One of the upsides to mechanical keyboards is that they tend to focus a lot on durability, where a typical mechanical keyboard switch is said to be capable of lasting for over a million keystrokes. However, the tech behind these switches hasn’t really changed all that much over the years, which is something that Input Club is hoping to do.
The company has recently announced the launch of the Keystone, a new breed of mechanical keyboards that they’re hoping will revolutionize the industry. This is because the Keystone uses what is known as Hall Effect switches that relies on a magnet inside of the switch. This is versus standard switches that rely on bent metal contacts.
The typical switch usually registers when the key is pressed and once contact is made. This means no matter how hard or soft you press, as long as contact is made, the keystroke is registered. However, with Hall Effect switches, the idea behind it is that depending on how hard or soft you press, the input can be different.
For example, a hard press can turn a letter from a lowercase into uppercase, without having to use modifiers. It can also be used in gaming where a soft press can mean that you want your character to walk, while a hard press makes your character run. It sounds like an interesting idea, at least in theory, but how it plays out in real life remains to be seen.
For those who are interested, the Keystone is set to be released in February 2020 and is currently on Kickstarter trying to raise funds for its production.
Filed in . Read more about Crowdfunding, Keyboards and Kickstarter.