C1 TKL Wired Keyboard

I bought this keyboard on sale for $48 and that feels like a steal to me, even if it wasn't on sale I'd have zero issue paying full price for this keyboard. I really like how it looks with the backlight on and it just looks great and clean overall. It comes with a handful of extra keycaps, mostly to replace some of the Mac specific keys but I appreciated the black escape keycap to replace the orange one. More importantly to me it feels great to use and type on. I have the brown switch version though I don't really have much to compare that to but I do know that I like it. I tried a different brand's mechanical keyboard prior to purchasing this one and even though it was cheaper the quality difference was night and day, the C1 is SO much better. If anything I would consider getting the RGB version of this keyboard but white was definitely the safe choice and still looks great, especially if you aren't interested in RGB. The cable that it comes with is pretty solid in length and also comes with a USB-A adapter so if you don't have a USB-C port then you're still covered. I've only had the keyboard for a handful of days though, so I can't speak on what the longevity of it will be. I would 100% consider buying more Keychron keyboards in the future.

I love this keyboard, it works great. I love the look with the mix of black and white. It's been the nicest keyboard I've used, I am sure there is better, but this one still works after a few years. I actually enjoy typing on it. I added some o-rings to the keycaps to not annoy my neighbors, but it makes it feed better to type on. I also do the packaging foam mod in the bottom part. Not just for mac, it included the windows key. Would buy another from keychron after this dies, if it dies.

Use this with mac and it works great for me. I love the keys

The backlight is great, the key's feel excellent, and the tkl size felt really good when coming down from a full sized keyboard with a numpad. Being a plastic housing, it feel's solid, and is really comfortable to type on. My complaint that keeps this from being a five star review is the 3 pre-mapped keys in the top right corner. The keys control the keyboards backlight (different modes), voice assistant (like cortana or siri), and the third looks to be a snipping tool, but does nothing on windows. It's easy to press these keys on accident if you're not paying attention, and having to recycle through 12 lighting presets so I can get back to solid white is annoying. I wished that the backlight button was on the back of the keyboard, next to the switch to change between windows and mac, just to prevent accidental touches. Then, let the 3 keys be programmable macros by the user. It's a nice feature to have, and they basically serve that way anyway, but are pre-programmed. Again, while only a 4 star review, I completely recommend this keyboard for the price. It's good for gaming, comes with a nice braided usb-c cable, and an awesome keycap puller (also different key colors for a few, I changed the orange esc to a black one).

I got the one with Red switches, and it's absolutely amazing. First of all, this thing is white backlight, and for my taste that's the best. I am not into RGB or colored LED. The build is very nice, and they include all the keycaps for Windows and Mac compatibility. For my taste I like Tenkeyless because it's not too big but also not too small; at the same time I get all the F keys and pg up down home end which are convenient for my work. No numpad is fine by me since I have a separate numpad already which I rarely use anyways. But if you need that, might wanna look into the C2 instead. Now I feel like what matters most of this keyboard is the feel. I've had several cheap mechanical keyboards 20 to 40 bucks range and they are trash. This keyboard is of course better because it's twice the price right? Yes, it is. But to me it's super well worth the money, and I would say it's 4-5 times better than the random cheap ones in term of build, clean look, feel, and sound. For a couple dozen bucks more, I don't have to try modding anything in order to have a good typing feel or sound. There is also very little echo or reverb from the spring sound inside the casing; I cannot notice any in a quiet room. This C1 feels super thocky. There is no rattle; all keys are very stable. The spacebar is smooth, stable, sounding just like any other key (maybe a bit deeper due to the size, but not cracking loud). If somebody were looking for a "budget" mechanical keyboard, I would say this is it. Do not bother with the cheaper random brands for your first mechanical keyboard; huge waste of time. This Keychron C1 is the one. I am glad I gave this a try. Please keep it up Keychron.

[review written by user's husband] The plastic case is tight and stiff, and the keys have no audible rattle. The brown key switches have a silent and barely-perceptible bump right about halfway down the keypress, as browns do. The keys have a noticeable clack when the key bottoms out (but see my mod comments below). I wouldn't say that the C1 is loud, but it does make noise and I'm sure it would irritate my co-workers in the office. It has white backlighting that I like (this model doesn't do RGB, but that's one of the reasons I chose it), and it can also flash the lights in a bunch of funky patterns that a 10-year-old might like. It came with a braided USB-C cable and a USB-C to "normal" USB adapter. It works great on my Mac Mini at home and my iMac at work. The keyboard has a switch on the back to switch between Windows or Mac. I added a single 40A silicone O-ring to each key that silenced the key clack. I also cut and fit a thin sheet of memory foam in the case under the PCB (got it from a keyboard modder friend -- not sure how you'd order some for yourself). Now the keyboard is very quiet (not as quiet as my Logitech K120 rubber domed keyboard), and the keys have a light pop on the key return (not on the downpress, which is the quiet part of the keystroke). It really sounds good. Check youtube. Plenty of people mod this keyboard to their liking. I use the keyboard for about 90/10 programming and gaming, and now it's quiet enough that I use it at work. I considered buying the Anne Pro that my programmer friend has (love that form factor) but he regrets the lack of arrow keys on the Anne (the Shift/Ctl/Fn/whatever keys in the lower right double as arrow keys, but convenience suffers, as you might imagine). And it turns out you can't put normal O-rings on the Anne because of its Kailh box switches. With the minimal mods I did, I don't know how I could do better than the C1.

I have 3 mechanical keyboards in the $70 and under price range. My favorite is the Velocifire TKL02WS. It has a layout that is very similar to the C1, but feels just a little nicer / premium to type on. It's not a Mac layout, however, and has fixed white key lighting (fine by me). The C1 has a few different lighting options, but the only practical one, IMO, is the fixed white option (none of the others are subtle enough not to seem gimicky). Compared to the Keychron K2 the C1 is definitely my preferred one. The keys on the K2 are just jammed together without even subtle spacing to differentiation function keys from numeric keys. Typing on the K2 is error prone, although it does have nicer RGB lighting options and rounded keys that seem a bit higher end / retro authentic. If you need a reasonably priced mechanical keyboard for a Mac, the Keychron C1 is a good option. If you're on Linux or Windows, Velocifire would be my preferred choice. I'll never by the cramped keyboard format of the K2 again.

Was a great keyboard. Used it for light design work (and i do mean light. Never smashed buttons) . Recently the “x” button stopped working for no apparent reason. Given the price range and how long it lasted I’m giving this 3 stars. It’s a solid keyboard. But i guess the lifespan isn’t too long. I may purchase again if i need something to last a little over a year . I’ll explore the wireless models next .