The best low-profile 75% mechanical keyboards? (REMATCH)

Рет қаралды 32,487

Күн бұрын

Ding ding! It's time for round 2 of the low-profile 75% mechanical keyboard royal rumble and this time we're comparing the Lofree Flow, Keychron's K3 Max, and Nuphy's Air75 V2. I explore all the key differences and put each through their paces to help you find which of these is best for you.
🛒 PRODUCT LINKS
Lofree Flow (direct): bit.ly/4ajQWh6 (use code TMG for 10% off any order)
Lofree Flow (Amazon): geni.us/irT1N7
Nuphy Air 75 V2: bit.ly/46hzRlV (use code TMG10 for a 10% discount!)
Keychron K3 Max: bit.ly/4aVrHlZ
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⌚️TIMESTAMPS
0:00 : Intro
0:52 : Pricing
1:31 : Design & build quality
4:09 : Features & functionality
9:43 : Typing test
10:59 : Conclusion
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Nuphy Air75 V2 in-depth review: • Nuphy Air75 (version 2...
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Пікірлер: 83

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

Which one of these keyboards comes out on top for you?

@bojack3827 6 ай бұрын

My rankings: 1. Lofree Flow v2.0 (coming in 2024 with QMK/VIA etc) 2. Lofree Flow current version, with Ghost Linear switches, XVX shine through keycaps and 30A O rings. Best typing experience. Excellent power management. 3. Nuphy Air 75 v2.0 with Cowberry switches, XVX shine through keycaps and 30A O rings. Best for features. 4. Lofree Flow current version, with Phantom tactile switches (switches are too heavy/fatiguing for my liking). 5. Keychron K3. Power management, bluetooth wake, battery life etc is still terrible. Rattly, cheap keycaps. Feels very generic.

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

@@bojack3827 I gotta get my hands on a set of Cowberry switches.

@kanhatop 6 ай бұрын

@@bojack3827approximately when in 2024 can we expect lofree flow?

@googlereviewer1944 6 ай бұрын

For me, the whole point of a mechanical keyboard is the quality of the typing action and sound. In that regard, the Lofree comes first for me.

@arvi8843 5 ай бұрын

@@bojack3827 Where did you read that there will be a Lofree Flow with QMK/VIA support? I can't find an article about that 😅

@DHKarol 2 ай бұрын

great video but tbf I prefer when the rgb shines thru keycaps showing what letters I am pressin

@erikaso_ Ай бұрын

OMG THE LOFREE SOUNDS SO GOOD - great info, man!!!!

@ThatMarkGilroy Ай бұрын

They just released a new keyboard which sounds/feels just as nice! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eth5lq-XsrqWopc.html

@cmdrsundog5089 6 ай бұрын

Thanks. I like the Keychron K3 Max. Difficult to get.

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

Yep, I was lucky to get one in the preorder. Keychron seem to like to carry limited stock of new runs.

@lego_minifig 25 күн бұрын

I’d love a low profile board as I had only used laptop keyboards till high school when I graduated to a full size membrane. (Didn’t tough mechs till college) The lack of keycap options though has kept me from going back.

@axel8grease 5 ай бұрын

excellent information

@ThatMarkGilroy 4 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@precursors 6 ай бұрын

To me, the features and battery life alone makes Air75 superior to both. I ordered the cowberry switches and the shine-though keycaps.

@mikeyd9953 6 ай бұрын

DO U LIKE IT NOW?

@precursors 4 ай бұрын

@@mikeyd9953 I love it, also bought a 2nd one for my office

@redzeppelin6659 Ай бұрын

Lofree is way more premium in terms of quality amd sound

@ThatMarkGilroy Ай бұрын

@redzeppelin6659 I would agree with that. And battery life doesn’t matter that much to me (unless it’s terrible)- I’m usually not far from something that can top it up. Sound/feel are top of my priorities when choosing a keyboard.

@Caleb13M 6 ай бұрын

Which is your personal favourite? I have the lofree, and am enjoying it but am wondering whether I would like either of the two more?

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

On paper the smart choice is the Nuphy. You get absolutely tons for your money and their customer service is top notch too. Even though I went with the Wistera switches, I also like their Daisy switches if you want a good all-round linear option. But for me (even though it doesn’t have as many features) the Lofree’s typing sound and feel is just sublime. Nothing I’ve tried can touch it for typing experience alone. All that being said, Keychron’s new one isn’t a bad choice. Very responsive and well-built whilst being pretty portable and excellent value for money. Even with the new dampening added, it’s just a tad too rattly for me after using the Lofree.

