Closer Examination

As the name suggests, the NuPhy Air60 HE is a 60% form factor keyboard. This means you only have 61 keys in total here, and that excludes dedicated arrow keys which can be a dealbreaker for many. Yet we've seen 60% keyboards get increasingly popular for gaming, offering you all the keys necessary for pretty much any gaming genre in a smaller footprint. This also allows you to position the keyboard and mouse ergonomically on your desk while also allowing space for other equipment such as gaming controllers, headsets, and even joysticks. The Air60 HE uses an aluminium (probably an alloy) top case panel in silver and ABS plastic bottom panel in a translucent black. The stock keycaps are tri-tone, with some see-through purple plastic keycaps that try and pull up advanced physics for the design—no idea why since this doesn't match the rest of the keyboard even remotely. I suspect these keycaps will be quite divisive in general, which is a good thing then that NuPhy has replacement keycaps in the box. The keycap legends are not backlit, although the gray and purple keycaps will let light through to various degrees to help illuminate them. The legends are fairly large and placed in the top left corner, with general secondary legends supplanting them at the top and then keyboard-specific legends in the bottom right corner—everything is on the top surface of the keycaps. I am not too pleased with the yellow and blue colors chosen for the keyboard-specific legends, making them hard to read against the darker base keycaps. On the plus side, bezels are uniform and tiny throughout, and we get two sidelights which also work as indicator LEDs in addition to adding positively to the RGB show on offer.


Turning the keyboard around, we see more of the translucent bottom case panel on this option. There is clearly some dampening between the PCB and the chassis, thus making downward firing LEDs not very practical even if they were present. NuPhy continues to use a metal badge in the middle with a protective sticker to be peeled off, and we also find four silicone rubber strips at the top and bottom to help add friction against the resting surface. The two on the top are placed on the case feet itself, with NuPhy using two sets of feet for a total of three elevation angles (3.1°/7°/10°) in use. These feet are relatively long for added stability and also have rubberized bottom surfaces.


In the top left side facing away from the user is a 3-way switch marked M1-M3, with these being operating modes you can customize in software. Out of the box, M1 is gaming mode, M2 is Windows mode, and M3 is macOS mode—the Air60 HE works also with various Linux distros in addition to iOS and Android. There is only wired connectivity on the keyboard, and we see a flush Type-C port around the corner which works nicely with the right-angled cable connector as seen above. This also means the keyboard cable naturally is directed away from a mouse cable for most right-handed users. There is enough space here to accommodate most aftermarket cables, although the stock cable is quite good in its own right. The two-tone finish helps distinguish it from the usual all-black cables, and the colorway matches the keyboard well too. The cable is shorter than usual at 5' in length, which works well for anyone planning to use this with more portable sources, and goes to an available USB Type-A port on your PC where USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen 1) is recommended for power and data.


A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as low profile and doesn't really benefit from a wrist rest even if you are not used to touch typing with hands hovering over the keys at all times. However, NuPhy does offer an add-on wrist rest for sale to fit the keyboard if you so desire. We also see how the two case panels meet in the middle, although now my attention is taken up by the rare Coast nSA keycap profile used for the stock keycaps here. These are low profile keycaps that are still sculpted like SA/DSA, so they can be quite nice to type on and make you feel there's more support for your fingers too. The keycaps are not floating owing to the nature of the case design, and the included keycap puller is useful in removing and/or replacing the keycaps as well as to clean the keyboard. The metal wire keycap puller is also nice in doing its job without the potential of scratching the keycap sides as with plastic ring-style pullers. Most of the stock keycaps are made of PBT plastic, with the see-through purple feeling more like polycarbonate and not as sturdy. The keycap legends are dye-sublimed on for longevity, but this does mean they are opaque. The lighter keycaps let some light through, but of course more goes through the purple ones as seen above.


The NuPhy Air60 HE is a Hall effect keyboard using magnetic switches, so naturally there are far fewer switch options here than usual. Making it tougher is the part where this is a low profile keyboard taking that feature seriously, meaning it is the only keyboard offering low profile magnetic switches as of the date I write this review. You can opt for Gateron Low Profile Magnetic Jade or the more expensive Magnetic Jade Pro switches. NuPhy provided a review sample with the Jade Pro switches, and it's a linear switch as with the non-Pro version. Given full-size magnetic switches with tactile or clicky feedback are only just coming out, I am not holding my breath for non-linear low profile HE switches anytime soon. The switches are installed in a south-facing configuration and larger keycaps use plate mounted stabilizers which are lubed copiously—probably too much—out of the box. The space bar keycap has two silicone pads for added damping, which is nice to see.


The switch remover tool is handy to remove the hot-swappable switches off the PCB, where we see the use of an SMD RGB LED firing upwards and two support posts for the switches—this, along with the switches being low in profile as it is, means they wobble significantly less than most full-size HE switches on the market today. I expect this alone will make the Air60 HE worthy of consideration for many. Removing a switch also gives a closer look at the Gateron Low Profile Magnetic Jade Pro switch by itself, which has two support pins and goes for an all-POM construction in white or jade green. The stem also has walls around for added dust and spill resistance, and we see a clear diffuser lens added to the top housing to help better distribute light from the LED underneath.


Here is a look at the Air60 HE with the optional keycap installed, allowing you to fully replace the see-through purple keycaps for a more cohesive look and typing feel. If you prefer the aesthetic of the stock keycap set, then you can of course leave it as-is. We also get replacement keycaps for macOS users, and those wanting fully backlit keycaps can also optionally choose the Canopus nSA keycap set for $24 more, I have not seen this keycap set in use but the photos on NuPhy's website do make for a striking first impression with the large legends. Perhaps something to consider also for those among us who are visually challenged.