Closer Examination

I need to mention right away that Akko makes it slightly more confusing by having multiple 3084 keyboards, which in itself would not be an issue if they all had different themes. For example, no one in their right mind would confuse this with the previous World Tour Tokyo variant we saw. What makes it confusing is that there are two separate Akko 3084 Silent theme keyboards. The presumably older one uses Bluetooth 3.0 as well as Cherry MX switches and has no backlighting from what I can tell. That is no doubt the base used for the World Tour Tokyo version, and this newer version has updated Bluetooth 5.0, lighting and of course the newer Gateron switches in lieu of Cherry.

The adopted 84-key, 80% form factor is extremely rare; it cuts down the popular 87-key TKL form factor by truncating all 84-keys together and losing the Insert, Scroll Lock, and Menu keys that are not going to be missed by most anyway. This does mean the R. Shift key is smaller than usual, and the bottom row is also non-standard in spacing. So the stock keycaps are the best option to stick with here, and we see a mix of font sizes even for the single legends, with the alphabet keys having significantly larger legends than the rest. Secondary legends are above the primary ones, although a non-issue with keycaps that are not backlighting compatible despite the keyboard having white lighting. In return, you pretty much get a fully functional keyboard with Fn keys that take up far less room than others with equivalent functionality. Bezels are smaller than average too, even with the two-piece plastic case construction.

The color scheme is primarily two-tone with a retro gray and white color out of the box, which is where the Silent theme comes from (based on Giorgio Morandi's Still Life art series). Now, I am no stranger to various keycap themes, but it would be difficult to understand how this color scheme ends up being called Silent. If anything, you would expect the wording in the name to suggest the keyboard itself is quiet in use, whether because of sound absorbing foam, silent switches, or something else (O-rings underneath keycaps, for example). But no, the Silent just stands for the color scheme, so be aware of that as well. There is Akko branding in the form of the logo and name in the bottom-right corner facing the user, and from the side, we also get a sneak peek at the used switches.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker in the middle, albeit placed lower than usual. There are also four long rubber pads at the corners to add friction against the resting surface and prevent scratches to the case. Akko also included two separate sets of case feet at the top to allow for a total of three elevation steps, and these feet are large enough not to slip. There are rubber pads on the bottom of the feet too, which is always nice.


There are two options for connectivity here, with wireless Bluetooth 5.0 having an on/off slider at the back. Wired mode comes in the form of a USB Type-C port in the top-left corner on the side facing away from the user, towards the source—say, your PC. The included cable plugs in neatly, and the port is not at all recessed, so aftermarket cables will work just fine. You will need a spare USB Type-A port on your computer to use the keyboard in wired mode while also simultaneously charging its battery, and USB 2.0 will suffice as a minimum, although USB 3.2 Gen 1 is not exactly rare these days.


Akko has chosen to use the popular OEM profile for the stock keycaps with the 3084 Silent. There are the expected six slanted rows of contoured keycaps, and the provided keycap puller works very well, with adequate spacing between the keycaps to fit the wires through. The stock keycaps, as with the replacement keycaps seen on the previous page, are made out of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.38 mm) with doubleshot injected legends and designs, which makes for excellent stock keycaps that will last the lifetime of the keyboard. Backlighting support isn't much of a thing here, but the keyboard still supports it, so we will end up with some accent lighting between and around the keycaps at most. Using third-party keycaps won't be easy with the modified US ANSI layout accommodating 84 keys in a small footprint.


There are four Gateron switch options for the Akko 3084 Silent Bluetooth 5.0, at least when you purchase from Epomaker. These are all newer switches from Gateron, including the Green and Yellow we saw in the keyboard build article, and the Gateron Pink we separately saw in the Akko 3108DS Matcha Red Bean review. As such, it goes without saying that the main reason for this review is to get acquainted with the Gateron Orange switches that are on this sample. Gateron is using two shades of orange here, with a translucent orange for the housing throughout and a darker orange for the stem/slider. We also see a surface-mounted LED for the lighting feature, and the LEDs are north-facing as usual. The larger keycaps use Cherry-style stabilizers, and these have been lightly lubricated. The stock keycaps do help reduce that mushy feeling somewhat, and the lubrication helps mitigate that rattly feeling with these stabilizers, which makes it better than average, too.


The confusing numpad Enter and Ins (Fn + I is insert, but no one is really replacing I with Ins) keys aside, the other replacement keycaps add in some color to the keyboard should you desire. Seen above are two separate photos with the two colors, and I imagine mixing them for both new colors will be fairly popular based on the stock photos Akko and Epomaker themselves use on the product page.