![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75]](https://i.rtings.com/assets/products/bhfzbJW3/nuphy-halo96-halo65-halo75/design-medium.jpg?format=auto)
The NuPhy Halo96 is a compact (96%) wireless mechanical keyboard in NuPhy's Halo series. These keyboards have a high-profile design with a strip of RGB lighting that wraps around the case. On their product pages, NuPhy emphasizes these keyboards' typing quality and acoustics. There are multiple layers of silicone-dampening material inside the case and what NuPhy calls a GhostBar, a spacebar fitted with polycarbonate and silicone pieces to help dampen the loud hollow sound spacebars often make. You can buy these keyboards in a range of tactile or linear switches, and they have hot-swappable PCBs, so you can easily change the switches for those you prefer.
We bought and tested the NuPhy Halo96, the largest size variant in this keyboard lineup. Smaller versions are also available, including the NupHy Halo75 and NuPhy Halo65. See our Differences Between Sizes and Variants section below for more details about these models.
Our Verdict
The NuPhy Halo series keyboards are good for casual gaming. They have excellent build quality and low latency, delivering a responsive-feeling experience in any genre. They also have full RGB backlighting, and they're available with your choice of various linear or tactile switch options. These high-profile keyboards are most comfortable to use with a wrist rest. We bought and tested the Halo96 with a wrist rest, which NuPhy sells separately.
- Excellent build quality.
- Impressive latency.
- Stock keycaps don't have shine-through legends, so you can't read legends in a darker room.
These keyboards are good for office work. They have excellent build quality and layers of silicone inside the case and spacebar, contributing to a quiet and premium-feeling typing experience. We tested the Halo96 with linear Baby Raccoon switches that are very quiet and unlikely to bother anyone around you. They're also available in a range of other linear and tactile switches and have hot-swappable PCBs, so you can change the stock switches with other switches of your choice. These high-profile keyboards are most comfortable to use with a wrist rest. We bought and tested the Halo96 with a wrist rest, which NuPhy sells separately.
- Excellent build quality.
- Multi-device pairing with up to three devices simultaneously.
- Stock keycaps don't have shine-through legends, so you can't read legends in a darker room.
While not designed for this use, the NuPhy Halo keyboards are okay for mobile and tablet use. They connect wirelessly and can pair with up to three devices simultaneously. We tested the Halo96, which is a bit smaller than most full-size keyboards but still much bigger and heavier than most keyboards designed specifically for mobile and tablet use. If you want to use one of these keyboards for mobile or tablet use, the smaller Halo75 or Halo65 are more appropriate.
- Excellent build quality.
- Multi-device pairing with up to three devices simultaneously.
- Connects wirelessly via USB receiver or Bluetooth.
- No dedicated media keys.
- Fairly bulky and heavy compared to dedicated keyboards designed for mobile use.
These keyboards are excellent for programming. They feel very well-built and have full RGB backlighting. They also include layers of silicone inside the case and spacebar, producing a very quiet and premium-feeling typing experience. While these keyboards lack dedicated macro keys, you can use the software to record macros to any key.
- Excellent build quality.
- No dedicated macro keys.
- Stock keycaps don't have shine-through legends, so you can't read legends in a darker room.
These keyboards are only adequate for home theater setups. They connect wirelessly via USB receiver or Bluetooth but aren't designed with this use in mind as they're quite bulky and heavy. They also lack dedicated media keys, and while they have full RGB backlighting, the stock keycaps aren't shine-through, so you can't see the legends in a darker room.
- Excellent build quality.
- Connects wirelessly via USB receiver or Bluetooth.
- No dedicated media keys.
- Stock keycaps don't have shine-through legends, so you can't read legends in a darker room.
These keyboards offer good overall raw performance. Overall, they have good single-key and multi-key latency, but latency performance is also somewhat variable, especially while pressing and maintaining multiple keys. Its effective polling rate of 250Hz also acts as a bottleneck for its wireless USB polling rate of 500Hz. You can improve this somewhat by using the keyboard wired, although performance is still bottlenecked with an effective update rate of 333Hz for its wired polling rate of 1000Hz.
Changelog
- Updated Apr 03, 2024: We've added a link to the newly reviewed NuPhy Gem80 in the Hardware Customizability section of this review.
- Updated Nov 29, 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 Nov 16, 2023: We've added a link to the newly-reviewed NuPhy Air75 V2 in theSingle-Key Latency section of this review.
- Updated Sep 06, 2023: We've added a link to the newly-reviewed NuPhy Field75 to the Latency section of this review.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
NuPhy's Halo series keyboards are available in various sizes, in two colorways, and with different stock switch options. We bought and tested the NuPhy Halo96 in Matte Black with Gateron Baby Raccoon switches. You can see the label of our unit here.
We also bought NuPhy's acrylic two-tone black wrist rest, which is sold separately.
