CompactThe Logitech MX Keys Mini and Logitech MX Keys Mini for Mac are compact keyboards similar to the MX Keys S — they have comfortable, backlit keys, and they can pair with three devices via Bluetooth. But compared with our upgrade pick, these models don’t feel as satisfying to type on and don’t have as many extra features.Apple’s Magic Keyboard offers a solid typing experience, but it’s expensive and lacks device switching, and Apple doesn’t make a Windows version.The Mokibo Fusion Keyboard feels like wizardry. It includes a trackpad that you use by skimming your fingers across the tops of the keycaps — and it mostly works! In my testing, it occasionally failed to register a tap-to-click, but overall swipes and gestures were much more reliable than I expected. But the Fusion Keyboard’s spacebar is split around a physical click button, which is especially difficult to get used to if you tend to hit the middle of the spacebar. And several keys on the right side are so small as to hinder accurate typing.The Jlab Epic Mini has a handy knob, but its keys feel cheap and rattly. The company claims only four months of battery life with the backlight off, just four days with it on.The foldable ProtoArc XK01 Plus feels mushy and hollow to type on, and the hinges along the bottom of the keyboard get in the way of pressing keys in the bottom row.The Cherry KW7100 Mini BT flexes under pressure, and it has sharp, uncomfortable edges.The Cherry KW 9200 Mini, the Satechi Slim X1, and the Zagg Pro Keyboard 12 are expensive compared with our top pick and have limited layouts.The Logitech Keys-To-Go can pair with only one device at a time and is coated in a Cronenbergian texture that Logitech calls FabricSkin. Typing on it felt like poking a person’s clothed thigh or pressing into a Band-Aid on someone’s arm.The Satechi OntheGo Bluetooth Keyboard with Stand is very heavy for a portable keyboard, and the lip along the bottom of the case obstructs the spacebar.The JLab Go Wireless Keyboard and JLab JBuds Wireless Keyboard flexed under normal typing pressure, and their keys felt cheap and rattly.The Logitech K480 Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard is huge and heavy, and in our tests its large, clacky, plasticky keys made it feel like a Fisher-Price toy.The Arteck HB030B has small, cramped keys. The Arteck Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard feels cheap, its keys rattle, and it flexes under light pressure.The Samsers Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard with Touchpad has undersized, difficult-to-press keys for certain letters. Because it folds backward, it collapsed when I used it on my lap.The keys on the Omoton Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard are strangely spaced, and it doesn’t come with batteries.Full-sizeThe HP 725 Multi-Device Rechargeable Wireless Keyboard feels fine to type on but costs more than the K585 for similar features.The HP 460 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard has deep key travel, but it feels mushy and sounds hollow compared with our picks.The Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard is wider, heavier, and typically more expensive than the K585, and its circle-shaped keys are divisive.The Logitech Signature Slim Solar+ K980 and the Lenovo Self-charging Bluetooth Keyboard both charge from sunlight or ambient room light, but both models require at least 200 lux to charge. Of the 10 people we asked to measure, only two had enough light on their desks to charge these keyboards: one person whose desk sits in direct sunlight, the other whose workspace is lit by a light-therapy lamp. Logitech’s solar keyboard lacks a USB-C port to charge the keyboard by other means if you don’t have enough light, and Lenovo’s keyboard feels mushy to type on and lacks a macOS layout.The Logitech Signature Slim Keyboard K950 doesn’t match the premium build quality of the MX Keys S, and it doesn’t feel as nice to type on as the less expensive K585.The Logitech Craft is expensive in comparison with the MX Keys S and isn’t as nice to type on or as feature-rich as our upgrade pick.Typing on the Logitech K250 Compact Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard feels gritty and sounds rattly. It lacks a USB dongle and can connect to only a single Bluetooth device.Both the Satechi Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard and the Satechi Slim X3 Bluetooth Backlit Keyboard lack a Windows layout and a USB dongle.The Contour Balance Full-Size Keyboard provides a typing experience comparable to that of the MX Keys S plus a negative tilt, but it lacks a backlight and macOS support.Apple’s Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad is expensive and Mac-only, and it can pair with just one device at a time.The Dell Premier Collaboration Keyboard KB900, the JLab Epic Wireless Keyboard, the Zagg Pro Keyboard 15, and the Zagg Pro Keyboard 17 don’t feel as nice to type on as our picks.The Targus Energy Harvesting EcoSmart Keyboard dropped keystrokes during our testing, an issue we didn’t experience on other, less expensive models.The Logitech MK850 Performance felt cheap and unsatisfying to type on.Low-profile mechanicalThe Lofree Flow Lite84 and Flow Lite100 have smaller batteries than our upgrade picks and require a software download to customize. And they fall short of our upgrade picks in their build quality.The Asus ROG Falchion RX Low Profile feels great to type on and looks stylish, but compared with our picks, it is available with fewer switch options, lacks hot swap, and is harder to configure using Asus’s Armoury Crate software.The Chilkey ND75 LP is heavy, its wireless switch is inconveniently hidden beneath the right Shift key, and it takes some educated guesswork to swap the display to English. The backspace key on our review unit felt mushy and stuck repeatedly.Keychron’s K Max series keyboards — which include the K1 Max, K3 Max ,K5 Max, K7 Max, and K17 Max — feel great to type on and have excellent build quality, but they all have much smaller batteries than the NuPhy Air75 V3 and Air96 V2.Compared with our upgrade picks, the Keychron K3 QMK Wireless, K1 QMK Wireless, and K5 QMK Wireless have cheaper ABS keycaps and smaller batteries. They also have no USB dongle.The Lofree Flow feels lovely to type on, but compared with our upgrade pick, Lofree offers fewer switch options and the Flow’s hot-swap sockets are not compatible with as many switch types. The Flow also has shorter battery life, lacks full programmability with VIA, and lacks an RGB backlight.The full-size Jlab Epic Mechanical Keyboard has cheap-feeling ABS keycaps and its spacebar rattles. It also lacks RGB and hot-swap, which the NuPhy models have for a similar price.Neither the Satechi SM1 nor the SM3 feels as nice to type on as our upgrade picks, and both lack hot-swap and RGB lighting. They also have smaller batteries.Keychron’s K5 Pro doesn’t feel as smooth and satisfying to type on, and you have to pay extra for RGB and hot-swap.The Logitech MX Mechanical Mini and the Logitech MX Mechanical cost more, don’t feel as nice to type on, and lack fun extra features compared with our upgrade pick.The Cherry KW 550 MX LP feels scritchy, and the keys take a lot of pressure to activate. The Cherry KW X ULP 2.0 Mini also feels stiff and crunchy to type on. Both models lack RGB backlighting and hot-swap.The foldable Royal Kludge F68 folds in half like a long candy bar, but the keys aren’t protected if you want to slip it into a bag. Its stand is flimsy and doesn’t work if you’re using the keyboard on your lap, and the F68 feels grittier and cheaper to type on than our picks.The Razer Joro isn’t actually a low-profile mechanical keyboard; it’s a scissor-switch keyboard that costs $140. Its keys are cramped and don’t feel as nice to type on as the mechanical-switch keys of our upgrade picks.Number padsThe Foloda Wireless Number Pad flexes and creaks under normal typing pressure, and its keys rattle.This article was edited by Signe Brewster and Caitlin McGarry.
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