@jtd3421 5 ай бұрын

So, Mark, which one was your favorite typing experience and why?

@ThatMarkGilroy 5 ай бұрын

Based purely on typing experience, it's the Lofree Flow. It sounds and feels sublime.

@Al_Creations 10 күн бұрын

Great video .... I ended up going for the Nuphy Air 75 v2 because of the custom key mapping ... I really like the colour of the white light you have on your keyboard... if you get a chance can you please share the colour code you have it set to .. I have been playing around with it a bit and I end up getting a blue-ish colour

@ThatMarkGilroy 10 күн бұрын

Thanks buddy! I just upgraded my Air75v2 to the Cowberry switches and have been loving them. The white light is just the stock one. If you flick through the colour settings it’ll show up.

@Al_Creations 10 күн бұрын

@@ThatMarkGilroy Legend !! Thank you

@fabyao 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comparison. The Keychron is my favorite followed by the Nuphy. Its a real shame I cant get any of these. None of them support UK ISO layout

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

Hopefully Keychron will release an ISO UK version in the future- they’ve done with with pretty much all the other K3 models. Nuphy…not so sure.

@poppers7317 5 ай бұрын

Does it really matter? There aren't that many differences. I was used to ISO DE Layout and it wasn't that hard to change (at least in English).

@ThatMarkGilroy 5 ай бұрын

@@poppers7317 I don’t find it makes a huge difference to me but can see if someone has to switch between different options for home/work keybs it would become annoying.

@Blacksadify 3 ай бұрын

How do you think the Monokei Systems upcoming low profile keyboard will stack up in comparsion with these? It looks nice, but it's more expensive than the Lofree with a similar feature set.

@ThatMarkGilroy 3 ай бұрын

I’m going to try and get hold of this as it looks stunning!

@Blacksadify 3 ай бұрын

Make a video if you do!@@ThatMarkGilroy

@dereklang4451 5 ай бұрын

I was about to get the key keychron k3/s1 with the brown switches, but they are quite high pitched and loud. I currently am trying a sharkoon purewriter tkl with the low profile Kailh blue switches and writing on it is orgasmic 😍, but the noise they make is pretty much the same as the gateron browns on the key keychron you are showing. Definitely too loud for when gaming (even with the headset I use). I was using a ducky one 2 mini with cherry silent reds and apart from the keys being too bulky and sensitive when writing, it's great for gaming. I know I want a low profile keyboard. Should I maybe take this keychron but with gateron reds or the sharkoon with kailh reds?

@ThatMarkGilroy 5 ай бұрын

Yes. I have used browns on the Keychron K3V2 but they sounded completely different. These were much higher pitched. I will probably try reds next time or try to mod them to reduce the rattle. Can highly recommend the Nuphy V2 with Daisy switches - there’s a full review and sound test of this setup over at kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i813jKiSucyXin0.html

@dereklang4451 5 ай бұрын

@ThatMarkGilroy you mean there are big differences between Gateron, Keychron, Kailh browns and even between normal and low profile ones?!

@ThatMarkGilroy 5 ай бұрын

@@dereklang4451 The switches not so much. But the keyboards and the way the sound moves around them, can be night and day difference. I tried Gateron low profile reds on a bunch of keyboards and they sounded/felt slightly different on them all. I know. Minefield. Honestly - I’d give the Nuphy a look with either Daisy or aloe switches.

@demotivation- Ай бұрын

I'm using Lofree Flow, and I'm willing to buy it as soon as v2 comes out.

@ThatMarkGilroy Ай бұрын

Did you see my recent review of the Lofree Edge? It’s worth a look (both the keyboard and the video!) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eth5lq-XsrqWopc.htmlsi=KgANPyUO8HkmWwqA

@kanhatop 6 ай бұрын

Thanks man. If possible then you could help on something 1. I am very much confused between LoFree Ghost vs Phantom. I haven’t yet found any detailed comparison for sound, keypress differences wrt force and other things. 2. It would also be great to see comparison of LoFree Phantom vs LoFree Ghost vs Nuphy Wisteria vs Nuphy Cowberry. 3. Sharing specs is ok. What I am looking for is real life battery duration comparison of all LoFree vs Nuphy (lights on & off)

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

Happy to help mate. 1) I haven’t tried the Phantoms but the general consensus from the other reviews I’ve seen/read is that the ghost switches are far superior. The bump on the phantoms is for many a little too heavy, 2) In my Nuphy Air75 v2 deep dive (linked in description) I trial the Daisy switches which are pretty close to Cowberry and you can compare them to the Wisteria switches on show here. I’m thinking about getting a Cowberry set anyway so watch this space. My Air96 review also ran a quick test of all Nuphy switches so you might find that helpful. 3) I very rarely use lights at all on keyboards. My experience of ‘lights off usage’ is that the claimed battery duration for regular usage is about spot on from both Lofree and Nuphy. Obviously Nuphy’s battery is double the size so you are automatically getting more options there if you want a mix of lights on/off usage. But Lofree can easily go a week or more before you need to charge.

