The HHKB Studio is a compact, wireless mechanical keyboard positioned as an 'all-in-one keyboard' primarily aimed at creative professionals. It incorporates features like touch-operated gesture pads and a 'pointing stick' positioned in the middle of the keyboard that you can use like a conventional mouse cursor alongside 'mouse buttons' below the bottom key row. HHKB indicates that this collection of features is designed to limit unnecessary hand movements and may even serve to replace your need to use a dedicated mouse alongside your keyboard. This keyboard has a compact layout and comes stock with HHKB-branded linear switches. It also has a hot-swappable PCB that allows you to change out the stock switches easily if you prefer.
Our Verdict
While not explicitly designed for this usage, the HHKB Studio is okay for gaming. It has great build quality and offers impressive latency performance when using a wired connection. The stock linear HHKB switches are also lightweight and have a fairly short pre-travel distance, providing a responsive-feeling experience.
- Excellent build quality.
- Wired latency performance suitable for playing casual or even competitive titles.
- No backlighting.
- Wireless latency performance is only satisfactory for casual gaming and unsuitable for playing fast-paced or competitive titles.
- Unusual key layout that has a Ctrl key in place of a standard Caps Lock may take some getting used to.
The HHKB Studio is a good keyboard for office use. It has great build quality and delivers an impressive and very quiet typing experience. You can pair it with up to four devices simultaneously via Bluetooth. It also has an integrated pointing stick and gesture pads. These two uncommon features are designed to help limit total hand movement and may even replace the need to use a dedicated mouse alongside your keyboard, depending on your work needs. That said, it has a slightly unusual key layout, notably with a Ctrl key, where the Caps Lock key sits on a standard keyboard. You may appreciate this placement for your workflow, but it may take some getting used to at first. Unfortunately, you can't program complex macros and can only record relatively simple shortcuts using the configuration software.
- Excellent build quality.
- Has uncommon features, including gesture pads and a 'pointing stick' cursor.
- Impressive typing quality.
- Very quiet typing noise.
- Connects wirelessly via Bluetooth with up to four devices simultaneously.
- Unlike previous keyboards from HHKB, which use Topre switches, this keyboard uses conventional mechanical switches, which may be a disappointment to some.
- Can't record complex macros, only relatively simple shortcuts.
- Unusual key layout that has a Ctrl key in place of a standard Caps Lock may take some getting used to.
The HHKB Studio is decent for use with mobile devices and tablets. It has great build quality and connects wirelessly via Bluetooth with up to four devices simultaneously. It also uses AA batteries for power, so you don't need to carry around a charging cable. Additionally, many of this keyboard's unusual features, like its pointing stick and gesture pad, are compatible with most mobile devices and tablets. For more details, see the Wireless Mobile Compatibility section. This keyboard also has a fairly compact 60% form factor, making it significantly easier to travel with than a full-size keyboard. That said, it's also quite heavy, making it awkward to use on the go.
- Excellent build quality.
- Outstanding mobile/tablet compatibility; nearly all features work on Android, iOS, and iPad OS devices.
- Connects wirelessly via Bluetooth with up to four devices simultaneously.
- Heavy, not designed explicitly with portability in mind.
The HHKB Studio is decent for programming. It has impressive build quality and provides excellent all-around typing quality. You can pair this keyboard with up to four devices simultaneously, and extra features like its pointing stick and gesture pads help streamline your workflow and reduce overall hand movement. That said, its compact form factor means this keyboard lacks a dedicated function row. It does have f-key functions bound to hotkey shortcuts, but this may not be convenient, depending on the applications you use. Additionally, this keyboard lacks backlighting and has dark-colored legends that can be hard to read in darker lighting conditions. Lastly, you can't program complex macros and can only record relatively simple shortcuts using the configuration software.
- Excellent build quality.
- Has uncommon features, including gesture pads and a 'pointing stick' cursor.
- Impressive typing quality.
- Very quiet typing noise.
- Unlike previous keyboards from HHKB, which use Topre switches, this keyboard uses conventional mechanical switches, which may be a disappointment to some.
- No backlighting.
- Can't record complex macros, only relatively simple shortcuts.
- Unusual key layout that has a Ctrl key in place of a standard Caps Lock may take some getting used to.
The HHKB Studio is a satisfactory keyboard for an entertainment or home theater setup. It has great build quality and connects wirelessly with up to four devices via Bluetooth. Its pointing stick and mouse buttons can also replace the need to use a conventional mouse alongside your keyboard for navigating menus. Unfortunately, it lacks dedicated media keys, and despite its compact size, it's quite heavy, which can make it uncomfortable to use from a couch. It also lacks backlighting, and the key legends are dark and printed on dark-colored keycaps, making reading the legends in darker rooms difficult.
- Excellent build quality.
