The new keyboard, which promises a sweet spot mix of touchscreen adaptability and traditional tactile switches, navigated through it well. kickstarter campaignThe Flux Keyboard is essentially a full HD IPS display with magnetic levitation key switches perfectly placed on top of it.
This arrangement allows users to customize the key display for “any software, any language, any style”. Additionally, the keyboard overlay can provide tactile or linear keys, with room for up to four additional haptic modules above the F-key row.
Let’s break this proposition piece by piece and first consider the underlying display. The Flux keyboard is built with 100% sRGB and up to 300 nits of brightness on a 1920 x 1080 pixel screen. This touchscreen runs at 60 Hz, and the manufacturer claims he polls inputs at 1,000 Hz and is NKRO-compatible. The total size of the device is 193 x 320 x 22 mm (width x length x height), so it is calculated that the screen diagonal is 14 inches and the very small bezel contains the magnetic fixing aid .
The display is a “soft keyboard”, so it’s infinitely customizable. The product designer demonstrates (in the video above) her Flux Keyboard that displays many types of characters and languages. It can also be easily configured to display icons, hieroglyphs, emojis, and more. On the other hand, the display of characters or icons alongside physical key overlays can feature animated backgrounds for fun or practicality. The obvious way to use the Flux keyboard is to retain a functional typing layout with an array of keys mapped to selections in the toolbar of the app or game you’re using.
Before moving on to the physical input device that forms an integral part of the Flux Keyboard, we should add that behind the screen is a dedicated quad-core microprocessor. This design feature makes the keyboard self-contained and works with Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile operating systems (USB Type-C connection required). 8GB of onboard storage lets you portablely store your favorite settings, macros, shortcuts, layouts and more.
The Flux Keyboard improves keyboard ergonomics over flat screen alternatives and uses a perfectly matched maglev keyboard. There are currently two overlays available. One is haptic and the other is linear. Both choices use Hall-effect switching technology and can be configured with custom actuation points. Also important to gamers is the advertised zero debounce time for quick repeat action. According to specs, the keycaps are 97% transparent, so they don’t obscure the visuals below.
Above the keyboard deck area is a display that can also be used as a “passive module” to display software-configured information. However, the three physical modules are more interesting. One provides dialing functionality popularized by Microsoft and Asus. Another module has his three knobs for quick and intuitive control of multiple variables. Finally, for now we have a triple key module with one large and two smaller tactile display areas using the same kind of maglev technology in the main keyboard area. Modules and key frames are hot swappable.
In the future, keyboard designers hope to introduce more keyboard overlay options, along with an initial batch of ISO 85 and ANSI 84 tactile/linear maglev models. The physics module above the keyboard will also be further developed, and there may be a corresponding numpad or ortho split-like layout.
Flux Keyboard may be intriguing or exciting to some of you. While you might expect it to work as one of the best keyboards we’ve seen, it does have some drawbacks that must be mentioned. For example, it will be months before the first runs of these keyboards are available. Backers of the project have been told that it will be delivered in January 2024. General availability may be delayed weeks or months from this date. Another downside is that the Flux Keyboard retails at US$450. This is expensive even considering its features. A buyer who wanted an additional keyframe (haptic or linear) was asked to pay an additional $80 during the crowdfunding campaign.
