Keychron K8 Pro and Q0: Balanced Price and Performance

The Keychron K8 Pro to me balances performance, features and cost better than any other keyboard I've used so far. The Q0 is a nice accessory meaning regardless of the board I use, I will always have a trusty number pad.
The products featured in this video were personally purchased by me and were not part of any collaboration or promotion with Keychron.
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Timecodes:
0:00 Introduction
1:14 Thanks to Keybored
2:39 Why the K8 Pro?
4:22 The Keychron Q0
5:47 Compared against the Budget Mechanical
7:01 Sound Test
10:19 Conclusions

[@roller1211]

I was looking at this keyboard recently, so thank you for the review :) Love your retro videos, very helpfull and usefull.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Cheers, glad you enjoyed it. There is lots of great content out there on this keyboard, this is just my two cents.

[@ZeroSeriesMMX]

Dang it, I'm already a proud owner of a K8 Pro (changed the keycaps to a set of Akko ASA Clear Blacks v2, but I won't sell the stock keycaps, because those are the most comfortable set I have), but I still love listening to others' sound/typing tests of their own K8 Pro units. 😂

[@LaptopRetrospective]

It's a great keyboard out of the box.

[@thekrakozhian392]

Would it hurt when typing on it, 'cause I heard many people complain about its height

[@LaptopRetrospective]

It's fine for me. No pain or discomfort. Quite the opposite in fact.

[@ZeroSeriesMMX]

@@thekrakozhian392 nothing a wrist rest can't solve, tbh.

[@ryanlikesally]

@@thekrakozhian392 for me the height is preferred, it’s personal preference but i like the k8 pro’s height with the tallest feet too

[@basicforge]

Thanks for this. I am a serious keyboard nut. I have a whole bunch of different keyboards including everything from a 101 key Model M (which I am typing on right now), various kinds of mechanical and rubber dome KBs, some backlit and some not, and some wacky ergo KBs such as the AlphaGrip. Many different layouts. I love the variety of it all and find it inspiring. I will usually just pick a different keyboard for a few weeks to mix it up. Also I will use a different kind of keyboard depending on which computer I am using for a task. Just like my Thinkpad habit, my keyboards are always bought on the cheap. My eyes range throughout the Earth to find these things really cheap, or else I can't afford them. ;)

[@basicforge]

Also, see this guy if you haven't already. I've had some interesting chats with him. kzbin.info

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Cheers, thanks for the suggestion.

[@MnemonicCarrier]

I'm thinking about getting a Model M Mini. Would you recommend it? What do the buckling springs feel like?

[@burhanbudak6041]

If you want a out of the box keyboard, this is it. No need for modding(if the switches is bad you can change it and lub) but the foam and silicone is a brilliant addon. Unfortunately I own the old K8 hotswap.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Agreed. I've changed nothing for it to suit my needs.

[@MnemonicCarrier]

I'm not a keyboard expert either, which is why I purchased the K8 Pro. I love it! My keycaps look very different to yours though.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Oh yeah? How so?

[@MnemonicCarrier]

@@LaptopRetrospective My main keys and the same color as your CTRL/SHIFT (etc) keys, and my CTRL/SHIFT (etc) are the same color as your main keys. There's less of a delta between the two colors used on my keyboard. Are your keycaps "shine through"? I've had conversations on KZbin with a lot of folks who claim their keycaps are not shine through - mine are.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

My letters don't have light through them, just around the edges. Mine was the first batch they made.

[@zipk5240]

Please tell intro music

[@jierenzheng7670]

Thanks for the video. How does the Q0 feel like compared to Keychron Q series keyboard?

[@LaptopRetrospective]

I don't own a Q series keyboard to compare.

[@jierenzheng7670]

@@LaptopRetrospective Ah, thanks!

[@LaptopRetrospective]

No problem!

[@pauljmorton]

Damn, I can't find the Q0 anywhere. Out of stock everywhere. I need it! :D

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Interesting! Hope they make some more soon.

[@Pernig]

8:09 Do you want to turn on Sticky Keys?

[@LaptopRetrospective]

LOL.

[@thebeattee569]

this keyboard will also work with ipads and iphones as well because of the bluetooth connectivity. :)

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Correct!

[@8ctrl763]

I just bought one and man the foam and silicone make it so much better and overall the build quality is best. you can get for this price actually it's a bit too good for the price.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Glad to hear you are enjoying yours. It's one of my daily drivers.

[@8ctrl763]

Would like to see you customize yours or any other keyboard.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

If I do customize any keyboard I get I'll be sure you update everyone. The ones in this video are pretty much perfect out of the box for my needs.

[@EternalArrow]

I dont understand why all these KBs have one row enter and this wide slash button on top of it?! Why is this button should be bigger then standard keycap? I like big enter and smaller slash button in middle row, but there are no such kbs....

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Not sure what to tell ya.🤷‍♂️ Custom keyboards are strange territory sometimes.

[@PhazonBlaxor]

It depends on the region. European keyboards for as far as I know always have large enters. At least the nordic layout does and I recently ordered K8 Pro with nordic layout and it does have larger enter. So it doesn't make much sense to look at the keyboard layout from American reviews if you are in other regions, you should buy your keyboards locally. But it still makes sense looking at other stuff about the keyboard, even if it's an American review.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Sadly they do not have a Canadian layout with a poutine shaped enter button. 😉

[@mixeddrinks8100]

but at that price wouldn't you just get the Q6, and it comes with a knob for like about 20 dollars

[@LaptopRetrospective]

When was the Q6 released? Wondering if it was even out when I bought this.

[@mixeddrinks8100]

@@LaptopRetrospective they started talking about it in April and launched in mid june.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Yeah so it wasn't an option when I bought these then.

[@user-cx3mm2iu9n]

Q6 doesn’t connect to multiple devices which is why I dint get it. Sadly. Loved the keyboard

[@sushantrocks]

dude which switches?

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Gateron Pro Reds in mine.

[@sushantrocks]

@@LaptopRetrospective thanks bro (+1 and sub). I have used browns and I think they will be more accurate. Reds might result in more mistakes. However, that sound 🤤 - Currently using gat yellows and outemu blue. What do you recommend?

[@LaptopRetrospective]

My main keyboard is an MX Brown but I feel to get this sound and experience, reds are a must. I don't miss the tactile bump as much as I thought I would.

[@Vysair]

This keyboard can fit any switches irl because: 1. The LED is south-facing, meaning it won't disrupt mx switches and the clones 2. The pcb can fit 3-pin and 5-pin switches 3. The keyboard is hot-swappaer, you don't need to desolder the switches to swap them

[@sushantrocks]

I almost bought this. But then I took a 3 day vacation and have a memory for life ... 😁