Keychron Q1 HE 75% wireless Hall-effect mechanical keyboard with QMK firmware arrives at Best Buy
Keychron released the Q1 HE earlier this year to challenge the likes of Wooting and Razer for the gaming crown. Unlike many of the existing gaming-focussed Hall-effect keyboards on the market, Keychron aimed to balance gaming performance, convenience, and the typing experience. Now, Keychron has announced that its latest premium Hall-effect keyboard is available at Best Buy, suggesting that perhaps the Q1 HE will even go on sale during the upcoming Black Friday sale event.
Much like the Keychron K3 QMK V3 we reported on recently, the Keychron Q1 HE is a wireless keyboard that makes use of QMK firmware, making it compatible with Keychron Launcher, the browser-based keyboard configurator. With Keychron Launcher, gamers can access Hall-effect specific features, like adjustable actuation distance, Rapid Trigger, SOCD, and DKS, among others.
While the Keychron Q1 HE doesn't have the same no-compromises 8,000 Hz polling rate as the Wooting 80HE we recently reviewed, the 1,000 Hz polling rate over USB Type-C and 2.4 GHz wireless connections should be plenty for most people. The battery in the Keychron Q1 HE packs a 4,000 mAh battery that Keychron claims can deliver up to 100 hours of use with the RGB backlighting disabled.
The Keychron Q1 HE also does a lot in order to tune the acoustics and typing feel of the board, with silicone gasket mounts, a force break for the case, and case and plate foams serving to temper the sound and offer a softer typing feel. The actual case and switch plate of the Q1 HE are made of aluminium, and the PCB features south-facing RGBs and screw-in PCB-mount stabilisers.
At the time of writing, the Keychron Q1 HE is available with Gateron Dual-Rail Magnetic switches at Best Buy for $239.99, although it looks like only the black and white colour way with red accent switches is available.
