it’s not exactly one best gaming keyboardbut HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S is best wireless keyboard — in a very niche category.
The HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S is a compact 60% keyboard featuring the unique HHKB layout, replacing Caps Lock with Control, Backspace with Delete, and symmetrical bottom row (other tweaks among others). This layout was designed by Japanese computer scientist Eiichi Wada in the mid-1990s and has become a cult favorite among keyboard enthusiasts (especially developers who use many of his Ctrl-based shortcuts). I am getting a lot of support.
In addition to its unique layout, the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S also has its own switches. The Topre switch is a capacitive rubber dome switch manufactured by Topre Corporation of Japan. Topre switches are tactile, quiet and very smooth. It’s not technically mechanical, but it’s definitely more sophisticated than the typical membrane he keyboard.
The HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S is available in three colors: White (close to classic PC beige), Charcoal (dark grey), and the newly launched Snow (pure snow white). All colors can be purchased with either blank or engraved PBT keycaps. The keyboard is available now for $357 (snow) and $337 (white and charcoal).
HHKB Professional Hybrid Type S Design and Manufacturing
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The HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S is an ultra-compact keyboard, perfect for travelers and those with very limited desk space. It is housed in a plastic case that is 11.5 inches (292 mm) long and 4.75 inches (120.6 mm) wide (at its widest point, excluding the battery bump, the keyboard is 4.25 inches/108 mm wide) . The front thickness is 0.67 inches (17 mm) and the back thickness is 1.25 inches (31.8 mm). It also features two sets of plastic flip-out feet with three height adjustments.
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The keyboard may be small, but it’s very sturdy, weighing in at about 1.28 pounds (580 g) with two AA batteries installed. At the bottom of the keyboard are his four small strips of textured non-slip material, but they are too small to be effective. It’s mostly the weight that keeps the keyboard in place while typing.
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Also at the bottom of the keyboard is a small door that protects the 6 DIP switches. These DIPs, or dual in-line switches, are binary hardware switches that allow you to manually configure some of your keyboard’s settings. You can use the DIP switches to change the keyboard setting mode (Windows/Mac, etc.) or change specific key codes (Delete/Backspace, etc.). A switch guide is printed on the back of the keyboard near the switches.
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The back of the keyboard houses the USB-C port, battery compartment, and power/Bluetooth button. HHKB offers both wired and wireless connectivity, but no cables are included and only a pair of AA batteries.
specification
| switch | Topre |
| lighting | none |
| Onboard storage | yes |
| media key | Fn key – Mac only |
| game mode | none |
| connectivity | Bluetooth, USB-C |
| additional port | 0 |
| key cap | PBT |
| construction | plastic |
| software | Happy Hacking Keyboard Keymap Tool |
| Dimensions (length x width x height) | 11.5 x 4.75 x 1.25 inch/292 x 120.6 x 31.8mm |
| weight | 1.28 lbs / 580 g (including batteries) |
| Manufacturer’s suggested retail price | $405.00 |
Typing experience with HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S
The HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S offers a different typing experience (to say the least) thanks to its compact size, unique HHKB layout and Topre switches. The HHKB layout is designed for programmers, not writers, but if you’re switching from the traditional layout, you’ll have to get used to it anyway. Some layout changes are unique to his HHKB, such as swapping Caps Lock for Control. Other methods, such as placing the Esc key next to 1, are common in compact (60 or 65%) layouts.
Layout learning curve aside, typing on the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S is a surprisingly comfortable experience. This comes from people who have a strong preference for clicky switches (ideally, as loud as possible). HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S uses Topre switches, which are capacitive non-contact rubber dome switches instead of mechanical ones. And these switches feel like rubber dome switches (albeit very well made rubber dome switches).
HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S Topre switches are soft to the touch and very quiet if you’re sharing an office. There’s a small ridge near the top of the keypress, and it travels smoothly with a light (and slightly mushy) bottom-out. They’re consistently responsive, with very little bounce, but they’re a little too soft and smooth for my personal taste, not “snappy” like mechanical switches.
HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S Features and Software
There are several ways to switch the layout of HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S. You can change some key codes using the DIP switches at the bottom of the keyboard. You can change Delete to Backspace, change the left Command key to Fn, or swap both Command keys with both Alt keys. If your keyboard is in Windows mode, the command key defaults to the Windows key.
If this doesn’t give you enough customization, you can also use the Happy Hacking Keyboard Keymap Tool to remap most keys on your keyboard. To use this software, you need to connect your keyboard directly to your PC with a USB cable (it’s not included, so hopefully you have one). All keys except the original Fn key can be remapped. The keyboard also has some default media control keybindings that cannot be remapped (keys can be remapped, but media controls cannot be assigned to other keys). These media controls also only work on Mac, not Windows.
HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S battery life
HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S offers both wired (via USB-C) and wireless (via Bluetooth) connectivity. The keyboard can be paired with up to 4 devices at the same time. You can switch between paired devices using a keyboard shortcut: Fn + Ctrl + [number key]It comes with two AA batteries that should power the keyboard for about three months, depending on usage.
Conclusion
It took me a while to get used to the HHKB layout, but I’m not complaining about the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S, especially since there are so many ways to customize the layout during the transition period (or permanently). And as a daily driver he pointed out by my friend who uses HHKB, it’s his 60% keyboard and Fn shortcuts are part of the deal.
The HHKB Professional Hybrid Type S is well built, compact and customizable. The new “Snow” colorway is beautiful. Its biggest drawback is its price: $357 at the time of writing (and it doesn’t even come with a USB-C cable!). The other colors white and charcoal are slightly cheaper at $337. That’s a lot of money to pay for a keyboard you don’t like everything about, and the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S has a lot of very unique features.
If you like the size, layout, and topre switches, the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S Snow is a gorgeous, well-made option. But if you can’t quite agree on all three of those factors, then the Drop Tokyo60 keyboard kit with HHKB layout and hot-swap PCBA is compact, well-made, regular layout, cheap and not niche.
