A tale of three portable keyboards

Epomaker NT68

First, the one I was the most excited about, the Epomaker NT68. This one isn’t low profile, and uses standard MX style switches (which can be hot swapped). The one I ordered came with Epomaker’s Chocolate Rose switches, which have a nice feel to them - nicely tactile, with the bump at the very top. But they’re loud - thoccy - and not the best choice for a portable board I’ll want to use anywhere. So I’m going to swap it to Boba U4 switches. Anyway. My two gripes: It took me a minute to figure out how to fold the case to support an iPad (and even then, the 9.7 Pro can best be used only in landscape mode; portrait mode is usable but not very stable), and, the backlighting, in addition to being a battery drain, is aesthetic only; the keycaps (which use the relatively rare DSA profile) are

Properly folded, the NT68 case supports an iPad

not shine-through, so the back lighting doesn’t really help with low light usability. (At least one review suggests that Cherry profile keycaps will work with the case, and Drop.com (and others) have sets of shine-through keycaps in that profile starting around $45. Might experiment later.) But those are minor gripes (and maybe Epomaker or someone else will come out with DSA shine-through keycaps). Overall, I like this thing.

With shine-through keycaps, the NT68 RGB would be useful

Edit: I swapped the switches to Boba U4 silent tactile (62g), and now it’s pretty close to being the GOAT. This is the one I take with me when I want to use a tablet with a keyboard and be Really Quiet™ while doing so (at a board meeting especially with some folks participating remotely; at a coffee shop; etc).

NuPhy Air 75

Meanwhile, the NuPhy Air 75 (low profile Gateron hot-swappable brown switches, but your options are basically red (linear), blue (clicky), and these brown (tactile) switches) arrived today. I haven’t had a chance to play with it much, but so far I like it. It slots in over the keyboard of the 2012 MacBook Air perfectly, doesn’t interfere with the onboard keyboard (which it completely covers) or track pad, etc., and adds a nice, almost-integrated tactile mechanical keyboard to the MacBook. Verdict: Love it, so far. I got the NuFolio v2 to go with it, so I can lug just one keyboard along for both laptop and iPad purposes, and also to protect it en route. Manual.

Edit: I tried using it with my ancient Mid-2007 MacBook. While it’s confusing as to whether the Air75 uses Bluetooth 3.0 or 5.0, it seems the MacBook (Bluetooth 2.0+EDR) isn’t compatible with the keyboard. It sees it but cannot connect to it. However, the Air75 also works with a 2.4 GHz dongle (included in the box), so I tried that (have to switch the keyboard to that mode with Fn+4, which isn’t marked on the keyboard itself; 1-3 are to select different Bluetooth connections, also not marked on the keycaps). Works perfectly - I’m using that setup to type this addition. I might see about adding a more modern Bluetooth version via USB; I hate relying on proprietary dongles (lose it and you’re screwed; not a huge deal for the $17 Logitech M317 I’m using with this laptop ($13 refurbished), but for a $100+ keyboard ... Yeah. No. Not something I want to carry around. Especially since this dongle has zero markings on it. This $17 adapter purports to provide Bluetooth 4.0 support to laptops built without it, and to work with Mac OS versions down to Lion (and Bluetooth 5.0 should be backwards compatible to Bluetooth 4.0 - and actually, now that I think about it, above you see it working with the version 4.0 Bluetooth built into the 2012 MacBook Air). (Another option I considered was getting a short right-angle USB-C cable (like this 4" SKU, or this 9" unit) and just hard wiring it, but that’s ... Inelegant. Anyway.) As I expected, the “2nd-generation AirFeet” work just fine with the keyboard on the 2010 and 2012 MacBook Air computers and even the ancient MacBook. Huzzah.

Edit: I’ve used it with the 9" cable on the 2007 MacBook, and with both the 1' 90° cable from this three-pack and this 90° .6' cable, on my old mid-2010 MacBook Air and all of 'em work just fine, without being too awkward.

Edit again: It seems like the Air75 might advertise itself as Bluetooth 3.0 to those devices that can’t support Bluetooth 5.0? My circa-2010 MacBook Air, which has Bluetooth 2.1 (2.1+EDR according to everymac), works with it just fine and sees the device name as “Air75 BT3.0” while other devices (iPad Pro 9.7) sees it as “Air75 BT5.0.” Curious.

Another edit: Although Nuphy limits the compatibility to “MacBook Air (Early 2015-2019),” I’m typing this with the keyboard perched atop an early 2020 MacBook Air (retina) (scissor keyboard) and it seems to work just fine. It does overhang the edges a little and a little more care is required when positioning it, but once in place it doesn’t interfere and works well.

Note: The side lights are really annoying, but easy to disable. Hold down Fn and the '?' key and then use the arrow keys to change the lighting effect, color, brightness, etc. (I turned them off.) Fn plus the left/right arrows changes the backlight mode, up/down arrows the brightness. The default keycaps are not shine-through, unfortunately. (But apparently they’re working on shine-through? “We are already designing all black keycaps, which will take some time to come out, and the keycaps are made of ABS, allowing light to pass through.”  As of mid-October 2022, apparently available for pre-order.)

