Wooting's next-gen Hall-effect gaming keyboard might feature a massive twist on the 65% form factor

Wooting is known for popularising Hall-effect as a technology, most recently releasing the Wooting 80HE, which we praised highly during our tests last year. However, it seems as though Wooting is actively working on its next gaming keyboard design, and it is already teasing the design for its fans.

In a recent YouTube short, Wooting itself pointed out — as a meme — that an unreleased Wooting keyboard "accidentally" showed up in a video with the company's CEO, Calder Limmen. The keyboard momentarily shows up behind Limmen, and it's partially obscured from view, but there are some hints about what to expect from the new board. 

For starters, it's evident that the new keyboard doesn't have a function row, so it will likely be something like a 60% or 65%, unless it's something entirely wacky, like an F-row-less TKL or F-row-less 1800 layout. But, what's more interesting than the layout is what's happening on the bottom row. Instead of a traditional long space bar, the keyboard in the video has a split space bar, specifically three keys replacing a single long space bar.

In case you were unaware, split space bars are common on both smaller keyboards, like 40% layouts, and Alice boards, like the Keychron Q13 Max we recently reviewed. Split space bar layouts can offer a significant boost to productivity and ergonomics, since you can assign common modifiers to one of the space keys for use as a thumb key. 

At one point during the video, some keys are highlighted in red on the keyboard. It's not entirely clear, but the highlighted keys seem to be F, R, and 4, which could be a reference to FR4, which is a common plate material found in premium mechanical keyboards and can offer a pleasant "poppy" typing sound. 
 

Wooting is known for teasing its next releases ahead of time and engaging and often "meming" along with the community, and this seems like yet another one of those moments. Of course, this could also be Wooting making a bit of a joke at the community's expense or throwing sleuths off the trail. 

Check out the Keychron K4 HE, a 96% Hall-effect gaming keyboard we recently reviewed, on Amazon for $144.99.