Closer Examination

The System76 Launch is effectively a 75% form factor keyboard, present is the alphanumeric section and Fn key row from a TKL-size keyboard, but also a truncated bottom row as well as parts of the arrow key column. Indeed, the dedicated arrow keys will be welcome to many, as will be the Home, Pg Up, Pg Dn, End keys on the right-most column of the keyboard. Note also the large Del key above Backspace and now you realize also that System76 has taken some liberties on the US ANSI layout here, with non-standard key spacing in a few different locations on the keyboard. The bottom row is the most obvious one here owing to the mix of 1u, 1.5u, and 2u keycaps accommodating a split space bar and an interesting swap of R. Ctrl and R. Alt too. Note also the smaller keycaps for some of the modifiers, resulting in gaps between various keys and you end up with a divisive layout here comprising of 73 1u keycaps, eight 1.5u keycaps, and three 2u keycaps.

There's a steeper learning curve than you may realize owing to these changes, although I do understand the logic behind most of these—allowing more space for commonly used keys. The split space bar also is handy to allow your thumbs to naturally rest there, effectively using the keyboard with both hands for improved typing efficiency. The minimal bezels on the sides and bottom also help make this a smaller keyboard than usual to add positively to typing ergonomics. It is only on the rounded corners and top bezel that you get to see and appreciate the milled aluminium chassis with a gunmetal gray finish. The colors used on the keycaps complement the darker base well, with the mix of gray and white in addition to light brown accents. The keycaps are opaque and thus System76 has centrally-placed legends here which are well sized for the size of the keyboard. Secondary legends are placed above the primary ones as applicable, overall it's a clean looking board that you can use at work as much as at home, contingent on the switches chosen.


Turn the keyboard around to see the milled aluminium construction continue, with an underside in the same finish. The product name and branding are all present here instead of the front/sides and are joined by the applicable certification labels. Four rubber pads on the corners help lift up the keyboard to prevent scratches, also preventing the keyboard from moving around on your desk when in use. The top section of the underside is also where the provided lift bar easily slots in, held in place via magnets, optionally elevating the keyboard as seen above.


Remember that larger top bezel? System76 has integrated a SuperSpeed USB hub here, making use of that space and we end up with four additional USB ports—two each Type-A and Type-C, split between the left and right side—in addition to the centrally placed Type-C input port itself. All of these are placed inside small cutouts in the chassis that can accommodate aftermarket cables as desired. You can use either of the provided cables, as long as you have an available USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) port capable of the 5 Gbps SuperSpeed throughput. This means you can plug other peripherals or USB storage drives to the keyboard directly rather than to your PC. The provided cables are the usual 6' in length and come sleeved in black.


A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard without the lift bar, which is effectively a flat slab completed with XDA low profile keycaps that also do not have any row-specific height changes or contouring. This helps with touch typing as well as easier swapping of keycaps for different typing layouts, but the average end user might initially struggle with the flat nature of this 30 mm tall keyboard. The lower profile chassis also results in floating keycaps in turn making them easier to remove by hand, but the provided keycap puller works beautifully in removing even the largest 2u keycaps easily enough. These are also thick PBT keycaps with dye sublimed legends, similar to the replacement colored ones we saw before, the legend application is executed well. The keycaps are opaque, so any lighting on the keyboard will be as an accent underglow instead of keycap legend backlighting.


The System76 Launch is available in four different Kailh BOX switches offering all three feedback mechanisms, I have the Kailh BOX Jades on my sample, with a north-facing LED placement that thankfully does not interfere with the low profile keycaps. The larger keycaps use plate-mounted stabilizers, with the stabilizer bars pre-lubed from the factory. This slightly improves the mushy and rattly feedback when typing on the larger keys, especially the space bar keys, although I note that the excess lube is dried up on the outside, and could be the same inside too.


The provided switch remover tool comes in handy to take the switches off for closer examination or swapping, courtesy the use of a 5-pin hot-swap mechanical switch socket here. System76 has a handy guide on this, among other things, which helps you better appreciate the BOX Jade switches with the aptly colored stem/slider, installed on the transparent top housing and white base. This is a 3-pin switch that works well with the keyboard and is a tactile + clicky switch we have covered before.


Here is a look at the red and blue optional keycaps installed on the System76 Launch, in case the native brown ones are too boring for you. I don't mind the blue accents personally but I am happy to see end users get some alternative options.