The custom mechanical keyboard market is booming, thanks in part to ASMR TikTok videos of people typing. However, many of those mechanical boards are extremely expensive and highly modified, making them difficult to obtain for the average consumer. But Keychron has managed to keep up with the trend and create another fantastic mechanical keyboard with gasket, the Q2. This board drops the 75% form factor of the Q1 and is a 65 percent board instead. It’s also a bit more expensive than its predecessor, priced at $179 instead of $169.
Keychron Q2 Specifications:
| Switches | Gateron G Pro Brown |
| Relief | Not addressable |
| Storage on board | 5 profiles |
| media keys | Rotary knob or configurable |
| Connectivity | USB Type-C |
| Cable | 6 feet. braided |
| Additional ports | New |
| to test | Double shot PBT |
| Software | QMK, VIA |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 327.5 x 121 x 33.8mm |
| Weight | 3.6 pounds |
Design for the Keychron Q2
The Keychron Q2 is a 65 percent gasket-mounted mechanical keyboard that comes with an aluminum chassis, sound-damping foam, screw-in stabilizers, double-shot PBT keycaps, a rotary encoder, hot-swap PCB, adjustable RGB, Windows and Mac support and QMK /VIA software support.
This is Keychron’s second gasket mounted mechanical card, the first being the Q1. I was very impressed with the Q1 overall, and the issues I had with it (like noise and weight) were overshadowed by the great typing experience I had with the final product.
This time, Keychron uses a double gasket design, meaning the board has regular pads on the top and bottom of the link plate, as well as silicone pads on the back plate.
While Keychron never mentioned the material it used for the Q1’s gaskets, the Q2 has poron foam pads, which are more suitable for a gasket mounting plate. Poron foam is used on high quality gasket mounting plates like the KBD67 Lite R3 because it compresses and expands more easily, making it feel more resilient.
As mentioned, the Q2 has silicone pads between the top and back of the case, and while this doesn’t affect the typing feel, it certainly reduced the rattling noise from the aluminum switch plate.
When I heard that Keychron had double PBT keycaps with the Q2, I was really excited because this type of keycap is usually more durable than dye-sub and the print on the legends is usually clearer. But at least for my fingers, the Q2’s keys are terrible. They are thick enough, but calling this double shot PBT would embarrass Keychron because they are so bad.
However, the problem is with unexpected shine and a lot of flex. When I turn on RGB on the Q2, I can clearly see the light shining through the escape key, which actually makes me laugh as I write this as these aren’t supposed to be transparent keycaps. It’s strange, because the keycaps aren’t flimsy, but the half-baked double-shot process makes the keycaps look unfinished. Fortunately, there was no warping. But the space bar is extremely flexible; there are no grid markers under the spacebar keycap to provide structure.
At the top right of the board is a notched dial, which makes me happy because I love being able to control the volume of my rig with a wheel. However, there is something about the dial that bothers me. Unlike on the GMMK Pro, there is a square cutout around it, which looks very strange. I understand that if you want you can desolder the rotary encoder and put a switch and standard wrench in that recess instead. But at that point, just buy the buttonless version (which has the key in that spot).
Like almost all mechanical keyboards now, this board connects via USB-C. But unlike the Q1, the Q2 doesn’t have a coiled kite cable to keep costs down. Between you and me, this was a good decision as the quality of the Q1’s kite cable was not great. The outer edges were frayed, like a sweater.
Get on. Next to the USB-C connector is the Windows or Mac selector switch, and there’s some movement in it, but unless you mess with it (or switch often between systems running different operating systems), you probably won’t even notice it.
As with the Q1, this board’s shell is composed of CNC machined aluminum and is very heavy, weighing in at 3.6 pounds. One of the biggest issues I encountered with the Q1 was the finish, especially on the link plate. Every time I took the switches out they would scratch. Fortunately, this problem did not arise when the switches on the Q2 were replaced, so kudos to Keychron for the improvement there.
One of my favorite things about the Q1 was the stabilizers. Not only did they screw in, they screwed in well, unlike Glorious’ GOAT Stabilizers, which had issues with bouncing and rattling like children’s toys when I tested them late last year. The stabilizers on the Q2 are even better than before; the wires snap right into place and had less rattle as standard than the Q1’s stabilizers.
