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Keychron is already well-known among keyboard enthusiasts for crafting quality mechanical keyboards.
The K4 HE is one of the latest premium custom keyboard options from the company, but is unique for employing magnetic Hall Effect switches. A technology that gained popularity in controllers, Hall Effect dramatically expands the capabilities of the K4 HE.
Now, you can build your own keyboard with adjustable actuation, rapid trigger, keystroke prioritization, and even four-level macros. It’s an impressive array of features packed into an attractive chassis, but at its core is a simply great keyboard.
The Keychron K4 HE’s 96% layout is comfortable and intuitive, and the typing experience is wonderful. You can’t enter this category without mastering typing acoustics, of course, and the K4 HE passes this with flying colors, too.
I do have a few minor qualms, especially when it comes to navigating the wired-only software with a cable that barely reaches my PC, but none of that stops me from considering the K4 HE as one of the best keyboards I’ve used.
It should go without saying that typing is a gargantuan part of my job, so I need a keyboard that will keep up with me for hours at a time and look good while doing it. I’ve used countless keyboards during my career, so I know what to look for when it comes to choosing just one.
This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by Keychron. Keychron had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.
Keychron K4 HE review: Cheat sheet
Keychron K4 HE review: Specifications
|
Spec |
Keychron K4 HE |
|---|---|
|
Switches |
Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Switches, 0.2-3.8mm actuation distance, 40-60g actuation force |
|
Hardware features |
Tray mounted design, plate mounted pre-lubed stabilizers, double-shot PBT keycaps, North-facing per-key RGB lighting, hot swappable Hall Effect switches, 256KB onboard memory |
|
Software features |
Keychron Launcher support, adjustable actuation, rapid trigger mode, last keystroke prioritization, 4-stage macro keys, gamepad mode, N-Key Rollover, separate macOS & Windows profiles |
|
Connectivity |
Wired via USB Type-C, wireless via USB Type-A 2.4GHz dongle & Bluetooth 5.2 (3 profiles), up to 1,000Hz polling rate, down to 3.4ms latency |
|
Battery |
4,000mAh, up to 110 hours |
|
Dimensions |
373.2 x 126.2 x 31-40.3mm (14.69 x 4.97 x 1.22-1.59in) standard / 377.1 x 126.4 x 31.7-40.9mm (14.84 x 4.98 x 1.25-1.61in) special |
|
Weight |
1,090g standard (2.4lbs) / 1,066g (2.35lbs) special |
|
Warranty |
12-month standard |
Regardless of which version of the Keychron K4 HE you purchase, in the box you’ll find the fully assembled keyboard (including the case, PCB, switches, and preinstalled macOS keycaps), a complete set of Windows keycaps, a braided USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable, a USB Type-C to USB Type-A extension adapter, a USB Type-A 2.4GHz wireless dongle, a keycap and switch removal tool, a screwdriver, and a hex key.
Keychron K4 HE review: What I like
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Bespoke keyboards are still relatively niche, appealing mostly to a small but passionate group of enthusiasts that value customizable hardware and luxury acoustics.
Keychron is one of the bigger brands in the space, and the K4 HE is its latest attempt at a jack-of-all-trades custom keyboard that equally excels at productivity, gaming, cross-device compatibility, and customizability.
This is a 96% layout, a relatively uncommon size that gives you the tenkey number pad of a full-sized keyboard in a more confined space.
It also fully supports both Windows and macOS out of the box, with Keychron being nice enough to provide swappable keycaps that adhere to your preferred operating system (as well as a handful of cosmetic alternatives, like differently colored Esc and Enter keys).
It’s a wonderfully comfortable layout, with each individual key carefully sculpted for an optimal typing experience. These are double-shot PBT keys that promise good durability, and the font is clear and legible.
In general, I really like this design. There are sleeker keyboards than this, with the K4 HE using a plastic case with an aluminum frame, but both white and black colorways look incredibly clean, and the per-key, North-facing RGB lighting is decently vibrant and highly customizable.
If you want some added flair, the Special Edition that I received boasts rosewood accents on either side. The dimensions are slightly different from the Standard Edition, but the keyboard is functionally the same.
As a keyboard, the K4 HE is excellent. The Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Switches, which employ Hall Effect technology, offer a consistent, responsive linear action with a rapid reset.
Keychron’s expertise in typing acoustics makes itself known in the K4 HE, too, with a silicon acoustic pad and two separate layers of sound dampening foam provides a soft, even, and warm sound profile despite this being a tray-mounted design (rather than the more expensive gasket-mounted design favored by the most premium keyboards).
I’d be lying if I claimed I preferred the K4 HE over the Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75% I reviewed, but that keyboard also costs twice as much. For the price, the K4 HE is awesome, and it’s equipped with an incredibly impressive list of features.
