Introduction

It would be fair to say I like Akko products, be it in the form of keyboards or keycap sets. In particular, when Akko goes past simply taking inspiration from existing designs and does its own thing do some really cool designs come about. For example, take the Akko Monet's Pond design or even the recently seen King Koi, both of which take the same koi fish and pond theme that has been used by many but add a focused design language from Japanese and Chinese influences respectively. The World Tour series is another, with the World Tour-Tokyo theme doing quite well and there being a World Tour-Beijing keyboard family too. We weren't able to take a look at the latter, mostly because Akko informed me that a new World Tour entry is coming up. Here we are then, and thanks again to Akko for sending TechPowerUp a review sample!


Enter World Tour-Shanghai, and Akko is once again doing something original and paying homage to its own country. If Tokyo was all about popular cultural elements and Beijing far more old school, World Tour-Shanghai goes more with the early 20th century period. Even the photograph above is clearly paying homage to 1940s Shanghai, and this will be another example of the company going all in on a theme that will attract few globally. It clearly doesn't stop Akko, and I respect that. This was originally going to be a full keyboard review until plans changed with Akko no longer planning on making a keyboard or two in the World Tour-Shanghai theme. There is instead a keycap set only, so our own coverage is thus a quick-look article.

Packaging

Unlike the hard cardboard with an even harder plastic box packaging we saw employed for most of Akko's keycap sets, the World Tour series seems to adopt a simpler design with a thin cardboard sleeve over another cardboard box. This was the case with the World Tour-Tokyo keycap set as well, meaning that it is the hard box for Akko doubleshot keycap sets and this style for its dye-sublimed keycap sets. What it does allow for is a far more artistic rendition on the cover sleeve, with the vintage green base on the front along the product name and a render of a more modern-day Shanghai skyline that is a certainly an inspired touch given the focus on old Shanghai. On the back is a more authentic drawing, including a woman in cheongsam and an old school phonograph and dial telephone. The inner box simply slides out on either side as there are no seals.


The inner box is black and has a purple Akko logo on the front. But unlike other Akko boxes with a double flap in the middle and the lid lifting upwards, we have a two-piece box with the upper section completely lifting up and away. Underneath is a thick foam sheet—it is almost as thick as my finger and adds protection to the keycaps below.


Two layers hold the 136 keycaps you get, with the top layer hosting all keycaps for the alphanumeric section, including the Fn key row. A second foam sheet separates the two layers, and the bottom layer has the other keycaps for other form factors, including TKL and full-size keyboards. These keycaps come inside plastic blister inlays with most keycaps in their own individual cells, which makes it quite hard to remove them individually. I do think this is ultimately a worse packaging design than for the other Akko keycap sets, and note that we don't even get a keycap puller.

Closer Look

Describing the World Tour-Shanghai keycap set is not the easiest thing in the world. Themed keycap sets tend to be divisive, and this one in particular is strange since it tries to herald in some older memories in addition to current-day trends as they pertain to Shanghai. The retro vibe is certainly strong with the off-white color scheme adopted for the primary set of keycaps—so much so that I would even describe them as tan. There are then dark red and green keycaps as accents, which also act as a base for more designs on top. These are thick PBT plastic keycaps with an average wall thickness of nearly 1.5 mm placing them among the thickest retail keycaps on the market today. Legends are all dye-sublimed on the PBT plastic, and in a large, bold, black font for the alphabet itself. The other legends go smaller even without any associated secondary legends. Most of the modifiers are novelty keycaps too, with dye-sublimed designs in addition to printed legends in English. The red on green legends can be hard to read, but that's not even the biggest of the usability issues for the global community with the numpad resorting to the use of Chinese strokes for the numbers in Mandarin. The red base keycaps also have a shimmering effect on their designs, which is less obvious when installed on a keyboard.


The designs on the novelty keycaps are one of the main reasons to buy the keycap set and will determine whether you like this set or not, in addition to the other quirks mentioned before. This is also where I understand Akko including some more modern depictions of the Shanghai skyline, famous as it is now with even current day Shanghai retaining some of its older feelings. But then we see proper old-school elements, including the pulled rickshaw, vintage cars, and trams from before. Some architectural elements, the Shikumen in particular, of buildings and streets are depicted too, in addition to the lady in the traditional dress on the packaging. She is supposed to be a musical artist in a cheongsam providing entertainment in the streets of Shanghai at night after a hard day's work. There are also some tools of yore, tugging at the strings of nostalgia with the abacus, dial telephone, a phonograph, and even a pocket watch. S and H are highlighted in the alphanumeric section for Shanghai, and I did think the use of arrow keys as traffic signals was a cool touch even if I can't personally relate to many of these cultural elements.


In the absence of an actual keyboard in the series, I resorted to using the keyboard base from the Akko 3108v2 Matcha Red Bean instead. The base is a lighter green than the keycaps themselves, but the combination still works very well for those who absolutely want something like this. The 136 keycaps include a few different sizes for specific keys to cater to other form factors, including 65%, 75%, and 96-key layouts, which suits other Akko keyboards as well as the rare 64-key layout with the 2u shift key.


What makes this special irrespective of the theme is the use of the extremely rare JDA keycap profile. It's so uncommon that this extensive keycap profile website doesn't even list it. The JDA profile is quite new, and similar to the KAT profile in that it is shorter than the OEM profile but sculpted similarly. As such, the keycaps end up between the Cherry and OEM profile in height, sculpted similarly to the OEM profile, and spherical like SA/ASA/DSA. I do not have any experience with KAT, but have to say this is quite comfortable to type on. These are also the smoothest PBT keycaps I have ever used, and I had to go back to other Akko keycaps to be sure I was not just imagining it, either. There is a significant difference in the surface texture, so much so that those who prefer ABS keycaps for the smoother finish will now have a similar analogue without the longevity to worry about. Once again the power of dye-sublimation shows its hand over doubleshot injection, and since Akko keycaps rarely support backlighting this makes sense too.


Here is a look at a couple of replacement keycaps added, including the space bar keycap. There are also several other novelty 1u keycaps, and these have popular tourist destinations in Shanghai listed in both Chinese characters and pinyin. Once again, these are more for those who can at least read pinyin, but I suppose it tells you where to go if you visiting Shanghai in the future!



Above are two recordings of the different keycaps installed on the same keyboard and switch assembly, namely the Akko 3108v2 Matcha Red Bean with the plastic two-piece case and Gateron Pink switches over a steel plate. This helps control all other variables for a comparison of the Akko World Tour-Shanghai keycaps to the stock OEM profile Akko doubleshot PBT keycaps. The latter is also of very good quality to begin with, so unsurprisingly, there isn't much of a difference between the two. To my ears, the World Tour-Shanghai keycaps with the thicker PBT composition and JDA profile are slightly deeper and "thockier." I suspect the difference will be more appreciated on a keyboard with lubed switches and sound-absorbing foam to further eliminate other sources of high pitch when typing.

The Akko World Tour-Shanghai 136-key keycap set is now available for purchase and costs $69.99 from the Akko Global web store as of the date of this article.