Software

We saw Akko add in software support for its recently released keyboards and this keyboard is no different with direct support for Akko Cloud Driver. The installer can be found as a zip file on this page. At the time of testing, v370.1.27 was the latest available public release for Windows, with there being a separate installer for macOS, and the installer is ~120 MB in size. Unfortunately, there isn't much in the way of installation options, with the executable choosing to do everything by default, including any T&C you inadvertently agreed to, adding shortcuts to the desktop and start menu, as well as the install location itself. Clearly nothing has changed in this regard compared to the previous Akko review, and I want this to be updated as soon as possible. At least the version numbering discrepancy in Windows is resolved now, and I will mention the drivers take 270 MB on your storage drive.


Once installed, Akko Cloud Driver is fairly light on system resources, but not as fast as most other programs. There have been further improvements in this regard in the time since I last used this software, but more work needs to be done wherein everything you do initiates an action, whether you intended for it to be saved or not. With the keyboard connected, it takes ~3 seconds to detect the device and bring up the appropriate module full of specific menus and options. As before, the program scales well with high DPI displays despite the lack of a Windows maximize option, and it differentiates itself from other re-skinned OEM drivers from China that are full of poorly translated English or outright errors.

I hope you like that loading animation Akko is using, because you will be seeing it a lot. Every single action is immediately executed, and there is a 2-3 sec processing time to get anything done. This can make for a somewhat frustrating experience when just playing around with the various available options, and I want to see Akko adopt a preview system with dedicated apply and cancel buttons to proceed after having decided what to do. It's the exact same complaint I had previously, and Akko has not done anything yet unfortunately. On the plus side, the various menus are well laid out to where the interface is logical, and there are extensive options as it pertains to selecting the different layers, key mapping, macro recording, and of course the RGB lighting effects. Associated options include selecting the exact color from among the 16.8 million on offer, speed and brightness of the effects in discrete steps, direction of some dynamic effects, and per-key lighting for more customization in addition to the ability to share and import profiles if that interests you. You can also check for software and firmware updates here itself, which is always nice.