You can see details for other variants and configurations below. We expect our test results to apply to all models.
| Name | Size | Wireless | Color Options | Switch Options | Hot-swappable | Maximum Advertised Battery Life (backlighting off) | Optional Wrist Rest |
| NuPhy Halo96 | Compact (96%) | Yes | Matte Black, Ionic White | NuPhy Rose Glacier, NuPhy Night Breeze, Gateron Baby Raccoon, Gateron G Pro Red 2.0, Gateron G Pro Brown 2.0 | Yes | 205 Hours | Matte Black, Ionic White |
| NuPhy Halo75 | Compact (75%) | Yes | Matte Black, Ionic White | NuPhy Rose Glacier, NuPhy Night Breeze, Gateron Baby Raccoon, Gateron G Pro Red 2.0, Gateron G Pro Brown 2.0 | Yes | 260 Hours | Matte Black, Ionic White |
| NuPhy Halo65 | Compact (65%) | Yes | Matte Black, Ionic White | NuPhy Rose Glacier, NuPhy Night Breeze, Gateron Baby Raccoon, Gateron G Pro Red 2.0, Gateron G Pro Brown 2.0 | Yes | 320 Hours | Matte Black, Ionic White |
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The Halo96 is a compact (96%) wireless mechanical keyboard in NuPhy 's Halo lineup. These keyboards have a high-profile design rather than a low-profile design of the NuPhy Air75 and other keyboards in NuPhy 's Air lineup. With the Halo lineup, NuPhy has emphasized typing quality and acoustics by including multiple layers of sound-dampening silicone in the case and adding a silicone and polycarbonate fitting in the spacebar. Like other NuPhy models and similar keyboards produced by Keychron, these keyboards emphasize full compatibility between Windows and macOS systems with a toggle switch on the back and extra included keycaps for both operating systems.
If you're interested in more options, check out our picks for the best mechanical keyboards, the best keyboards for typing, or the best wireless keyboards.
Both the NuPhy Halo96 and the NuPhy Gem80 are wireless mechanical keyboards. The Halo96 is a prebuilt model that is part of a wider lineup with smaller 75% and 65% models available. On the other hand, the Gem80 is only available in a TKL form factor. It's designed with customizability in mind and only comes as a barebones kit, so you have to buy and install switches and keycaps yourself. The Gem80 also has significantly better raw performance and more acoustic material inside the case.
The NuPhy Air75 and NuPhy Halo96 are wireless mechanical keyboards in different lineups from the same manufacturer. Both are available in 65%, 75%, and 96% form factors. The main difference in the lineups is design; the Air75 and the other keyboards in the Air lineup are low-profile. On the other hand, the Halo96 and the rest of the keyboards in the Halo lineup are high-profile. The Halo keyboards also feature silicone-dampening materials inside the case and spacebar, and they have an RGB light strip surrounding the case.
The IQUNIX F97 and the NuPhy Halo96 are wireless mechanical keyboards. While the IQUNIX F97 is only available in a 96% form factor, the NuPhy Halo line is available in 65%, 75%, or 96% sizes. The NuPhy boards also have layers of silicone sound-dampening material inside the case, an RGB strip around the exterior edge of the keyboard, and multiple incline settings. On the other hand, the IQUNIX only has a fixed incline angle, but it's available in a much wider range of expressive colorways.
The GLORIOUS GMMK 2 and the NuPhy Halo96 are mechanical keyboards. The GMMK 2 is a wired-only model with a 96% compact form factor. It also has lower latency, making it a better choice for competitive gaming. On the other hand, the NuPhy Halo96 is a wireless model with a 96% compact form factor but is also available in smaller-size variants. The NuPhy Halo keyboards also feature layers of sound-dampening silicone and have an RGB lighting strip around the outside edge of the keyboard.
Test Results
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Top Picture Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/dimensions-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Build Quality Close Up Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/build-quality-small.jpg?format=auto)
for pictures & test results
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Side Picture Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/ergonomics-small.jpg?format=auto)
for pictures & test results
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Customizability Overview Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/custom-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Backlighting Picture Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/backlight-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Brightness Max Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/brightness-max-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Brightness Min Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/brightness-min-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] White Shot Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/whiteshot-small.jpg?format=auto)
for pictures & test results
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Extra Features Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/features-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Bundle Picture Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/in-the-box-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Typing Sample Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/typing-sample-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Wobble Video Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/wobble-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Key Switch Actuation Graph Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/feel-graph-small.jpg?format=auto)
for pictures & test results
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Single-Key Latency Graph Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/latency-single-graph-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Latency Video Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/latency-multi-video-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Multi-Key Latency Graph Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/latency-multi-graph-small.jpg?format=auto)
for pictures & test results
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Multi-Key Raw USB Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/rollover-small.jpg?format=auto)
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Chord Split Graph Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/keyboard-chordsplit-graph-small.jpg?format=auto)
for videos & test results
![NuPhy Halo96 [Halo65, Halo75] Software Tour Sample](https://i.rtings.com/assets/sample-images/keyboard/software-tour-small.jpg?format=auto)