Keychron Q1 HE [Q5 HE, Q6 HE, etc.]  Keyboard Review

The Keychron Q1 HE has a compact (75%) layout, which means it lacks a numpad and several keys from the navigation cluster. However, it takes up considerably less space on your desk than a conventional full-size keyboard. This keyboard is quite heavy for its size, partly due to its solid aluminum chassis. If you're looking for a similar full-size alternative with analog switches and an aluminum case, check out the Ducky One X.

The broader Keychron Q HE lineup includes multiple size variants, from the smaller 60% Keychron Q4 HE to larger models like the TKL Keychron Q3 HE, the compact 96% Keychron Q5 HE, and the full-size Keychron Q6 HE.

For more details, see the Differences Between Variants section.

The Keychron Q HE keyboards have amazing build quality overall. The case is made of solid aluminum and exhibits no deck flex whatsoever. Inside the case, they have an aluminum plate and a double gasket-mount design, which incorporates two separate sets of rubber gaskets sandwiched between components. This mounting style helps reduce felt vibrations and contributes to a softer, more cushioned-feeling typing experience with a bit more rebound. Four rubber feet on the bottom of the keyboard keep it firmly in place on your desk without sliding.

These keyboards also have several layers of sound-dampening material, including a foam layer between the plate and the PCB, an acoustic pad directly under the PCB.

The switches and stabilizers come pre-lubed from the factory, and the keycaps are made of high-quality, doubleshot PBT plastic. The keycaps also have a slightly textured finish, so they don't feel slippery to the touch.

Unfortunately, while the stabilizers provide good stability for the larger keys, they sound and feel noticeably inconsistent and make a faint rattling sound (or, in the case of the spacebar, a higher-pitched clicking sound), depending on where you're pressing the keycap. This video demonstrates the issue on several keys, including the spacebar.

This is a minor issue and likely won't be something that bothers you unless you're particularly sensitive to noise inconsistencies. Furthermore, we expect you can fix this issue if you're interested in re-lubing or replacing the stock stabilizers on affected keys.

If you're looking for a similar Keychron model with a more affordable aluminum frame and plastic bottom case, check out the Keychron K2 HE. Alternatively, for a similarly priced option with a full aluminum case and significantly better stabilizers, consider the Lemokey P1 HE.

These keyboards offer acceptable ergonomics. They have quite a tall profile, and unlike many other Keychron keyboards, they don't have flip-out feet to provide additional incline options.

Using the Q HE keyboards with a supportive wrist rest will provide the best ergonomic experience. There isn't a wrist rest included in the box, but Keychron sells wrist rests separately on their website here.

These keyboards offer remarkably good hardware customizability. Just note that, at least on the Q1 HE model, the right-side modifier keys are 1u-sized instead of the slightly more common 1.25u size. These boards also have south-facing LEDs, which offer the advantage of compatibility with a wider range of aftermarket keycap sets. However, this also significantly impacts how visible the backlighting is if you're interested in using shine-through keycaps.

Technically speaking, these keyboards have a hot-swappable PCB that allows you to change the stock switches without soldering. That said, the sockets have nonstandard pinouts. Keychron's website suggests the PCB is only compatible with Gateron Double-Rail Magnet Switches. For more details, see the Switches section.

If you're interested in a gaming keyboard with a hot-swappable PCB that's compatible with both mechanical and Hall effect switches, check out the GLORIOUS GMMK 3 PRO HE.

These keyboards have full RGB backlighting and individually lit keys. You can customize backlighting brightness and effects directly on the keyboard or using the configuration software.

These keyboards provide poor backlighting clarity. The keycaps don't have shine-through legends, and the PCB has south-facing LEDs. This means that even if you swap the stock keycaps for keycaps with shine-through legends, the legends likely won't be visible in dark rooms. For reference, we've taken a photo with several stock keycaps replaced with shine-through keycaps.

