Introduction

Those who have read my keyboard reviews will know I generally have a soft spot for themed keyboards, offering a taste of that fully custom design for a lot lower cost. Asian brands tend to dominate here, with the likes of Akko and Varmilo coming to mind first. I visited both of them at Computex 2024 and saw a few neat things from each, resulting in two reviews coming up—one from each brand—starting with Akko today. Representatives from Akko were primarily showing off its wooden case keyboards at the show, with at least three themes planned, two of which are already available. The MU01 Autumn, for example, uses darker color keycaps to showcase the fall season. Interestingly, it also uses different switches from the other MU01 wooden case keyboard and the subject of today's review—the Akko MU01 Mountain Seclusion.


Akko mentioned at Computex how it was likely going to prioritize this version for marketing given the more positive feedback received thus far. A quick glimpse at the keyboard shows why—the keycaps are more intricate and match the wooden theme better in my opinion. It is arguably also going to be more divisive than the other version with simpler, yet colored, keycaps though. The use of extra non-English legends on the keycaps is purely an aesthetic choice, and doesn't really mean much in practice. This is usually the case with such themed keyboards, you either like it or you do not. The MU01 base keyboard is a 65% form factor unit that is otherwise feature rich, including with hybrid wireless connectivity, hot-swappable sockets, first-party switch options, RGB lighting, and plenty of dampening materials inside. Let's take a closer look at the keyboard in our review today, which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below. Thanks to Akko for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Themed keyboards tend to have matching packaging designs, and this is the case also with the Akko MU01 Mountain Seclusion. It uses a sleeve-over-cardboard-box structure as with most other Akko products, with the external sleeve having the brand logo and product name on the front along with a render of the keyboard and further illustration of the theme employed. Things are way simpler on the back with a simplified render now teasing the wireless connectivity options while also working as a quick guide on the hotkeys pre-programmed on the keyboard. More product specs, including a confirmation of the switches used, are found on the side where the inner box slides out of. This all-black box contains a shiny purple Akko logo and opens up to reveal the keyboard inside a soft foam wrap, with a hard plastic dust cover over it. It's protected by foam on the sides and with another foam sheet above.


The accessories are found either underneath the keyboard, as in the case of paperwork including a multi-language user manual (online copy here) and a QC card, or inside a separate accessory box. Akko is fairly generous here with a pot of lube for anyone wanting to lube the switches/stabilizers themselves, although you will need to use your own lubing station and brush. We also get the expected USB Type-C to Type-A cable for connectivity and charging the internal battery, a pre-paired low profile USB dongle for 2.4 GHz connection, four spare switches of the same kind as used on the keyboard, a metal wire-style keycap puller, and a switch remover tool.