The Keychron Lemokey L3 is a tenkeyless, wireless mechanical keyboard that you can connect with its included 2.4 Ghz receiver or via Bluetooth. It's the first dedicated gaming model made by Keychron through its new gaming sub-brand, Lemokey. Like most of Keychron's offerings, you can buy this keyboard in several configurations, colorways, and stock switch options. It also has a hot-swappable PCB, so you can easily change out the stock switches if you like. Besides changing your switches, this keyboard offers more hardware customizability than most typical gaming keyboards and includes several tools and a small collection of extra parts. You can also adjust backlighting, key assignment, and custom layouts using VIA, a popular software configuration app that you can download or use as a web-based client.
Our Verdict
The Keychron Lemokey L3 is an excellent gaming keyboard. It has amazing build quality and excellent all-around latency performance. It also has full RGB backlighting, though it doesn't have shine-through keycaps, so you can't read the legends in darker rooms. You can connect this keyboard wirelessly via Bluetooth or with its included 2.4 GHz USB receiver. Unfortunately, its wireless polling rate performance is bottlenecked somewhat, though this is only an issue that will impact you if you're mainly interested in competitive gaming. For more details, see the Data Transmission section.
- Excellent build quality.
- Excellent latency performance.
- Remarkably good hardware customizability.
- Takes up considerable desk space despite its TenKeyLess layout.
- Keycaps lack shine-through legends; can't read them in darker rooms.
- Maximum polling rate of 1000Hz is bottlenecked at an effective update rate of only 500Hz when connected wirelessly.
The Keychron Lemokey L3 is good for office use. It has amazing build quality with a double-gasket design and sound-dampening foam inside the case, keeping the typing noise fairly quiet. It also connects wirelessly with up to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, some of the larger keys with stabilizers are a bit inconsistent. They wobble more noticeably than other keys, and some make a rattling sound.
- Excellent build quality.
- Remarkably good hardware customizability.
- Connects wirelessly via USB receiver or Bluetooth and supports multi-device pairing.
- Takes up considerable desk space despite its TenKeyLess layout.
The Keychron Lemokey L3 is okay for use with tablets and mobile devices. It has amazing build quality and can pair with up to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth. That said, this keyboard is quite large despite its TKL form factor, and it's very heavy, so it isn't a good portable option and is designed to be used in a desktop setup.
- Excellent build quality.
- Connects wirelessly via USB receiver or Bluetooth and supports multi-device pairing.
- Takes up considerable desk space despite its TenKeyLess layout.
The Keychron Lemokey L3 is good for programming. It has amazing build quality, and its double-gasket-mounted design and layers of foam inside the case produce a softer, almost springy feel to typing. There's also a row of four dedicated macro keys you can program using configuration software. This keyboard has full RGB backlighting. Unfortunately, the LEDs are south-facing, and the keycaps aren't shine-through, so you can't read legends in darker rooms.
- Excellent build quality.
- Remarkably good hardware customizability.
- Connects wirelessly via USB receiver or Bluetooth and supports multi-device pairing.
- Takes up considerable desk space despite its TenKeyLess layout.
- Keycaps lack shine-through legends; can't read them in darker rooms.
The Keychron Lemokey L3 is passable for a home theater or entertainment setup. It has amazing build quality and connects wirelessly with a USB receiver or via Bluetooth with up to three devices simultaneously. It also has full RGB backlighting. Unfortunately, its LEDs are south-facing, and the stock keycaps aren't shine-through, so you can't read the legends in darker rooms. Additionally, while there's a control knob for volume control, there aren't any other dedicated media keys.
- Excellent build quality.
- Dedicated volume knob but no dedicated media keys.
- Takes up considerable desk space despite its TenKeyLess layout.
- Keycaps lack shine-through legends; can't read them in darker rooms.
The Keychron Lemokey L3 has excellent overall raw performance. It has remarkably good single-key and amazing multi-key latency. However, it does have some minor weaknesses, as it can't send multiple keys per USB report, which can be an issue for games that require lots of simultaneous inputs, like rhythm games. Additionally, its wireless polling rate of 1000Hz is bottlenecked, resulting in an effective update rate of only 500Hz when connected wirelessly over its 2.4 GHz receiver. While this isn't an issue for gaming in most genres, and you're very unlikely to perceive any added latency, it can impact performance at a competitive level. For more information about this keyboard's polling rate performance, see the Data Transmission section.
