Hexgears is, in their own words, "a global gaming brand with influences from the USA, Germany, and China". We briefly covered them before thanks to their first adoption of the new Kailh Sun switches, and at CES 2019 they had a booth on the showfloor for this very keyboard and other products. The GK760 from Hexgears is still the only keyboard announced to use those new Sun switches, which effectively allows for a central backlighting similar to Omron switches, while still retaining Cherry MX keycap compatibility. The GK760 is a full-size keyboard with 104 keys and ABS plastic keycaps, which also appear to be low in profile even though the actual switches are not necessarily so. There is an entire column of programmable G-keys (macro keys), as well as a dedicated volume scroll wheel and a thick plushy wrist rest. Read past the break to know more about the products they showed off at CES.

While visiting Patriot, we also took a moment to examine their latest PC gaming peripherals which included the absurd yet genuinely excellent RGB rollout mouse pad. Available in two sizes (350 x 260 x 3 mm and 900 x 420 x 3 mm) it is made of a polyester and natural rubber with a PCBA and optical fiber material for those sweet RGB LED effects. Speaking of the RGB effects, it offers two zones via software allowing for customization of color and brightness along with flash and breathing modes. Using a button switch will manually allow for seven color options and auto breathing. Overall it was a unique offering that grabbed our attention. Regardless of if you love or hate the RGB fad on some products here it just feels fitting oddly enough.

Players expect higher performing hardware to get the most out of their systems -- whether they're competitive eSports players, PC gaming enthusiasts, or those interested in massive multiplayer experiences or looking to play their favorite single-player titles at the highest settings. Based on feedback from the gaming community, performance is the number one thing they value most. To fulfill gamers' needs, Lenovo is turning user feedback into product ideas. And to ensure our products continue to meet and exceed users' evolving needs, we continually fine tune and improve our innovations. As a result, the latest Lenovo Legion gaming line-up is more powerful than ever -- with a new range of high-performance PCs and an entire family of re-designed gaming accessories and monitors.

ASUS is excited to reveal the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Strix CTRL and TUF Gaming K7 gaming keyboards. The ASUS TUF Gaming K7 optical keyboard is no slouch either with faster actuation, near-instantaneous switch response time, and durability that exceeds anything mechanical switches can offer. In addition, ASUS is also introducing the ROG Gaming Keycap set (pictured below), which will allows users to personalize and add some more bling to their rigs.

Today, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, the sole authorized seller of REALFORCE in the U.S., announced the new REALFORCE R2 RGB premium gaming keyboard line. The REALFORCE R2 RGB features various customization settings, allowing users to experience a completely immersive gaming experience.

Designed for speed and responsiveness, REALFORCE R2 RGB keyboards feature Topre's best-in-class capacitive key switches which allows for maximum gaming performance. The REALFORCE R2 RGB keyboards feature customizable backlighting with over 16 million color combination options and come in tenkeyless and full-sized models, perfect for any type of gaming environment. The keyboard is also equipped with an ergonomic shaped frame and key settings that reduce hand and finger fatigue. The double shot keycaps improve key texture and makes key legends fade resistant.

Cooler Master, a global leader in designing and manufacturing innovative gaming peripherals and computer components, will be showcasing its new line up of wireless peripherals including the MH670 gaming headset, MM831 gaming mouse, SK621 65-key travel size keyboard, SK631 TKL layout keyboard, SK651 full-layout keyboard, and the GS750 headset stand with built in Qi wireless charging. "Showcasing this "Work and Play" line-up at reflects the Cooler Master commitment to bring high-performing products to gamers and creative pros of all levels." says Bryant Nguyen, Peripheral General Manager.

Audio
The MH670 is a wireless, hassle free headset that provides superior comfort through lightweight construction and plush swiveling ear cups. Its 3.5mm connection adapts to an array of devices including PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and most mobile devices. Virtual 7.1 surround sound and 40mm Neodymium drivers work in harmony to provide a full and a balanced sound with excellent noise isolation. Its detachable Omni-directional boom microphone and fold-flat design grants easy portability and usage beyond the gaming environment.