Fn+| will flash the battery status next to the DEL key; Fn+] displays it constantly (Fn+| in that mode will turn it off).
Fn+Tab+S sleep mode on, Fn+Tab+W sleep mode off.
Fn+Tab+R factory reset.
Fn+←backlight type (cycles through what looks like 21 options?)
Fn+→ color
Fn+↑↓ brightness

Another note: There’s a firmware update that persists sidelight settings across keyboard power cycles. Excellent. (Except, it’s only applicable to keyboards ordered on December 30, 2021 or later, and mine was ordered on December 29th... Sigh. Update: I emailed them asking if I could upgrade the PCB and they’re sending me one! Stay tuned.) 

Positioning note: The best way I’ve found to get it situated on the 2020 MacBook Air is to start with the keyboard as close to the screen as possible, with the bottom resting lightly in the aluminum chassis. Drag it lightly towards the trackpad, and stop when you feel it “hook.”

Edit (11/2/2022): I ordered the black ABS shine-through keycaps on October 12th and they arrived November 1st. A few days before that, the “VER1.1” PCB arrived, presumably with upgradable firmware. As soon as I have a minute to tear it apart, I’m going to swap everything over.

Edit (3/16/2023): After trying to use the Air 75 with brown switches with my Tripodsy and a MacBook Pro 14, I realized I just really need a stiffer switch. There aren’t many options, though; as I type this you have a choice of red, brown, and blue, low profile switches from Gateron. The “clicky” blue switches have an operating force of 65±15 gf (compared to 55±15 gf for the browns), so I’ve ordered a set (at $26 for 110 switches, they’re not super expensive). I’m going to give that a try. I’ll have the NT68 with Boba U4s for silent typing situations (and the browns, while not “clicky,” were certainly “thoccy” already...).

Edit (3/17/2023): And of course now I see Brown 2.0 and Wisteria switches on the NuPhy website ($27.50/100 and $38.50/100 respectively), both have a little higher force required (55 / 60, and 55 / 65 gf, respectively), with a little more travel (both are 1.7 / 3.2 mm, compared to 1.5 / 2.5 mm for the OG brown switches).

NuPhy Air 75 VER1.1 PCB

NuPhy ABS Shine-Through Keycaps

NuPhy F1

Finally, I picked up a used NuPhy F1 keyboard (brown switches) on eBay, because the price was right, shipping of the Air 75 and NT68 from China was looking like it was going to take forever (the F1 arrived yesterday), and I was curious if I’d like it.

Verdict? I don’t. Something about the flat keys and their spacing; it’s got all the disadvantages of a chiclet keyboard built into the MacBook Air, with none of the benefits. I’m going to put it up on eBay and send it along to a new home. I do like how it integrates with the MacBook Air - it looks more at home than does the Air 75, and it’s smaller (though it doesn’t include the function / media keys, which are cumbersome to get to).

More Thoughts - Using the Air 75 and MT68 with an iPad

The Air 75 with its case weights 30.5 ounces and is slightly taller, and about an inch wider, than the MT68 in its case (albeit slightly thinner). The MT68 weights in at 28.5 ounces. The iPad stand for the Air 75 is a bit more stable (it goes up higher), but takes up more real estate on the desk. For my lap desk, the MT68 is less awkward. I like the fact that I could customize the switches on the Epomaker, I used Boba U4 62g switches that are basically silent in operation. The low profile Gateron Brown switches in the Air 75 are swappable, but there’s a paucity of options available; they’re not super loud, but they’re definitely not silent. The MT68 can be charged while it’s in its case with the case folded (closed) (the USB-C port is on the side); the Air 75’s USB-C port is along the back long edge of the keyboard, and charging it in the case is awkward, requiring it to be unfolded.

MT68: 1 3/8" at its thickest, 12 3/8" long, 4 1/4" wide, 28.5 oz.
Air 75: 1 1/4" at its thickest, 12 1/2" long, 5 1/2" wide, 30.5 oz.

(I’m actually kind of surprised now that I measure them, the Air 75 feels smaller and lighter, but is not. Hmm.) With the case setup to be an iPad base, the MT68 requires a depth of 7 1/2" while the Air 75 needs a full 11" – which just barely fits on the LapGear MyDesk I’ve become quite fond of.

The only real advantage the Air 75 has over the MT68 is the 75% form factor (i.e., the row of function keys at the top), which aren’t all that useful with the iPad. If I was traveling light and could only take one, it would probably be the Air 75, as it’s more useful (toss it on the MacBook Air; use it for the iPad), but if I’m just packing a small backpack (like this $20 Wild Fable I found at Target; yeah, it says it’s for women, but it’s the perfect size for a productive day trip) for a trip to Disneyland or something, I’ll probably stick with the MT68.

(The wireless receiver that comes with the Air 75 identifies itself simply as “2.4G Wireless Receiver” with Product ID 0x0256, Vendor ID 0x05ac (which belongs to Apple Inc.), and Manufacturer CX. The dongle itself is nondescript.)