Tag Archives: Keychron

Keychron’s Nape Pro turns your mechanical keyboard into a laptop‑style trackball rig: Hands-on at CES 2026

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Most desktop setups still assume your mouse lives somewhere off to the right, waiting for you to break posture and reach across half the desk. Keychron’s new Nape Pro asks a different question: what if the pointing device simply came to meet your hands instead? Built as a slim bar with a 25 mm thumb trackball, six buttons, and a scroll wheel, it nestles right up against your favorite keyboard and behaves like a precision laptop pointing system for people who refuse to give up their mechanical boards.

Slide it to the side of the keyboard and the personality changes completely. Nape Pro turns into a compact, wireless trackball with full macro pad ambitions, complete with layers, shortcuts, and ZMK powered customization. It is less a mouse replacement and more a modular control surface that just happens to move your cursor, wherever you decide to park it.

Designers: Keychron & Gizmodo Japan

Seeing it here at the Keychron booth, tucked under a Q1 Pro, the immediate impression is how little space it occupies. The whole unit is only 135.2 mm long and 34.7 mm wide, so it fits neatly within the footprint of a standard tenkeyless board without feeling like an afterthought. They are using quiet Huano micro switches for the six buttons, which makes sense for a device meant to live right under your palms where an accidental loud click would be infuriating. The 25 mm ball is smaller than what you would find on a Kensington Expert, but it feels responsive enough for quick navigation. It is clearly designed for thumb operation, keeping your fingers on the home row and eliminating that constant, inefficient travel between keyboard and mouse.

The real cleverness, though, is not in the hardware itself but in the chameleon-like software and orientation system. They call it OctaShift, which basically means the device knows how it is positioned and can remap its functions accordingly. The two buttons at the very ends, M1 and M2, are the easiest to hit in any orientation, so they naturally become your primary clicks whether the Nape Pro is horizontal, vertical, or angled. This flexibility is what separates it from a simple add-on. It is a tool that adapts to your workflow, whether you are a writer who wants to scroll with a thumb or a video editor who needs a dedicated shuttle wheel and macro pad next to their main mouse.

Under the hood, it is running on a Realtek chip with a 1 kHz polling rate and a PixArt PAW3222 sensor, so the performance is on par with a decent wireless gaming mouse. Connectivity is handled via Bluetooth, a 2.4 GHz dongle, or a simple USB-C cable. What really caught my attention was the commitment to the enthusiast community. The firmware is ZMK, a popular open-source platform in the custom keyboard world, and Keychron plans to release the 3D files for the case. This is not a closed ecosystem. It is an invitation for users to tinker, to print their own angled stands, custom button caps, or even entirely new shells.

This open approach feels like the whole point. The Nape Pro is not just for people who want a trackball; it is for people who build their own keyboards, flash their own firmware, and spend hours fine-tuning their desk setup for optimal efficiency. It bridges the gap between high-end custom keyboards and generic pointing devices. It acknowledges that for a certain type of user, the mouse is the last un-programmable, inflexible part of their workflow. By making a pointing device that is as customizable and community-focused as the keyboards it is designed to sit next to, Keychron has built something genuinely new.

The post Keychron’s Nape Pro turns your mechanical keyboard into a laptop‑style trackball rig: Hands-on at CES 2026 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Keychron B1 Pro: Ultra-Thin Wireless Keyboard for Minimalists on the Go

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It may not have the mechanical joy that the Lofree EDGE offered as the world’s slimmest mechanical keyboard, but the Keychron B1 Pro does offer an incredibly slim design that’s portable enough to slide right into your backpack. Boasting a minimal aesthetic bundled within a portable design, the B1 Pro is an ultra-slim wireless keyboard that comes with a whopping 1200 battery life and a rather commendable $39.99 price tag.

Designer: Keychron

The B1 Pro deviates from Keychron’s usual mechanical keyboards by opting for scissor-switch keys, similar to those found on laptops. This design keeps the profile incredibly thin, measuring just 5.2mm at the front and reaching a maximum height of 14.5mm. It’s incredibly lightweight too, at only 425g, making it a perfect companion for tossing in your bag and working from anywhere.