- Excellent latency performance.
- Maximum polling rate of 1000Hz is bottlenecked at an effective update rate of only 500Hz when connected wirelessly.
Changelog
- Updated Dec 08, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3.1, which adds a new estimated PCB latency test to the Single-Key Latency section and a new Analog test to the Switches section of this review. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Dec 04, 2023: Review published.
- Updated Nov 22, 2023: Early access published.
- Updated Nov 17, 2023: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Keychron Lemokey L3 is available in several different configurations, three colorways, and three mechanical switch options at purchase. We bought and tested the Fully Assembled Knob configuration in Carbon Black with Gateron Jupiter Banana switches.
| Name | Size | Configuration Options | Colorway | Switch Options | Hot-swappable | Dedicated Macro Keys |
| Keychron Lemokey L3 | TenKeyLess (TKL) | Fully Assembled Knob, Barebone Knob, Barebone Knob ISO | Carbon Black, Navy Blue, Space Silver | Gateron Jupiter Red, Gateron Jupiter Brown, Gateron Jupiter Banana | Yes | Four |
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The Keychron Lemokey L3 is a tenkeyless wireless gaming keyboard and the first release from Lemokey, a gaming sub-brand under the Keychron umbrella. Like many of Keychron's mainline models, this keyboard comes in various configurations, colorways, and several stock switch options. It also has a hot-swappable PCB, so you can change out the stock switches without soldering if you prefer. While the rest of Keychron's boards connect wirelessly via Bluetooth, this is the first Keychron release you can connect via Bluetooth or with an included 2.4 Ghz wireless USB receiver, providing better overall gaming performance.
While established gaming brands like Razer, Logitech, and SteelSeries have been adding elements from custom keyboard designs to their dedicated gaming keyboards, including pre-lubed switches, gasket mount designs, hot-swappable PCBs, and doubleshot PBT keycaps, this keyboard approaches from the opposite end, adding more robust gaming performance onto an established custom mechanical keyboard. Altogether, this is a great option if you're interested in a keyboard with a solid foundation of keyboard elements that you'd expect from a Keychron keyboard but with improved wireless gaming performance. It also provides significantly better hardware customizability than most prebuilt gaming keyboards. That said, its wireless performance is somewhat bottlenecked and falls short compared to similar offerings from the major gaming brands. For more details about wireless performance, see the Data Transmission section below.
For more recommendations, see our picks for the best keyboards, the best wireless keyboards, and the best gaming keyboards.
The Keychron Q1 and the Keychron Lemokey L3 are both mechanical keyboards with comparable build and typing quality. The Q1 is a wired-only model designed more for productivity and everyday browsing. It has a slightly smaller compact (75%) form factor. The Lemokey L3, on the other hand, is a wireless model with a larger TenKeyLess form factor. It's designed specifically for gaming and has significantly better latency performance, as well as a row of dedicated macro keys and a volume knob, which the Q1 lacks.
The Logitech G715 and the Keychron Lemokey L3 are wireless gaming keyboards with TenKeyLess layouts. The Logitech has more ergonomic features, including two inline angles and a cloud-shaped wrist rest. It also has a full set of dedicated media keys, and its keycaps have shine-through legends, so you can easily read the keys in darker rooms. In contrast, the Keychron has slightly better build quality and feels sturdier in part due to its all-aluminum case design. It also has a row of four dedicated macro keys that the Logitech lacks. Both keyboards connect wirelessly via USB receiver or Bluetooth, but only the Keychron supports multi-device pairing.
The Epomaker TH80 Pro and the Keychron Lemokey L3 are wireless keyboards with TenKeyLess (80%) layouts. The Epomaker is designed more with productivity and everyday browsing in mind, while the Keychron is designed primarily for gaming and has better latency performance. The Keychron also feels better built overall, and its double-gasket mounted design and layers of internal case foam provide a somewhat more premium-feeling typing experience.
The ASUS ROG Azoth and the Keychron Lemokey L3 are both wireless, mechanical gaming keyboards with gasket-mounted designs. The ASUS has a slightly smaller compact (75%) form factor and provides slightly better typing quality, mostly thanks to its stabilizers, which come pre-lubed from the factory and feel more consistent. The ASUS also has a programmable OLED screen and better data transmission, making it a better option for competitive gaming. On the other hand, the Lemokey has a larger TenKeyLess form factor. It also offers better hardware customizability and includes a row of macro keys the ASUS lacks.
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