I Bought 10 Weird Keyboards from AliExpress
Checkout iFixit's toolkits at: www.iFixit.com/LTT
Have you ever wanted to buy a bunch of the strangest keyboards you find on AliExpress just to try them out? Well now you don’t have to! From lasers to screens, we’ve got 'em all.
Discuss on the forum: linustechtips.com/topic/15154...
Buy a "Waterproof" Roll Up Silica Gel Keyboard on AliExpress: lmg.gg/PIKCV
Buy a DOQO Wired Keyboard with Expansion Dock on AliExpress: lmg.gg/m8JNP
Buy a H18+ Wireless Mini Keyboard & Air Mouse on AliExpress: lmg.gg/UYXMG
Buy a Foldable Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard with Touchpad on AliExpress: lmg.gg/iFhME
Buy a Wireless Virtual Projector Keyboard on AliExpress: lmg.gg/eDWLG
Buy a Wireless RGB Macropad with 2 Knobs: lmg.gg/Gyv9O
Buy a Transparent RGB Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad: lmg.gg/JvtFC
Buy a XZT G7 Single Hand Gaming Keyboard: lmg.gg/GpV59
Buy a Machenike KT68 RGB 68 Key Wireless Mechanical Keyboard: lmg.gg/Zr11I
Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
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MUSIC CREDIT
---------------------------------------------------
Intro: Laszlo - Supernova
Video Link: • [Electro] - Laszlo - S...
iTunes Download Link: itunes.apple.com/us/album/sup...
Artist Link: / laszlomusic
Outro: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High
Video Link: • Sugar High - Approachi...
Listen on Spotify: spoti.fi/UxWkUw
Artist Link: / approachingnirvana
Intro animation by MBarek Abdelwassaa / mbarek_abdel
Monitor And Keyboard by vadimmihalkevich / CC BY 4.0 geni.us/PgGWp
Mechanical RGB Keyboard by BigBrotherECE / CC BY 4.0 geni.us/mj6pHk4
Mouse Gamer free Model By Oscar Creativo / CC BY 4.0 geni.us/Ps3XfE
CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
0:50 Waterproof Rollable
2:33 DOQO Wired Keyboard etc.
4:37 H18+
6:34 Foldable Pocket
9:49 Laser Keyboard
13:07 Typewriter Macropad
15:18 Tablet Keyboard
18:25 "45% Layout"
20:54 Machenike KT68
24:36 Outro
Would you try any of these keyboards? Which one? Any hidden gems that we missed? Let us know below! Buy a "Waterproof" Roll Up Silica Gel Keyboard on AliExpress: lmg.gg/PIKCV Buy a DOQO Wired Keyboard with Expansion Dock on AliExpress: lmg.gg/m8JNP Buy a H18+ Wireless Mini Keyboard & Air Mouse on AliExpress: lmg.gg/UYXMG Buy a Foldable Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard with Touchpad on AliExpress: lmg.gg/iFhME Buy a Wireless Virtual Projector Keyboard on AliExpress: lmg.gg/eDWLG Buy a Wireless RGB Macropad with 2 Knobs: lmg.gg/Gyv9O Buy a Transparent RGB Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad: lmg.gg/JvtFC Buy a XZT G7 Single Hand Gaming Keyboard: lmg.gg/GpV59 Buy a Machenike KT68 RGB 68 Key Wireless Mechanical Keyboard: lmg.gg/Zr11I Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
@@mollyhtmlame. They are pretty quirky though, which is a Plus.
It’s not out yet, but looking forward to the new Flux Keyboard!
Wouldn't mind buying the Machenike KT68 RGB 68 Key Wireless Mechanical Keyboard (using its full legal name because it is in trouble for having inconsistent input lag)
I love the idea of the doqo, keyboard with onboard usb hub, havent seen much of those, just want it on a quality-ish keyboard for laptop and tablet use.
KT68 RGB might be interesting if they fix the latency issues. I'd love to see it modded by someone like Hipyo Tech
My dad uses one of the rubber keyboards (it doesn't roll/fold) for his cnc to keep it safe from sawdust. Can confirm that it feels horrible.
I feel like you could just put a good keyboard in a clear bag and it'll be better
A possible use, though... All our factory machines have the cheapest HP keyboards on the market. It malfunctions, they just pull out another one. We have a literal container full of them.
If the man has a cnc, he has an air compressor. He'd be better off dusting off a $20 keyboard from Walmart every now and again.
It works tho. If it aint broken dont fix it
@@namantherockstar bro cant even get the channel abbreviation right 😂
I had a roommate back in the day that got one of those all-membrane rollable waterproof keyboards, and when I tried it I had the same reaction as Linus. It technically functions as a keyboard, but it's so bad. Like, you know when you find the exact right keyboard, everything works the way you want, and pressing the keys just feels right? It's like the opposite of that.
I had PS/2 keyboard back in the day and bought the membrane thingy for Wii to chat in Monster Hunter Tri because it had USB. They shut down the servers soon after that. So it was literally used for like a dozen messages :D
I had one of those, great to just roll up and put in your bag for times when you need a keyboard and don't want to look for a crashcart
I had to use one of these while working with a raspberry pi as I had nothing else that was able to be carried in a backpack and my dad had it on hand. Drove me nuts to type on but if you understand that it's going to take more time to do anything it wasn't bad.
