Keychron's best wireless HE keyboard has hidden tricks — Lemokey P2 HE hands-on review

The Lemokey P2 HE is available via Keychron's online store for $169.99 in both white and black, and both options have shine-through keycaps. There is also a black version without shine-through keycaps. It does not look like the 65% keyboard will be available on the brand's Amazon store anytime soon. 

The Keychron P2 HE is a wireless Hall-effect gaming keyboard with a unique quick-disassembly aluminium case and Gateron's Magnetic Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula switches and Cherry profile double-shot, shine-through PBT keycaps. 

The Lemokey P2 HE is impressively well built, especially given how much cheaper it is than a lot of other Keychron and Lemokey keyboards. The surface finish on the e-coating is uniform, and the CNC-machined aluminium case is nicely finished, both inside and out. The rotary encoder also feels great to use: the detents throughout the rotation and the positive click when it is pressed both offer satisfying feedback, and it can pack a lot of features into the same space as one key. 

The double-shot PBT keycaps have a slight matte texture to them, and the north-facing RGB backlighting is bright enough to see in basically any lighting conditions, including in a sunny room. This is thanks in part to the bright backlighting on the PCB but also due to the clarity of the shine-through lettering on the keycaps themselves. This, combined with the fact that the backlighting is north-facing (on the upper half of the switch rather than the lower half), also means that the P2 HE's backlighting is more functional than that of most enthusiast keyboards these days. 

The quick-release closure (aka. ball-catch mechanism), is an interesting design, and despite featuring the same internal foams as the Lemokey L1 HE, the P2 HE exhibits a much more muted sound profile, and it eliminates much of the top-out clatter that is common with HE switches. As we've discussed in previous keyboard reviews featuring Gateron's Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula switches, they are exceedingly smooth and stable, although they are prone to causing fatigue during longer typing sessions if you're used to lighter switches. 

Show any normal computer user a 65% keyboard, and many of them will ask silly questions like "where are the rest of the keys" in a mocking tone, even though 65% feels like a battleship compared to a 40% keyboard. That said, they do kind of have a point: while the 65% design is great for conserving desk space, the P2 HE is missing a function row and a proper navigation cluster, not to even speak of the num pad. But this is where Keychron Launcher and the open-source QMK-based firmware come in handy. 

Keychron Launcher offers a wealth of customisation options, including key remapping, that allow you to put those "missing" keys on a secondary layer that can be accessed by simply holding the Fn key (or via any one of the other layer key functions that are available). Likewise, you can configure macros, mod tap, and a wealth of RGB customisation options. Even the knob can perform functions like scrolling through web pages or executing a macro every time you rotate it past a notch. While Lemokey's stock shortcut and Fn key combinations and functions are sensible, having the option to tweak them via a simple web interface opens up possibilities to make the keyboard much more useful. 

You can also customise the full suite of classic Hall-effect features, actuation point, rapid trigger, SOCD, mod tap, DKS, and controller emulation, in Lemokey or Keychron Launcher. 

While the Lemokey P2 HE is small and unassuming, it delivers an impressive all-round package, thanks to in-depth customisation options, a well-thought-out case design that results in a surprisingly decent typing sound, and a wealth of features for both gamers and productivity users. Unless you're looking for a num pad, the P2 HE is an easy recommendation.