Keychron K5 Max [K1 Max, K3 Max, etc.] Review (2024)

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

• 8.4 Gaming
• 8.2 Office
• 7.4 Mobile/Tablet
• 8.1 Programming
• 5.8 Entertainment / HTPC
• 8.5 Raw Performance

The Keychron K5 Max and the NuPhy Air75 V2 are wireless mechanical keyboards with low-profile designs. Both also belong to wider lineups with other size variants available. The NuPhy keyboards have more switch options available and better overall hardware customizability, while the Keychron offers slightly better overall latency performance.

The Keychron V5 Max and the Keychron K5 Max are wireless mechanical keyboards; both are also part of wider lineups with different size variants available. The V Max keyboards have a taller, standard profile, a plastic chassis, and a gasket mount design that lends a softer, slightly springy typing quality. Additionally, they provide significantly better hardware customizability and come with a toolkit for disassembly. The K Max keyboards, on the other hand, have much slimmer low-profile designs.

The Logitech MX Mechanical and the Keychron K5 Max are wireless mechanical keyboards with low-profile designs. The Logitech has keycaps with shine-through legends, making them much easier to read in darker rooms. On the other hand, the Keychron has significantly better latency performance for gaming and has expanded wireless versatility with an option for 2.4GHz connectivity, which the Logitech lacks. You can also buy the Keychron with a hot-swappable PCB, an option that isn't available for the Logitech.

The Keychron K5 Max and the Keychron K8 Pro are wireless mechanical keyboard models that are each part of a wider series with other size variants available. The major difference between the keyboards in these two lineups is that the K Max keyboards have expanded wireless versatility with the addition of 2.4GHz receiver connectivity, offeringbetter overall raw performance. The K Max boards also have more layers of internal acoustic material.

These keyboards are available in various sizes, and all models have a low-profile design. We bought and tested the full-size Keychron K5. However, it takes up somewhat less space on a desk than most basic office keyboards which often have more space between key clusters and wider bezels around the outside edge.

There are several smaller models available in the wider lineup, including the TKL (80%) Keychron K1 Max, the compact (75%) Keychron K3 Max, as well as more unique form-factors, including an Alice layout option. For more details, see the Differences Between Sizes and Variants section.

These keyboards have excellent build quality. The case is made of aluminum and exhibits very little deck flexibility. Inside the case, several layers of dampening foam help soften the overall typing feel and round out the sound profile. The keycaps are also made of high-quality, doubleshot PBT plastic and have a slightly textured finish that doesn't feel slippery.

Four rubber feet on the bottom of the keyboard do a reasonably good job of keeping it from sliding on your desk, provided you don't nudge your keyboard intentionally while typing. However, we observed that the feet on the left side were slightly grippier-feeling than those on the right.

Lastly, the stabilizers do a good job of keeping keystrokes feeling even and mostly consistent with minimal wobbling. The stabilizers and switches are also pre-lubed from the factory and feel very smooth. We noted during testing that the stabilizers on larger keys, including the spacebar, enter, and backspace keys, rattle slightly. However, this isn't very noticeable when typing.

These keyboards have low-profile designs that make them comfortable to use without a wrist rest, as you don't need to angle your wrists at a steep angle to reach all the keys.

A pair of flip-out feet are on the underside, which provides two additional incline angles.

The full-size Keychron K5 Max we bought and tested has poor overall hardware customizability, largely because we purchased this keyboard with a non-hot-swappable PCB. Additionally, the stabilizer design is non-standard, as the Caps Lock stabilizer, in particular, has an unusual design that we've designated as non-replaceable.

If you're interested in more hardware customizability, you can buy this keyboard or other keyboards in the wider K Max lineup with hot-swappable PCBs, which allow you to change the switches without needing to solder. Note that Keychron indicates that the hot-swappable PCBs are compatible with Gateron or Keychron Low Profile Mechanical switches but not Gateron or Keychron Low Profile Optical switches.

These keyboards have poor backlighting clarity as the stock keycaps don't have shine-through legends. However, the switches are north-facing in their sockets, so you can replace the stock keycaps with shine-through keycaps to provide better illumination for legends if you prefer. For reference, we replaced several stock keycaps with low profile, shine-through keycaps.