Another favorite feature of mine is the Q2’s VIA and QMK support. VIA is by far my favorite keyboard software because while it has a ton of features (more on that later), it’s extremely easy to use.
Typing experience on the Keychron Q2
Right out of the box I noticed the Q2 had a lot more flex than the Q1, which I believe is caused by the poron gaskets. Unfortunately, the model I received came with Gateron G Pro Brown switches, which are said to have less wobble than standard Gateron switches. To me they just felt like boring brown switches. Luckily, you can also get this board with Gateron G Pro Red or Pro Blue switches, and it’s hot-swappable.
I talked about hating the Q2’s keycaps before, but their OEM spherical angular (OSA) shape felt quite nice to type on – they were a little taller than the usual cherry profile I use, but not too long where I felt like I had to relearn how to type. The rounded notch on the caps themselves also felt really nice on my fingertips. Resting my fingers on the caps felt like they were molded to my fingers. Overall the shape is great but Keychron needs to improve the structure for its caps.
My MonkeyType score with the Gateron G Pro Brown switches and OSA keycaps was what I expected with a different keycap shape than my usual – 87 WPM which is a bit slower than usual.
When I reviewed the Q1, I complained that it sounded relatively hollow, especially for a gasket mounting plate. Luckily Keychron listened and the Q2 doesn’t sound hollow at all.
Overall, I’m very impressed with how the Q2 performs out-of-the-box; the stabilizers have improved satisfactorily. The amount of flex, especially with its aluminum plate, is exceptional and despite their quality issues, the keycaps mold nicely to my fingers.
Gaming experience on the Keychron Q2
Us List of Best Gaming Keyboards doesn’t have many 65% keyboards, and while this little gaming keyboard certainly exists, they may not be the best choice if you want a single board for every genre. The Q2 won’t be marketed for gaming, but keep that in mind when shopping as it uses a 65% layout.
Thanks to my love for Square Enix’s Guardians of the UniverseI have the . installed Final Fantasy VII Remake to test this board with. Frankly, the 65 percent board layout didn’t bode well for this type of game. When it comes to a game like last fantasy, I never feel comfortable with anything smaller than a full-size board. Final Fantasy games are very tactical, meaning you have to be strategic, so the more keys the better.
In the end, while I was able to play, performing specific actions felt almost strange without a numpad. Granted, games like Final Fantasy are often made with a controller-first mentality, which could explain some of the problems I encountered when using a keyboard. But the more buttons, the more options.
This is not Keychron’s fault; this board is not marketed as a gaming keyboard, nor does it have dedicated macro keys or a polling rate faster than sound. Just know that if you plan on using it as a stealth game board, the size and number of keys will have limitations.
Software for the Keychron Q2
In my review for the Q1, I praised it for having VIA and QMK support. But what is this software? VIA and QMK are open source software solutions that support hundreds of functions, and with the size of the mechanical keyboard community, more and more functions are added.
The microcontroller that the Q2 uses is the same as that of the Q1, which has 32 KB of memory, allowing you to store up to five profiles on it.
I tend to stay away from QMK because not only is it outdated, it also requires coding, and all my coding skills went out the window after I graduated from college. However, VIA is as easy to use as any good mechanical keyboard software.
My favorite feature of VIA is easily the main tester function, which is a boon when I get new switches. Key Tester is simple: it just tells you which key you press on the board, indicating that the switches are working.
Keychron’s technical skills allowed me to configure the watch face to do more than just adjust my speaker volume. To test, I turned the dial into an RGB controller. Pressing the knob turns RGB on or off, turning the knob to the left decreases brightness and to the right increases brightness.
Ironically, given their in-depth customization options, QMK or VIA don’t have per-key RGB function. This didn’t bother me as I tend to turn off RGB, but with feature-heavy software like this, the lack of per-key RGB is like having a watch tracking your steps and watching your stocks but not the time displays .
Bottom Line
Overall, I was extremely impressed with the quality of the Q1, and despite some flaws, I love that board and still use it from time to time. After testing the Q2 for a while I came to the conclusion that this board is brilliant and despite its smaller size it comes with major upgrades.
That said, while it’s one of the nicest boards I’ve reviewed so far, the keycaps are by far the worst I’ve seen on something approaching this price, and the square cutout in the dial is a bit of a thorn in the side the eye. That said, this is still a sturdy, versatile and high-performing mechanical keyboard.