Man, some years ago my work replaced ALL the shop floor computer keyboards (dozens) those those exact rollable rubber membrane key boards. They redefined what a terrible keyboard was to me, and I got my start on those wierd chiclet keyboards on the computers in the early 80's. The spa e bar is a bar shape but only in rubber, there's two single buttons inside that bar, and you have to hit one exactly to have it register a space. Same with return and backspace and the other big buttons - there's no brace or anything, just a gummy membrane switch somewhere in the overall "key".
I used to have one when I was a kid. It was like trying to type with boxing gloves on. It also stopped working after a handful of uses
the 45% keyboard is actually quite handy for artists with screen drawing tablets, it lets you maintain your keyboard shortcuts like ctrl+z while not having your keyboard clash against your drawing screen, or be behind, or be under your tablet, and not needing to learn new macros with the other solutions
Or even below the desk. That saves so much space.
I watched a mangaka artist use regular external numpad and remap or something to shortcut. So having this 45% is pretty awesome, more keys for macro.
Or better yet, just use a desk with a keyboard tray, and your drawing tablet on the desk. That's what I do.
Cftkb Romeo if u wanted to build a cheap nice 40% board think I built mine fro around £50
@@KITOMERO I don't know why this isn't more common with desks nowadays. Once in a while I'll look for a replacement for my desk and so few of them have a tray.
I use the foldable one with touchpad for work. I’m an field engineer who works on X-ray equipment in hospitals some times I need to connect to certain components in the generators, so I have this foldable keyboard and a 7inch screen that I connect. It’s very handy to keep the weight and space down and does not get damaged when it is in my tool case.
Really?
I can see the use case as well for specialized equipment work like I used to work on, or even now when I’m in data centers as an IT engineer. I personally carry a cherry point of sale keyboard and trackpad combo since it was free, compact, and very good quality….. but that foldable would be a lot nicer to just leave in a toolbox. In those cases comfort or speed dont matter, you just need to get the work done.
Back around 2014, our school had the "genius" idea to replace all keyboards with those rubber keyboards cause kids would take out the keys and swap them or they'd get lost entirely. Not only that, they were also glued onto the desks. I was one of the people who deployed them (I was paid for it). Could immediately tell that was an awful idea. Programming on those was utterly impossible. They were vandalized even more because of how absolutely dogshit they were, and this time they couldn't easily be replaced. They lasted maybe two weeks until we un-glued them and went back to regular keyboards.
I'll take ideas that sounded good on paper for 500, please!
i like how democracy works, keyboards so bad you had to vandalize it
out of topic but because of your story i just remembered my classmates in highschool computer class who swapped the keyboards from a pc to the adjacent pc, basically the keyboard infront of you controls the pc besides you and vice versa. it was a great laugh, but they were called because of vandalism/tampering with school properties, the thing is the computer lab assistant was just there sitting on his chair watching them do it.
@@CottonballMonster As funny as that is, the education systems are a joke nowadays
I don't believe you are real people.
FYI, some of these (like the laser keyboard) *do* have some generally unconventional use cases for them. I worked in an emergency room at a hospital once and there were computers/keyboards. But due to the serious risk of transmitting infection, keyboards were often treated as one-time use and dozens were discarded every day. So to avoid e-waste, washable and laser keyboards were sometimes used. Yeah, they were slow/hard to type on, and there are undoubtedly better solutions for most modern hospitals now, but even then, they were much better than the alternatives (in some ways)
They never had the genius idea of putting a clear plastic bag/sheet over the keyboard?
@@horseheadproductions7038 it would have to be constantly replaced,, its not just one person using the keyboard
@@complicxtionsreplacing a plastic sheet constantly is a lot cheaper than replacing the whole keyboard. In fact, it is probably cheaper to constantly replace plastic covers over the entire lifespan of the keyboard than it is to replace the whole keyboard even once. That lack of forethought is the reason why healthcare in the US is expensive.
That's not as bad as the disposable tablets they use for patient insurance info.
We use washable keyboards at the hospital I work at specifically because the hospital is as waste conscious as they can be. It was before my time, but it was apparently a big deal when they switched because the hospital was so large and they replaced every single keyboard in the entire facility. Every time someone complains about the keyboard, a nurse who was there during the switch makes sure to remind them that "at least they weren't there during the transition of keyboards" because it was 'that' big of a deal for infection prevention.
Man, wanna reiterate how awesome it is labs is informing these opinions in such a substantial way. Moving to make the credibility backbone stronger was such a smart long term idea. Great work, team!!
9:39 The physical on/off switch is the best thing about it. We need that on all devices. Off needs to be OFF.
