Software

Software support for the Wooting 80HE comes in the form of the aptly named Wootilty, which has just gone from strength to strength since I first used it in a beta form over seven years ago. It's available as a standalone program to install on Windows, macOS, and Linux, although there is now also Wootility Web which is compatible with Chromium-engine browsers and doesn't require any software installation. In fact, Wooting even recommends the 80HE to be used with Wootility V5 that is currently only available in web format here. This pulls up a web page that will prompt you to allow a connection to the keyboard, assuming it is already plugged in to the PC of course, similar to VIA on the web. This also means that those on macOS, for example, have to use the installer given Apple is never going to switch to a Chromium-based browser, unless the users install a Chromium-based browser. The web version works flawlessly and gives you all the functionality of the standalone program even in the non V5 state, which is possible because everything programmed on the Wooting 80HE is stored onboard the keyboard thanks to that hefty 8 MB memory module and the powerful microcontroller. After the connection was established, which takes ~2 seconds, a firmware update was required and this took under a minute—including with the re-pairing of the keyboard to Wootility.


Keep in mind that I have not tested the Wooting 80HE with the installed version of Wootility, but so far I don't see any reason to do it. Some things are still grayed out, such as having a light theme or syncing with your PC, but I suspect these will be ready by the time the keyboard starts shipping in bulk to most customers. This is based on my time having used Wootility in the past few years, starting with all the community involvement to get it translated by native users in various languages to bug finding/resolution, and simply adding new features. For example, SOCD (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions) was first brought up by Wooting and now there are two different implementations based on user feedback. Whether they are going to be useful to you is a whole different matter altogether. Wootility in 2024 is the standard for how peripheral software should be, everything is responsive and gets saved on the device so you don't need to worry about bloated software, something that may not scale properly with your display, poor translations from another language, and so forth. It's extremely feature-rich, but only where it matters. The likes of ASUS and Corsair could learn a thing or two here.


The video above goes through all the features available with Wootility V5 when it comes to the Wooting 80HE, at least as of the date I write this review. These include the usual things everyone basically takes for granted with keyboards today, including key mapping, macros, and lighting effects. You can also create various profiles and have the means to change them onboard, with up to four profiles saved on board. Any more, and you will have to go back to Wootility to swap them out for the ones you would like to use. While this may be plenty for the vast majority of users, it's probably the one thing I can see needing to have Wootility on hand for after you have set up the keyboard to your liking, so again I will give a shout-out to the web version for making things so much easier. This being a magnetic switch keyboard, you also have the ability to do various "HE" things, including changing the actuation point on a per-key basis from a very long 0.1-4.0 mm range in 0.1 mm intervals. This is set to 1.0 mm by default in typing profile, which feels short already, and goes down to 0.4 mm in the rapid profile. There's also Rapid Trigger and Tachyon Mode, which have been there since the Wooting two HE and continue to work as advertised. SOCD, among other newer features, are seen in the Advanced Keys section and this is where you will likely spend more time to understand how best to use the keyboard to your desire. Play around with various applications and games to see what works best, and Wooting does have some helpful videos and suggestions for different game genres too. I found Dynamic Keystroke and Mod Tap to be extremely handy for quick shortcuts in programs such as Lightroom, for example. There is a steep learning curve involved, but it's well worth your time to try it out. The LED strip is also neat, allowing you to use the LEDs to visually identify the current keyboard setup, among other things. The LEDs associated with the keys also help identify the profiles, as seen here. Then we get to the analog control part which made Wooting famous. It's weird, but I've seen this feature not being used as much anymore. Regardless, you can map the keys to controller buttons and set up the deadzone and analog response curve too. There's even an integrated tester so you don't have to go to a third-party website/tool anymore.