Despite its slim profile, the B1 Pro doesn’t compromise on performance. With a 1000Hz polling rate on the 2.4GHz wireless connection, you can expect smooth and responsive typing. It also offers Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, allowing you to seamlessly pair it with multiple devices. This is also accompanied by a battery life of a staggering 1200 hours on a single charge. Translated to real-world use, that translates to roughly 8 months of typing for 5 hours a day – a near elimination of charging woes.

The keyboard has a Mac layout while remaining functional with Windows and Linux. It even features the same multimedia and function key functions as Apple keyboards, providing a familiar experience for Mac users with the added benefit of a more comfortable typing experience thanks to the scissor-switch keys. For added comfort during extended typing sessions, the B1 Pro features a 3.2-degree tilt angle and concave keycaps designed to improve accuracy. It even comes with a dedicated emoji shortcut key and a protective silicone keycap cover for increased durability.

The B1 Pro supports ZMK firmware, allowing users to program keys, macros, and shortcuts directly through a web interface. This eliminates the need for complex software installations and provides a user-friendly way to tailor the keyboard to your specific needs.

At an affordable price point of $39.99, the Keychron B1 Pro offers a compelling combination of portability, functionality, and battery life. Whether you’re a minimalist on the go, a student juggling classes, or someone who simply prefers a low-profile keyboard, the B1 Pro is definitely worth considering.

The post Keychron B1 Pro: Ultra-Thin Wireless Keyboard for Minimalists on the Go first appeared on Yanko Design.

Keychron’s Redesigned NumPad Doubles Your Productivity With Additional Gaming and Macro Keys

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For designers and data enthusiasts, the number pad is a productivity powerhouse. It streamlines repetitive tasks, frees up valuable desk space, and keeps your workflow flowing. But what if your number pad could be more than just a utilitarian tool? Enter the Keychron Q0 Max, a fully customizable number pad that blends cutting-edge features with a familiar design. It might outwardly look like a numpad, but it’s a meticulously designed tool built to streamline workflows for both casual users and productivity powerhouses. Designed for content creators, programmers, or simply anyone who values efficiency, the Keychron Q0 Max wireless keypad offers a compelling combination of features and customization. Its compact size makes it a perfect space-saving solution for desks of all sizes, while its powerful functionality caters to users who demand more from their peripherals. With its attractive price tag and feature-rich design, the Q0 Max is a strong contender for the title of best productivity keypad in the market.

Designer: Keychron

The Q0 Max builds upon the success of its predecessor, the Q0 Plus, by offering a more versatile layout. It retains the familiar numeric keypad but adds five dedicated macro keys on the left-hand side and a convenient rotary knob. These additional controls unlock a treasure trove of customization possibilities. Imagine assigning complex macros to single keypresses, streamlining repetitive tasks, playing games, or using the knob for media control or application switching. The Q0 Max empowers you to tailor your workflow for maximum efficiency.

Hot-swappable switches allow you to personalize the typing experience to your exact preferences. Do you crave the satisfying tactility of the Jupiter Tea switches? Or perhaps the smooth glide of the Jupiter Red is more your style? Keychron offers a variety of options to suit every taste. Additionally, south-facing RGB lights enhance the visual appeal, bathing your workspace in a vibrant glow that complements your setup.

For users who crave even deeper control, the Q0 Max boasts compatibility with QMK/VIA software. You can remap any key and program those valuable macro keys to perform actions you use frequently. Imagine launching specific applications, inserting frequently used text snippets, or controlling multimedia playback – all with a single tap. Keychron has also made significant upgrades to the Q0 Max’s core components. Pre-installed switches now hail from the Gateron Jupiter series, renowned for their impressive durability. With a staggering 80 million keypress lifespan, these switches can handle even the most demanding typing marathons.

The Q0 Max comes dressed in two sleek color options: classic carbon black and crisp shell white. This allows you to seamlessly integrate the keypad into your existing setup, ensuring it complements your aesthetic preferences. The barebone kit, ideal for enthusiasts who already have their preferred switches and keycaps, starts at a budget-friendly $109. For those who prefer a complete package, the finished version with pre-installed Gateron Jupiter switches and high-quality PBT keycaps comes in at $119.

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