I replaced some extremely expensive industrially hardened keyboards with those soft rollable keyboards a few years ago (Not AliExpress ones obviously) and really don't have any complaints. Yeah they suck to type on, but they're in locations where people are typing a quick log entry at most. And so far they've lasted a few years at $30 a pop versus literally a few weeks for a normal desktop keyboard or a similar timeframe for 15-20x the price for a hardened keyboard. Always remember the actual real world use case and the advertised use cases of products don't always align.
i mean i would buy them for a kid till i know they wouldn't break it
did you also ask the 'people [that] are typing a quick log entry at most' for their opinion? Or is it just you that doesn't have complaints? 😉😁
@@BoredMarcus I am one of the people typing on them. Probably more than most. And it's irrelevant when a normal keyboard is destroyed in a few weeks and hardened a keyboard is $400+ for something that still sucks to type on.
The rubber keyboard is pretty good for dusty or near water workshops. It never klogs and never breaks the switch.
Exactly
I've seen them advertised as for use in a medical setting as they're easy to sterilize. Or indeed for uhmm occupations that involve fluids.
The big issue with them is the press is not always registered also the pcb underneath can shift causing issues
If dust and waterproofing is what you want, get a TG3 TG3 KBA-(n)BLT and thank me later. It's the keyboard used inside cop cars, ambulances, drive through oil change places, etc. Uses real mx black mechanical switches covered in robber domes and it's damn near bullet proof.
They make similar ones for hospitals too. Meant to be able to just wash the whole thing after use.
The laser keyboard is so different that you'd need at least a full week to properly learn how to type with it.
The chassis of the Machenike KT68 reminds me of the transparent electronics popular in the 90s-2000s. I also really like the cyberpunk style key inscriptions on the keys. I also noticed that there are versions with a configurable display. Nice. Though the input latency does probably make it unsuitable for gaming and the only keyboard they sell with a numpad doesn't have any of the style the KT68 has.
its 55 dollar in China~~
I remember I wanted one of laser keyboards when I was a kid sooooo bad, and I finally got one for Christmas and it sucked massively
Everyone at sometime did
I’m pretty sure the 6 keyed keyboard is for a macro or for osu
@@namantherockstar Just get an old Iphone, it does 4k. Or a Pixel 3/4. Under 100 bux.
@@namantherockstar you have already failed if you think it will work like that
@@namantherockstar no they don't
Love videos where Linus tests out weird products. Always a good time.
you mean LTT towel?
@@xtremecomputing5911 which he ripped off from others KZhead in a nutshell, the days of being unique and creative are at least 12 years behind us, everyone copies another.
Can’t wait till he tests out a shaver
@@BetuTBC- that's for the day when Yvonne says, "Shave! Every time I kiss you with your beard it itches!" 😂
@@xtremecomputing5911 bro what😭
The little Typewriter Macropad looks like it would (potentially, depending on how well the software setup works) be great for use alongside a drawing tablet for fast controls for the likes of Photoshop etc.
Or a "minimalist" (QWEASD-only) gaming board.
it's amazing, I have one and it works great
Or as a streaming macro pad
or to play osu
also things like this exist for people needing accessibility, lots of different kinds of "switches", and are very helpful to the disabled in lots of different ways
I have the exact laser keyboard. I obviously don't use it daily, that's way too slow, and not as comfy. BUT, you missed out an awesome feature! that little arrow you mentioned toggles between keyboard and mouse mode, so you can move the mouse around by dragging your finger across the layout!
There are actually good versions of those waterproof keyboards you tried. They are factories where normal keyboards get destroyed. They are especially common in areas where you are dealing with chemicals or super dusty environments. I would never use one as a normal keyboard. However, if you get one of the better ones they are a good keyboard to use while wearing gloves and working in a lab to take notes.
they are also commonly used in heavy duty military vehicles where dust and other debris might interfere with your keypresses, pretty cool stuff :)
I keep several on hand for our water jet machines They are useful
I absolutely love the look of the transparent tablet keyboard. You guys should do a whole PC build based around being Transparent. My biggest complaint (other than that horrendous trackpad) is that the bottom of it was opaque. Also, The Machenike KT68 is really cool being translucent. I definitely liked that part about it.
same, the trasparent dbrand ps5 case almost makes me want a console
The transparent keyboard probably has a metal plate. I've a similar kb that I got for my tablet with a black face
It's actually my daily driver! I have it with kailh box red switches. Absence of F keys and the need to use key combos for Home, End, Insert and other stuff took some getting used to, but I love it so much.
@@sparklingwater399 even though I rarely use it, I personally, wouldn't go for a 10keyless
A transparent gaming pc setup that prisoners enjoy LAN party,
The DOQO dock is honestly something that should be on all higher end keyboards. Especially with the custom keyboard space, where everything is starting to look the same, particularly in the budget mass manufactured ones like the gmmk pro or keychron
I remember the laser keyboard being touted for use with stuff like Palm, over IR. I’ve wanted one for ages because they look cool. But every review I’ve seen says they’re at best ‘okay’. And despite being advertised as a portable keyboard replacement they’re still kinda awkwardly chunky.
The rubber waterproof keyboard is not meant to use on a foam pad. It's great for manufacturing environments on hard surface
I doubt that the 13 bucks Aliexpress one is great for anything. Other than being e-waste.