The use of magnetic switches over more traditional mechanical switches allows for far more precise, granular control over your input. In a broad sense, this means having adjustable actuation, or being able to change exactly when input is measured when depressing a key.
Historically, that was a feature reserved for extremely expensive keyboards using custom analog optical switches, like the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro I reviewed, but we’re now starting to see more keyboards using Hall Effect technology.
Using the Keychron Launcher, you can customize the actuation distance of each individual key between 0.2mm and 3.8mm in 0.1mm intervals. You can enable rapid trigger, a feature that dramatically shortens the actuation reset so you can mash a key without missing any inputs.
You can tune keys to always prioritize the latest or deepest input. You can set individual keys to emulate a gamepad’s analog triggers or thumbsticks with granular input. You can even assign up to four functions to every key, dependent on how deep you press it and in what combinations.
It’s an incredibly deep layer of customization that you won’t find in most keyboards, and the Keychron K4 HE boasts onboard memory to remember your separate profiles for both Windows and macOS (in addition to its healthy amount of built-in shortcuts and features).
Unlike many custom keyboards (including other options in Keychron’s catalog), the K4 HE is also a great performer when gaming, even outside of the utility gained by the adjustable actuation.
Many wireless keyboards not designed for gaming are afflicted with egregious latency, as an instant response isn’t as crucial with standard typing or productivity work. The K4 HE drags that latency down to just 3.4ms in 2.4GHz mode, though, and boasts up to a 1,000Hz polling rate in both wired and wireless modes.
With added Bluetooth support on board, the Keychron K4 HE can adapt to gaming, productivity, and creation across multiple devices with ease. Battery life in wireless modes has also been quite good for me, even with the RGB lighting enabled and its standby is efficient enough that I don’t bother turning the keyboard off overnight.
Keychron K4 HE review: What I don’t like
I have some minor complaints about the Keychron K4 HE’s design, like how it’s a little on the chunky side and is always propped at an angle — which not everyone wants.
The switches on the side that allow you to change connectivity or OS modes also feel cheaper than the rest of the keyboard, and the labels are tiny and blend into the casing so you have to have perfect, direct lighting to even begin to read them.
The advantages of Hall Effect switches also come with one disadvantage, too. Yes, these switches are hot swappable and Keychron includes all the tools you need for customizing your K4 HE in the box, but this keyboard is only compatible with other Hall Effect switches. More specifically, other Hall Effect switches you can only get from Keychron.
More than all that, though, is a two-fold problem with the Keychron K4 HE. On one hand, the Keychron Launcher is packed with an absurd number of features, but on the other hand it’s a slightly awkward web app that requires a wired connection to the K4 HE.
The K4 HE really feels designed to be used mostly wirelessly, and it certainly doesn’t help that the angled, braided cable Keychron includes in the box is woefully short. When I need to charge the K4 HE, it has to sit on my mousepad to reach the cable — and my desktop is close by, not mounted below my desk or somewhere else.
The former issue could potentially be solved in a future firmware update and the latter could be fixed by Keychron simply supplying a longer cable in the box (or you using your own), so that goes to show how good this keyboard is that I have to nitpick.
Keychron K4 HE review: Also consider
Keychron K4 HE review: My final thoughts
✅You should buy this if …
- You want a wireless, custom keyboard that can also do gaming.
- You want to be on the cutting edge with adjustable Hall Effect switches.
- You value being able to customize every part of your keyboard.
❌You should not buy this if …
- You want to be able to use any key switches you want.
- You won’t use any of the Hall Effect features and options.
Magnetic switch technology like Hall Effect and Tunnel Magnetoresistance (TMR) have already begun to take over controllers with more reliable, precise, and adjustable thumbsticks and triggers, and now we’re seeing the same tech in keyboards.
The Keychron K4 HE isn’t the first to use the tech and it won’t be the last, but it’s still one of the best custom, wireless keyboards you can buy right now that excels at every typing aspect — be it gaming, productivity, or creation.
Great typing acoustics, respectable hardware customization, an attractive price tag, and an absurd number of software features made possible by those unique Hall Effect switches makes the K4 HE a stupendously easy recommendation.
Not everyone will make use of any of those Hall Effect-specific features, though, and the wired-only launcher is kicked while its down by the ridiculously short cable in the box. Those are minor qualms, though — this is a killer keyboard.
You can grab the Keychron K4 HE from $134.99 at Amazon, but you may have better luck with availability at the source from $134.99 at Keychron. I also want to mention the Keychron K2 HE, a 75% version of this keyboard, that you can now get from $135.99 at Amazon.
Unique Hall Effect switches allow for adjustable actuation and other features previously found in much more expensive keyboards, but the K4 HE is a jack-of-all-trades that excels at productivity, creation, and gaming in equal measure.