@kanhatop 6 ай бұрын

@@ThatMarkGilroy Thank you for your comment. 1. As you are mentioning others experience. Can you share your experience? From technical Phantom Actuation Force: 45+-15gf Wisteria operating force: 55±15gf Wisteria end force: 50±5gf Seems like wisteria should be more hard as compared to phantom. That’s first confusion. 2. Out of Ghost vs Wisteria how much difference you feel w.r.t feedback and pressing force?

@thecat4272 6 ай бұрын

Lofree Phantom switches are horrible IMO. They just feel 'heavy' to use like there's a bit too resistance to the switch action. Fine if you're someone who like's hammering the keys but I prefer keys with the lighter touch. Lofree Ghost switches (the white keyboard) are excellent though.

@thecat4272 6 ай бұрын

I would ignore the 'specs' because real world feel can can be quite different. Just because a switch requires say 45gf to actuate doesn't mean that the switch action doesn't feel heavy because don't forget that there's the rest of the physical action of the key being pressed down. @@kanhatop

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

@@kanhatop It's pretty close me when it comes to actuation force/feel. The main difference is on the bounce. Wisteria feels a touch heavier feedback after actuation, whereas the ghost switches have a much keener bounce. No doubt due to the gasket pad. I'm quite an aggressive typer though.

@i_help_you 2 ай бұрын

Could you please advise between Keyboard Lofree and Keyboard Nuphy, which one would you choose? Which one did you like the most? This is my first time choosing for myself, and it's very hard to make a decision without making a mistake.

@ThatMarkGilroy 2 ай бұрын

I understand the challenge, it’s so hard to know what to choose. In my opinion, the best value for money and all-rounder is the Nuphy. I like their Daisy or Aloe switches best but the Wisteria are also a nice bumpy tactile number if you like that style of switch. This keyboard also lets you do all sorts with lights, is height adjustable and has a great battery life. The Lofree is more expensive, has a shorter battery life, fewer options for lights etc. BUT the typing experience on the ghost/white switches is unmatched. It’s sublime to type on. If you care most about the typing experience over everything else I’d go for the Lofree. If you’re not too bothered about the typing feel/sound, the Nuphy is the best all rounder (and still feels/sounds great).

@i_help_you 2 ай бұрын

Thank you for your response. Could you tell me if the Aloe keyboards are not too loud? I currently have a Logitech MX keyboard.

@ThatMarkGilroy 2 ай бұрын

@@i_help_you Any mechanical keyboard will be louder than the MX. I’d go for something like Red, Aloe or Cowberry for a similar feel. I’ve heard good stuff about Cowberry.

@Zoo-Wee-Mama-Sq 5 ай бұрын

It's funny, there's actually a 4th good option, the Azio Cascade. But I've only ever seen videos comparing 3 of the 4 keyboards, nobody ever remembers to include all 4

@jtd3421 5 ай бұрын

I’ve got the Azio slim 75. It’s excellent. Switched to it from the Nuphy 75 v1. Much better feel/sound.

@ThatMarkGilroy 5 ай бұрын

@jtd3421 interesting- which switches?

@jtd3421 5 ай бұрын

@@ThatMarkGilroy brown. I think they were the only option at the time I bought this. I really like this thing. I think the only thing I'd upgrade for is a Lofree Flow. But sound and feel are the most important things to me.

@adriang3492 5 ай бұрын

Any idea if the Keychron keyboard works in wired mode at all, or does is it always use Bluetooth?

@ThatMarkGilroy 5 ай бұрын

Yes, the Keychron Max works with Bluetooth, 2.4ghz and wired modes. You need to have it in wired mode to use QMK.

@bobwood4304 3 ай бұрын

Qmk?

@ThatMarkGilroy 3 ай бұрын

Sorry, VIA!

@tsankotsankov760 6 ай бұрын

I usually really like your reviews and how you cover all aspects in order to provide the most detailed information, but this time I really missed your feedback about the typing feel of each of these boards. No information how the switches feel or the convenience of each of these boards in general. This was more like a specs comparison than an actual board comparison. A lot of time was spent to compare lighting effects - something that many people looking at this form factor would probably not even consider, while no i formation was provided on the feel of the self lubing kailh switches in the lofree compared to the others for example, or the new options for switches from nuphy.