French startup Nemeio debuted this CES with its first and namesake product, the Nemeio Keyboard, which the company proudly proclaims the "keyboard of the future." Keyboards with on-the-fly customizable keycaps date back to 2012 with the Art Lebdev keyboard, which uses colorful OLED keycaps so each key can be reprogrammed with a colorful keycap. The Nemeio Keyboard is similar in concept, but implements monochrome E-ink to draw the keycap marking, and common white LED as illumination.

E-ink is the same technology that drives popular e-readers such as Amazon Kindle. One advantage of E-ink over OLED would be persistence. The keyboard also locally stores customization, including keycap designs and their mapping. Nemeio predicts its keyboard will be a hit with multilingual environments, such as airport cafes, hotel business centers, or even large offices with diverse staff that need to use localized keysets; or even the content-creation industry. Nemeio Keyboard isn't yet in production. The company will crowdfund mass-production in 2019. Donors in the 300-500 EUR range could get one first.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today announces that it will be in Las Vegas during this year's CES to showcase its exciting new products for gamers, overclockers, PC enthusiasts, and general users. Under the theme of "Innovating the Future," ADATA will be presenting its latest hardware including solid-state drives (SSD), memory modules, and gaming accessories. ADATA will be showcasing its products from January 9-12, 2019.

Razer , the leading lifestyle brand for gamers, today introduced a new way to play on console with the Razer Turret for Xbox One, a wireless keyboard and mouse combo designed for Xbox One. "We're extremely proud to team up with Microsoft to bring you this exclusive collaboration," says Razer Co-Founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan. "With the Razer Turret for Xbox One, it is now possible to bring the full experience of a keyboard and mouse, with lighting and game integration to Xbox One."

Built for reliable gaming on the couch, the Razer Turret for Xbox One offers a fast and stable 2.4 GHz wireless connection via a single dongle for the mouse and keyboard, and battery life of up to 40 hours on a single charge. With Xbox Dynamic Lighting and Razer Chroma technology, console gamers now have access to the largest ecosystem of lighting, with up to 16.8-million color options and lighting effects for their keyboard and mouse. Additionally, Razer has been working with developers to bring Xbox Dynamic Lighting and Razer Chroma support in-game, offering immersive experiences on supported titles such as "X-Morph-Defense", "Vermintide 2" and more.

Tesoro announced today the launch of their latest keyboard, the Gram MX One, in time for Christmas in North America. Indeed, the keyboard is slated to be available December 24 for those wanting a last minute gift, and is part of their popular GRAM series of keyboards. This means that the keyboard uses the same body and case as their Gram Spectrum or SE Spectrum (but not the XS, which uses low profile switches), in the usual black or white color options to choose from. Adding to the options list is a choice of genuine Cherry MX Blue or Brown mechanical switches, both in their non-RGB variant.

The Gram MX One has single color blue backlighting integrated, and uses a minimalist design for those wanting something simple and more affordable than many of the new keyboards released this year. Durability and build quality are emphasized by the company, with specific mentions on the use of doubleshot injected PBT keycaps that adopt the floating style design on a thick steel plate as seen below. Pre-programmed onboard functionality includes lighting effects, key assignment and macro recording. The keyboard measures 445 x 139 x 32 mm and weighs 1.2 Kg (2.65 lb), and there is no word on pricing at this point despite imminent release.

Update Dec 20:- MSRP of the Gram MX One is $79.99 as per Tesoro, and at launch the model available for purchase will be the white color, MX Brown switch variant only. Others will follow thereafter.

Razer has started teasing an upcoming keyboard + mouse combo specifically designed for Xbox couch gamers. Now that Microsoft has added actual keyboard and mouse support to the Xbox console, allowing gamers to use the controllers they feel more comfortable with (or they feel will give them the competitive edge, of course), Razer is looking to cash in on that market. Razer says these have a couch-specific design - which means a keyboard and a mouse thrown together in a board for additional stability on your lap.

It's just a tease, for now, but if you're a Razer fan, you might want to wait for this particular rendition of already-released products (the Corsair Lapdog and Roccat Sova come to mind).

