In a way, I am glad I got this sample in after the Akko 3084 World Tour Tokyo, which in turn is based on the older Akko 3084 series. That one used older BT 3.0, had no lighting, and relied on a custom theme and color scheme as well as Cherry MX switches. It costs $119, practically identical to the newer Akko 3084 Silent BT 5.0. Now, the Silent in the name can potentially be misleading since it has all to do with the color scheme used and nothing with how quiet the keyboard is when typed on. For the same price, you get a simpler looking board but with a newer Bluetooth protocol and white lighting.

Sure, the lighting is barely a thing given the keycaps don't let anything through. So I am not sure that is as big a feature here, and Epomaker itself barely gives it any real estate on the product page. Bluetooth 5.0 is a nice improvement as well, but the older Akko 3084 actually had a BT 5.1-compliant transceiver in it, at least in my sample, and there was barely any difference in testing. Both units have the exact same battery too, which does translate into a lower battery life with lighting on, of course. So these two changes are not as big a deal as they may seem in retrospect. What is a bigger deal, however, are the switches to choose from.

While you had old-school Cherry MX switches with the older versions, Akko is using very new and rarely seen Gateron switches with this one. I can see many scoffing at Gateron switches based on either not having had any experience with them or perhaps a poor experience of yesteryear. Would it help if I said that Gateron has vastly improved since? The company now also offers a lot more switches, including some custom designs in collaboration with others, to where we may well see another overview of their switches courtesy another "Building a Keyboard" article soon with their Ink switches. The Akko 3084 Silent BT 5.0 only comes in four Gateron switches, and at least two of them are excellent in my opinion. The Gateron Orange on this review sample? Eh, not so much.

The Akko 3084 is an 80% keyboard in that it takes the TKL form factor and squeezes the keys together, which has it lose out on only three keys (Insert, Scroll Lock, and Menu) while taking up less room as a result. You can even get the Menu key back with a simple toggle, making it comfortable to use with basically all the average end user will ever need while still being small enough to take around if need be. A few pre-programmed functions are built in to aid with the user experience, including media and volume controls, shortcuts to some commonly used programs, and an onboard macro-recording option, even if it is not the easiest to use. It thus would not be a stretch to say that the keyboard itself is fairly basic, with the form factor and switches being the main selling points here. I would personally go with the World Tour Tokyo for the same price, or the older version of this very keyboard at ~$95, but if you want the Gateron Pink or Orange switch, this is one of the very few options to get them at this time. It is not generally appealing enough to merit a recommendation even for a niche application, but one that merits consideration based on the switch coverage we have done thus far.