Don't buy Logitech g810. Weird switch, after 3 years it started registering 3x keypress. Which is a nightmare in typing and gaming. $100 but cannot last 11 years like my cheap $20 microsoft keyboard.
Yea, this, plus the one i had as a kid had a plug around its PCB where you could suck the air out of it, which is what made their keyboard bounce. There was some air between the layer in the keyboard and when he pressed on it the air had to go somewhere and changed the shape of the silicone outer layer.
I just wanted to yell at Linus through the screen... 'Stop! you know better!'
"Great" is a very strong term to be using there. They are useful, because they can handle those kinds of environments, but they're still not great though because no matter what they are still pretty awful to type on.
The first one looks like a perfect fit for a shop keyboard,. No amount of aluminum chips would break or make the keys stuck on that one. 18:15 I'd argue the trackpad is not an issue if you use it for a tablet. Good enough for you to do something without raising your hand to touch a tablet screen.
I used a laggy one once... It's actually annoying as fuck so I Just switched to touch to select and then bought a better mouse for my ipad
Yeah I had on of these for my surface tablet in uni. The trackpad is awful, but I usually used the screen or a wireless mouse, and it was nice to have a trackpad in a pinch.
These aliexpress episodes are always fun to watch! Sometimes products are true gems and other are funnier than jokes lol, starting by their page descriptions. Keep them going.
I had one of those rubber roll up keyboards once since it seemed like a good idea at the time.. The trouble with them is that they ship rolled up or folded so they are never quite flat, but quite aside from that, once you get them properly flattened, they are still very spongy to type on and the key lettering for the most common keys wears off in almost no time.
I had one too, rolling it up for storage resulted in half the keys not working lmao. I even tried gaming on it 🤮🤮
that flexible soft keyboard at the start there is really great for industrial settings. i worked as a QA tech for a company that made concrete subway tunnels... you can imagine it being a very messy job. water, dust, hard and soft concrete on everything. the pc we had for one of the testing machines had this keyboard because it was so durable also very easy to use with gloves on.
The $13 Aliexpress one or just the same type of keyboard? Kinda a an important distinction...
@@Jehty21 my father is an industrial automation programmer and he picked up a 5€ one at a dollar store to use in dirty factory contitions. it lasted 12 years
18:44 These half keyboards, (the good ones) are great for laptop gamers. If you ever gamed on a laptop you know how much actual pain they cause when playing demanding games like FPS, MMOs or even MOBAs. (Using ctrl alt or shift combos for example) A normal keyboard needs space in front of you so you have to move the laptop further, a half keybord perfectly fits on the left, symmetrical to your mouse on the right, with your laptops keyboard in the middle so you can still flame your team when they feed.
The typewriter macropad thingy is most likely for rhythm game players (say, osu! players, this is the most-of-the-times usecase). And I believe the knobs that type numbers when turning are for people playing something like SDVX.
12:50 I'd like to see a brief - maybe a shorts - video update on the laser keyboard when used in a darkened room, just to see whether the keyboard functions better in darker environments than brighter ones.
I used to use one of those half keyboards (a better quality one). They’re very useful in certain circumstances. In my case, I wanted to game with friends but only had a laptop and limited desk space at the time. I got a cheap half keyboard off Amazon and it worked perfectly. It’s not an everyday use type of product, but it’s great in specific situations. You just need to avoid the low quality ones.
I agree with you, my setup make me a bit of a "couch" gamer in that my main monitor for my PC is my room TV and I sit in a recliner to use it, I have a trackball mouse on one arm of the chair and a half keyboard or gaming keypad on the other arm. Works amazing for gaming and when I need a full keyboard I just use a full one in my lap.
Can confirm it has use cases. I use one in my Simpit, have it placed to the left of my Throttle.
@@Randon_Tain wait.. you game on your trackball mouse? what type of games though?? no way FPS shooters I use a logi MX Ergo daily but game on a xbox controller
@@crh18 Oh boy. You know, traditional trackball mice might be technically obsolete and somewhat inferior compared to a good modern mouse when it comes to gaming, but back when there was no alternative, everyone played FPS' (or RTS', or ARPGs... plenty of mouse skill was required back then eh) with them, and they did basically just as well as modern gamers. It's not that much worse at all, and you can even do stuff that modern laser sensors don't allow - like using it on any surface good enough to get the ball rollin' (hehe). Sure, I probably wouldn't go back to shooters using a trackball, but that's what I used for a long time while playing CS, Halo and many others, and I was _pretty fucking good_ at it.
I'm an artist, and using a left-half keypad is great alongside a graphics tablet.
I got the H20 variant of the H18, it has the touchpad on one side and a *real* keyboard on the other. You use the gyro to switch between them. It actually functions pretty nice, and is the only wireless keyboard I have which doesn't drop inputs, which isn't exactly a high bar I know but I can appreciate its reliability. Man I would hate having to use a capacitive keyboard.
Those silicone covers are super great in the workshop. I worked as a bike mechanic and we had our whole file system for what bike needs what done and so on fully digital so we were going back and forth between actually fixing stuff ans looking what parts and so on were to be installed on the pc and not having to wipe our handy every time we needed to type was such a game changer lol
Absolutely love the lab integration here! I was concerned how they'd be utilized but that little blurb on the final keyboard was perfect.
