Driver

There is no software driver support for the Mistel MD870 SLEEKER keyboard, with all functionality being hardware based. As such, I have chosen to combine the Driver and Performance pages into one.

Performance

There is full N-key rollover USB here out of the box, as Aqua's test confirms. Similarly, no key chatter was detected on all the keys using Switch Hitter. The sole key not lit up here is an Fn key instead of menu, and for those who were worrying that the dual OS support would mean some keys were out of place, rest assured that everything functions as it should according to the 87-key ANSI layout. If you do find some discrepancies, ensure the keyboard is in Windows OS mode by pressing Fn + space bar; however, it should automatically be detected as one when connected to a Windows PC.


When you first connect the keyboard, it lights up in a static white color at 100% brightness as seen above. The lighting is side-lighting in this case, given the dye-sublimated legends are not translucent, but the lighting is bright enough to where you can see the outline of the keycap's stem even through the thick PBT walls. I will also say that the side lighting does help increase visibility of the legends, even in pitch-black rooms, so it serves a functional purpose as well. But it would be fair to say that the lighting is more for aesthetics here, offering an accent which complements the white/silver color scheme otherwise.

The manual describes separate onboard controls for lighting when using this with a Mac or Windows PC. For the latter, Fn + 5 toggles through static lighting, a breathing mode, and turning the LEDs off entirely. In addition, Fn + up/down arrow keys gives control over the LEDs' brightness in eight steps, and Fn + left/right arrow keys gives three speeds of animation for the brightness mode. Above are two videos demonstrating said mode in two speeds, and for some context, the slowest speed is what other companies tend to adopt as a normal speed. The transition effect is smooth here, although with a single color to go with they better be. That's about it as far as lighting goes, so look elsewhere if you want more bling.

Now to the few things that the dual-OS support doesn't help with. Mistel has given priority to the Mac here since the secondary legends on the function keys correspond to those pre-programmed for macOS. For example, Fn + F1/F2 are for screen brightness control on Macs, as their symbols indicate, and Fn + F3/F4 bring up Mission Control and Launchpad respectively. With Windows systems, Fn + F1-F3 offer volume control instead (mute/volume up/volume down), while the others do nothing. I was initially confused by the lighting control since the Fn key row indicated that would be it, but the manual pointed me to the arrow keys instead. I would have really preferred to see a full set of Windows-OS keycaps included here since; as it is now, this treatment feels incomplete and inferior in more ways than one. For some consolation, we do get Win lock toggle via Fn + right Win, and you can also interchange the position of the left Alt and Win using Fn + Home. For some further Windows-only customization, you can swap Capslock and left CTRL via Fn + End, and this can be useful for those who use the Shift key for case switching and need easier access to the CTRL modifier.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the Mistel MD870 SLEEKER sample at ~115 WPM. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches. I did bottom out here, although it is definitely possible to not do so with practice. The keyboard makes a satisfying thick sound when bottoming out to where I did not feel compelled to stop, and overall, it is just very nice to type on. The Cherry MX Brown is also a very popular switch, being rated at a 45 +/-5 gf actuation force with a tactile force of 55 gf, and a standard 2/4 mm for tactile feedback and total travel distance respectively as well. Actuation here ends up closer to 2.2 mm, and actuation force is harder to quantify as well given the tactile event occurs before it. For what it is worth, the average actuation force was 45.12 cN across the twenty random switches I tested, and bottoming out felt just fine as well since nothing in particular stood out. Using Cherry MX switches is a safe bet even if others have caught up or even surpassed them as far as medium force tactile switches go.