The Keychron Q3 is a TenKeyLess customizable keyboard designed for office and productivity use. It's the third installment in the Keychron Q series, a lineup consisting of keyboards with hot-swappable PCBs and a gasket-mounted design for better sound absorption and a softer feel while typing. These Q-series keyboards differ from Keychron's usual offerings since they use a different color scheme and feature spherical keycaps made from PBT plastic. They also lack wireless connectivity options.
Our Verdict
The Keychron Q3 is a great keyboard for gaming use. It feels very well-built and offers a nice typing quality. It comes with your choice of Gateron G Pro clicky Blue, linear Red, or tactile Brown switches, but it also has a hot-swappable PCB, so you can change out these stock switches for any you prefer. Its latency may be too high for competitive gaming, but it's well-suited for casual gaming. While the RGB backlighting adds a nice splash of color, the key legends aren't shine-through, so they're harder to see in the dark. Also, it's a high-profile board that doesn't come with a wrist rest, so you'll have to purchase one separately.
- Very well-built.
- Hot-swappable PCB.
- All keys are macro-programmable.
- No included wrist rest.
- Key legends aren't shine-through.
The Keychron Q3 is a wired-only keyboard, so it isn't suitable for use with mobile devices or tablets. However, it does come with a USB-C to USB-C cable, so you can use it with mobile devices that have a USB-C port, but this will drain your device's battery fairly quickly.
The Keychron Q3 is a very good keyboard for office use. It offers a nice typing experience that's very quiet thanks to the gasket-mounted design. Also, it feels incredibly well-constructed and sturdy, so you won't have to worry about it sliding around your desk. Importantly, it's fully compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux, and you can set the operating system using a toggle on the top of the keyboard. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a wrist rest, which would improve the comfort overall as it's a high-profile keyboard. Also, you can't connect it wirelessly to other devices, so it's not a good choice if you're looking for a keyboard to use in a multi-device setup.
- Very well-built.
- Fully compatible with Windows and macOS.
- Hot-swappable PCB.
- Wired-only.
- No included wrist rest.
The Keychron Q3 is a great keyboard for programming. It feels very well-built, sturdy, and nice to type on, thanks to the premium materials used in its construction. Every key is macro-programmable using the VIA companion software, available on every major operating system. While it has full RGB backlighting, the key legends aren't shine-through, so they'll be hard to read in a dark environment. You can't use this keyboard wirelessly, so it's not a good choice for multi-device setups. Also, it's a high-profile keyboard, but it doesn't come with a wrist rest, which would improve the overall comfort.
- Very well-built.
- Fully compatible with Windows and macOS.
- Hot-swappable PCB.
- All keys are macro-programmable.
- Wired-only.
- No included wrist rest.
- Key legends aren't shine-through.
The Keychron Q3 is a poor keyboard for use with a home theater PC. You can't connect it wirelessly, so you'll have to run a cable from the keyboard to the PC. It also lacks a trackpad or a built-in navigational tool, so you'll have to use an extra peripheral to go through on-screen menus. While it does have full RGB backlighting, the key legends aren't shine-through, so they're difficult to see in the dark.
- Very well-built.
- Hot-swappable PCB.
- Wired-only.
- No included wrist rest.
- Key legends aren't shine-through.
- No trackpad or wheel for navigating onscreen menus.
Changelog
- Updated Jan 26, 2023: We've added mention of the Keychron S Series keyboards in the Dimensions section of this review.
- Updated Sep 02, 2022: Updated the "White Shot" image to better reflect real-life color mixing observations. This result has changed accordingly. Also updated Linux compatibility as this keyboard is fully compatible with this system. The review now shows these changes.
- Updated May 06, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Apr 29, 2022: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Keychron Q3 has two versions: a pre-built version or a barebones version without switches and keycaps pre-isntalled. The pre-built version is available with either linear Red, clicky Blue, or tactile Brown Gateron G Pro switches. Both versions are available with or without a programmable knob and in three colorways: Carbon Black, Silver Grey, and Navy Blue. We bought and tested the Carbon Black, fully-assembled Keychron Q3 with Gateron G Pro Brown switches. Our unit doesn't have the programmable knob, but we expect our results to remain consistent across variants.
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The Keychron Q3 is a wired-only, mechanical keyboard that comes in a TKL form factor. Like other keyboards in the Keychron Q series, it has a gasket-mounted design, and it includes the same operating system switch that you find on any Keychron keyboard. Since it's for office and productivity use, the latency is a bit too high for competitive gaming, and it lacks a lot of basic features found on dedicated gaming keyboards, like a feature to disable the Window's key. Instead, it comes with operating system-specific keycaps for Windows or macOS as it's fully compatible with those two systems and almost fully compatible with Linux.
If you're interested in other options, check out the recommendations for the best typing keyboards and the best mechanical keyboards. If you're interested in what else Keychron has to offer, check out the best Keychron keyboards article.
The Keychron K8 and the Keychron Q3 are both TKL-sized mechanical keyboards designed for office use. Both keyboards are hot-swappable, though the K8 requires you to purchase that specific variant. This means you can change out the stock switches for any you want without soldering. However, they have a few differences. The K8 is wireless and pairs with up to three devices simultaneously. On the other hand, the Q3 is wired-only, but it has better latency, and all keys are macro-programmable as it has companion software, which the K8 lacks.
The Keychron Q1 and the Keychron Q3 are very similar, wired-only, hot-swappable keyboards, but they have a few slight differences. The Q1 comes in a 75% compact form factor, while the Q3 is a TKL size, meaning that the Q3 has more buttons overall, and it also has more space between the alphanumeric keys and the navigational cluster. Also, the Q1 comes with a coiled aviator cable, while the Q3 uses a standard braided cable. On the other hand, the Q3 offers a slightly better typing experience as it has PBT keycaps rather than ABS. Otherwise, the keyboards perform very similarly.
The Keychron Q Series and the Keychron K8 Pro [K2 Pro, K3 Pro, K4 Pro, etc.] are both mechanical keyboard lineups from the manufacturer Keychron. The Keychron Q3 is a TenKeyLess size available in the Q Series. As a whole, the Q Series features a better build quality thanks to their gasket-mounted design. On the other hand, the K Pro Series are wireless keyboards that support multi-device pairing via Bluetooth, and they have a tray-mounted design. Otherwise, both keyboards are very customizable, are compatible with the VIA companion software, and have a hot-swappable PCB.
The Keychron Q3 and the Keychron Q4 are both fully customizable keyboards in the Q-series. They have a few minor differences, like the form factor of the Q3 is a TKL size and the Q4 is a compact (60%) board. The Q4 also has a Caps Lock indicator, which the Q3 lacks. Otherwise, they perform nearly identically, so it's a matter of size preference which board you get.
Test Results
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