The Keychron Q HE keyboards come with a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, which retains some kinks from its packaging. If your computer doesn't have a USB-C port, a USB-C to USB-A adapter is also included in the box.

The Keychron Q1 HE has a 4000 mAh battery, which Keychron indicates has a working time (backlighting off) of up to 100 hours.

At the time of writing, other variants in the wider series also have a 4000 mAh battery, and Keychron advertises a working time (backlighting off) of up to 100 hours for each of them.

Keychron doesn't explicitly state the connection type used to produce these estimates, but we expect it reflects the maximum battery life using a Bluetooth connection. The included 2.4GHz wireless receiver connection provides superior stability and performance at the cost of battery life.

The Q1 HE lacks dedicated macro keys, and you can't record macros directly on the keyboard using hotkey combinations. However, you can program macros to any key using the configuration software.

The bigger Q5 and Q6 size variants in the wider Q HE lineup have dedicated macro keys. For details, see the Differences Between Variants section.

These keyboards have a wide range of extra features. Like most Keychron keyboards, there are two switches on the top edge. One toggles through connectivity modes, while the other toggles Windows and macOS compatibility modes.

Media hotkey commands on the function row are labeled on the keycaps. By default, the programmable Control Knob controls media volume and mutes audio when pressed. Note that the smaller Q4 HE is the only model that lacks a knob. The backlighting of the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys also remains static when pressed, acting as lock indicators.

These keyboards come with documentation that lists all available hotkey commands, including backlighting controls, Bluetooth pairing, and battery level indicators. On Keychron's website, you can reference a digital version of the Q1 HE's entire user manual and the quick start guide.

Under the spacebar keycap, there's a hardware reset button.

• USB-C to USB-C charging cable
• 2.4GHz USB-A wireless receiver
• Extension adapter for the receiver
• USB-C to USB-A adapter
• Alternate Windows keycaps (1.25u-sized Windows, Alt key, and 1u-sized Insert, Alt key)
• 4x Extra rubber feet
• 4x Extra gasket strips
• Hex Allen key
• 2x Hex screws
• Screwdriver
• 3x Phillips screws
• Keycap and switch puller
• User documentation

These keyboards offer excellent typing quality. Their double gasket-mounted design lends a soft, almost springy feel to typing. Several layers of sound-absorbing material inside these boards dampen some of the pinging sound typically associated with all-aluminum cases.

Key spacing is standard, and the keycaps are made of doubleshot PBT plastic with a pleasant, slightly textured finish. The keycaps have an OSA profile with rounded, spherical tops but a typical SA shape, and they are a bit taller than normal OEM keycaps.

Keys are all quite stable while typing, and the switches and stabilizers are both pre-lubed from the factory. Unfortunately, while the switches feel quite smooth and largely consistent, the stabilizers are somewhat inconsistent-feeling and rattle noticeably. You can see a video demonstrating the inconsistency of the stabilizers in the Build Quality section.

The typing noise is very quiet and unlikely to bother those around you, even in noise-sensitive environments. There are several layers of internal sound-dampening foam inside the case, and the switches are linear and come pre-lubed from the factory. Unfortunately, while the stabilizers are fairly quiet, they rattle slightly but noticeably while typing.

We expect all compatible Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic switch options will produce similar typing noise. For more information on compatible switches, see the Switches section.

We conducted this test with the default actuation setting of 2.2 mm and with the rapid trigger setting disabled.

The lowest actuation point you can set is 0.50 mm, and the highest actuation point you can set is 3.80 mm, with adjustment increments of 0.10 mm.

The Keychron Q HE keyboards have great input granularity. They have an excellent detection ratio, so you can consistently register inputs across nearly the full range of travel.

Their deadzone distances are fairly small, allowing for fast initial and especially quick follow-up inputs. This is especially useful for performing movement techniques like tap-strafing in competitive FPS titles.

These Q HE boards support true analog output, but the implementation is somewhat basic. As shown in the analog output graph, it has a slightly larger top deadzone, so gradual input doesn't start registering until about 0.4 mm into the key press.

