Amar 06/01/2022
SUMMARY: Great build quality, but you may want to replace the switches, and the layout makes some keys difficult to hit. Battery life and some design details could be better.
BUILD QUALITY
I've been very impressed with the overall quality. The fact that most of the body is plastic doesn't seem to matter: the weight and the outer aluminium frame make this feel like a solid product. My only minor gripe is that the sliders on the side of the keyboard can't be moved with the flesh of your finger despite their nubby texture; you have to push their edge with your nail.
It may be worth noting that while the photos may make you expect a retro design, the keyboard actually looks very modern. It's a slightly blueish grey, and the escape key is fluorescent orange. Very nice, just may be different from what you expect.
SWITCHES
I wanted a tactile switch and so got the Gateron Browns, but chose the hot-swappable version to keep my options open, and am glad I did. I first added o-rings to make the keys quieter, which also helped make them feel less plasticky. However, the main issue is that they are too light: you can't completely relax your hands on the keyboard without inadvertently depressing keys (they only require 44g of force to overcome the bump; for comparison, a MacBook keyboard has a tactile force of about 67g). This did not feel comfortable and made my hands feel tired, and I worried it might give me RSI. I ended up replacing the switches with Zilents v2 67g (tactile force ~63g), and am extremely happy with the feel now. I'd give the keyboard 4 stars after this upgrade.
The keyboard comes with a key cap puller and a switch puller, which I think aren't listed on the product page. But the switch puller doesn't work well on the top row of switches because they're too close to the edge of the frame.
LAYOUT
The keyboard is a great size: compact while offering all the keys you need. However, like most 75% keyboards, a problem is that there are no gaps between the groups of keys, so you can't feel where you are. I hadn't realised how much this would affect my performance. For a long time, my hand couldn't easily find the Return key, because it's not at the edge of the main block. I still struggle with the Delete key after 5 months. I think next time I'd try the Keychron Q1, which has gaps between blocks.
BATTERY & BLUETOOTH
I haven't been impressed with the battery life. The keyboard went to sleep quite often, so I turned this feature off, but then it needed charging about once a month, even with the LEDs off and even if I fully turned the keyboard off at the end of each day. For comparison, the Matias Laptop Pro keyboard only requires charging about twice a year. On the plus side, the Keychron K2 reconnects to Bluetooth much faster than the Matias. The short battery life is exacerbated by the fact that you won't notice when the battery is low, because it's only indicated by a tiny light on the side of the keyboard. I never noticed it in time even though I was looking at the side every day to turn the keyboard on and off. There also seems to be a bug where after switching between different bluetooth pairings, the keyboard sometimes freezes and you have to turn it off and back on. I've now switched to using it via USB.