Keychron V5 Max [V1 Max, V2 Max, etc.] Keyboard Review

These keyboards are available in various sizes. We bought and tested the Keychron V5 Max, which has a compact (96%) form factor. It has most of the keys of a full-size keyboard save for several navigation cluster keys. It also has conventional spacing between keys, so typing doesn't feel cramped. However, the individual key zones, like the arrow keys and the Numpad, are closer together.

Other size variants include smaller models like the compact (75%) Keychron V1 Max as well as a larger, full-size model, the Keychron V6 Max. For a complete list of variants, see the Differences Between Variants section above.

These keyboards have impressive build quality. The case is made entirely of ABS plastic and feels solid with only minimal deck flex. Inside the case, these keyboards have a gasket-mount design, a polycarbonate plate, and several layers of foam that help soften and round out the sound profile.

The keycaps are made of high-quality, doubleshot PBT plastic and have a slightly textured finish, so they don't feel slippery. The stabilizers, like the switches, are pre-lubed from the factory and provide good stability for larger keys but can make a faint, occasional rattle while typing. Four rubber feet under the board keep it in place while you type. There is a set of two flip-out feet that also have rubber strips that do a good job of preventing the board from sliding around while they're extended.

If you're interested in a similar Keychron lineup with more premium-feeling build quality and solid aluminum cases, check out our review for the Keychron Q Max series.

These keyboards provide acceptable ergonomics. They have a fairly tall profile, but there are a pair of flip-out feet on the underside that provide two additional incline options.

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

These keyboards offer outstanding hardware customizability. Note that if you're interested in replacing the keycaps, note that the right-side modifier keys are 1u-sized rather than the relatively more common 1.25u.

Unlike the original Keychron V-series keyboards, which have North-facing switches, the V Max boards have South-facing switches. This provides better compatibility with a wider range of aftermarket keycap sets, but it significantly impacts how visible the backlighting is if you're interested in using shine-through keycaps.

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

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

The Gateron Jupiter switches that come stock with this keyboard have LED diffusers, which produce a softer backlighting effect compared to most other switches with LED lighting.

These keyboards come with a braided 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.

At the time of writing, all size variants in the Keychron V Max series have 4000 mAh batteries. Keychron advertises that the Keychron V5 Max has a wireless working time of up to 225h with backlighting off and up to 100h with the backlighting on at the lowest brightness. Keychron doesn't explicitly state the connection type used to produce these estimates, but we expect they reflect the maximum battery life using a Bluetooth connection. Using a 2.4GHz connection provides superior stability and performance at the cost of battery life.

For the best wireless performance with a 2.4GHz connection, you can use the cable as an extender for the wireless receiver by using the USB-C to USB-A adapter.

You can't program macros directly on these keyboards, but you can program macros using VIA configuration software.

At the time of writing, most keyboards in the V Max series don't have dedicated macro keys, but some do. For more details, see the Differences Between Variants section above.

At the time of writing, all size variants in the V Max series have a control knob that adjusts volume by default and toggles mute when pressed. You can program the behavior of the knob using VIA configuration software.

These keyboards have an internal compartment for storing the USB Type A and C receivers when not in use.

These keyboards also have switches on the top edge, one of which toggles between connectivity modes and the other toggles between Windows/Android and Mac/iOS compatibility modes.

When you enable the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys, the backlighting remains static, acting as a lock indicator. Note that in Windows mode, the media keys are secondary, hotkey functions. However, in Mac mode, the F7 - F12 keys act as dedicated media keys, while their F functions are on the second layer.

The user documentation includes lists of hotkey combinations. You can also reference a list of hotkeys in the user manual available on Keychron's website here.

• USB-C to USB-C charging cable
• 2.4GHz USB-A receiver
• 2.4GHz USB-C receiver
• Extension adapter for receiver
• USB-C to USB-A adapter
• Alternate Windows keycaps
• 2x Philips screws
• 2x hex screws
• Hex key
• Screwdriver
• Keycap and switch puller
• User documentation

These keyboards offer an excellent typing experience that sounds and feels satisfying. They have a gasket-mounted design, which lends a softer, almost springy feeling to typing compared to more conventional tray-mount designs. Several layers of sound-absorbing foam contribute to quieter, more even-sounding typing.

Key spacing is also standard, and the stabilizers are pre-lubed from the factory and provide good stabilization overall, although they make some inconsistent rattling sounds.

The keycaps on these keyboards are made of doubleshot PBT plastic with a slightly textured finish. They have an OSA (OEM spherical angled) profile with slightly rounder, dish-shaped tops and a similar height as conventional OEM keycaps.

These keyboards are very quiet with Gateron Jupiter Red switches. You can also buy this keyboard with Gateron Jupter Brown or Gateron Jupiter Banana switches, both of which are tactile options that we expect to be somewhat louder.

These keyboards are available with your choice of Gateron Jupter mechanical switches. Gateron Jupiter switches have Nylon bottom housings and clear upper housings. They also come pre-lubed from the factory.

We bought and tested the Keychron V5 Max with linear Gateron Jupiter Red mechanical switches. You can buy these keyboards with tactile Gateron Jupiter Brown or tactile Gateron Jupter Banana (two-stage) switches.

We bought the Keychron V5 Max with Gateron Jupiter Red switches. These are lightweight linear switches with typical pre-travel and total travel distances.

Note: Keystrokes feel smooth, but during testing, we discovered a small tactile event that appears late in the travel, which is very unusual for linear switches. We weren't able to feel this very small tactile hump while typing, but you may notice it if you're particularly sensitive to switch irregularities in linear switches.

We tested multiple switches and found this unexpected behavior appeared on most but not all tested switches on our keyboard. If you have this keyboard or another keyboard with Gateron Jupiter Red switches, we encourage you to share your experience with us in the Comments below.

You can also buy this keyboard with tactile Gateron Jupiter Brown switches, which are slightly heavier and have a pronounced tactile bump, or tactile Gateron Jupter Banana switches, which have an earlier tactile bump and a two-stage spring that produces more robust return travel.

These keyboards provide remarkably good single-key latency performance, making them well-suited for playing games in any genre.

These keyboards have excellent multi-key latency performance, with very low key press and key release results, making them good choices for playing games requiring additional keypresses while keys are already being pressed and maintained.

These keyboards have a maximum polling rate of 1000Hz, and data transmission isn't bottlenecked by other latency components when connected wired or wirelessly via their 2.4 GHz receivers.

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

Six-key rollover (6KRO) is enabled by default, but you can toggle full N-key rollover (NKRO) with the Fn+N hotkey.

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 support QMK firmware and VIA software for configuration. You can download and install the VIA software app for Windows, macOS, or Linux on Keychron's product page here. Alternatively, you can use a web-based version here.

This software has a straightforward layout and allows you to customize a range of expected settings, including key assignment, backlighting, and macros. You can also save your custom settings as profiles onto your keyboard's onboard memory.

These keyboards are fully compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. There's a switch on the top edge that toggles between Windows/Android and Mac/iOS compatibility modes. There's also a set of alternative Windows keycaps included in the box.

On Linux systems, using the toggle set to Mac mode, the brightness functions and the FN+F3 hotkey do nothing, but all other functions work as expected.

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