The feel of a mechanical keyboard, the lightness of a membrane keyboard - an in-depth review of the CORSAIR K100 AIR full of "black technology"

I don’t know when everyone started to get in touch with mechanical keyboards. As a digital product enthusiast, I bought an early adopter when the mechanical keyboard was first launched. The completely different outstanding feel of the keyboard has made me want to stop, and I have since embarked on the "point of no return" of mechanical keyboards.  。

Compared with the membrane keyboard, the conventional mechanical keyboard has huge advantages not only in the feel, but also in the full key no impact, trigger speed, etc., but at the same time, it also has a disadvantage, that is, due to the shaft design and other reasons, the keyboard The size and weight of the mechanical keyboard are too high to be as thin and light as the membrane keyboard, which makes the portability of the mechanical keyboard not very outstanding, and the usage scenarios are relatively limited.

There was no suitable product to solve this problem before, but recently the famous peripheral brand CORSAIR has launched a mechanical keyboard with a new CHERRY MX Ultra Low Profile ultra-short shaft body - K100 AIR, which meets the requirements in one fell swoop. It is a unique high-tech mechanical keyboard for users who want it to be thin, portable, and feel good. So what are the characteristics of this keyboard, what are the applicable scenarios, and how do you feel about using it? Please follow the footsteps of my evaluation to find out~ 

▼The usual simple opening of the box, the outer packaging of K100 AIR continues the unique design style of CORSAIR, with the color printing of the product appearance and product model information on the front.

▼The biggest feature of this product is also introduced in detail. A brief summary is "ultra-thin (appearance design), ultra-fast (wireless connection), super-multiple (multi-device compatible)" , can be said to be a very versatile mechanical keyboard.

▼Keyboard accessories mainly include an independent USB-A TO C braided data cable and documentation.

▼The wireless receiver of the keyboard is stored in the groove of the fuselage. I think this design is super practical, and I don’t have to worry about losing the receiver anymore.  。

▼The receiver that can be stowed randomly and the design of separating the keys and wires also make this keyboard more portable, which will be very convenient for daily use.

▼K100 AIR adopts a 108 full-size array, with a numeric keypad that also makes the keyboard more versatile.

▼As a member of Corsair’s flagship K100 series, K100 AIR is naturally unambiguous in terms of workmanship and materials  , the front is completely covered by aluminum panels, and the brushed metal process looks excellent in texture , It also makes the product have a full sense of luxury.

▼Even the back of the keyboard, which is usually invisible, has exquisite offset printing, and the extra long non-slip rubber strip on the bottom edge can ensure that the keyboard remains stable when typing.

▼The keyboard is also equipped with two-stage foot supports, and the inclination angle can be switched in any of the three gears. It will be more comfortable when typing, and it can also meet the usage habits of different users.

▼The media control keys are still on the upper right of the keyboard, and the aluminum scroll wheel with the pirate ship logo is also equipped, which can easily adjust the volume or realize other functions through software settings.

▼The upper left corner of the keyboard also has a configuration switch key, a light brightness adjustment key, and a Windows lock key.

▼Of course, the digital display screen in the center of the keyboard is also indispensable. The iconic brand LOGO is very eye-catching and will change color with the lighting effect of the keyboard. On both sides of the LOGO, the keyboard connection method, power, number/capital/scroll lock, etc. The information is clear at a glance.

▼As I introduced before, since the K100 AIR adopts a brand-new shaft body, this product has also reached an unprecedented thinness among mechanical keyboards. I actually measured it, and the thinnest part of the keyboard is only about 1cm. The thick part is only about 1.7cm, which is even thinner than the average membrane keyboard.

▼You may not be able to intuitively feel the data, but if you compare it with a conventional mechanical keyboard, the advantages are very obvious. From the figure below, you can see that the thickness of the K100 AIR is almost only 1 of the ordinary shaft mechanical keyboard. /3 or so.

