampening material, including a foam layer between the plate and the PCB, an acoustic pad directly under the PCB.

The switches and stabilizers come pre-lubed from the factory, and the keycaps are made of high-quality, doubleshot PBT plastic. The keycaps also have a slightly textured finish, so they don't feel slippery to the touch.

Unfortunately, while the stabilizers provide good stability for the larger keys, they sound and feel noticeably inconsistent and make a faint rattling sound (or, in the case of the spacebar, a higher-pitched clicking sound), depending on where you're pressing the keycap. This video demonstrates the issue on several keys, including the spacebar.

This is a minor issue and likely won't be something that bothers you unless you're particularly sensitive to noise inconsistencies. Furthermore, we expect you can fix this issue if you're interested in re-lubing or replacing the stock stabilizers on affected keys.

This keyboard offers acceptable ergonomics. It has quite a tall profile, and unlike many other Keychron keyboards, it doesn't have flip-out feet to provide additional incline options.

Using this keyboard with a supportive wrist rest will provide the best ergonomic experience. There isn't a wrist rest included in the box, but Keychron sells wrist rests separately on their website here.

This keyboard offers remarkably good hardware customizability. Just note that the right-side modifier keys are 1u-sized instead of the slightly more common 1.25u size. These boards also have South-facing LEDs, which offer the advantage of compatibility with a wider range of aftermarket keycap sets. However, this also significantly impacts how visible the backlighting is if you're interested in using shine-through keycaps.

Technically speaking, this keyboard has a hot-swappable PCB that allows you to change the stock switches without soldering. That said, the sockets have nonstandard pinouts. Keychron's website suggests the PCB is only compatible with Gateron Double-Rail Magnet Switches. For more details, see the Switches section.

This keyboard has full RGB backlighting and individually lit keys. You can customize backlighting brightness and effects directly on the keyboard or using the configuration software.

This keyboard provides poor backlighting clarity. The keycaps don't have shine-through legends, and the PCB has south-facing LEDs. This means that even if you swap the stock keycaps for keycaps with shine-through legends, the legends likely won't be visible in dark rooms. For reference, we've taken a photo with several stock keycaps replaced with shine-through keycaps.

The Keychron Q1 HE comes with a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, which retains some kinks from its packaging. If your computer doesn't have a USB-C port, a USB-C to USB-A adapter is also included in the box.

The Keychron Q1 HE has a 4000 mAh battery, which Keychron indicates has a working time (backlighting off) of up to 100 hours. Keychron doesn't explicitly state the connection type used to produce these estimates, but we expect it reflects the maximum battery life using a Bluetooth connection. The included 2.4GHz wireless receiver connection provides superior stability and performance at the cost of battery life.

This keyboard lacks dedicated macro keys, and you can't record macros directly on the keyboard using hotkey combinations. However, you can program macros to any key using the configuration software.

This keyboard has a wide range of extra features. Like most Keychron keyboards, there are two switches on the top edge. One toggles through connectivity modes, while the other toggles Windows and macOS compatibility modes.

Media hotkey commands on the function row are labeled on the keycaps, and by default, the programmable Control Knob controls media volume and mutes audio when pressed. The backlighting of the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys also remain static when pressed, acting as lock indicators.

This keyboard comes with documentation that lists all available hotkey commands, including backlighting controls, Bluetooth pairing, and battery level indicators. On Keychron's website, you can reference a digital version of the entire user manual and the quick start guide.

Under the spacebar keycap, there's a hardware reset button.

• USB-C to USB-C charging cable
• 2.4GHz USB-A 2.4 GHz wireless receiver
• Extension adapter for receiver
• USB-C to USB-A adapater
• Alternate Windows keycaps (1.25u-sized Windows, Alt key and 1u-sized Insert, Alt key)
• 4x Extra rubber feet
• 4x Extra gasket strips
• Hex Allen key
• 2x Hex screws
• Screwdriver
• 3x Phillips screws
• Keycap and switch puller
• User documentation

This keyboard offers excellent typing quality. It has a double gasket-mounted design, which lends a soft, almost springy feel to typing. Several layers of sound-absorbing material inside these boards dampen some of the pinging sound typically associated with all-aluminum cases.

Key spacing is standard, and the keycaps are made of doubleshot PBT plastic with a pleasant, slightly textured finish. The keycaps have an OSA profile with rounded, spherical tops but a typical SA shape, and they are a bit shorter than normal OEM keycaps.

Keys are all quite stable while typing, and the switches and stabilizers are both pre-lubed from the factory. Unfortunately, while the switches feel quite smooth and largely consistent, the stabilizers are somewhat inconsistent-feeling and rattle noticeably. You can see a video demonstrating the inconsistency of the stabilizers in the Build Quality section.

