Closer Examination

There are a whopping 10 themes available for you to choose when purchasing the SKYLOONG GK104 Pro. These come in the form of 10 keycap sets, and thus you see why SKYLOONG throws in the unused keycaps in the box, and a white or black ABS plastic case. But then there's further color coordination with the screens, the screen covers, and even the knobs used to where these ten themes go further than just using different keycap sets as some brands do. The GK104 Pro is a full-size keyboard in the US ANSI layout. The number of keys on offer depends on whether you go for the version with the larger screen or not, and can thus range from 95 to 104 keys depending also on how you set up the keyboard yourself. I have the keyboard in the "Lava" theme here, using a black case and keycaps going from dark black on the top row to bright red on the bottom. These keycaps use front-facing legends, and you will see the different themes vary a lot in legend placement, font, and size alike. These keycaps have backlit legends, which will no doubt please many. The top-facing legend keycap sets generally seem to be opaque, although some do look translucent at least to where you may want to go through the options if you prioritize backlit keycaps. This configuration has 96 keys in total, with a split space bar, knobs replacing the Print Screen, Scroll Lock, Pause/Break keys, and then a 2" TFT LCD RGB screen occupying the space that the Insert-Page Down key cluster usually takes. There are red accents all around to match the theme, and branding comes in the form of the SKYLOONG logo on the screen bezel itself.


The GK104 Pro has a fixed screen above the number pad which is more monochrome and behaves similar to a calculator display. It functions as a status indicator for the keyboard by default, also showing the current date and time in addition to battery life and connection status. There's a switch on the right side which, as you might have guessed, turns the numpad into a calculator. The three knobs alongside are tied to rotary encoders, as seen before in the GK75, and can also be pulled out to use the hot-swap switch sockets underneath, complete with an RGB SMD LED per socket. The 2" screen is full color and has a 320x240 resolution display in addition to its own controller inside. It's a module too, as with the rotary knobs, and can be pulled out to reveal six slots for switches that can also be filled up as needed. Now you see why the spare switches and keycaps make sense, allowing you to add up to nine extra switches. Alternatively, you can purchase three additional rotary knob modules and have up to six of these on the keyboard if you prefer going that route. Lastly, as seen in the review of the SKYLOONG GK75, you can replace the split space bar modules with the larger, standard one including the provided stabilizer in the box. This allows you to go from the split space bar keys to a standard 6.25u space bar.


Turning the keyboard around, we see more of the black plastic case and a confirmation that SKYLOONG is going for a two-piece case design. The red piece here, which is also color coordinated to the keyboard theme you opt for, is metal and has further branding etched on it. There are five rubber pads at the top and bottom to help provide friction against the resting surface and prevent the case from getting scratched. The GK104 Pro also has two sets of keyboard feet at the top, complete with their own rubber pads, to allow for three elevation steps to choose from.


At this point, I was left wondering where the 2.4 GHz USB dongle was. Here again the included user manual comes in handy, and I found out that the red accent on the back as well as around the numpad screen are magnetic metal covers you can simply slide off. Now we see the hidden compartment used for the pre-paired low profile 2.4 GHz dongle, which is cool because you can literally hide it in the keyboard when not in use. There is also a switch here allowing you to have the keyboard in wired mode (battery off), Bluetooth mode with the switch in the middle, and 2.4 GHz mode with the switch all the way to the right and closer to the USB Type-C port where the provided cable fits into easily. There is plenty of room to use aftermarket cables if you so choose, especially if you want to have one that matches the color of the keyboard better. The stock cable does the job plenty well though; it's black, the usual 6' in length, and terminates in a USB Type-A connector headed to your PC where USB 3.2 Gen 1 or faster is recommended. The USB Type-C to Type-A adapter with this cable can also help bring the 2.4 GHz dongle closer to the keyboard, in case you experience some connectivity issues.


A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as medium-high profile and could benefit from a wrist rest if you are not used to touch typing with hands hovering over the keys at all times. The keycaps are non-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 their sides as with plastic ring-style pullers. SKYLOONG is using the OEM keycap profile on these keycaps, but the others may differ in this regard. The keycaps are made of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.35 mm) with doubleshot-injected front-facing legends. These keycaps will be extremely durable thus, and are also backlit as previously mentioned. The top surface being opaque does mean the keyboard is not going to be ideal for those prioritizing an RGB light show.


There are four switch options for the SKYLOONG GK104 Pro in the form of SKYLOONG's own Glacier Silent linear switches, as well as three switches manufactured by switch maker KTT exclusively for SKYLOONG. These are the KTT Rose Sea Blue (tactile), Rose Pink (linear), and Rose Silver (linear). There are no clicky switches thus, although I do appreciate that all three linear switches are different in functionality (regular, speed, silent). I have the Rose Silver switches here installed in a south-facing configuration which can impact compatibility with some low profile keycap sets, although clearly it works fine with the stock keycaps and I don't think many who purchase this keyboard will be rushing to get different ones. The larger keycaps use plate-mounted stabilizers which are well-lubed out of the box.


The switch remover tool is handy to remove the hot-swappable switches off the PCB where we see the use of a 5-pin mechanical switch socket with a switch pad as well as a thicker foam sheet between the plate and the PCB too. There is also an SMD RGB LED associated with each switch to help with backlighting. The KTT Rose Silver switch has a silver cross-point stem with columns around for added dust and spill resistance, a clear top housing and opaque rose pink bottom housing, and uses a 5-pin design.

Disassembly

Given the hot-swappable nature of the switches and this being my first time with these switches, it only made sense to take one of these KTT Rose Silver switches apart. This is a linear switch with a relatively long stem which comes lubed well from the factory itself to where I don't expect to gain much from taking these apart for cleaning and re-lubing. The actuation point is further down compared to a standard full-size mechanical switch, which results in the switch actuating at a shorter travel distance by comparison similar to other such "speed" switches. The switch design is otherwise similar to other such Cherry MX-style switches in that the stem pushes the copper contacts in the bottom housing together to initiate switch actuation that is then read by the microcontroller on the keyboard.


I noticed some of the sections had glued covers which seemed to be quite hard to remove without permanently damaging or breaking them. As such, I don't recommend anyone disassemble the keyboard unless they absolutely have to. SKYLOONG provides a useful render showcasing the various layers that go into this keyboard, including the multiple foam and PET dampening sheets. The cool thing is that the metal cover on the back can be easily removed to provide access to the two 4000 mAh batteries used here (total 8000 mAh), thus allowing you to more easily swap out the batteries if you find working replacements. SKYLOONG also confirms the use of a Nordic Semiconductor controller for connectivity and customization, although the exact model used is not public information.