▼ Even compared with the relatively thin low-axis mechanical keyboard, the overall height of the K100 AIR is much lower when the height of the base is close, only 1/2 of the low-axis keyboard. As a mechanical keyboard, It's really extremely thin 。

▼The weight of the keyboard also has certain advantages. Compared with the conventional mechanical keyboard with the same 100% arrangement, even though the K100 AIR uses a thickened aluminum panel, the weight is only 750g, while the ordinary keyboard reaches 970g.

In March 2021, after more than 3 years of research and development, CHERRY launched an ultra-thin mechanical switch - MX Ultra Low Profile. This switch body uses a metal frame similar to the "butterfly switch" structure, unique design In one fell swoop, the mechanical axis has been reduced to an unprecedented size  . It should be known that the total height of the conventional switch body is about 18.5mm, and the height of the short switch is also about 11.9mm, while the height of the MX Ultra Low Profile is only 3.5mm, which greatly expands the use scenarios of mechanical keyboards. On devices such as laptops, it is also possible to create ultra-thin mechanical keyboards like Corsair K100 AIR.

▼Same as the conventional shaft body, CHERRY MX Ultra Low Profile also has a spring structure, but the difference is that the conventional shaft body mainly relies on the tension of the spring to rebound, while the This shaft body is a tension spring added between the two side wings, combined with the exquisite shaft body structure, the original vertical shaft body is converted into a horizontal structure, which is where the "black technology" of the shaft body lies. . In addition, it is worth mentioning that the main force-bearing parts of this shaft are all made of stainless steel, and they are produced and assembled in Germany, so there is no need to worry about the durability of the shaft.

▼The triggering of the shaft mainly depends on the two shrapnels at the bottom. When the button is pressed, the upper shrapnel will move down and touch the lower shrapnel, so that not only the hand feel is similar to that of a conventional mechanical shaft, but it will have a certain sense of paragraph. There will also be a clicking sound when typing, and the characteristics of the mechanical keyboard are very distinctive.

▼So although the shaft body of the K100 AIR is very thin when viewed from the side, it seems to be closer to the chocolate film keyboard we usually see, but the input feel is quite different 。

▼From the parameters, the trigger pressure of this shaft body is 65G, the total key travel is 1.8mm, and the trigger key travel is 0.8mm. The green axis is relatively close, but it will be harder when it touches the bottom. The sense of confirmation is obvious, and the sound is much quieter. The stability of the axis body is also much higher than that of the cross axis. There is no shaking at all. All in all, it is a very unique feeling. Brand new shaft  , here I also recorded a section of the effect of input in a quiet environment, interested friends can experience it in combination with my description.

▼The shaft body is special, and the keycaps are naturally completely different. The Corsair K100 AIR uses a non-removable chocolate-style ultra-thin keycap. It is made of skin-like material, has moderate friction, is not easy to oil, and is relatively easy to clean. The overall input experience is still very comfortable.

▼As a product positioned to provide an outstanding input experience in any scene, the Corsair K100 AIR also has rich connection methods, with built-in wired, 2.4G, and Bluetooth three-mode, which can connect up to 5 devices, and PC, MAC, Mobile devices, game consoles, etc. can all be input through the K100 AIR, which basically achieves full platform adaptation.

▼On the top of the small keyboard area, K100 AIR also designed four wireless switching buttons G1~G4, which can be quickly switched between different products through FN+ corresponding buttons, and one keyboard can meet the needs of multiple devices.

▼Different from the general three-mode keyboard, K100 AIR, as the flagship product, is also equipped with a number of Corsair’s exclusive patents in the connection. It supports AXON super-speed processing technology in the wired connection. Through this technology, the polling rate of the keyboard can be improved. To 8000Hz, the response time is as low as 0.125 milliseconds, which is eight times that of conventional keyboards.

▼Ultra-high polling rate and ultra-short key travel of 0.8mm give K100 AIR an extremely fast response speed. Such technical parameters can fully meet the needs of professional e-sports players. For ordinary gamers, the operation It is more handy and can naturally improve the level of competition, which is very suitable for use when playing games.