The typing noise of the Keychron Q1 HE is very quiet and unlikely to bother those around you, even in noise-sensitive environments. There are several layers of internal sound-dampening foam inside the case, and the switches are linear and come pre-lubed from the factory. Unfortunately, while the stabilizers are fairly quiet, they rattle slightly but noticeably while typing.

We expect all compatible Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic switch options will produce similar typing noise. For more information on compatible switches, see the Switches section.

The Keychron Q1 HE uses Gateron Double-rail Magnetic Nebula switches, which are analog, Hall effect switches that come pre-lubed from the factory.

At the time of writing, you can only purchase the fully assembled configuration of this keyboard with Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula switches. However, Keychron sells two other compatible switch options: Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Dawn switches, which are slightly more lightweight, and Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Aurora switches, which have a slightly heavier feel. All three switch options are available directly from Keychron here.

We conducted this test with the default actuation setting of 2.2mm and with the rapid trigger setting disabled.

We conducted supplementary measurements with various actuation points and confirmed the actual pre-travel distance is typically within 0.1mm of the specified pre-travel distance, indicating that the settings are accurate and consistent.

Below is an example list of actuation settings and actual measured actuation distances.

• Setting 0.50 mm (minimum setting): 0.60 mm
• Setting 0.80 mm: 0.94 mm
• Setting 1.00 mm: 1.13 mm
• Setting 1.20 mm: 1.31 mm
• Setting 1.50 mm: 1.58 mm
• Setting 1.80 mm: 1.84 mm
• Setting 2.00 mm: 1.99 mm
• Setting 2.50 mm: 2.45 mm
• Setting 3.00 mm: 2.95 mm
• Setting 3.50 mm: 3.47 mm
• Setting 3.80 mm (maximum setting): 3.73 mm

The Keychron Q1 HE provides remarkably good single-key latency performance. It delivers an extremely responsive-feeling experience for gaming in all genres at any competitive level.

These measurements were achieved using a wired connection with keystroke actuation distance set to its lowest setting (0.5mm) and with the most sensitive (0.15mm) rapid trigger setting.

The Keychron Q1 HE has excellent multi-key latency performance, which is important for playing games that require new keystrokes while multiple keys are already being pressed.

We achieved these measurements using a wired connection with keystroke actuation at its lowest setting (0.5 mm) and with Rapid Trigger mode enabled and set to its most sensitive setting (0.10mm). As can be seen in the Key Release results, the rapid trigger behavior is quite aggressive using the lowest setting. While it produces occasional rare outliers with exceptionally low release latency, this behavior is also inconsistent.

We also conducted supplementary Multi-Key Latency testing in wireless mode. You can see these results here.

This keyboard has a maximum polling rate of 1000Hz, and data transmission isn't bottlenecked by other latency components when connected wired or wirelessly.

Using a Bluetooth connection limits the maximum polling rate to 125Hz, but this is normal and expected.

This keyboard has 6KRO enabled out of the box, but you can use the FN+N shortcut to enable full NKRO.

This keyboard delivers good overall chord split performance, making them viable choices for playing rhythm games or other titles that demand many simultaneous inputs.

This keyboard uses Keychron Launcher, a web-based configurator designed specifically for this keyboard. You can access this program on Keychron's website using any Chromium-based browser here. This software allows you to change a range of expected settings, including key assignments, custom profiles and macros, and RGB lighting effects.

This software also allows you to configure HE mode settings related to its Hall effect switches.

Note: You can only adjust HE settings while the keyboard is connected with its cable, but after making changes, these settings are saved to onboard memory and usable with either a wired or wireless connection. These settings include changing the actuation distance of individual switches and setting custom rapid trigger (key reset) distances.

Additionally, you can program inputs to trigger with a long press or up to four distinct commands to trigger at specific actuation distances. Lastly, you can enable analog input, which can mimic the gradual controls of a gamepad or joystick, which can be particularly helpful for playing racing or flight sims, for example.

Keychron has a guide for HE mode adjustments you can see on their website here.

Note: Accessing the Keychron Launcher software works on Windows and MacOS right out of the box, but if you're a Linux user, you may need to adjust udev permissions first. A helpful member of the community has posted a guide for this process in a Reddit thread here.

These keyboards are fully compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. However, the web-based software is compatible with Windows and macOS out-of-the-box, while Linux users may have to adjust their system permissions first. For more details on Linux software compatibility, see the note in the Configuration Software section.

There's a switch on the top edge of the keyboard that toggles between Windows and Mac compatibility modes. There's also a set of alternative Windows keycaps included in the box.

These keyboards are fully compatible with Android devices. However, there isn't a compatible software option.

This keyboard doesn't work with iOS or iPadOS devices. During testing, we could add the keyboard as a Bluetooth device on both iOS and iPadOS, but all keys were unresponsive. This is unusual for wireless Keychron models, which are typically compatible with both iOS and iPadOS devices.