Product
Keeb TKL
A keyboard that changes color as you use it, with a fully transparent shell.
Modern Human Interface · January 2024 · $179.99 · Shipped
Title
Product Director
Responsibilities
- Design
- Engineering
- Software
- Product
- Copy
- Go-to-market
Achievements
- 9/10
- ThinkComputers · Recommended
“an impressive, enthusiast-level typing experience in a very unique package” Tom’s Hardware
01The brief
The insight
LED arrays can carry immersion beyond the screen.
The hard call
A fully transparent shell (glue was never perfect, UV welding yellowed) and rotary dials whose tolerances made no two feel alike.
02What I did
What I made
- Color-reactive lighting
- Hand-sized magnetic rollers
- Flappy Paddle media switches
- Gasket-mount tuning
- The switch feel and its name
- The factory grease spec and switch Pantone
What I led
- Four years of development across ID, engineering and manufacturing
- HYTE’s first software-enabled product: firmware, profiles, lighting
03In my words
Keeb was one of the original products we started when we created HYTE. During COVID the keyboard market exploded, and the category saw major innovation, refinement and ASP growth. Keeb was my pet project, and all the key details were mine.
The premium mechanical RGB keyboard for everyone.
Launch, January 2024
I had been obsessed with how LED arrays could expand immersion beyond the screen and make you feel deeper inside your digital world, so first and foremost I designed it as a keyboard that changes color dynamically as you use it. We were big fans of Microsoft's Surface Dial and wanted dials in the keyboard, large enough for your hand, not just a finger. I designed the Flappy Paddles to feel different to strike than the regular switches: a media control is a whole action, not a letter, so it should carry more intention. I tuned the gasket mount to give just enough when you strike a key, but not enough for you to perceive it, balanced for a mass-market product. After a ton of research, I decided the switches should feel like driving a luxury car: easy, soft and smooth, a feeling I carried into their name. I specified the exact grease the factory pre-installs and the exact Pantone color of the switch.
The whole project was hard. It was overly ambitious and in a category new to our entire organization, and it took four years to make the design work both visually and in production. The shell was completely transparent with the structure visible underneath. Gluing it was never perfect, and UV welding yellowed. No two scroll wheels felt the same, because the tolerance for rotary dials that size is huge, and you don't usually have two side by side to compare. Manufacturers quit because they saw it as too ambitious or impossible; the one that stayed did it because they wanted the Y70. The software was a huge lift too. Keeb was to be our first software-enabled product, with requirements for firmware, profiles, lighting, and functions that work with or without the software.
Customize your typing experience with 93 remappable keys.
Computex 2023
04Achievements
05Film
06Reference
Product pageThe copy I wrote for hyte.com
Why We Made This
- Expression should feel rewarding
- The keyboard community totally loves us!
- Flappy-Paddle Media Keys floating on Tactile Blues make every skipped track sound like the Danger Zone
- Our gasket mounted Fluffy Lavenders are lubed up and ready to dampen thunderous blows as you skid into our DMs with specification corrections like “Blues are in fact CLICKY!!!1! and NOT tactile, they’re super different and it must be amateur hour over at height to be making such basic but costly mistakes”
- 155-Pixel qRGB Lighting Array blankets your face in the soothing glow of digital light, ensuring nothing natural could ever compete for your love again
Product Features
- Tenkeyless Layout
- Drops the numpad for a more compact form factor which retains core functionality for work and allows extra space for play
- 155-Pixel qRGB Array
- Transcends boundaries and delivers a subtle digital immersion to your analog environment
- Crystal Bubble Polycarbonate Case
- Gently unites resilience and aesthetics, protecting Keeb while allowing the rich qRGB lighting to shine through
- Gasket Mounted Design
- Softens the impact of every keystroke on the sand blasted, anodized aluminum plate with a gentle and measured bounce
- Dual Magnetic Rollers
- Offer superior digital control with not just one, but two rotary encoders
- Krytox Lubed HYTE Fluffy Lavender Switches
- Linear switch design lubed using Krytox 205g0 with 36 gram actuation force and 1.5mm actuation distance for a fast, smooth, and responsive typing experience
- Krytox Lubed Durock V2 Screw-In Stabilizers
- Subtly enhance your typing with measured balance and precision, lubed with Krytox 205g0 + XHT-BDZ to keep you hyper focused by eliminating distractions caused by scratch or rattle
- HYTE Flappy-Paddle Media Keys
- Low-profile Blue switches which distinctly pivot when pressed, providing a diverse and satisfying tactile experience
- North Facing 5-Pin Hot-Swap PCB
- Allows you to explore and experiment with other mechanical switches
- Double-Shot PBT Shine Through Keycaps
