Closer Examination

This review goes over the Full Size version of the GMMK 2. The name may have people assume it is a direct replacement of the equivalent full-size version of the original GMMK. Instead, this is clearly smaller than full-size (100%), with Glorious being creative in rounding up to the 96% keyboard form factor. We have seen this form factor become increasingly popular over the last few months, with a dedicated numpad and most other keys present on this 99-key version of the US ANSI layout. Missing are five keys thus—R. Win/Menu, Scroll Lock, Pause/Break, Home, and End. Not a dealbreaker by any means, getting used to the shorter R.Shift and numpad zero will be tricky in the first week or so if new. This is done by taking a 75% keyboard and continuing that design philosophy with the numpad, so much so that there are no dedicated indicator LEDs, as four extra keys take their place. ISO versions which will take you to a proper 100 keys rather than the 105 there will be available as well, so Europeans rejoice.

The GMMK 2 Full Size comes in three color options, and I have the black one characterized by its black case, black ABS keycaps, and a black anodized aluminium frame. There are the white and pink options as well, with the former going with a more silvery frame as seen here. All three have the orange Esc keycap with the new Glorious logo by default. The other branding is the "Ascend" on the Enter keycap, but it's not too distracting. Bezels are average in size, with the darker frame far subtler than the equivalent on the white color options, making this a fairly stealthy keyboard until it is plugged in and backlighting and side lighting turns on similar to what we saw on the GMMK PRO. The keycaps are quite clean, with legends primarily on the top center to take advantage of the north-facing LEDs underneath, and doubleshot injected in a seamless manner. There are some front-facing legends for the extra pre-programmed functions, which we will go over during the course of this review.


Turning the keyboard around, the usual certification sticker is the middle, as are four textured rubber pads on the corners for friction against the resting surface and to prevent scratches to the case. The case is made out of black ABS plastic, and the large GLORIOUS branding is far more visible here than on the white color option—not that it matters in use. It has an in-built elevation of 6°, and there are two case feet at the top for a second elevation option of 11°. The rubber pads on the bottom of the feet are nice to have and will help keep the keyboard in place. That said, this is a heavy keyboard at 1.25 kg given the plastic case construction. The feet are also large enough not to collapse easily, which is the bare minimum.


Another smaller Glorious note is etched into the case on the side facing away from the user, above a cutout where we find the Type-C port. The provided cable fits in snugly enough, but some aftermarket cables may struggle. If you want more flair, how about the Glorious coiled cable? The stock cable otherwise matches the case well enough, is sleeved well for durability, has gold-plated connectors for oxidation resistance, and is the standard 6' long. It plugs into an available USB Type-A port, and USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) is recommended.


A look from the side confirms the built-in elevation with a maximum height of 37.5 mm that tapers down steeply enough not to necessitate a wrist rest—the compact TKL size has a steeper elevation angle, which does make it easier to forego one. Note how the frame goes over the sides to where it's more than just a glorified plate as with most such implementations. Finally, I will point out the side lighting integrated via a cutout in the frame and case, and a plastic diffuser immediately below. Similar to what we saw on the more premium GMMK PRO, it also shows Caps Lock action in addition to being fully customizable accent lighting. The GMMK 2 uses a typical OEM profile for the keycaps, with the usual contouring on the six rows. Use the replacement Esc keycap to better match the colors and profile, and one will be backlit, while the other is the opaque orange novelty keycap. The provided keycap puller works well enough, but may scratch the sides of keycaps, so I'd rather use the floating nature of the keycaps to remove and install them anyway. Glorious is using its new doubleshot injected thick ABS plastic keycaps which debuted on the recently launched pre-built editions of the GMMK PRO. So for those who appreciate the slicker feel of ABS plastic but still want durable and backlit legends, have at it. But note that the front and side-facing legends are not backlit, although it is less of a deal here than on the Compact TKL where most keycaps have one.


The ABS doubleshot keycaps are not the only new thing, but this other entry made its debut with the pre-built GMMK PRO, though most people hadn't noticed. Glorious has a new switch, the Glorious Fox, which complements the tactile Glorious Panda by being linear instead, but it seems similar enough to the linear Glorious Lynx offered separately. This is the only switch option with the pre-built GMMK 2, and these switches are not sold separately at this time. Glorious says these switches come pre-lubed, as do the clip-in stabilizers. The lube is arguably too generous in some places, but the GMMK 2 being compatible with many screw-in stabilizers, including the GSV2, will be useful information for many no doubt. I also liked the small Easter egg with the model name on the exposed PCB underneath the space bar keycap.


Retained from the original GMMK keyboards is the hot-swap switch socket, but with 5-pin switch compatibility out of the box. The included switch remover helps get a closer look at the socket and associated SMD RGB LED, in addition to the Glorious Fox switch. This switch is meant to be considered over the Cherry MX Red, and has the namesake red crosspoint stem, but the casing is entirely transparent for more lighting, which also provides a good look at the internals. We see the Glorious Fox is a 3-pin mechanical switch. Those with the barebones kit can use any mechanical switch they can think of that conforms to the Cherry MX style.


Given the hot-swappable nature of the switches, taking one of the Glorious Fox switches apart only makes sense. This 3-pin mechanical switch employs the Cherry MX stem design, so we have the usual construction with the top, a crosspoint stem/slider, spring, and housing that also has the metal leaf for the actuation mechanism. The switch does come pre-lubed on the sides of the stem and bottom of the spring, which is done well enough not to necessitate re-lubing in my opinion, at least for the typical customer looking at the pre-built GMMK 2. This is clearly a linear switch with no bumps or protrusions along the path of the stem as it meets the metal contacts to initiate switch actuation. Note the short spring, which is indicative of a higher Hook's constant for the same force-travel curve as most full-size switches.

I skipped the disassembly of the GMMK 2 Full Size since I disassembled the Compact TKL version here and it shares the same hardware. Multiple screws also started to strip during the disassembly of the other keyboard, which I'd rather not go through again. I had a similar issue on the GMMK PRO, so I urge Glorious to rectify this as soon as possible, especially as these keyboards are meant to be modder-friendly.