Closer Examination

As we saw before, the Ajazz Zinc keyboard comes in a plastic wrap to keep it pristine and free of dust out of the box. Removing it, we get our first good look at the keyboard, and it's significantly lighter than you would think. Sure, it is a small keyboard compared to most, adopting a 65% form factor. What differentiates this from all the 60% keyboards we have seen lately is the inclusion of arrow keys, as well as four keys from the Ins-Pg Dn cluster above. This is possible by tinkering with the modifier keys somewhat, including losing the Menu key altogether and having a shorter R. Shift key. Also note the swapping of R. Ctrl and Fn on the bottom row, which is a deliberate move to allow R. Ctrl to work as the Menu key in a layered function, while using the Fn key for most other secondary functions tied to other keys.

These layered functions are all seen underneath the primary functions on the top of the keycaps, which does mean that the general secondary legends themselves are cramped alongside the primary ones as with the number key row. With the backlighting support, this again points towards north-facing LEDs, so legends lower than these may not be backlit as well. We also see the seamed doubleshot injection process with broken loops in letters, such as D, B, Q. There are LEDs in the top-right corner with markings alongside to indicate what they, well, indicate. There is no visible branding in use otherwise, and it is a nice-looking board with the aluminium alloy frame having a lustrous finish that sparkles lightly when hit with direct light. The edges are chamfered and given a polish for some contrast with the rest of the case, too.


Flipping the keyboard around, we have the usual certification sticker, but with some added flair to reflect the zinc nature of the base. It contrasts even more with the shining aluminium top since it has a smoother, brushed finish and a more subdued color. This is a zinc alloy, and no further information is provided on the composition of either alloys. We see a raised top section to add elevation to the keyboard, which is fixed and the only available elevation in the absence of keyboard feet. There are four rubber pads at the corners to add friction against the resting surface and prevent scratches to the zinc case. Finally, we see a QC sticker at the bottom to let the buyer know that the keyboard has passed Ajazz's quality assurance process.


The side facing away from the user is where the I/O on the Ajazz Zinc has been placed, and cutouts in the zinc base taken up by the aluminium frame accommodate buttons and sliders, possible because it is easier to mark the aluminium. On the right side is a button you hold down to toggle between the Bluetooth and USB modes, and on the left side is the micro USB port in addition to a slider to turn Bluetooth mode on/off. Now, I realize that the Ajazz Zinc is not a new keyboard, which is why I accept the micro USB port here compared to everything else going Type-C in recent years, but it remains something you should be aware of. The provided cable works well enough, and note that it is on the shorter side of average at 5' long. You will need a spare USB 2.0 Type-A port on your PC, which is not a big ask in 2021 with USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) being fairly abundant in even budget systems. Ultrabook owners may need dongles and adapters, but that's a life they are used to.


Taking a look from the side, we see the profile of the keyboard in more detail, which I would describe as intermediary myself in the absence of a full top panel and thus floating keycaps. We also see that Ajazz has gone with the OEM keycap profile of five slanted rows and contoured keycaps instead of the usual six owing to the smaller form factor. The provided keycap puller works fine, but fitting it between the keycaps isn't that easy on this compact keyboard, which only increases the likelyhood of scratching the keycap sides. Ajazz should have really gone with a metal wire keycap puller instead, especially as it wouldn't have added much to the cost. The stock keycaps are made out of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.4 mm) with a mix of double-shot injected and laser engraved legends. The latter are on the bottom, associated with layered functions and not backlit like the rest. Given the modified layout as well as all the layered functions, replacing the keycaps with others is not trivial. I wish the legends for layered functions were front-facing since those aren't touched much when typing and the rest of the keycap make-up is otherwise really good in terms of build quality and longevity.


There are four switch options here, all genuine Cherry MX switches in the form of the MX Red, MX Brown, MX Blue, and MX Black. We get a mix of linear, tactile, and tactile+clicky switches to choose from thus, and the switches are the older style with the opaque housing as well as the older 50 M lifetime owing to the keyboard having launched before Cherry re-tooled to allow for a lifetime rating of 100 M keystrokes. We also see a surface-mounted LED above the keycaps, which will help with increased LED brightness for backlighting and suffices plenty for the single color backlighting on offer here. The larger keycaps use Cherry style stabilizers, which helps with their removal at the expense of that mushy feeling with these stabilizers.