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Key Takeaways
- The Keychron Q6 Pro is a well-designed and durable mechanical keyboard that provides a satisfying typing experience.
- It offers customization options such as programmable macro keys and RGB backlighting effects.
- While it may be a bit expensive, it is worth the investment for those looking for a full-sized mechanical keyboard with excellent performance and versatility.
Keychron has a winner with its new Q6 Pro keyboard. From its sturdy, full-metal design to its incredibly satisfying K Pro Banana switches and proprietary keycaps, it was an absolute joy to type on over these past few weeks.
Whether you work from home and your job requires a lot of typing, you play games casually with friends, or you need a quality keyboard to get homework done, a mechanical keyboard is a great investment. With the Keychron Q6 Pro specifically, I found that I typed faster than I do on both my laptop’s keyboard and my go-to wireless mechanical keyboard.
At $210 fully-assembled, the Q6 Pro is a bit pricey. However, this is the first full-sized option in the Q Pro line, so you're getting a 100% layout in addition to the Q Pro line's traditionally gorgeous design and sturdy build. It’s hot-swappable, so you can swap out or upgrade your switches or keycaps at any point, and it has programmable macro keys and fun RGB backlighting effects to play around with and customize.
That said, it’s not a perfect mechanical keyboard. For me, the two cons of this keyboard—lack of desktop software and a USB-RF connection—barely even distracted from all the pros, but they could be deal breakers for some people. In a perfect world, we’ll see the Q7 Pro address these two cons and win a perfect score from us.
Keychron Q6 Pro
The Keychron Q6 Pro boasts a 100% layout that's extremely satisfying to type on and offers multiple connectivity and customization options.
- Form factor
- Full-size (100%)
- Switch options
- K Pro Red, K Pro Brown, K Pro Banana
- Backlight
- South-facing RGB LED
- Construction
- Full CNC machined aluminum
- Keycaps
- KSA double-shot PBT keycaps, not shine-through
- Supported operating systems
- macOS, Windows, Linux
- Hot-swappable
- Yes
- Battery capacity
- 4000 mAh Rechargeable li-polymer battery
- Connectivity
- Bluetooth 5.1, Type-C wired
- Typing angle
- 5.2 degrees
- Software customizability
- VIA
- Weight
- 2160 ± 10 g (Fully Assembled version)
- Price
- $210
- Number of Keys
- 108
- Num Pad
- Yes
- Battery life
- Up to 300 hours with RGB off, up to 100 hours with RGB on low brightness
Price and Availability
If you like the look of the keyboard reviewed here, it’s the Fully Assembled Knob version in Shell White with K Pro Banana switches for $210. Other Fully Assembled Knob versions also cost $210, whether you go with a different color (Carbon Black or Silver Gray) or different switches (K Pro Red or K Pro Brown).
Because the Q6 Pro is currently a hot ticket item, it’s often sold out of its Fully Assembled Knob units. But if you feel comfortable building the keyboard from scratch, you can buy the Barebone Knob version for $190, and then select your preferred switches and keycaps.
You can also purchase the Q6 Pro from Amazon as a Fully Assembled Knob version in the Carbon Black color with K Pro Banana switches.
Design: This Keyboard Is Incredibly Sturdy
The first thing I noticed about the Q6 Pro keyboard was how heavy it was. It boasts a full-metal body made with CNC-machined aluminum, so it’s no surprise this keyboard weighs almost five pounds. With its sturdy build and grippy rubber feet, the Q6 Pro won’t budge on your desk while playing games or typing during your work day.
I appreciated the full-size layout of the Q6 Pro, decked out with the 10-key number pad to the right as well as programmable macro buttons above it. The four programmable buttons have PlayStation symbols on them, but you can certainly customize these buttons to carry out non-gaming actions. The 10-key pad built into full-size keyboards is an underrated element, and I loved using it for budgeting, inputting long numbers, or calculating anything.
When you first turn the keyboard on, a continuous wave of rainbow backlighting flows from the top to the bottom of the keyboard. Using QMK/VIA software, you can alter the RGB backlight color, brightness, and effect, but more on this later.
Keychron describes the Q6 Pro as a “metal piece of art,” and I completely agree. My review unit is in the Shell White color with mainly white and gray keycaps, with only two red keycaps—one on the Escape key and one on the Enter key. I loved this sleek, clean white design, but I’m equally captivated by the Carbon Black and Silver Gray color schemes.
Typing: The Best Experience
I’ve only tested a few keyboards in my lifetime, but my experience with the Keychron Q6 Pro has been incredibly satisfying. Typing on this keyboard has felt intuitive and comfortable, and I think I’ve fallen in love with the K Pro Banana switches.
The K Pro Banana switches are factory pre-lubed with an early tactile bump. That early tactile bump is my favorite aspect of these switches because you get the satisfying, clicky feedback at the beginning of the key press rather than in the middle or at the end, giving you a smoother overall key press. Keychron describes the sound level for these switches as "gentle," falling somewhere in between quiet and clicky K Pro switches.
