Closer Examination

The Drop ALT adopts a similar design language as the Drop CTRL 87-key tenkeyless (TKL) keyboard, except in a 67-key, 65% form factor, of course. You can still choose between the black or space gray frames, and I have the black one here. The frame is made out of relatively thick CNC-machined aluminium that is anodized in the chosen color and finish, and it is part of an aluminium/plastic diffuser/aluminium sandwich construction with a thinner, flatter aluminium plate at the bottom. The frame thus hangs past the front onto the sides, which provides a canvas for some contrast to the keycaps. Both color versions of the Drop ALT get the same stock keycaps unless you just buy the kit version for use with your own switches and keycaps. The stock keycap set uses a gunmetal and lighter gray color combination, which looks as nice in person as it does in photos, but does make the legends harder to read without any backlighting.

The Drop ALT has a lot of aluminium, but the default profile is quite low, resulting in an easily portable unit owing to the size as well. The 65% form factor means you need to be quite sure this keyboard is for you. Many fancy switching to this form factor, especially since it is the smallest established keyboard layout with dedicated arrow keys, but do not realize the entry barrier owing to fewer and some differently sized keys, including the bottom row and R. Shift. The smaller R. Shift key is still present, but Drop opted for a more standard bottom-row spacing and instead only has two keys to the right of the space bar. Unlike the typical 68 keys of 65% keyboard, this results in a 67-key unit, and there is, as such, a small amount of space to the left of the arrow keys. It's an understandable compromise for increased keycap compatibility, but the shorter R.Shift key necessitates a custom set regardless.

Bezels are about average in size, but feel smaller owing to rounded corners. There is no visible branding on the keyboard in use. The keycaps follow the trend of only having the general legends and no specific ones for other features you might expect. This is an open-source-supported keyboard through and through. Single-legend placement is in the top center, and secondary legends are placed alongside at the top. It would be a fair assumption then that we will see north-facing LEDs, and the backlighting will be more uniform at the top as well. The font is clean and well-sized, making this a keyboard that will do well in a variety of environments.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see large branding etched into the aluminium plate. Drop has updated it to reflect the branding revamp from Massdrop to Drop, and certification information is seen below. Four long rubber pads along the top and bottom prevent scratches to the aluminium plate and add friction against the resting surface. There is also a small hole on the left to access a reset/firmware flash button, which you will get quite familiar with if venturing into the firmware customization options. We also find four sets of two magnetic contacts, if you will. These allow the two add-on feet to simply be pushed in place as they are held by magnetism. These feet also have rubber pads and are angled differently for a variety of install configurations, including elevation and negative tilt from the front.


We have not one but two separate USB Type-C ports. Both allow you to connect the provided cable, so it is not an extra port just for a USB device. Instead, these are for two cable-routing options depending on whether you are a left or right-handed mouse user, thus putting the keyboard cable further away from the mouse to minimize tangling. The cable itself is shorter than usual at 4.5' and sleeved gray to somewhat match the keyboard, at least when it comes to the darker keycaps. It requires an available USB Type-A port on your computer, and USB 2.0 will suffice for power and data alike. The spare port ends up being part of a USB hub thus; USB source permitting, it could power another device, such as a mouse. There is support for up to 4 W of total power intake (800 mA on the 5 VDC rail), meaning USB 3.2 Gen 1 could be handy here.


A look at the side further confirms the low-profile nature of the keyboard, including the flat case profile without the add-on feet. The keycaps use the commonly found OEM profile, and the various rows are thus sculpted as seen above. They float owing to the case and frame design, and the included keycap puller works quite well, too. The stock keycaps are of really good build quality, using very thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.5 mm) with seamless doubleshot injected primary and secondary legends for the US ANSI layout. The PBT is not the smoothest of its kind, and my complaint about the legends not being as legible here as-is remains. These legends are at least backlighting compatible, which alleviates some of the issue. Aftermarket keycap set compatibility depends heavily on not just the R.Shift key, but also the different rows used for the Delete, Home, Pg Up, and Pg Dn keys.


The Drop ALT is available in a variety of switches, including those from three different sources. I have the Halo True switches here, which are a tactile switch with a salmon-colored stem. These are manufactured by Kailh to Drop's requirements and retain the cross-point stem for the Cherry MX-style keycap compatibility. Larger keycaps still have the support bars from the doubleshot injection, which is kind of an Easter egg to me. They also use plate-mounted Cherry-style stabilizers which are lubed fairly well—it would have been nice to see screw-in stabilizers instead. The lubrication combined with the thicker PBT keycaps should help mitigate some of that mushiness typically associated with stabilizers of this style.


The Drop ALT was an early adopter of hot-swappable switch sockets, and the provided switch remover is handy for removing a switch for a closer look. This also reveals the 3-pin switch socket for examination, and the SMD RGB LED for backlighting is indeed in a north-facing configuration. These might be detriments for adoption, especially with this configuration not playing well with 5-pin switches that will need to be clipped, as well as some Cherry-profile keycap sets that are better off with south-facing LEDs. Getting a closer look at the Halo True switch, it is an RGB-compatible 3-pin mechanical switch with a transparent top and opaque bottom housing, as well as a cutout in the bottom and a large diffuser on the top for the LED underneath to shine light through.