Keychron Q1 HE QMK review: Premium features worth a premium price

Best Prices Today: Keychron Q1 HE QMK keyboard

Editor’s note: The Keychron Q1 HE is on sale for $192 at Amazon, a savings of $48 off its $240 MSRP.

I recently reviewed the Lemokey L1 HE, an excellent mechanical keyboard full of gamer-specific features. What if you’re not interested in gaming or are put off by the L1 HE’s garish, in-your-face aesthetic? Well, Lemokey’s parent company, Keychron, has another option in the form of the Keychron Q1 HE QMK, and it’s a superb device with quality touches everywhere you look.

Gone are the gaudy key legends and transparent caps, replaced by a far more refined look and feel that should complement your Apple gear nicely. Yet it loses almost none of the Lemokey’s high-end features and rock-solid build quality, and it even has a few perks of its own.

Take the Keychron Q1 HE out of its box and its heft is unmistakable. It weighed in at a beefy 1.74kg according to my scales–combined with the small rubber feet on the underside, that weight means it isn’t going to slip around on your desk any time soon.

The metal case is made from 6063 aluminum, and its quality stands up to inspection. There’s no bending or flexing anywhere, just a solid chunk of metal that should take its fair share of bumps and bruises without an issue.

There are two color options to choose from: Carbon Black (black case and white, black and red keycaps); and Shell White, (white case and white, black and green caps). I was sent a Carbon Black unit, and it looks beautiful in a simple, understated way.

The Q1 HE also looks absolutely gorgeous when its south-facing RGB lights are aglow. There are 24 customizable presets to choose from, most of them subtle, tasteful, and a far cry from the glaring “gamer” aesthetic. Set against the white keycaps and black chassis, the effect is quite lovely.

The only quibble I had with the lighting is that the Caps Lock indicator is extremely difficult to see. When pressed, it changes the key’s underside backlighting from RGB to white. Yet you can only really see this from directly above, thanks to the chunky keycaps surrounding the Caps Lock key, and you’re unlikely to be typing from a bird’s eye view. A clearer indicator would be an improvement. (Some apps display a Caps Lock icon when that button is active, so you could rely on that, but it’s not a system-wide display.)  

The Q1 HE offers a 75 percent layout, which features a compact design that chops off a few keys that you might not need (the numpad, the End key, and a few more). I personally prefer an 80 percent layout (also known as tenkeyless) and found myself reaching for an End key that was frustratingly absent. The compactness is also undercut somewhat by the keyboard’s weight, which makes it less portable than you might expect from a board of its size.

The keycaps are made from double-shot PBT plastic, which has a very lightly textured feel and is resistant to finger oils, so you shouldn’t see any smudges showing up (unlike what I noticed with some of the Lemokey L1 HE’s caps). The double-shot nature means that the key legends are made from separate pieces of plastic, so they will never wear off. Keychron uses a sloped OSA profile, which is comfortable in use.

In the top-right corner, you’ll find a knob that can be rolled and clicked in, and it’s set to adjust your computer’s volume by default. This can be changed using Keychron’s web app (to adjust RGB backlighting level, for example). It’s made of solid, textured metal and feels thoroughly well-made.

Around the back is a toggle to flip between Windows and macOS key layouts. This ensures keys are where you expect them to be–so that the key labeled Option actually works like an Option key, which it doesn’t in Windows mode. This switch is a great addition if you regularly use both macOS and Windows devices during the day. Keychron has included both macOS and Windows keycaps in the box, too, alongside a heap of extras, including a keycap and switch puller, a screwdriver and screws, an Allen key, and more.

Next to the macOS/Windows switch is another to move between Bluetooth 5.2, wired, and 2.4GHz modes (note that you get a 1,000Hz polling rate in wired and 2.4GHz modes, but only 90Hz with Bluetooth 5.2). This switch enables you to connect to multiple devices at once, if you like. The Bluetooth 5.2 connection itself can hook up to three different devices, and you move between them with a quick keyboard shortcut. It means there are plenty of connectivity options, should you need them.