- Has uncommon features, including gesture pads and a 'pointing stick' cursor.
- Connects wirelessly via Bluetooth with up to four devices simultaneously.
- No dedicated media keys.
- No backlighting.
The HHKB Studio provides decent raw performance when using this keyboard with a wired connection with impressive single-key latency and good multi-key latency. That said, if you're interested in playing fast-paced or competitive games, we don't recommend using this keyboard wirelessly, as doing so heavily impacts the raw performance and limits the polling rate to 125Hz, the maximum polling rate that a Bluetooth connection can support. This keyboard also only supports a maximum of 6KRO and cannot send multiple key inputs per USB report.
- Wired latency performance suitable for playing casual or even competitive titles.
- Wireless latency performance is only satisfactory for casual gaming and unsuitable for playing fast-paced or competitive titles.
Changelog
- Updated Mar 12, 2024: We initially published this review without Bluetooth latency data as we encountered unexpected graph visualizations and decided to investigate further. We've retested and confirmed the validity of our first results, so we've added them to our review. For more details and context for our findings, see the Single-Key Latency section.
- Updated Feb 27, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Feb 21, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Feb 16, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The HHKB Studio is only available in a Charcoal colorway. At the time of writing, there are no variants available. There's a separate bundle option on the HHKB Studio product page, which is a limited-release collaboration with artisan keycap creator Tinymakesthings. This bundle includes the HHKB Studio keyboard as well as a custom keycap depicting a grizzly bear.
We bought and tested the Charcoal colorway. You can see the label of our unit here.
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The HHKB Studio marks a departure for its manufacturer, Happy Hacking Keyboards (HHKB), as this keyboard is their first with conventional mechanical switches, while their previous keyboards have more exotic electro-capacitive Topre switches. HHKB positions this keyboard for productivity tasks and is aimed primarily at typists and creative professionals. It has several less common features, including gesture pads, a pointer stick, and mouse buttons, designed to minimize unnecessary hand movements and potentially replace the need for working with a mouse alongside your keyboard.
While it uses mechanical switches, it does retain HHKB's trademark 60% key layout, with a Control key in place of where the Caps Lock key is on most keyboards. This somewhat unusual layout and the integration of gestures and mouse controls may take some getting used to, but if its attempt to streamline and limit all hand movements onto the keyboard sounds appealing to you, the HHKB is a standout high-end option with a remarkably quiet typing experience and control customizability that may suit your workflow better than more conventional keyboard and mouse options.
For more recommendations, see our picks for the best keyboards, the best office keyboards, and the best wireless keyboards.
The Lenovo ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II and the HHKB Studio are keyboards that incorporate uncommon productivity features, including 'mouse buttons' and 'pointing sticks' that act like mouse cursors. The HHKB is a significantly more premium-feeling model with mechanical switches. It also has four programmable gesture pads, which the Lenovo lacks. The Lenovo has a more portable low-profile design, but it feels more flimsy overall and is made with cheaper-feeling materials. The Lenovo also has a slightly larger 75% layout, which includes dedicated arrow keys and a function row. It connects via Bluetooth or its included USB receiver, but it doesn't support multi-device pairing like the HHKB.
THE GLORIOUS GMMK PRO and the HHKB Studio are mechanical keyboards designed with different uses in mind. The GLORIOUS is designed primarily for gaming and has significantly better raw performance. It also has a slightly larger form factor with dedicated arrow keys, a control knob, and a dedicated f-row. Lastly, it provides significantly more freedom for hardware customizability and is available at purchase in an extremely wide range of configurations. Comparatively, the HHKB has a smaller compact (60%) form factor but incorporates several uncommon productivity-focused features, such as mouse buttons, gesture pads, and a 'pointing stick' that acts like a mouse cursor. The HHKB also connects wirelessly via Bluetooth with up to four devices simultaneously, while the GLORIOUS is a wired-only model.
The IQUNIX F97 and HHKB Studio are high-end wireless keyboards with great typing quality. The IQUNIX has a larger 96% layout and a more conventional overall approach without any unusual features. It also has full per-key backlighting, which the HHKB lacks. Comparatively, the HHKB has a smaller compact (60%) form factor. That said, it incorporates several more unusual productivity features, including four programmable gesture pads, 'mouse buttons,' and a 'pointing stick' that acts like a mouse cursor.
The Wooting 60HE and the HHKB Studio are compact high-end keyboards designed for very different uses. The Wooting is a wired gaming keyboard with outstanding raw performance and analog switches that allow you to adjust the pre-travel and reset distance of individual switches. It also has full RGB backlighting, which the HHKB lacks. The HHKB, on the other hand, is designed for productivity and aimed primarily at creative professionals. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and incorporates some rarely seen productivity features, including gesture pads, mouse buttons, and a 'pointing stick' that acts like a mouse cursor.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