Although there is definitely an audible click with every key press, it’s lessened by the addition of sound-absorbing foam beneath the keyboard’s plate. The Q6 Pro also features Keychron’s unique spherical-angle (KSA profile) keycaps that fit my fingertips perfectly. The combination of these curved keycaps, the K Pro Banana switches, and the pleasant, not-overly-clacky typing noise made for a beautiful typing experience.
No matter how great a keyboard feels, you can’t really tell how comfortable and intuitive it is to type on unless you compare your typing speed to your traditional keyboard. I swapped between my laptop keyboard and my Logitech MX Mechanical Mini, so I performed three typing tests on both of these keyboards and the Q6 Pro. I used TypingTest.com to perform a one-minute typing test at medium difficulty.
Because I’ve been typing on my laptop and the Logitech keyboard for much longer, I expected the results to be pretty even, but the Q6 Pro exceeded my expectations. The Logitech keyboard has all its keys squished together, so I kept making typos and averaged 91 words per minute (wpm). My laptop keyboard is a bit more spaced out and comfortable, and my average was slightly higher at 93 wpm.
Keychron’s Q6 Pro proved to be as comfortable as I thought it was, resulting in an average typing speed of 99 wpm. Granted, I can’t say whether this is due to the K Pro Banana switches, the keyboard’s frame and overall design, or the comfy curved keycaps. Most likely, it’s a combination of all three elements.
Customization: It’s Easy to Personalize
RGB backlighting on a keyboard is loved by some, and hated by others. Personally, I like it as long as I can customize it and the keyboard offers a wired connectivity option (which the Q6 Pro does).
You can use VIA software to customize your backlight settings, but it’s primarily used to remap your macro keys. Using the VIA software through your browser is pretty straightforward, but you need to download the JSON file from Keychron’s website right now because the VIA code is waiting on approval from Github. I wish there was desktop software, either from VIA or from Keychron, that’s more fleshed out and able to be used if your internet goes down.
I preferred using the keyboard shortcuts rather than the VIA software to customize the RGB backlighting. Fn + Q allows you to change the lighting effect, choosing from the beautiful rolling rainbow or a static effect. Or, you can turn the backlight off completely with Fn + Tab.
You can increase the backlight speed with Fn + T, or decrease it with Fn + G. Then, the backlight brightness can be increased with Fn + W and decreased with Fn + S. There’s no indication on the keys that they can carry out these functions, so you’ll either need to remember them or keep your Q6 Pro manual close by.
The Q6 Pro is also hot-swappable, so you can change out your switches whenever you feel like it. If you get the K Pro Banana switches, you might not ever want to swap up your switches, but it’s nice to know you could. Keychron says that almost all the 3-pin and 5-pin MX-style mechanical switches, like from Cherry, Gateron, or Panda, will fit with the Q6 Pro. You can switch up your keycaps whenever you feel like as well.
Connectivity: Lots of Options, But No USB-RF
You can connect to Keychron’s Q6 Pro keyboard via Bluetooth 5.1 or with the included USB-C to USB-C cable. There’s a USB-A to USB-C adapter if your computer doesn’t have a USB-C port. You can connect up to three separate devices via Bluetooth, and quickly toggle between them using the Fn key and your overhead 1, 2, and 3 number keys. There’s a switch on the back of the keyboard to switch between a cable connection, Bluetooth connection, and off.
For those who’d like a USB-RF wireless connection that’s speedier and more reliable than Bluetooth, you’re out of luck with the Q6 Pro. It wasn’t a huge deal for me, but it could be for some people. To me, as long as a keyboard has a wireless option (either Bluetooth or USB-RF) and a lengthy wire for speedy, low-latency gaming, I’m a happy camper.
The Q6 Pro keyboard is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. On the back of the keyboard, you’ll find a switch to toggle between Windows and macOS systems. This enables proper functions of your Windows and Alt keys for Windows users and your Command and Option keys for macOS users.
Should You Buy the Keychron Q6 Pro?
If you’re in the market for a full-size mechanical keyboard that’s durable, comfortable to type on, and super customizable, you should buy the Keychron Q6 Pro. There are more things to love about this keyboard than there are nitpicky disadvantages.
It’s hot-swappable—the pinnacle of mechanical keyboard customization—so you can try out new switches whenever you’re ready for something different rather than buy a whole new frame. You can personalize your macro keys with VIA software and switch up the RGB backlighting with multiple presets and various levels of brightness and speed. The web-based VIA software isn’t my favorite, but having desktop customization software won’t be a deal breaker for most people.
RGB backlighting isn’t for everyone, but you can turn the backlight completely off and still use the Q6 Pro as an awesome keyboard. It’s difficult to find mechanical keyboards without backlighting, and compared to other mechanical keyboards without RGB backlighting, the Keychron Q6 Pro isn’t priced higher.
The only reason you shouldn’t buy the Keychron Q6 Pro is if you’re looking for built-in USB-RF support. Personally, I think the combination of Bluetooth 5.1 and a USB-C to USB-C cable connection is plenty, but for wireless gaming options, USB-RF is more reliable than Bluetooth.
Keychron Q6 Pro
The Keychron Q6 Pro boasts a 100% layout that's extremely satisfying to type on and offers multiple connectivity and customization options.