If you’re new to mechanical keyboards, you’ve probably never heard of boutique keyboard company Angry Miao. The company only offers a few keyboards, but they are always extreme in both design and price.
The new Angry Miao AFA (Adjustable Flex Alice) keyboard is one of the most over-the-top and unique looking keyboards you can find, and not just because it features a split, ergonomic Alice layout.this keyboard is looking for our place best wireless keyboard Liszt takes exterior design inspiration from the VF-19, a transforming mecha (armored robot) from the anime series Macrossand internal design inspiration from the race car BMW M6 GT3.
Of course it’s not cheap. AFAs start at $680 for base kits without keycaps or switches. Add the keycaps and switches for a total of $795.
specification
| switch | Angry Miao Icy Silver Switch |
| lighting | RGB per key |
| Onboard storage | Yes (7 profiles) |
| media key | FN or configurable |
| connectivity | USB-C |
| cable | not included |
| additional port | 0 |
| key cap | Polycarbonate Translucent Cherry Profile |
| software | angry miao |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 17.55 x 6.16 x 2.22 inches/445.7 x 156.5 x 56.5mm |
| weight | 5 lbs / 2.27kg |
| Manufacturer’s suggested retail price | $795 with keycaps and switches |
| without $680 |
Angry Miao AFA design
The AFA is Angry Miao’s most ambitious design to date. As you can probably guess from its name, the AFA features an Alice layout, with the keys (and spacebar) split in the middle and angled for ergonomics. (It can also be adjusted inside, but we’ll get to that in a moment.)
First, I need to talk about the finish of this board. Stellar.
AFA is inspired by the anime transforming mecha VF-19. Macross. (The Transformation Mecha is an armored robot suit. overwatch.) This board doesn’t deform or fire missiles, but its sleek design resembles a fighter plane.
Internally, AFA is (literally) grounded. The leaf spring mounting mechanism is inspired by the BMW M6 GT3 and its Öhlins height-adjustable coilover. A coilover is a type of spring in your car that can be adjusted to prevent bottoming out and overall stiffness. The same principle applies to his AFA as the stiffness can be adjusted.
The Angry Miao AFA is a tent-style Alice keyboard designed to reduce wrist pressure and promote better ergonomics. The tent-like design raises each half of the board by his 5 degrees, giving you the feeling that the board is actually split while typing. Speaking of typing, the right shift key on this board is to the right of the up arrow key, which is one of my biggest complaints. For the right shift key it’s very uncomfortable and oddly placed.
Like the Angry Miao Cyberboard, the AFA has a giant battery housed in a removable stainless steel weight underneath the board. The AFA is wireless and connects via Bluetooth. I had no issues with Bluetooth connectivity while typing. Battery life seems pretty good. Even after about 20 hours of use, the battery life was still very good at 47%.
The included keycaps are translucent, and while I’m not a fan of translucent keycaps, they look nice. However, when RGB is enabled, the legend becomes difficult to read. This isn’t usually a problem, but when he first started using the AFA, it had a lot of searching and poking around because of its unusual layout.
The PCB is hot-swappable, but the AFA only has one switch option: Angry Miao’s Icy Silver switches. Made by TTC, these switches have his 45g actuation force, the same as the Cherry MX Red switches, and are incredibly smooth. The stabilizer is manufactured by Gateron and is as good as you’d expect from a company.
The AFA comes with several accessories, including phosphor copper and stainless steel leaf springs, a screwdriver, an allen wrench, and a small spudger for removing the magnetic plates on the board. Also included are two packs of him called “Hover”. This is a wrist rest that lifts your hands up to board height.
Angry Miao includes high quality drivers. This is because there is…a lot of unscrewing required to adjust the gears. it is not difficult, itselfbut it takes at least five minutes to disassemble the board and adjust or replace the leaf springs.
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Below is a video showing how the adjustable flex works.
What is AngryMiao’s adjustable gasket in the video pic.twitter.com/hknE0tlHLNSeptember 4, 2022
The Angry Miao AFA adopts an adjustable leaf spring mounting method. This is a breath of fresh air. There are not many leaf spring mechanical keyboards on the market. Leaf spring keyboards are flexible metal prongs that feel like soda can opener tabs, so they work similarly to gaskets.
When it comes to adjusting flex, a board inspired by BMW’s suspension has finally taken shape. The board arrives in its softest configuration and is certainly bouncy.The bounce on this board is very similar to the Akko Alice, but thanks to the linear his switches that appear to be manually lubricated, the sound and feel are Much better.
Typing and gaming experience at Angry Miao AFA
Typing on the Angry Miao AFA was not as easy as on other Alice layout boards I’ve used. This was mainly due to the height of the board and the distance on each side of the board. The keyboard height is 2.22 inches (56.5 mm). That means it’s basically impossible to use comfortably without resting your wrist on the included “hover” pack.
Also, I don’t know what the angry Miao was thinking when he put the right shift key in that position. This almost ruined my typing experience. Seriously, why is the right shift key behind the up arrow key? This design choice caused a lot of typos on my part and was very frustrating.
The game in AFA was not very good. Because the height of the board caused my wrists to tire prematurely while trying to get through. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IIThe AFA’s metal body didn’t cause any connection errors, but the keyboard only features wired via Bluetooth or USB Type-C, not 2.4GHz wireless, so competitive gamers will experience latency. Too expensive.
Angry Miao AFA software
Given that the AFA costs around $800, I was hoping the software would be efficient. But that’s… not only is it not efficient, it’s the biggest problem I’ve had with AFA. Companion software is horrible. Angry Miao was quick to respond to any issues I encountered and didn’t need to contact me about the issue in the first place.
The software’s main problem was that it took too many unnecessary steps to perform relatively mundane tasks like remapping keys or changing lighting. The first step was to require an internet connection to use the software, which was completely free.
To configure the board to your liking, you’ll need to visit Angry Miao’s DIY site.
Well, so far so good. Then click on “In-switch LED configuration”.
Then drag the mouse along the PCB. If you want a static color profile, you’ll have to remove the last 13 frames, which is tedious.
Once you have completed the key layout and RGB design process, you will need to download the .json file and upload it to the Cyberboard configurator on the top left.
At the moment,[json をダウンロードして保存 (mac)]must be clicked. Windows selection does not work.
Open the Angry Miao software, select your .json file, and you’re done.
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Setting up AFA is cumbersome and definitely requires work. I would have liked to see the recording of the macro, but that might be too much.
Conclusion
The Angry Miao AFA (Adjustable Flex Alice) is designed for hardcore mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, not for average users. This board has a lot in just about every way. It looks great and Angry Miao does a good job of adding some uniqueness to Alice’s layout. And when it comes to build quality, the AFA is arguably the best keyboard I’ve seen (this includes Angry Miao’s girlfriend’s Cyber board).
But while you can overlook the height of the keyboard, you can’t ignore the right shift key position or unusable software. Plus, it’s almost $800. If you’re looking for the Alice layout, the Akko ACR Pro Alice Plus is a great keyboard for just $130. Ultimately, the Angry Miao AFA is a keyboard with great potential, but in the end… so-so.
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