I've reviewed two different Lofree keyboards now and have seen many others online. Every single time I am left wondering what the Lofree design team is on, because all its keyboards are wacky and unique. Take this Lofree Edge, for example. Who would think of using the leftover material from the keyboard case and turning it into a fancy puzzle that results in a display stand? Now imagine the same in weaved carbon fiber and this is exactly what you get here. Add to that the magnesium alloy case and the Lofree Edge looks and feels more premium than so many things on the market which cost even more than the retail price, so the currently discounted prices on Kickstarter should make this a no-brainer.

In theory yes, especially when you see how everything is designed with the goal of making the Lofree Edge the world's thinnest mechanical keyboard—as far as I know anyway. This uses a cool take on the gasket mount design whereby the gaskets are on the PCB itself, not the plate as usual. It allows Lofree to still have the keystrokes be mostly decoupled from the case and supported by the gaskets while removing the need for a plate altogether to further reduce the keyboard thickness. Add to this new keycaps and switches that also reduce the component height compared to typical implementations and the keyboard design itself which tapers down to all of 5.4 mm at the bottom, and you can see how this is quite portable in its own right. There is wireless connectivity on offer and the case materials were also chosen to allow for a lightweight build without compromising structural integrity to where the entire keyboard, including the battery inside, weighs under 500 g! No wonder the Kickstarter campaign is seeing a lot of people order the keyboard along with the optional sleeve.

The issue is that something this specialized will always have compromises elsewhere. There's a single switch option, albeit quite a nice one, with only linear feedback that may be a dealbreaker for some. The keycaps are long-lasting courtesy the PBT plastic used with doubleshot injected legends, but the relatively minor curvature and contouring may not be conducive for touch typing if you are used to, say, the OEM keycap profile. Battery life is quite good as long as the LEDs are off, and we have fast charging too, but the reason to keep the LEDs off is primarily because the opaque switches barely let light through to where the keycaps aren't backlit at all. Lofree is also using a more budget-friendly USB microcontroller with its OEM software drivers getting a re-skin, so the software experience feels poorly managed. Given the brand has promised macOS support, which the OEM drivers do not currently offer, I do feel optimistic that perhaps a better software program is going to come by the time the keyboard is available for retail purchase and being shipped to backers. I also strongly hope that the Bluetooth stability issues I faced on this pre-release unit are not going to be a thing on the finished product. It was important enough to mention, yet I do give Lofree the benefit of doubt here since other reviewers do not seem to have experienced it. Overall, this is most definitely a novel product with plenty of innovation inside. It's not a keyboard for everyone though, so I see why Lofree went with crowdfunding rather than an outright retail release. If it interests you then you have until May 25 to back the project and avail the lower prices on offer.