Earlier this week, we posted the story of the Spire Ergo, purported as the first tenkeyless ergonomic mechanical keyboard. Soon after its publication, two parties reached out to us. Spire sought a price correction from USD $80 (plus taxes) originally mentioned, to $99.95 +taxes, with an optional palm-rest at an additional $30. The second party, was a company we never heard of, called X-bows.

As it turns out, they (X-bows) have been selling this exact keyboard worldwide for $199, and this is their flagship (sole) product. Their entire brand is built around this keyboard. In an angry e-mail, X-bows asked us to delete the story because they claim Spire has violated its patented design. X-bows says that the Chinese branch of Spire approached them for collaboration, although no agreement was reached between the two companies. We then naturally turned to Spire for some answers.

Spire late Monday introduced Ergo, a wacky new gaming-grade mechanical keyboard that's the world's first TKL (tenkeyless) to feature a custom ergonomic key layout that reduces strain during prolonged typing sessions. The keyboard smartly splits the QWERTY keyset into two halves that are angled, and places certain vital keys along the gap in the middle. The spacebar, too, is split to fall right under your thumbs. Spire has taken the creative liberty to move quite a few important keys around from where you'd expect them, so there could be a short learning curve to get using this keyboard right. The keyboard offers RGB LED illuminated keycaps, backed by an unknown flavor of Cherry MX mechanical switches. Available now, the Spire Ergo is priced at USD $99.95 (excluding taxes), an optional wrist-rest ships for $30 more.

Razer has introduced a more subdued version of their now RGB-infused mechanical keyoards. Christened the BlackWidow Lite, the new mechanical keyboard from Razer uses the same, latest iteration of the company's mechanical design, but partakes with RGB LEDs (there's simple white here for typists who want to do so in the dark) that might distract your eyes or otherwise increase strain.

The BlackWidow Lite is a tenkeyless affair with Orange switches and O-rings, which further decrease mechanical keyboards' characteristic clicks, so as to guarantee the most distraction-free typing experience whilst keeping up with the perfect feedback of mechanical keyboards. There's support for some usually gaming-focused features such as 10KRO (ten key roll-over), anti-ghosting, and programmable on-the-fly macro recording. The USB cable is also braided and detachable so it is portable. The BlackWidow Lite is now available for £99.99; comes with a 2-year warranty; and there are some accessories available in the form of an ergonomic padded rest (£19.99) and a travel bag (£29.99).

CORSAIR , a world leader in PC gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced compatibility with the Microsoft Xbox One for CORSAIR wired and wireless keyboards and mice, following Microsoft's recent announcement of expanded peripheral support for the console. Now, players can take advantage of CORSAIR's award-winning gaming peripherals to play keyboard and mouse-enabled games on a whole new platform-Xbox One.

With the console's new compatibility with keyboards and mice, developers can now choose to add support for those devices to their games. The first announced Xbox One game titles to receive peripheral support include Fortnite, Warframe, and Minecraft, with many more games planned for future compatibility. Microsoft is focused on working with developers to ensure that these games are fun, fair, and properly balanced no matter how players decide to control them.

Das Keyboard today announced the launch of the 4Q mechanical keyboard, the first Cherry MX-based keyboard in the company's Q-series family of smart, cloud-connected keyboards that empower users to increase productivity by changing the color of its keys from information coming from the Internet.

The new gold standard for mechanical keyboards, the Das Keyboard 4Q takes the company's flagship mechanical keyboard-the Das Keyboard 4 Professional-to the next level by adding in the Q technology and RGB lighting. Concurrent with the 4Q launch is the introduction of Das Keyboard's Q marketplace for applets, a place where users can share and download free and open source Q applets.

[Editor's Note: Our own review of the Wooting One keyboard can be found here for those interested.]

Sea Sonic, a world leader in PC and industrial power supply design and manufacturing, announces exclusive sales and distribution cooperation with Wooting, the company behind the world's first and most advanced analogue mechanical keyboard for the PC gaming market.

Sea Sonic's global presence and strength in the American and European retail channels provide a strong platform to give consumers better access to Wooting products. Calder Limmen, Co-founder and CEO explains in great detail what the collaboration means for Wooting in his latest blog post article.