For me, the half keyboard is really good for use with my Steam Deck. I like to play some shooters with a dock, mouse, and keyboard since it was super cheap and still works decently for what I want to play.
The Canadian Museum of Science and Technology had lazer keyboards for their guest interactive computers as far back as I can remember. It's super cool and fits the theme, while also meaning there's just a little ledge to wipe down when a child inevitably spills something on the keyboard. Of course, with recent renovations they just went to touch screen.
The like, "1/3 of a keyboard" is honestly great. I've used a mid quality one for years (not the one reviewed). It's fantastic for when you're gaming and only need the buttons that are really avaliable to your left hand. I must mention that I game on a gaming "laptop" though, so I don't have a standalone keyboard and want something that is more ergonomic for my wrist.
Yup! I have the same opinion, it’s really fucking great for anything that’s not writing stuff, I use it to game, draw, and sometimes even study as it allows me to put my notebook closer to me while using google predict to search up everything I need
That "game pad" one, I've been considering hand-building something like that for gaming. I want my WASD keys a little further apart to better fit my hand and use a smaller footprint to make it easier to position my left hand in the most ergonomic position without interfering with my mouse area. The limited number of keyswitches would make it an ideal beginner electronics project.
There are lots of split keyboards. Dygma Raise, ergodox etc L.
well i was thinking the same but not for gaming or something but i realized that are a lot of macropads with about enough buttons for gaming/any other needs, you buy the board then switches then keycaps and most of them use via in order to program them so id say unless yk how to code for adruino or you have so much time and you have soldering wiring skills, id say do it the "we have it at home" style cause you'll exceed the "DIY" route by a mile other than that you can buy the board fully built but customize it with the switches and keycaps, AND SOME OF THEM HAVE KNOBSSS
yo... forget any of these rediculous things...what you want is a Razer Tarantula v2 its everything you would ever need, and has an awesome thumb analog stick which is extremely handy. i don't have one....but there are quite of few other companies that make something extremely similar to the Razer Tarantula that are reasonably priced and are perfect for anyone who plays pc games with a standard mouse and keyboard setup. i know lots of people who own and use these religiously and they say it's the absolute best setup you can use. see i play pc games "hybrid style" mouse in one hand and a console controller in the other. I've been playing this way for over 25 years+ so i have no need for something like that....BUT I MOST DEFINITELY WOULD PLAY WITH ONE....if i didn't use the mouse/controller hybrid style im so used to for so long. but definitely check those out ...people swear by them.
@@ZenRyoku Logitech G13 for me since it came out, probably the inspiration for the Razer. 25 keys, 3 banks or presets, but I don't think the thumb stick is analogue.
@@benwu7980id probably be using a g13 if they still made them. Tartarus v2 is quite good though, and i swap the stick out for an analog joystick sometimes. The stock 4 way switch is better for most things though due to how much faster it is to maneuver than a joystick, and analog just isn’t necessary when youre turning with a mouse already.
I understand why many hate silicon keyboards. I really like this very pettable, quiet, easy clean, splash resistant style of keyboard. Heck on an LTT desk pad, you've even got a soft landing, if you don't have well controlled strokes. I had a more normal layout and the keys all worked (until they didn't at normal rubberdome shelf life. I definitely could type 85wpm+ 95% accuracy at least on my old silicon board. It was actually the death of my silicon keyboard that led me to geekhack and mechanical keyboards.
Which considering, 100+ wpm on a good keyboard does still make a point about the silicon
That keyboard with no backspace is accurate to real life
5:12 , you are holding it wrong, you can hold it in the exact same way you would hold your smartphone, and in that way, you can type as fast as on the smartphone being fast. simple and comfortable to use.
Linus if I'd known that you'd be testing all these I could have told you to save your shipping time on any website because I swear I see all of these at thrift stores constantly, except maybe the docking station one, that was kinda neat.
He tried to show the new product (best case scenario). To be clear, used keyboard is way to go, i got one manufactured in 2014, bought it like 4 years ago. Only problem is LEDs started to die a few months after. But i sometimes changing them, granted it's basic 3mm 3V bulbs that i bought 100 of for a few dollars.
@@vadnegru "used keyboard is way to go" no, it's not unless you can't afford a new one, or the new ones you can afford are e-waste. For both personal and professional use the time spent potentially fixing it or having to replace it sooner than a new one does not justify the price difference, at least in my eyes.
@@LAndrewsChannel "new options are e-waste" are exactly my situation 4 years ago. I could buy a new one, but current works just fine.
I’ve been using a similar setup with a gaming pad and 10 keyless and it definitely helped my ergonomics, but I recently remapped the keys to allow me to put them closer together. I have some serious frustrations because I can buy the left half of a mechanical keyboard for $50, but including the right side makes the price go up to $400
The Machenike seems pretty decent but for the price it's about what I'd expect. As others have stated Keychron and a bunch of other companies make pretty decent boards and some of them offer full customizability through VIA, a well known third party tool for QMK firmware keyboards.