Keychron advertises that the Keychron K5 Max has a 2000 mAh battery that provides a working time of up to 110 hours with all backlighting off and up to 70 hours with backlighting on (at lowest brightness settings).

Keychron doesn't explicitly state the connection type used to produce these estimates, but we expect they reflect the maximum battery life using a 2.4GHz connection. However, using a 2.4GHz connection provides superior stability and performance at the cost of battery life.

For the best wireless performance with a 2.4GHz connection, you can use the cable as an extender for the wireless receiver by using the included extension adapter.

While you can't program macros directly on these keyboards using hotkey combinations, you can program macros to any key using the configuration software.

Note that most other models in the K Max lineup lack dedicated macro keys. However, the full-size K5 Max we bought and tested has a set of four dedicated macro keys in the top right corner of the board.

These keyboards have a set of switches on the keyboard's top edge, one of which toggles between connectivity modes and the other between Windows/Android and Mac/iOS compatibility modes. There's also a Caps Lock indicator LED on the right side of the Esc key that turns blue when enabled.

Many hotkeys, including media hotkeys, are labeled directly on the keycaps. For a full list of supported hotkeys out of the box, you can reference an online version of the user manual from Keychron's website here.

These keyboards also have a physical reset button under the spacebar.

While the full-size model we bought and tested doesn't have a programmable knob, some variants in the wider K Max series do. By default, this knob adjusts volume and toggles mute when pressed.

• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• 2.4GHz USB-A receiver
• Extension adapter for receiver
• Alternate Windows Keycaps (2x Win keys, 1x Alt, 1x Esc, 1x lock key)
• Keycap puller
• User documentation

Note: On Keychron's product page, this keyboard is advertised to also come with a USB-A to USB-C adapter, but this item was not included in our box. Additionally, the manual that came with our keyboard also indicated it should come with a USB-A to USB-C adapter but doesn't list the Extension Adapter for the receiver, which was included in our box. Ultimately, this is a minor mismatch, but it's important to note if your computer or device lacks a USB-A port, you'll need to have your own USB-A to USB-C adapter to use this keyboard's receiver.

These keyboards offer an impressive typing experience overall. The low-profile design makes them comfortable to use without needing a wrist rest, and several layers of sound-absorbing foam contribute to quieter, more even-sounding typing.

The key spacing is also standard, and the switches and stabilizers are pre-lubed from the factory. The stabilizers generally do a good job of providing smooth and even-feeling keystrokes on larger keys. Unfortunately, they rattle slightly on some keys, including the spacebar, enter, and backspace keys.

LEARN ABOUT TYPING QUALITY

LEARN ABOUT TYPING NOISE

We bought the Keychron K5 Max with Gateron Low Profile 2.0 Mechanical Red switches. These switches are linear with a moderate weight and pre-travel distance with a shorter total travel distance due to their low-profile design. While not explicitly advertised, these switches appear to have double-stage springs, so they require a progressive, slightly higher amount of force near the end of travel compared to most linear switches with a single-stage spring. This helps to soften out the feeling of bottoming out too abruptly and provides slightly more active-feeling return travel, as can be seen in the actuation graph above.

You can also buy this keyboard with Gateron Low Profile 2.0 Mechanical Brown switches, which are slightly heavier feeling switches with a tactile bump to overcome before actuation.

LEARN ABOUT KEYSTROKES

LEARN ABOUT SINGLE-KEY LATENCY

The Keychron K Max series keyboards support a maximum polling rate of 1000Hz. Data transmission isn't bottlenecked by other latency components when connected wired or wirelessly via their 2.4GHz receivers.

Using a Bluetooth connection limits the maximum polling rate to 125Hz, which is normal and expected.

These keyboards have 6-key rollover (6KRO) enabled by default, but you can toggle full N-key rollover (NKRO) with the Fn+N hotkey.

These keyboards support QMK firmware and VIA software for configuration. You can download and install the VIA software app for Windows, macOS, or Linux on Keychron's product page here. Before using the software, you must also download a separate .JSON file from the product page. Alternatively, you can use a web-based version on a Chromium-based browser here.

This software has a straightforward layout. It allows you to customize a range of expected settings, including key assignment, backlighting, and macros. You can also save your custom settings as profiles onto your keyboard's onboard memory.