The partnership between Wooting and Sea Sonic is a perfect fit. Both companies are the front-runners in their respective domains where their collaboration is strengthened by their core beliefs: innovation, performance and quality.

MSI today announces the Clutch GM50 GAMING mouse and Vigor GK60 GAMING keyboard to provide solid choices for gamers looking for powerful weapons to conquer the battlefield. Both new products offer unique features and use MSI's exclusive new Gaming Center software which allows for more detailed control and customization.

The ErgoDox EZ Shine remains one of the most impressive keyboards I have laid my hands on even to this date, and it appears that the company has not been resting either. They introduced new switch options following that review, re-worked their graphical configurator, and then decided to adopt the replaceable switch functionality that enthusiasts were asking for- something that allowed end users to customize the keyboard from a hardware basis by having the exact switch on the exact position one wanted to complement the already rich software customization.

Today, ErgoDox EZ announced their new pre-assembled keyboard the ErgoDox EZ Glow. It builds upon their "change-it-yourself" model by retaining switch customization and adds in backlighting such that the LEDs are on the PCB and not part of the switch itself. It is 2018 after all, so the Glow uses RGB LEDs that also have full QMK support for static and dynamic lighting effects. In order to get this to fruition, the company worked with Tai-Hao to get new doubleshot-injected keycaps in white or black to support the two color schemes, and in the same custom profile to allow user configuration as before. Not all the keys are backlit, as seen in the images below, which makes sense given only those with legends on the keycaps need to be so. The ErgoDox EZ Glow is up for pre-order at $299, with shipping beginning November, 2018.

CORSAIR , a world leader in PC gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the launch of the new CORSAIR K70 RGB MK.2 LOW PROFILE and CORSAIR K70 RGB MK.2 LOW PROFILE RAPIDFIRE mechanical gaming keyboards. The newly released duo of K70 RGB MK.2 LOW PROFILE keyboards builds upon the renowned heritage of the award-winning K70 RGB MK.2 by combining the fastest actuating CHERRY MX Low Profile RGB keyswitches with a new slim design, for a more comfortable typing experience while preserving the K70 range's mechanical precision and gaming performance.

At the heart of the K70 RGB MK.2 LOW PROFILE keyboards are new CHERRY MX Low Profile keyswitches, combining trusted CHERRY mechanical switch performance with a new, lower 11.9mm switch height and short actuation distance. Combined with redesigned, low profile keycaps, these switches reduce the full keypress distance to both bottom out the key and actuate the switch, lessening keypress fatigue during extended typing or gaming. The K70 RGB MK.2 LOW PROFILE RAPIDFIRE features CHERRY MX Low Profile RGB Speed keyswitches exclusive to CORSAIR, engineered for maximum performance with an ultra-fast 1.0 mm actuation distance, while the K70 RGB MK.2 LOW PROFILE uses CHERRY MX Low Profile RGB Red mechanical keyswitches, which offer familiar smooth and linear movement with a low 1.2mm actuation distance.

Patriot, a global leader in performance memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals, and flash storage solutions, has announced the release of their brand-new, Viper V765 Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard. Fully equipped with Kailh White Box DIP Switches and an impressive protection rating of IP56, for the ultimate protection from dust and water. Customize 103 programmable macro keys and RGB illumination settings through the included Viper software for an incomparable gaming experience! Built with an aircraft grade aluminum chassis and magnetically detachable palm rest, the Viper V765 offers ultra-durability and support without sacrificing performance.

The Viper V765 mechanical RGB gaming keyboard features the first ever, DIP Kailh White Box Switches, which are designed to provide a prominent clicky and tactile feel. Each key has been vigorously tested with over 80 million key presses to guarantee the highest durability and anti-ghosting for your intense gameplay. Viper Gaming's V765 aims to deliver superior performance to all gamers and tech enthusiast. Dive into your next RTS or FPS games and experience the change in maximized durability and 45% quicker response time.