0:42 Linus roasted his own Merch (Towel) 💀
Those folding, pocketable keyboards(especially ones with a trackpad) are a pretty good companion for a steam deck and the like. They're quite a bit more functional than the trackpads and onscreen keyboard if you need to do something like editing an ini file.
That waterproof keyboard reminds me of cleanroom keyboards I used in the past. Speaking of which, it‘d love to see you test some cleanroom keyboards. I had to work with so many different designs during my career and they all sucked and gave me rsi. I feel like there must be a design that is at least acceptable to type on, but I haven’t encountered one yet.
China has been coming out with some nice "custom" mechanical keyboards. I got a royal kludge r98 for my work and it's a nice premium heavy feeling keyboard, nice 3 color design (fits my company colors too 😂) with hot swap switches, solid rgb, nice typing feel (the reds are a little sensitive for me but when you're on a roll it's nice) and all for just like $70 or so from amazon
I picked up a Bluetooth keyboard that's basically the same layout without the folding and track pad. Works great, got for like four bucks in a resale store. It's definitely cool having cross device compatibility!
13:10 thats an osu keypad
I can't wait for the lab to have been running for a couple of years. I'm hoping that with all the testing that it gives us the ability to know which cheap Chinese suppliers can be trusted and which to avoid. I've been scammed a lot on wish and other similar sites but sometimes you get that product that is a hidden gem. I know that isn't the only reason for the lab's existence but it's a big part of what I'm excited for.
Why not just buy reputable products instead of wanting to know which chinese junk is less junk?
@@verakoo6187 Because sometimes it's not junk, sometimes they are good value products. Hence why I said hidden gems. I don't think it's right to discredit an entire race's engineers and product designers, due to their on average cheaper prices. There are also situations where specific parts can only be found from Chinese suppliers. So L + Ratio + bozo + stay mad + do better
I love those typewriter keyboards, I have a mechanical one from Azio at home, and i absolutely adore it. Personally, the round keycaps are everything
7:17 I got the non-touchpad version of this (hate touchpads) and carry it with my power bank, I use it for editing the web files I use for keeping track of my budget, beyond that it normally sits un-used, still the best experience I've had thus far for portable keyboards.
For the typewriter macropad, could be they had hot-swappable keys to appeal to the Osu! playerbase, as having a mechanical 2+ button pad is useful to not destroy your keyboard keys, and maybe the knobs could be used for volume control, idk.
14:01 I wouldn't worry about the software - you're already plugging in random Chinese hardware into your puter.
That last one looks pretty decent, I have considered bringing one of my spare keyboards to work to do a typing test while at work vs at home because there's a theory around the office that I type much faster than on the typing tests when i'm not doing the typing test xD
I had an unexpected ton of fun watching this. Thanks, guys ❤️
Keyboard has become a luxuries Item now for no reason
demand, you dont HAVE to buy an expensive one, but for the people that want them and are willing to pay for them, new entries are developed with all sorts of different characteristics
As a rule, whenever you notice a bunch of people doing something for no reason, it helps to ask them what the reason is.
And just like any other product in the industry, there's a budget category.
I know you only just briefly mentioned it, but I am so stoked that you have a lab now to test all this equipment, both jenk and AAA. I am SUPER STOKED to see the videos where you get real deep into the weeds with hardware, especially where the labs will debunk/reinforce claims from manufacturers!!!
I remember when I was in middle school (I'm 25 now), there was a guest speaker for one of my classes who showed the laser keyboard. During that time (roughly 2012-2013) all the students and I were so impressed at this.
An interesting gaming/macro pad alternative might be one of those mice with 12 side buttons. I've got a G600, and it is great to have all that on a mouse.
I love that mouse so much. It's probably one of the best computer accessories I've ever purchased - the ability to have 2 layouts and switch them with just a quick click is fantastic - or the auto layout feature in the logitech software that recognizes what you use and switches it accordingly. I can't even talk about how useful that can be
I had the exact model for the 45% keyboard, it works quite well if you rebind the keys and make them hotkeys for something like a sound board
What software did you use?
2:45 - Bus boy? Are you sure you weren't a waiter? As in a Segue Wai-ter our sponsor.... iFixIt.
I wonder if the missing nine products showed up months later. I used to have pretty good luck at (eventually) getting most everything I ordered from AliExpress, but my last order ALL got lost because they "helpfully" combined the shipping.
Used to use one of those rollup keyboards. Kept it in my forensic hard drive imaging kit as inputing evidence numbers and custodian information using the absolute horrible built in method provided by Tableau or LogiCube was painful. It wasn't great, but when physical space is a premium something that rolls up that small and is a full 104 key keyboard is a great add.
Going on AliExpress for keyboards is like going to the zoo to adopt an animal 😭
LOL
💀
Thats how I got my pet
i actually got my keychron k3 from aliexpress, and didnt pay shipping!
@@tastymuffinmmyeah there is a lot of great normal keyboards in AliExpress
You got the thing right about Plouffe. He's just the type that compares everything to the most expensive option.
