Keychron K3 Max Review - Enter the Dongle

The Keychron K3 Max adds a 2.4GHz wireless connection to the K3 75% low profile keyboard. It's a nice upgrade and the connection is quite stable, but the battery life is a little bit disappointing. What do you think?
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FTC Disclaimer: This video is not sponsored however Keychron sent me a K3 Max keyboard for the purpose of reviewing it. Product/service links included above may be affiliate links, which means I can make a small commission through purchases. This helps to support my channel and website. If you so choose, feel free not to use the links provided.

[@thenightstreamer4702]

Wow this is so awesome. I saw how popular the low profile Keychrons became but they've definitely brought back the original color scheme that looks more classic than the pros in my opinion. This looks great. I've never owned their low profile versions but I've had their k2 in the past and tried out a v1 and a k1. I'm using a membrane keyboard at the moment with a broken J key that won't come up or press so I may look into this. With money short though, kind of sucks because I'm struggling with PC issues at the moment, so may have to wait on a keyboard

[@user-th7lb6bz9q]

Excellent review! I am looking to purchase my first mechanical keyboard. Your reviews cover everything that matters for a newbie like me. Still trying to decide between the Keychron K3 Max and NuPhy Air75 V2. The K3 Max improvements makes my decision more difficult. The "Enter Key" wobble and space bar stabilizers is a concern but not a deal breaker. NuPhy Air5 V2 has silicone pads under the space bar to dampen the sound. The 1550 mAh battery (78 hours) vs 4000 mAh (220 hours) of the NuPhy tips the scale to purchasing the Air75 V2.

[@vAmmonite]

Really love this review, straight to the point and you explain everything really well. Fingers crossed for the giveaway!

[@DavidSinanan]

Bluetooth polls at 125 hz vs the 1000 hz polling. The base is a 875 hz difference, so the processor is 'pinged' a minimum that many more times per cycle. So the battery will certainly drain faster. I'm sure that if used in Bluetooth mode onliny it will have the same battery life as the K3 Max (I've got one). They've both got an ARM processor, so it won't change the battery life specs. The only thing they changed electronically was the 2.4 ghz connection. I appreciate your review. Thanks. You covered the important stuff for sure. Side note: I use 3 different types of switches on my K3 Pro. I use blues on the perimiter keys (although I'm going to switch spacebar back to red I think); so I know when I'm on the exterior keys. The alphabet keys I use red for. And the numbers/symbols etc that I don't use as frequently I've got brown on. So far (maybe a year now) it's worked really well fro me. Over 100 wpm, perfect keystroke. Variable keys are pretty neat.

[@andreapacumaro1616]

Wow this seems like the perfect mobile keyboard. Going to work with this in the backpack is going to be awesome.

[@cedgmail]

Great review! Thanks

[@jounin818]

I just got the K3 Max with the Hot-swap RGB Red switches about a week ago and I am not getting the wobble/rattle from the spacebar or enter key. It may be from the type of switches I got or improvements with this batch, but I have been very happy with it so far.

[@dre1784]

This is a contender, what would your thoughts be on the Keychron R1? That seems like the winner, in 75% or 96% layout, but there's no further announcement on it.

[@spikeimperial]

Would you prefer the K3 or the K1 max if you were gonna use one? (75 vs TKL) the difference in space is minimal and keycaps would be a little less headache inducing with the TKL.

[@YoloVib3s]

The no shine thru keycaps is kinda crazy in 2024 but fortunately I already have some shine thrus on my K3 V2 that I'll just swap over. Also FYI Azio low profile keycaps are a perfect replacement fit.

[@knotsable]

Im waiting for the K3 Pro Max (did keychron do an Apple here?)

[@i.shadrin]

Much prefer the minimalist look of K3 over Nuphy Air75, but would like to have bigger battery

[@ivordiamzon176]

I have a K3 Max White Backlight and I can’t change the speed of light effects? Is this standard for a white backlight version?

[@Ramoncito788]

K3 max are you sure it comes with pbt key caps?. Wich choose k2 pro or k3 max in terms of how long it takes to wake up the keyboard from sleep mode?

[@AfshinDavoudy]

Would you please compare it with air75?

[@bdhaliwal24]

Great review. I think that the increased polling frequency is likely affecting the battery life. For non-gamers it would be useful to turn this down to save on battery.

[@yogaexe]

Use bluetooth when not gaming.

[@sebastiani.5940]

@semiprotech Are you going to upload a review of the new Q1 Max? And even though it isn't a question about the K3 Max, but can anyone tell me why the Q1 Max is supposed to have a battery life of 180 hours, compared to the 300 hours of the Q1 Pro? Both got a 4,000 mAh battery. Shouldn't both get the same battery life in Bluetooth mode?

[@nicoleng5228]

are the keycaps for pro and max interchangeable? not sure if this means i need better prescription but it looks like the pro version is slightly bigger than the max :/

[@aelaan12]

I wonder if they would provide the solder on BT board, not that I want to murder my K3Pro. I also got the Redragon Azure K652 that I am getting ready to mod because that thing is pingy beyond belief. The K3Pro is my main board, I also ordered the LSA shine through keyset for it that took eons to get here. The enter key does not wobble on that one, so that might be a manufacturer's defect. I just wish we could mod these boards with bigger batteries. The K652 seems to be the one to go for after modding, but I will never give up my K3Pro. The wobble in the space bar could well be because the programmer button for QMK is under the space bar.

[@MsLemons12]

I got the classic k3 and it was pretty disappointing QC wise. LED indicator never turns off and doesnt display battery status

[@raginreagan6607]

Great content.