HyperX , the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., today announced that it is now shipping the HyperX Alloy FPS RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. The Alloy FPS RGB keyboard features Kailh Silver Speed mechanical key switches that offer shorter key travel time and less actuation force for faster gameplay. The full-size RGB keyboard features a solid steel alloy frame in a compact design that frees up table space for the mouse and mousepad.

HyperX is augmenting its line of Alloy FPS keyboards by now offering Kailh Silver Speed key switches on the Alloy FPS RGB. The Kailh Silver Speed key switches feature a light 40g actuation force and are rated for 70 million key presses. With exposed LED lights on the key switch housing and five brightness levels, the keyboard offers brighter and more radiant RGB lighting.

Hardware pre-orders are a mixed bag, especially when it comes to keyboards from a peripheral maker that you know are going to be available for retail sale one way or another. AZIO showed off their R.C.K. (Retro Compact Keyboard) series at Computex this year, with the defining features including a TKL form factor keyboard offering their Retro-series options of genuine leather or wood materials for the keyboard, a typewrite-style mechanical keyboard design that AZIO have used to good success in the past, and a combination of wired and wireless (via Bluetooth) connectivity as well. A 5000 mAh battery should provide months of battery life even with backlighting on, which is a nice change of pace from the current crop of wireless mechanical keyboards that struggle to go more than a few days on a single charge.

IndieGoGo as a platform used to be associated with crowdfunding a product, and indeed the original AZIO Retro series of keyboards came about that way. But the new R.C.K. range appears to be up for what AZIO terms is a "pre-launch" perk at a heavily discounted price, rather than this being a requirement towards getting the product to market. If you are so interested, the current pre-order price is $119 for a keyboard and matching palm rest (in leather or wood to match the keyboard), which is a 45% discount to the $219 MSRP for when the keyboard launches in December 2018. The special price ends September 15 and pre-orders have become an accepted norm in the enthusiast keyboard community today, but we still recommend thinking hard before going forward with pre-orders in general.

Did you know, that the home buttons on the iPhone 7/Plus, and iPhone 8/Plus aren't real buttons? It's a flat surface with pressure and fingerprint sensors, and when pushed hard enough, the Taptic module underneath simulates the tactile-feedback of pushing a real SMD button (which is why the button feels jammed when the iPhone is powered down). Apple's latest generation of MacBooks already have real keyboards with extremely short key travel, that's well enough received by its users to convince the company to toy with a notebook with completely virtual keyboards.

Apple filed patent applications for a new generation of MacBooks that completely lack physical keyboards, and instead have two screens on the opposing halves of the traditional notebook clam-shell. The upper half has a higher-resolution main screen, while the lower half has a slightly lower-resolution screen that's good enough to display virtual keyboards of any shape, layout or character-set; in addition to more content. This screen will have toughened glass, and a super-sensitive capacitive 3D touch layer, and Taptic modules underneath. The trackpad, too, is virtual, and can be located wherever you like. Apple will give MacOS more gesture-based control riding on the success of the iPhone X. The patent application shows that Apple has succeeded in simulating keyboards' tactile-feedback on Taptic, and it's only a matter of time before notebooks with real keyboards could be relegated to sub-premium market segments.

In addition to the fairly unique Rev-o-mate, i-Rocks also had a plethora of new keyboards to show off recently. These included updates to existing keyboard lines, new additions using mechanical and electrocapacitive switches, as well as a security keyboard/accessory utilizing fingerprints.

First up, we took a look at the K72E Capacitive keyboard. This uses the same platform as the i-Rocks K72M which uses their own mechanical switches except with new electrocapacitive (hence the E, rather than the M in the name) switches that we first saw in the i-Rocks K70E that was reviewed by us recently. As such, the K72E uses a removable (for modding or otherwise) aluminum top plate with beveled edges for a more defined look compared to the more standard rectangular cuboid normally seen. The top cover especially is on the thicker side of average, and allows for i-Rocks to make replacement covers available for those wanting different color options. The capacitive switches on the K70E were impressive overall, so this version should attract those who wanted those switches on a different aesthetic than the K70E that uses an acrylic top cover and paper skins for customization. Be sure to read past the break for more information on their other keyboards.