Very elitist, like most keyboard enthusiasts.
@@alexandrecosta2567 and not even just keyboards, most of his videos are just complaining about how "you can save up and just buy X item for 3x more", instead of being relative to the price and budget.
@@amdsy3d521 Exactly! I love mech keyboards, and I love LTT, but i cant watch his videos for the life of me.
@@amdsy3d521yeah I'm not a plouffe content fan, he seems like a real life 'erm actually' kinda guy
And he's in soooo many videos. I'll take him over Jake though
I've had a little keyboard/mouse thing that looks exactly like the h18 just rebranded for years and just absolutely love it! I use it for my media pc plugged in the living room TV. Yeah, you can't type fast on it, but it's obviously not designed for big typing tasks. The touchpad works great and the keyboard is fine for typing simple few word searches or passwords. It's tiny so it doesn't take up any room in the coffee table, and the battery life is surprisingly great since it powers down on its own. Last time I charged it was months ago. I think it all depends on what you use it for.
As good as that last keyboard may be compared to the others, it’s definitely not the best value considering there are plenty other hot swappable options on the market, with good quality switches and similar features for about half the price.
It would be cool to see how the first rollable keyboard would work when placed on a hard surface. It's probably still bad but the backspace might work.
I use one of those half-keyboard "game pad" replacement things because the Zboard Merc Stealth was the greatest keyboard ever made and they're now around $2500 on eBay and no longer manufactured. I tried a Razer game pad thing and ... fewer keys, nonsense rubberized wrist wrest (whose adhesive melted and the whole pad moved or detached), and high brand price. Current one is made by 7Keys, comes with RGB controlled by FN+F3 combo and works darn well for me.
Why not just get a half of one of the many split keyboards out there, like Lily58 or something? Most of them are 110% programmable.
I used some of them more than 15 years ago. Rubber keyboard is really good at workshop with lot of metal or/and sawdust. Back on days we didn't have every CNC etc stuff networked. Laser keyboard was just for fun.
20 years ago, I used a Palm III with an accordion-folding keyboard not much bigger than the Palm III itself when folded. It was a workhorse on long flights around the country.
10!? You should have bought 20!
HEY MICHAEL SUPERBACKER
i saw u in Allen pans videos
Micheal Superbacker? THE Micheal Superbacker?
@@sadeq9330 hello! Wow cool you watch Linus too?
@@TheBoip TheBoip? THE TheBoip?
I had one of those waterproof rollable keyboards that I bought at a weird tech mall kiosk in Australia for $50 about 15 years ago. For the time it was actually pretty cool and worked fine. Would be funny to find out if it's exactly the same as the one you got.
The folding one is sick! I have something similar from Logitech that does not fold and its nice but the touch pad on this one looks so much better!
10:00 I remember one of these laser keyboards being a prominent plot point in an episode of CSI, been fascinated with that as a kid. Good times.
Keyboards are probably one of the easiest yet most complicated topics that come with pcs XD
And mice!
@@fusseldieb and cases. It's the three things where personal preference really matters.
So the issue with backspace on the first keyboard is actually not the keyboards fault. There's a setting in monkeytype that doesn't let you go back to previous words after hitting space, and it's enabled by default
The silicone covers (I call them "keyboard condoms") are something that has come up as a standard around 2020-2021 public and/or shared PC in work spaces. Basically, it allows you to use a keyboard, then clean it up, after usage, with regular cleaning soft supplies without damaging (with a bit of care) the actual keyboard. Due to the nature of each keyboard having different keys emplacement, the keyboard manufacturers are shipping their keyboard with the pre-designed cover for each particular models they are selling. In early 2021, Walmart, for example, has replaced added those silicone covers on all of their employees keyboards that were used by 2 or more employees in a day and implemented a directive that you had to clean it up after each use before someone uses it afterward.
I've been using one from Machenike (the last one tried) for about 7 months now and I can confirm they are very good for the price. For someone who isn't a keyboard enthusiast or anything, but works for hours on a pc, I guess for the price they are great.
That first one is a “behind the bar” keyboard. Works great with wet fingers and are cheap to replace when they eventually break due to the abuse ;)
My last job had one of those roll-up flexible keyboards for a label printer. I'm not sure why the company got them in the first place, given we just used the numpad, so we could've just gotten a USB numpad or something, but our location took advantage of the rubberized body to thumbtack it to the wall.
That was a (short) period of time in Brazil where those rubber keyboards were trendy. At least in my city, I remember those dollar stores selling flexible keyboards in all kinds of colors. It didn't last long for obvious reasons
19:48 on the 45% keyboard, i can also justify the existence. i bought one of those a few years ago, back when my desk space could barely fit in a mouse and keyboard side by side. it was great for mouse+keyboard games. gives you more room like linus said, for mouse movement, or to fit a drink or snack instead on the tiny desk lol. but I specifically bought it to use with my drawing tablet. i got used to keyboard shortcuts on the left hand tablet pen in the right. and the 45% was the only way to fit both on my desk at the time haha
I'm curious whether your team did any testing for keyloggers or phone-home tunnels being opened on any of these. First thing i'd wonder about aside from the obvious build quality and usability.