[@roseradical7212]

just an FYI, the battery life being shorter is definitely the higher polling rate / 1000hz connection. Bluetooth is specifically designed to be low power, and runs at a relatively low polling rate (almost never above 125hz). 2.4ghz at 1000hz will definitely draw significantly more power, as it's being polled at least 8x as often.

[@MihoNightwalker]

Could you do us a favour and tell us what's the range for both wireless and bluetooth, no need for exact numbers here but roughly, will it still have stable connection on both at around 1.5 metres away from the computer? Please please

[@cussyrichards6121]

Is there on-board dongle storage?

[@JohnDoe-lg2rg]

terbaik video ko

[@abhinavhada5854]

Need some advice. K2 V2 with a palm rest, or a low profile keyboard?

[@abhinavhada5854]

Also, these keycaps are not shine through right? Isn't that a dealbreaker?

[@mikeyd9953]

@@abhinavhada5854 yes they also shine very hard

[@saiko361]

I ordered the K3 Max... If only Nuphy Air75 or 96 had an iso-de layout, I guess K3 Max was the next best choice.

[@enjotlichts1820]

Genau diese Entscheidung habe ich auch treffen müssen. Ich hoffe trotzdem noch, dass die Air mit ISO-Layout eingeführt wird. Bis dahin gibt es keine bessere Alternative. Werde dann vermutlich das Board mit Tape modden.

[@nike77155]

Damn, I recently ordered a lowfree flow. Now I’m having second thoughts

[@JCMaldonado13]

The Lofree Flow is a better buy in my opinion.

[@ThatMarkGilroy]

Seconded. The extra you pay for the Lofree is worth it for the typing feel and sound.

[@echo021]

The short battery life is a deal breaker for me on this one otherwise I really like this keyboard.

[@mikeyd9953]

NUPHY SUPERIOR

[@ishid_anfarded_king]

@@mikeyd9953 Don't be sheep to specific companies.

[@Stinger913]

@@mikeyd9953only if you like 96% and can get used to the smushed arrow keys and numpad

[@bigsiege7684]

Pay for weight and size. Powerbank is solution.

[@kunalkalundia2748]

why no shine through key caps 🤷‍♂ it is as good as not having a backlit ???

[@3choblast3r4]

Shine through keycaps are a dying thing and only found on cheaper boards. For a lot of keyboard hobbyists in fact it's kind of a sign of it being a "cheap board." Because the more expensive boards almost never come with shine through keycaps. And the gold standard is cherry profile keycaps which don't really exist with shine through (idk why). Shine through caps are generally also OEM, which is another "that's a cheaper keyboard" thing. Or at least most hobbyists don't like OEM. So now you get different keycap profiles and those generally don't come in shine through. Most importantly, if you get into keyboards you will very quickly get over shine through keycaps and rgb in general and instead want a nice clean cherry profile keycap set and those are impossible to find in shine through. Everyone knows how to blind type and so no one ever really even looks at their keys. The shine through is completely useless since you can just type with easy in any lighting condition. In fact in the dark it's often more distracting than it's worth it. This is also a south facing board, so shine through won't work well with regular keycaps. The backlight is only there for easthetics.

[@3choblast3r4]

I don't understand why the k pro line is so fugly lol. My k2v2 looks way better with the metal bars on the side. Also strange that they don't offer the metal side bars like on the other k lines.

[@kasparsbutlers]

I ordered my K3 Max exclusively because of 1000 Hz polling rate. As I use my keyboard for work and for gaming, anything with Bluetooth latency is a deal breaker for me. Mechanically NuPhy Air75 V2 seems to be better, but I can't live with that key & case design.

[@semiprotech]

The 2.4GHz connection on the K3 Max was very stable for me, even with a few objects in the way at a distance of 3.2 feet. They seem to have done a nice job with the added connection!

[@elpato3190]

It really looks bad. The color combination sucks. And it's crazy there's not even a plain black option.

[@cjbottaro]

@@semiprotech I have a Nuphy Air75 V2 and it double tapped so often with the 2.4 ghz connection, that I had to switch to wired. Kind of a big disappointment. I want to try the K3 Max to see if it's any better in this regard.

[@noob1que]

True about spacebar rattle.

[@motoxrdr4]

Any plans to review the V1 or V1 max?

[@semiprotech]

Yes! I have the V1 Max and am working on the review now!

[@motoxrdr4]

@@semiprotech awesome! I’m looking for a standard height board to play around with and complement my k3 pro, looking at the v1 max, k2 pro, epomaker, and a couple others as well. Your reviews are helpful!

[@tomerktzv]

I just got my Keychron K3 V2, and it has a huge BT input delay with my mac. After a quick search online I found out I was definitely not the only one. How come this issue never came up?

[@semiprotech]

I've been using my K3 Max pretty regularly with my Macbook and haven't had any bluetooth latency issues yet. While both the K3 V2 and K3 Max have bluetooth 5.1, they don't have all the same internal components.

[@tomerktzv]

I see. Thank you! Hopefully you will not experience them as well, as they are disappointing and I'm going to return it unfortunately (Impossible to work with such delay and inconsistency in BT connectivity)@@semiprotech . Your reviews are always informative and great.

[@joelsjogren5636]

is there a TKL version? or simular

[@semiprotech]

The K1 Max is a TKL layout with the same features!

[@joelsjogren5636]

@@semiprotech thanks, have already ordered getting it monday

[@mikeyd9953]

pls compare this to nuphy v2 AND lofree FLOW!!!!

[@ThatMarkGilroy]

*Cough cough* kzbin.info/www/bejne/boDFk4quiLuml5Y 👀

[@JCMaldonado13]

The stabilizers are a deal breaker for me.

[@Shmaffer]

Video seems very dark

[@Orca774]

Do u intentionally underexpose your videos?

[@justinlex2473]

K series sucks