- Increase resistance to wear and shine with RGB compatible legends
Tech specs42 specs
Specs Summary
- Dimensions
- 380 x 180 x 53 mm
- Weight
- 2.73 lbs
- Form Factor
- Tenkeyless
- Key Layouts
- ANSI + ISO
- Number of Keys
- 93 Keys
- Connectivity
- Wired, USB 2.0 Type-C @1.8A
- Polling Rate
- 1,000 Hz
- Onboard Profile Storage
- 2 Profiles w/ 4 Function Layers Each
- Number of qRGB Pixels
- 155
- Typing Angle
- Adjustable 3.73 or 6.06 Degrees
- Dimensions
- 380 x 180 x 53 mm
- Weight
- 2.73 lbs
- Form Factor
- Tenkeyless
- Key Layouts
- ANSI + ISO
- Number of Keys
- 93 Keys
- Connectivity
- Wired, USB 2.0 Type-C @1.8A
- Polling Rate
- 1,000 Hz
- Onboard Profile Storage
- 2 Profiles w/ 4 Function Layers Each
- Number of qRGB Pixels
- 155
- Typing Angle
- Adjustable 3.73 or 6.06 Degrees
- Case Bottom
- Polished Aluminum Plate
- Case Damping
- Soft Matte Silicone
- PCB Foam
- IXPE Sheet + Poron
- PCB Thickness
- 1.2 mm
- Hot-Swap Sockets
- 5-Pin (North Facing)
- Stabilizers
- Durock V2 Screw-In
- Stabilizer Lube
- Krytox 205g0 + XHT-BDZ
- Plate Foam
- Poron
- Top Plate
- Sand Blasted Anodized Aluminum
- Mounting Style
- Gasket
- Casing Material
- Crystal Bubble Polycarbonate
- Switch Type
- HYTE Fluffy Lavender Linear
- Rated Actuations
- 60 Million
- Actuation Distance
- 1.5 mm
- Actuation Force
- 36 grams
- Bottom Out Distance
- 3.7 mm
- Bottom Out Force
- 45 grams
- Bottom Housing
- Nylon w/ 40% Glass Fiber
- Stem
- POM
- Top Housing
- Translucent Polycarbonate
- Lubed
- Krytox 205g0
- Keycap Material
- Double-Shot PBT
- Color
- Black
- Profile
- HX OEM
- Wall Thickness
- 1.8 mm
- Shine Through Legends
- Yes
- Media Controls
- Yes, 5 Dedicated Keys
- Media Switch Type
- HYTE Flappy Paddle Tactile (Low-Profile Blue)
- Rotary Encoders
- Dual Magnetic Rollers (x2)
- Nexus Powered
- Yes
- Warranty
- 3 Years
- Sku
- KB-HYTE-KEEB
Press releaseJanuary 9, 2024
January 9, 2024
HYTE Release First Keyboard Keeb TKL
LAS VEGAS, JAN 9, 2024 - HYTE, a leading manufacturer of cutting-edge PC components and peripherals, is excited to release its inaugural keyboard, Keeb TKL. Previously announced during Computex 2023, HYTE Keeb TKL brings enthusiast keyboard features to the mainstream.
"The Keeb TKL pulls the virtual world closer,” said Rob Teller, Product Director for HYTE. “Seamlessly merging digital and physical realms to intuitively reflect your emotions, fostering a more intimate and immersive interface for personal expression."
The outer Crystal Bubble Polycarbonate case that allows the rich 155-pixel qRGB array to shine through in all its glory, is combined with a polished aluminum bottom plate to house the gasket-mounted inner workings of the Keeb TKL. The Keeb TKL features a wired USB Type-C connector, allowing enthusiasts to swap out their cable to match their setups. For ergonomics there are 2 user selectable typing angles of exactly 3.73 and 6.06 degrees and HX OEM profile PBT double-shot keycaps with shine through legends.
Keeb TKL pairs a modern and functional tenkeyless form factor with HYTE’s own custom hot swap switches, the Fluffy Lavender linear switch, to offer unparalleled aesthetics and epic thocks. Designed inhouse, the HYTE Fluffy Lavender switch is pre-lubed with Krytox 205g0 to be smooth and linear from the first keystroke to the last. The Fluffy Lavender switch has an actuation force of 40 grams and a bottom out force of 53 grams, with an actuation distance of 1.5mm and bottom out distance of 3.5mm for a fast and responsive typing experience.
Adorning the Keeb TKL are Dual Magnetic Rollers, along with 5 dedicated media keys that make use of HYTE Flappy Paddle tactile low-profile blue switches. The Dual Magnetic Rollers are completely customizable through the HYTE Nexus software, giving gamers complete control over the shortcuts available at their fingertips such as: adjusting the volume, screen brightness, switching applications or tabs, page scrolling and more.
Created with feedback from the enthusiast community, the Keeb TKL comes out of the box with Durock V2 screw-in stabilizers, pre-lubed with Krytox 205g0 and XHT-BDZ, and a gasket mounted 5-pin hot swap PCB with north facing qRGB pixels. The Keeb TKL delivers exceptional acoustics and feel through the use of 4 different layers of sound damping, first a soft matte silicone in the case, an IXPE sheet and Poron on the PCB along with Poron on the keyboard top plate.
For complete customization over Keeb TKL, HYTE Nexus enables users to perfectly match their keyboard to their desk setup. HYTE Nexus allows control over all aspects of Keeb TKL including reactive per-key lighting and a range of qRGB animations. The creation of macros and remapping of the entire keyboard across 2 profiles is also handled by Nexus, with Keeb TKL capable of storing up to 16 macros and 4 different key functions per profile.The selectable Game Mode disables game breaking key combinations like Alt + F4, Alt + Tab and the ever-worrying Windows Key. Lastly, the Key Matrix Tester can be used to check freshly installed switches and the PCB to ensure everything is working as intended.
Pricing & Availability
Keeb TKL will be available for purchase from HYTE.com within the United States and Canada for a starting MSRP of $179.99 USD.