Closer Examination

Remove the foam wrap and we get to see the keyboard in all its glory. The Aukey KM-G4 has a greenish-gray, if that makes sense, color to the brushed aluminum frame piece, which does help it stand out from a collection of similar keyboards. In fact, the frame is also the plate the switches are soldered through and on to the PCB underneath, similar to how a lot of floating keycap-style keyboards are done these days (Corsair K70, for example), and the screws that hold this in place on the plastic case are visible from the top. It would have been nice to have the screws be the same color as the aluminum frame, but this is not a deal breaker by any means.

The KM-G4, as mentioned earlier, is a full-size 104 key ANSI layout keyboard. The presence of the screws on top results in an average-sized bezel on all sides. The indicator LEDs are in the top-right corner, including a fourth one for Win Lock to help visually identify whether or not the Win key is locked or not. As seen above, a lot of the keycaps have secondary legends placed below the primary ones, including on the Num Pad where we have arrow keys. Lots of secondary functionality here, most of which is self explanatory, but the manual still does a good job making it clear.

The keycap fonts are fairly aggressive to my specific tastes, and I will also note that the primary legends are doubleshot and not of the new Ducky seamless variety either. Thus, a lot of the legends will appear incomplete, but that is more a limitation of the printing process than anything else. Having said that, Aukey could have definitely done a better job with the secondary legends at the very least, and overall, this does come off as a confused mess with more arrow keys printed on WASD, all the primary legends in the top middle of the keycap, and some being abbreviated for no reason (Capslk, for example).


Not much going on at the back, with functionality taking center stage here. There are four rubber pads on the corners to help keep the keyboard from sliding around on your desk, and there are two feet at the top to help elevate the keyboard as an option, which for good measure also have rubber pads. The non-detachable cable emerges from the middle, is the usual 6' long and terminates in a gold-plated male USB Type-A connector. USB 3.0 is recommended to help power all the RGB LEDs fully, although you can still use the keyboard if it is plugged into a USB 2.0 port.


The keycaps have an OEM profile, and the various rows are thus sculpted accordingly. They have a floating design, which allows for easier cleaning, but causes more light bleed, which may or may not be a good thing for you. The included keycap puller works well enough, but does have the potential to scratch the sides of the keycaps when used. The keycaps themselves are ABS plastic, so expect them to develop a shine due to finger oils with use. The primary legends are doubleshot as mentioned above, meaning they will not wear out any sooner than the keycap material itself, but the secondary legends are pad printed, and these will wear out quicker over time, which is a disappointment. On the plus side, the bottom row has "standard" spacing with 1.25u keycaps on either side of the space bar, making this compatible with a vast majority of aftermarket keycap sets, although you might want to leave the stock ones on until you are familiar enough with the secondary legends on board.


The larger keycaps use Cherry stabilizers, meaning it is easy to remove and install these as well, but at the expense of a slightly mushy and unsatisfying feeling when pressing them down normally. This can of course be a subjective feeling, but the space bar in particular felt quite mushy to me. The switches on the Aukey KM-G4 are also different from those on the KM-G3, which had Outemu Blue RGB switches instead of the Outemu Brown RGB switches for a tactile but not clicky feel here. As such, the KM-G4 is a quieter keyboard, and that alone will make it the more attractive option of the two to a lot of potential customers.