Lighting and Performance

The NuPhy Air60 HE supports N-key rollover USB, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either, and seen above are all the functions with dedicated keys on the base layer. This keyboard has 61 keys and R. Win is replaced by the Fn key which is used for the Fn layer itself.


The Fn layer typically makes or breaks a smaller form factor keyboard, with this 60% keyboard clearly needing it. NuPhy has done a decent job here with the Fn layer pre-programmed with several functions already. The Fn keys, for example, are in the top row as you would expect, and we also get arrow keys and other modifiers here in addition to volume and media playback controls. The mode you are in will also influence some of these, but generally expect to also see some OS-specific shortcuts. You can remap these with NuPhyIO, although it will still take some time before using the Fn layer becomes second nature—especially for the arrow keys now associated with larger keycaps than usual.


Seen above are some of the available lighting effects accessible via both onboard controls and software, with full 16.8 M RGB per-key lighting on offer. The stock keycaps are not great for this, with the keycap legends being opaque and the keycaps themselves letting light through from the bottom in this south-facing configuration. This makes it even harder to read the keycap legends at times, although I will say from a standard viewing angle and some form of environmental lighting—be it from a monitor or a desk lamp—this becomes a lot easier to use. Obviously use the keyboard in a well-lit room whenever you can though! There are also two side lights with their own specific lighting controls and far fewer effects to choose from, in fact you can't even match up these with the rest of the keyboard unless everything is in static mode. Picking the individual color of your choice is also not trivial in NuPhyIO, and the see-through purple keycaps might end up dominating everything anyway given how much more light they allow through them. The optional keycap set referenced in page 3 could be of interest to many thus, but I personally ended up just replacing the purple see-through keycaps with the provided PBT keycaps and calling it a day, knowing the lighting isn't doing much and the side lights can be used as indicator lights.


The biggest thing with magnetic switches is the ability to customize the actuation distance. We've got to the point now where pretty much any HE keyboard offers this, and it does so by relying on third-party switches and sensors—typically Gateron—which tend to be shared by the vast majority of keyboards. NuPhy clearly has a good relationship with Gateron, allowing it to have the world's first keyboard using these new low profile magnetic switches. On top of that, we also get a very long range of actuation (0.1 to 3.3 mm in 0.02 mm steps) here, which is on par with many full-size magnetic switches too! Then there are other features allowing you to further enjoy your time with these switches. Rapid trigger allows you to have repeat keystrokes at an extremely fast speed compared to mechanical switches that have a set debounce rate owing to the moving parts in contact. There's also continuous rapid trigger for anyone wanting to literally spam a key forever without any actuation distance to add to a delay, only stopping when you stop pressing the key. Almost every single keyboard, including membrane keyboards, will do this to a point, but you will notice the speed difference very clearly here. Hyper Tap, Dynamic Keystroke, and especially SOCD (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions) allow you to have multiple functions tied to a single switch. The keyboard can continuously monitor switches across the entire travel/detection range and this can result in things as simple as short macros and quickly typing common words to having far more controlled movement in games which give you a significant edge over others. Of course this has resulted in many games and event organizers/game publishers detecting these as cheats and blocking them immediately, even kicking you out of games or giving you a temporary/permanent ban at times. I'll also mention how these won't magically make you a better gamer either, but at least you can strive to achieve a higher level of gaming based on what you see is capable from your keyboard.


I mentioned before how NuPhy offers two switch options with the Air60HE, and both come from Gateron. In fact, both are very similar too and are part of Gateron's new low profile magnetic switch family. The Low Profile Magnetic Jade and Jade Pro differ in the material used for the various parts, with the latter going for all POM on the housing and stem. The stem color on the Jade Pro is also jade green like the bottom housing, where the non-Pro goes for a white stem to match the top housing. We also see the non-Pro switch has a slightly lighter spring, and I personally prefer a more medium to medium-heavy spring for HE switches allowing for more control over the travel distance. I have not tried the non-Pro version, but can vouch for how much better the Low Profile Magnetic Jade Pro is compared to pretty much any full-size magnetic switch I've tried to date. The dual rails with the extremely right tolerance, the two support pins, and the thinner stem with a more standard spring makes for a less wobbly, more steady typing experience. The GIF above also shows how the offset magnet implementation allows for the same actuation range as the full-size version, and I would prefer these being used even in standard height keyboards if I had the choice. Good quality mechanical switches still sound and feel better to me, but I am happy to see we are now at least seeing non-linear full-size HE switches and also good quality low profile HE switches.


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 NuPhy Air60 HE keyboard sample at ~85 WPM as it comes out of the box with the Gateron Low Profile Magnetic Jade Pro switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches. I did bottom out here, which you are probably going to do as well during regular typing with these low profile switches, and this helps demonstrate the decent sound dampening on offer. The keyboard doesn't use a gasket mount, yet my keystrokes feel better supported compared to some poorly implemented gasket mounts in other HE keyboards. I also appreciated the multiple layers of foam and silicone used, preventing any pings and high-pitched reverberations. The stabilizers could be more uniform in feel and sound though. I fear NuPhy has again over-lubed the stabilizers to where things feel mushy and uneven, as also evident in the recording. But overall I am more than satisfied, especially when the physical constraints of the keyboard size comes into picture. For those wondering, the Air60 HE goes from 18.8 mm at the top to 13.2 mm at the bottom.