That is kind of hard to check for the keyboards which don't require software/WiFi access. If there were some kind of SIM in it, it could send data though.
Agreed mostly on the typewriter macro pad. I have the 6-key-1-knob and 12-key-2-knob similar pads from this “family”. Neither look as kiddish as this one. A HUGE reason why I have them is to act as mouse clicks when using an iPad with Sidecar for 3D modeling - I need right and middle mouse clicks, and the software lets you map them and other Blender shortcuts. That said - the software they WANT you to get is sketch AF. Throw in a VM or Windows Sandbox or whatever. But when you pair it with anything else it’s fine.
What software did use,kind of wanted a cheap macro pad
I was playing around different keyboard/number pad configurations for wooden panel framing software. Most of my input is numberpad related and it's annoying swapping back and forth between a mouse and keyboard with my right hand. So I ended up just getting a seperate mechanical number pad and keyboard so I could have the number pad on the left. If that half keyboard had been a numberpad surrounded by programmable buttons to allow for the huge amount of shortcuts I need to be done left handed, I'd use it instead.
I had one of those roll-up type keyboards like 15 years ago. Seems to have been more functional though and maybe not too much worse than a bunch of keyboards around at that point, but certainly wasn't comfortable to type with.
17:18 small keyboard for small hands.
Thanks for reviewing that foldable one. I’ve been looking for something basically exactly like that for on the go for my steam deck. It’s better the. I expected since it does phone and tablet too. Gonna order one today
Same! I ordered one for exactly the same reason I also checked if there is anything like it on the market and I'll say there is but just more expensive or just worse
@@gandeldalf I've been looking for a little bit, and this ticks all the boxes for features. I'm glad they reviewed it. I would have ignored it on my own.
20:17 Ergonomics. I use these on my desk when i'm using my pen tablet. On most applications, all the important shortcuts are on the left side. Which means you just get one of these and the right half of your keyboard, as well as the arrows and numpad, can be taken up by the tablet instead. The full keyboard is off to the side when i actually need it.
A little surprised no one in either video or the comments mentioned the use-case for the macropad (made specifically for rhythm games like Osu! or even just art program shortcuts) where you do not need more than 2-6 inputs. He didnt knock it, but by the end, Linus still seemed confused as to what the controller would actually be used for.
The macropads is obviously for music, but also for games like OSU! and similar rhythm games, so you're not destroying your keyboard by wrecking one key. Common pro play of OSU! is to use the mouse with one hand and use the left hand to hit a button, that way the muscle action of clicking with a mouse finger doesn't slow you down or break the mouse click either. And of course, for preset macros for RTS/MOBAs.
nah. that keypad wouldn't be great for osu. it has too many keys and knobs. osu keypads are 2/3 keys max.
@@your_average_cultured_dudemaybe some Sound Voltex or similar games? The knobs especially would be good for that
10:05 I remember the first time I saw a laser keyboard was on an episode of Pimp My Ride lmao
I have a keyboard that's the exact same as the tablet keyboard, but it's white and doesn't have a trackpad. the really cool thing about it is that it actually came with a case for my iPad 9th gen, and it's magnetic so that it can stick to the case when it's closed. My sister got one as well, and she loves it for college. (The case also has an apple pencil holder, which I love!)
That was definitely my favourite in this video really portable and going by the test really accurate for typing
Man I am glad you're back to doing videos again! Thank you!!
I'm not sure if we have the same lazer keyboard ( there are a few of them), but here are some interesting points about the one that I have: * It works on both Bluetooth, and wired via USB. * It doesn't need special drivers. * It can also be used as a trackpad mouse ( that's what those gestures were that you saw in the manual. * Red is the most common colour, but they are also available in green (what I have). * You need to be careful what surfaces you use it on. Otherwise you can end up with laser in the eye, which sucks. * You need more space than you might assume. You need enough for the device, the projection, and the gap. * If the surface isn't flat, it loses accuracy quickly. * Mine comes out of the box about once every 2 years "This thing was so coo... oh yeah, I remember why I don't use it" (lack of tactile feedback)
The lack of tactile feedback I could get used to, but the inability of using two keys at the same time(which wasn't mentioned in this video or in your points) is just a killer. Also from a technical standpoint I can't see the reason why the SHIFT zone can't be a toggle in the software like how it is on other devices. CTRL and ALT might make sense, but at least SHIFT means the keyboard is at least always able to type things.
@@setcheck67 it doesn't surprise me that some of them are like that. My one definitely does allow multiple keys at the same time (I just tested it to be sure)
If people actually put the work into improving laser keyboards, I'd be absolutely in love with it
I actually have one of those 3rd keyboards and used it for awhile. Just kept a full size one on standby just in case had to type lol. Mine was i think like 25 or 30 dollars though so build quality on mine is a little bit better and worked quite well. I had a small desk so this is why i tried it. 😀
Lol we had these waterproof keyboards in the mid to late 2000s. They were pretty cool together with the waterproof mouse when you were in a pool and watched pirated films on kino and similar sites. A towel beside the laptop would have done it too though lol.