What you don’t get, though, is height adjustment. The Keychron Q1 HE has four tiny rubber feet on its underside, but no way to raise it up or tweak its typing angle. I didn’t find it to be too much of an issue–the angle was comfortable enough for me–but that won’t work for everyone. Perhaps its weight makes it too heavy for flip-out feet, but there are other ways to add height adjustment to a keyboard.

At this price, a wrist rest would be a welcome inclusion, but there’s no such luck here. While it’s a minor point, it’s still slightly disappointing.

First-rate typing feel

Type on the Keychron Q1 HE and you’ll notice one thing right away: it’s incredibly quiet. Keychron has stuffed it with an acoustic pad and sound-absorbing foam, wrapped up in a gasket-mount design, all of which combine to make the keyboard whisper-quiet and supremely comfortable. Any sounds that do emerge are pleasing to the ear, with a soft, creamy feel that won’t disturb your coworkers.

Aside from the sound, the typing feel is incredibly important with any mechanical keyboard. I normally prefer tactile switches–which provide a small physical “bump” with each key press–to smooth linear switches. The unit I reviewed came with Gateron’s linear Nebula switches, though, yet they feel extremely comfortable in use. There’s enough weight behind each key press to prevent “bottoming out” (where you push too hard and the key hits the board’s chassis) and the resultant finger fatigue and aching. I could type at my usual quick pace, more or less without issue.

They’re not the lightest switches in the world, though, and unfortunately, they’re the only ones Keychron offers with the Q1 HE. Luckily, Keychron has made the switches hot-swappable, so you can swap them out with other switches that might suit you better, but they must be Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic switches sold on the Keychron website in order to be compatible.

Speaking of which, the HE in the Keychron Q1 HE’s name refers to its magnetic Hall effect switches. These actuate each key press using electromagnetic fields rather than a physical mechanism, which should help prolong their life in the long run. I didn’t have the Q1 HE long enough to be able to properly test that, but it’s a welcome feature to have regardless. The board also passed my n-key rollover test with flying colors.

The magnetic switches enable some neat additions in terms of customization. Using Keychron’s web app, you can adjust each key’s actuation point so that it requires more or less force to register a press; enable rapid trigger mode, which lets you repeatedly press keys without fully letting go of them; and more. There’s even a tool to program up to four actions with one keystroke.

Although the Q1 HE isn’t marketed as a gaming keyboard, it holds up pretty well during gameplay, with features like the aforementioned rapid trigger mode adding to its arsenal. You might prefer lighter switches that can be pressed more quickly if you play a lot of shooters, but it gives a good account of itself in casual games.

Compared to the Lemokey L1 HE, though, the Q1 HE is missing a few gamer-specific features. That includes Last Keystroke Prioritization and Snap Click, both of which manage what happens when two keys are pressed at once. You’ll also miss out on Analog Mode, which enables your keys to work like a controller’s joysticks and measure nuanced presses rather than simple on/off inputs. That means that while the Keychron Q1 HE stands up to a lot of gaming scrutiny, it’s not the decked-out tool that the pros might be looking for.

As for battery life, after 36 hours of usage, the Q1 HE went from 97 to 18 percent in Bluetooth 5.2 mode with the RGB backlighting at maximum brightness, a drop of 79 percent. It automatically turned the RGB lighting off at 20 percent, so you might be able to eke out that final fifth for longer than if the lighting is at full blast. Keychron told us the Q1 HE should last for anywhere between 35 and 50 hours with the backlighting, or up to 100 hours with the lighting off. The results I got seem roughly in line with that, although it is a wide ballpark figure that Keychron provided.

Should you buy the Keychron Q1 HE?

Its quiet, smooth typing feel and premium construction make the Keychron Q1 HE QMK an attractive option for both typists and gamers, while its extra features (its macOS/Windows toggle, hot-swappable switches, etc.) mean there’s plenty more under the hood. The top-tier build quality and Hall effect keys provide reassurance that it should stand the test of time, which makes its price tag more palatable.

Best Prices Today: Keychron Q1 HE QMK keyboard