▼Friends who work in a complex environment (such as an office with a lot of equipment) must know that when there are too many interference factors around, the wireless keyboard connected by 2.4G will often disconnect and freeze  , and Corsair's SLIPSTREAM wireless fast connection function can just solve this pain point  , the IFS intelligent frequency shifting technology can ensure that the signal is always in the best channel, and it still has the lowest delay of 1ms under the wireless connection, which has the advantages of high-speed transmission and wireless use, and the input sound is small, so it is placed in the company There is no problem at all in daily office use.

▼The Bluetooth function makes the keyboard more compatible. We can use the K100 AIR to connect to a laptop anytime, anywhere to improve the input feel, or connect to a tablet or mobile phone to achieve mobile office. You can switch among the three Bluetooth devices at will. Users do not need to reconnect repeatedly, which will be more convenient and worry-free during use.

▼Even though it is so thin and light, the battery life of the keyboard is still remarkable. After the built-in large-capacity battery is fully charged, it can be used continuously for about 50 hours when the light is turned on, and it can reach an exaggerated 200 hours if the light is turned off. Hours, one charge, long battery life, TYPE-C universal interface does not have to worry about running out of power during use, the overall design is very thoughtful.

▼In addition, friends who often use mechanical keyboards must know that because of the high keyboard, it will be very tiring to type without a wrist rest, but the ultra-thin K100 AIR does not have this problem at all, and it is natural to put the wrist flat on the table when typing And comfort is also the advantage over conventional keyboards.

Despite the ultra-thin design, Corsair’s amazing lighting effects are still equipped on the K100 AIR. Although the overall performance is worse than that of the K100 RGB due to the narrow gap between the keycap and the switch body, the lighting effects The functions are exactly the same, through the official iCUE software, you can freely switch among the preset lighting effects, such as raindrops, rainbow gradients, rainbow spirals, triggers, etc.  。

▼In terms of personalization of lighting, Corsair also has the most extreme functions among similar products, which can be customized in the software arbitrarily, and the lighting effect can be accurate to each key. Each setting can be superimposed, some layers similar to PS, and finally form a highly personalized lighting effect. For example, in the picture below, I set the global keys to "trigger" light effect, QWERDF to "water light ten colors", numbers 1~6 and arrow keys to "color change", and keypad to "down Rain" light effect.

▼In this way, completely different lighting effects are displayed in different areas of the keyboard. Everyone has different lighting preferences. Through this setting, a unique keyboard can be created, which also satisfies the needs of modern users. needs in terms of customization and playability.

▼Of course, the power of iCUE software is far more than that. Through the software, a series of functions such as remapping of all keys and macro programming can be realized. The built-in presets can quickly start programs, process text content, Control media playback, and when playing games, you can also lock the "Win" key and disable all other keys that may cause the game to pop up. The rich functions of the software also make users more handy when using in multiple scenarios.

▼And all our keyboard settings such as custom macros, dynamic RGB lighting effects, etc. can be saved in the built-in onboard memory of the keyboard. In wireless mode, up to 50 sets of configuration files can be saved without pre-installing iCUE software on the device. The configuration of the keyboard can be adjusted at any time through the mode switch button to meet different usage needs.

After more than ten days of in-depth experience, I will finally make a summary. The product of CORSAIR K100 AIR continues the high-quality level of the flagship positioning of this series, especially the CHERRY MX Ultra Low Profile ultra-short shaft body makes me use it like this Old users who have been using mechanical keyboards for many years still have a refreshing feeling. The brand-new and exquisite design, the shaft body material mainly made of stainless steel, and the German production process make this shaft body still stable with a thickness of only 3.5mm. It has an incomparably superior input experience, creating the thinnest and lightest mechanical keyboard currently on the market.

Coupled with the blessing of multiple patented technologies such as CORSAIR AXON super-speed processing technology and SLIPSTREAM wireless fast connection, it also greatly enriches the usage scenarios of this keyboard, whether it is playing games, text input or daily office, etc. If you want to buy a thin, comfortable, and all-round mechanical keyboard, K100 AIR is the best choice for current users. You can get another 50 yuan Jingdong E card if you post the order before October 12. For new products, the discount is still great , friends who intend to buy don't miss it 。

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