Linearity is good, but the input appears stepped, meaning it doesn't track the physical switch position as smoothly as other flagship analog boards like the Wooting 80HE or Razer Huntsman V3 Pro. That said, these imperfections are subtle and unlikely to be noticeable in actual gameplay. Ultimately, it's still a viable option if you're looking to mimic gamepad or joystick control in titles like flight sims, driving sims, or platformers.

The Keychron Q HE keyboards use Gateron Double-rail Magnetic Nebula switches, which are Hall effect switches that come pre-lubed from the factory.

At the time of writing, you can only purchase the fully assembled configurations with Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula switches. However, Keychron sells two other compatible switch options: Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Dawn switches, which are slightly more lightweight, and Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Aurora switches, which have a slightly heavier feel. All three switch options are available directly from Keychron here.

The Keychron Q HE keyboards provide remarkably good single-key latency performance. They deliver an extremely responsive-feeling experience for gaming in all genres at any competitive level.

These measurements were achieved using a wired connection with keystroke actuation distance set to its lowest setting (0.5mm) and with the most sensitive (0.10mm) rapid trigger setting.

The Keychron Q HE keyboards have excellent multi-key latency performance, which is important for playing games that require new keystrokes while multiple keys are already being pressed.

We achieved these measurements using a wired connection with keystroke actuation at its lowest setting (0.5 mm) and with Rapid Trigger mode enabled and set to its most sensitive setting (0.10mm). As can be seen in the Key Release results, the rapid trigger behavior is quite aggressive using the lowest setting. While it produces occasional rare outliers with exceptionally low release latency, this behavior is also inconsistent.

We also conducted supplementary Multi-Key Latency testing in wireless mode. You can see these results here.

These keyboards have a maximum polling rate of 1000Hz, and data transmission isn't bottlenecked by other latency components when connected wired or wirelessly.

Using a Bluetooth connection limits the maximum polling rate to 125Hz, but this is normal and expected.

This keyboard has 6KRO enabled out of the box, but you can use the FN+N shortcut to enable full NKRO.

If you're interested in a similar analog gaming keyboard with a higher maximum polling rate of 8000Hz, check out the NuPhy Field75 HE or the Wooting 80HE.

These keyboards deliver good overall chord split performance, making them viable choices for playing rhythm games or other titles that demand many simultaneous inputs.

These keyboards use Keychron Launcher, a web-based configurator designed specifically for this keyboard. You can access this program on Keychron's website using any Chromium-based browser here. This software allows you to change a range of expected settings, including key assignments, custom profiles and macros, and RGB lighting effects.

This software also allows you to configure HE mode settings related to its Hall effect switches.

Note: You can only adjust HE settings while the keyboard is connected with its cable, but after making changes, these settings are saved to onboard memory and usable with either a wired or wireless connection. These settings include changing the actuation distance of individual switches and setting custom rapid trigger (key reset) distances.

Additionally, you can program inputs to trigger with a long press or up to four distinct commands to trigger at specific actuation distances. Lastly, you can enable analog input, which can mimic the gradual controls of a gamepad or joystick, which can be particularly helpful for playing racing or flight sims, for example.

Keychron has a guide for HE mode adjustments you can see on their website here.

Note: Accessing the Keychron Launcher software works on Windows and MacOS right out of the box, but if you're a Linux user, you may need to adjust udev permissions first. A helpful member of the community has posted a guide for this process in a Reddit thread here.

These keyboards are fully compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. However, the web-based software is compatible with Windows and macOS out-of-the-box, while Linux users may have to adjust their system permissions first. For more details on Linux software compatibility, see the note in the Configuration Software section.

The top edge of these keyboards has a switch that toggles between Windows and Mac compatibility modes. The box also includes a set of alternative Windows keycaps.

These keyboards are fully compatible with Android, iOS, and iPadOS devices.