Closer Examination

As mentioned before, the Ducky One X series of keyboards comes in two sizes—100% and 60%—with this review sample going the full size route. You can also get the keyboards in black or white colors, with the latter using a white case and white keycaps to complete the looks. I certainly see some of the Ducky One series design language here, down to the slanted back section and the wedge shape on the left and right. The black color version I have here otherwise looks quite clean outside of the one Peach Fuzz accent keycap, which of course can be changed to have an all-black aesthetic or add more of those accent keycaps thanks to the replacement options provided in the box. Bezels are average in size and we get four extra keys in the top right corner for Calculator and volume control, with indicator LEDs placed immediately below. The keycaps have backlit legends, and thus we see them placed in the top center to take better advantage of the LED placement on this PCB. Secondary legends are alongside the primary ones everywhere except the number pad, where we see them positioned below.


Turning the keyboard around, we see a gunmetal gray finish given to the bottom plastic case panel to contrast against the black top panel. The keyboard still weighs more than typical plastic chassis keyboards owing not only to the larger size but also the thicker metal plate and the multiple layers of sound dampening used. A metal badge has certification info and we also see four silicone rubber strips at the corners to help add friction against the resting surface. Ducky also provides two sets of keyboard feet for a total of three elevation angles (8°/11°/14°) in use. These feet are long enough to ensure the keyboard is stable when they are raised, and they also have rubberized bottom surfaces.


The side facing away from the user has a metal inlay that contains branding on the right side (when viewed from the front), making it the only place you see branding on this otherwise exceptionally clean keyboard. The top left side facing away from the user contains a cutout that holds the pre-paired 2.4 GHz USB dongle, which extends out the frame of the keyboard and is really the only place that I feel Ducky could have done better—there's surely room in the case to hold this in the bottom as most other such implementations do? We then see a 3-way switch with markings to indicate the positions going from Bluetooth to wired to 2.4 GHz connectivity, allowing you to choose how the keyboard is connected to your desired client. A slightly inset Type-C port comes in handy for the wired connection as well as to charge the internal battery, and the provided cable fits nicely here. There's enough room to accommodate most aftermarket cables too if you prefer something else, although I had no issues with what is included. It's black here, I assume the white version comes with a white cable, is sleeved well, comes with Ducky branding on the connector housings, and has gold-plated Type-C connectors on either end—Ducky provides a Type-C to Type-A adapter in case you don't have a spare Type-C port on your PC/laptop.


A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as medium-high profile and can benefit from a wrist rest if you are not used to touch typing with hands hovering over the keys at all times. The keycaps are not really floating here as a result of the two-piece case design, and the provided keycap puller is useful in removing and/or replacing the keycaps as well as to clean the keyboard. This metal wire-style tool is also nice in doing its job without the potential of scratching their sides as with plastic ring-style pullers. That said, I should mention that I had a 100% "success" rate of the switches also coming out with the keycaps when I was removing the latter. This means the switches are not as securely installed in the keyboard plate, and you will likely have to carefully pry out the switches and reinstall them in the plate/PCB. The stock keycaps, at least on this US ANSI version, are made of thick PBT plastic (1.38 mm wall thickness) with doubleshot injected legends. Some other regions may use dye-sublimed legends apparently, which means those will not have backlit legends. This version is fine in that regard, especially for the black keycaps, and Ducky is also making a big deal about how its keycaps use a higher fraction of PBT plastic than most others. I really can't say I've noticed the difference that much honestly, these have a fairly rough texture and I expect them to last the test of time either way.


The Ducky One X gets credit for being the world's first keyboard to use inductive switches, albeit I did see some other keyboards at CES with inductive switches that will be releasing soon, if not already by the time you see this review. At Computex last year when I first saw the One X, I also saw multiple news posts from others media outfits about how these switches were made by Cherry, although I don't have confirmation on this one way or the other. In fact, you will see the switches are simply marked as Ducky switches and the brand also mentions as much in the marketing materials. As of the date I write this review, there is a single Ducky Inductive switch, and it happens to be a linear one. So, as with magnetic switches until recently, we once again have a new key switch type that doesn't offer tactile or clicky feedback to start with. The switches are installed in a north-facing configuration and larger keycaps use plate mounted stabilizers which are lubed quite well out of the box. Ducky refers to these stabilizers as "Ducky stabilizers," so there is some sense of pride going on which hopefully also translates to their quality and how they affect typing feel and sound. The space bar keycap has two silicone pads for added damping, which is nice to see.


There is no switch remover tool provided, yet it's easy—possibly too easy—to remove the switches when you remove the keycaps. Using an aftermarket switch remover tool also helps with minimal effort, and removing one shows the switches don't have any extra pins to secure them in the PCB. In fact, it's only the housing being fit in the metal plate that keeps the switches in place here. This results in slightly more switch wobble than I'd like, again similar to many magnetic switches on the market. There is no switch chatter at least, so in that metric these are already an improvement. We see the switch sockets have an SMD RGB LED firing upwards, and there is no scope for support pins in the PCB at all, even if the switch pad has cutouts for them. The top housing is nylon in an opaque finish, the bottom housing is also nylon but in frosted white, there's a dedicated diffuser lens added to help better distribute light from the LED underneath, and the stem is made of POM with the cross-point design allowing for added aftermarket keycap compatibility.