@SunsetNova 6 ай бұрын

My thoughts exactly just a spec run down

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

Hey buddy. Thanks for your comment, and hands-up, you're right. I usually talk about the feel and not entirely sure why I didn't here - I DO talk about this in lots more depth in my dedicated Flow/Air75v2 reviews. Let me summarise. The Flow is absolutely king when it comes to my specific taste for how a keyboard should feel/type. The self-lubricating POM switches and gasket mount are a killer combo that just can't be beaten. Very creamy, very light and responsive. Keychron and Nuphy are both very similar in terms of FEEL. Thocky, accurate and bumpy, as you'd expect with wisteria/browns. The Keychron is a smidge lighter and feels like there is a touch more travel. Keychron and Nuphy differ quite a bit in terms of sound. You can hear the Keychron is a bit more rattle-y (even with the new dampening features in the Max), and slightly higher frequency sound profile, whereas the Nuphy feels more dampened and all round deeper, bassier-sounding. Hope that helps 😊

@tsankotsankov760 6 ай бұрын

@@ThatMarkGilroy hey Mark, thanks for the amazing explanation. I am used to getting exactly this type of info in your comparisons and this is why I always find them very very useful. We can all see the specs on paper but you are a reliable source of info when it comes down to that subjective "feel" part. What you are stating above is the best explanation of the feel difference between the lofree and the nuphy I could find online. Thank you so much. Btw do you think that a person who is happy with the feel of a MX keys mini would also like the nuphy with cowberry linear switches? Does that seem like an easy transition?

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

@@tsankotsankov760 Cowberry is REALLY nice, in fact I'm thinking of switching my wisteria switches out for a full Cowberry set. If you're looking for the least resistance you'll probably get along best with Aloe as it'll be a step closer to the mx keys and feel less jarring as a transition.

@renmedalla 4 ай бұрын

@@ThatMarkGilroyi recently bought a K3 Max after months of thinking about the Air75 v2. What did it for me was the difference in the sound between the 2 brands. I was surprised to discover that my modded Air60 still sounded hollow (boomy) compared to the crispness of my unmodified K7.

@roubilridlo2159 2 ай бұрын

can i use keychron k series keycap on nuphy air?

@ThatMarkGilroy 2 ай бұрын

I don’t think so. Nuphy sell a similar coloured set for the Air75 called ‘Coast’ which would give you a similar effect. Looks clean with the Lunar Grey board option.

@PeterChen619 6 ай бұрын

I got free shipping on Lofree Flow tho. I live on the west coast, US

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

That’s great! They have direct shipping locations in US, Asia and Europe but not all will be free so I have to mention it really.

@Jackpkmn 3 ай бұрын

I paid way too much money for a Deathstalker V2 Pro because at the time I bought it there was nothing else. Not even 6 months later the market is flooded with low profile mechanical keyboards and I'm just stuck here like 🗿

@ThatMarkGilroy 3 ай бұрын

It’s a deep rabbit hole!!

@raycheshire5581 6 ай бұрын

Great video. No hat, though 😢

@ThatMarkGilroy 6 ай бұрын

Cheers Ray. Might try a fez next week 👍🏻

@richboii6597 2 ай бұрын

I mean the lofree just sounds amazing while the other 2 sound awful 🤷‍♂️

@ThatMarkGilroy 2 ай бұрын

I would say that the Nuphy feels awesome even if it doesn’t have the same ‘poppy’ sound as the Lofree. If you want a similar sound profile the Aloe or Daisy switches would be a better choice than the Wisteria set on show here.

@andrewcatubig9239 21 күн бұрын

@@ThatMarkGilroyi believe the Cowberry solves this issue

@ThatMarkGilroy 21 күн бұрын

@@andrewcatubig9239 Already on order my friend. They should be here this week! 🤞🏼

@BassamRadi 2 ай бұрын

half the time the camera on ur face. WTF

@YazeedShahwan 2 ай бұрын

really like WTF ..

@ThatMarkGilroy 2 ай бұрын

WTF boys. What’s wrong with my face?

@marinaalex0510 Ай бұрын

@@ThatMarkGilroy Nothing. WTF aside, just ignore the non-productive rude comments. Thanks for the review, although I am still having hard time to decide.

@ThatMarkGilroy Ай бұрын

@marinaalex0510 Let’s discount the K3 Max. For me the decision between the other two is about whether you want/need lots of hot swapping, customisation and light options. If yes, get the Air75V2, if not get the Flow which is biblically nice to type on.