Keychron introduces mechanical Q1 Pro keyboard with Bluetooth

Keychron introduces a wireless variant of its Q1 keyboard. This Q1 Pro has the same aluminum housing with gasket mount, but in addition to a USB-C connection, it also has Bluetooth support. The keyboard will be delivered from April.

The Keychron Q1 Pro appeared on Tuesday on Kickstarter and has now achieved its crowdfunding goal. The keyboard will also become generally available later. The Q1 Pro shows similarities to the existing Q1, apart from the addition of Bluetooth 5.1, which allows users to connect up to three devices wirelessly to the keyboard. According to Keychron, the Q1 Pro offers a battery life of up to 300 hours without RGB LEDs. With lighting, the battery life is up to 90 hours, the manufacturer says. It takes five hours to charge the keyboard via USB-C. The Q1 Pro can also be used wired.

Just like the existing Q1, the Pro variant can be supplied as barebones without switches or keycaps. The manufacturer is also introducing a pre-built version of the Q1 Pro with PBT keycaps and its own K Pro switches, while the Q1 comes with switches from Gateron. The company comes with a linear K Pro switch and two different tactile switches. The keyboard also contains hot-swap sockets, with which the switches can be exchanged without soldering. The keyboards support QMK and VIA and are therefore fully reprogrammable.

The Q1 Pro also has a 75% layout without a number pad and has an aluminum casing with a black, gray or white finish. ISO and ANSI variants will be available. However, only a barebones variant of the ISO version will be available. The keyboards are currently on Kickstarter and will be delivered in April. The barebone variant will ultimately have a suggested retail price of $179. The pre-built version with switches and keycaps costs $20 more.