AUKEY KM-G6 LED MECHANICAL KEYBOARD
Click clack to reality
BEFORE WE TALK about anything else, we want to give a bit of attention to the Aukey KM-G6’s box. It is, quite frankly, beautiful: A beige rectangle of recycled cardboard with simple black text stamped on the top, along with a monochromatic illustration of the keyboard itself. It looks like it arrived by falling through a time portal in the 90s, and we love it.
The keyboard inside that box looks like it sits very firmly in this century, though. Colored LEDs under each molded plastic keycap, and media controls integrated with the function keys make this a competent keyboard for modern-day use, even if it is slender on the feature side. There’s no extra macro keys or volume wheels, only a standard 104-key layout with a compact plastic base. It’s quite lightweight, but we wouldn’t describe it as an on-the-go keyboard: A five-foot USB cable and chunky underside means you wouldn't want to throw it in a backpack.
Once you start using the KM-G6, though, the retro sensation comes flooding back. This keyboard uses Outemu Blue mechanical switches: The "clicky" variety, which provide the ultimate in tactile feedback when typing. The clatter of these keys is noisy but oddly comforting to anyone who sat in a busy office or a school computer lab in the late 90s. If the KM-G6 was colored that unsettling off-tan of 90s PC hardware, we’d be worried we were experiencing some time-shifting shenanigans.
If you already know that clicky blue key switches aren’t for you, you can head off to a different review right away. The KM-G6 exemplifies this type of keyboard, making it enjoyable to type on, but the almost typewriter-like noise is bound to frustrate some users (and people in your immediate vicinity). Clicky switches aren’t the most popular choice among gamers, too, but they serve to virtually eliminate any key-press ghosting— useful for games where an accidental press can tank your chances of victory.
If you do like your keys clicky, though, stick around. These Outemu Blues aren’t rated for quite as many presses as their more popular Cherry counterparts, but they feel better to use, with a crisp, clear click and excellent tactile feedback on simultaneous key presses. While Cherry might be the Western industry standard, cheaper brands like Outemu and Kailh have improved significantly in recent years. The click on these new Outemu switches sounds deeper than any we’ve heard before, which is actually quite nice.
This isn’t Aukey’s first venture into keyboard production, but the company is more at home with power-related products like cables and chargers. It’s certainly not a throwaway effort, though; the metal top panel and solid plastic parts all feel very durable, and the entire keyboard is also advertised as "water-resistant"—although we admit we didn’t put that to the test. The basic rubber-coated USB cable is the only part that doesn’t feel especially robust, but it doesn’t feel flimsy either. Considering that it only costs $40, we certainly can’t complain about the build quality.
The lighting is a minor disappointment, however. The promo pictures show a rainbow pattern, but the lights nestled under these keys are in fact fixed-color LEDs, arranged in six neat rows. There’s no software here; you can swap between eight different preset lighting options or create your own configuration to save in one of two slots, all using keyboard shortcuts. The preset effects are nothing to write home about, either running simple animated loops or highlighting the keys used for various game genres (like highlighting WASD and the number keys for MMOs). The LEDs themselves look fine but aren’t particularly bright.
Put simply, this is a keyboard for clicky connoisseurs. If those tactile switches are what you crave, check this out; otherwise, it might not be the keyboard for you. This is a good and inexpensive example of the clicky-key experience, and might be an ideal starting point for anyone wanting to change up their typing or gaming sensation.