Keychron K8 Max [K2 Max, K10 Max, etc.] Keyboard Review

These keyboards are available in several layouts. We tested the Keychron K8 Max which has a standard TKL (80%) layout. This means it omits the numpad found on a typical full-size keyboard but takes up less space on your desk.

Other standard-profile options in the lineup include the full-size Keychron K10 Max and the more compact 75% Keychron K2 Max, which retains a function row while reducing the overall width even further.

The wider K Max series also includes low-profile variants, which we've reviewed separately.

These keyboards have excellent build quality. The case is made of ABS plastic, and some assembly options—including the configuration we purchased—feature an aluminum frame bracket that adds noticeable structural stiffness and a slightly more premium look and feel.

Inside the case, several layers of dampening material help round out the sound profile and provide a slightly softer typing feel, though it's still a fairly stiff typing experience, which some may appreciate; however, it's noticeably less springy-feeling than keyboards in Keychron's closely related V Max Series, which have a gasket-mount design. The keycaps are also made of high-quality, doubleshot PBT plastic and have a slightly textured finish that doesn't feel slippery.

The feet on the underside of the keyboard do a good job of keeping it from sliding on your desk, even with the feet extended.

The stabilizers and switches are pre-lubed from the factory, and there isn't any noticeable rattling and very minimal wobble.

These keyboards have a standard profile. There are flip-out feet on the underside that provide two additional incline settings, but you'll need to angle your wrists somewhat steeply to reach all the keys. These keyboards don't come with a wrist rest, although Keychron sells them separately on their website.

There are additional low-profile variants in the wider K Max series that are more comfortable to use without a wrist rest if you prefer.

These keyboards offer significantly better hardware customizability compared to the low-profile models in the wider Keychron K Max series.

You can buy these keyboards with a soldered or hot-swappable PCB.

Note that you need to remove the top plate to access the screw-in stabilizers.

These keyboards are available in RGB or white-only backlight configurations. All stock switch types available for this keyboard have transparent top housings and a light diffuser channel. This results in higher brightness and more evenly dispersed lighting. It also serves to reduce any glare effect caused by south-facing LEDs, which some users reported experiencing on earlier Keychron models. For comparison, you can reference the maximum brightness on the Keychron K8 Pro.

Note that the minimum backlight photo above represents the minimum brightness level you can set with hotkeys on the keyboard itself. When using the software, you can set it even lower.

These keyboards have poor backlighting clarity as they lack shine-through keycaps.

If you want to replace the stock keycaps with standard shine-through keycaps, the legends will be quite dim unless you specifically buy a keycap set designed with south-facing shine-through legends.

When displaying white-only backlighting, the white is fairly pure without noticeable blue or red tinting.

These keyboards come with a braided USB-A to USB-C cable. It feels fairly high quality and durable, but it's on the shorter side and retains some kinks from its packaging.

Keychron advertises the Keychron K8 Max and all other standard profile models in the wider K Max series have a 4000 mAh battery that provides a working time of up to 190 hours with all backlighting off and up to 100 hours with backlighting on (at the lowest backlight brightness settings).

While Keychron doesn't explicitly state which connection type these estimates are based on, our experience suggests that 190 hours is likely an overly conservative figure for Bluetooth use with the backlight off, especially for a keyboard of this size. Since this same estimate applies to larger models in the series, it's possible the figure is tuned more toward those—meaning smaller models like the Keychron K8 Max could potentially exceed 200 hours, though this remains speculative on our part.

Using a 2.4GHz connection offers improved performance and stability but comes at the cost of increased power consumption and shorter battery life. If you have this keyboard and want to share your battery life experience, we'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Note that most models in the K Max lineup lack dedicated macro keys, but the full-size Keychron K10 Max has a set of four dedicated macro keys. For comparison, see the Differences Between Sizes and Variants section.

These keyboards have a set of switches on the keyboard's top edge, one of which toggles between connectivity modes and the other between Windows/Android and Mac/iOS compatibility modes.

A set of LEDs above the arrow key cluster, from left to right, indicate power, connectivity, and when Caps Lock is enabled.

Media and other hotkeys are labeled directly on the keycaps easily visible in this top-down photo. For a full list of supported hotkeys, Bluetooth pairing instructions, and other information, see an online version of the user manual.

• USB-A to USB-C cable
• 2.4GHz USB-A receiver
• USB-A to USB-C receiver adapter
• Alternate Windows Keycaps (2x Win keys, 1x Alt, 1x Esc, 1x lock key)
• Alternate orange-colored Enter keycap
• Keycap puller
• Hex wrench
• Screwdriver
• User documentation

The Keychron K8 Max keyboards offer an excellent typing experience. The switches and stabilizers are pre-lubed from the factory and feel very consistent. The switches are stable in their housing and exhibit very minimal wobble, and there's virtually no noticeable stabilizer rattle, an issue that older Keychron models regularly suffer from.

Inside the case, several layers of dampening material help round out the sound profile and provide a slightly softer typing feel, though it's still a fairly stiff typing experience overall with a steel plate and traditional tray mount design. This is an attribute some will appreciate, though it's noticeably less springy-feeling than keyboards in Keychron's closely related V Max Series, which have a much softer gasket-mount design.

The keycaps are also made of high-quality, doubleshot PBT plastic and have a slightly textured finish that doesn't feel slippery. That said, they have an OSA (OEM spherical angle) profile which is similar in height to the standard OEM keycaps found on most prebuilt keyboards but with a distinctly dish-shaped top and fairly pronounced ridges. Again, this is an element that will come down to your personal preference, but you may find it's easier to accidentally hit neighboring keys at first while you're getting used to the profile if you aren't already familiar with it.

These keyboards are decently quiet but may irritate those around you in a particularly noise-sensitive environment.

We tested the keyboard with Keychron Super Red switches, but it's also available with Keychron Super Banana or Keychron Super Brown switches—both of which are tactile options that produce slightly more noise.

We bought the Keychron K8 Max with Keychron Super Red switches. These are lightweight linear switches with a short pre-travel distance. They also feature a double-stage spring, which helps soften the bottom-out and provides a snappier, more active-feeling return.

The keyboard is also available with Keychron Super Banana or Keychron Super Brown switches, both of which are tactile switches that have a small bump to overcome during travel. The main difference between them is that the Banana switches have a slightly shorter total travel and also include a double-stage spring—giving them a reset feel that's more responsive and energetic, similar to the Super Reds.

The Keychron K8 Max [K2 Max, K10 Max, etc.] keyboards provide excellent single-key latency performance. While there is some minor inconsistency when using a 2.4GHz connection, the variation is not significant enough to be noticeable during gameplay.

That said, single-key latency is slightly worse compared to the otherwise similar low-profile models in the wider Keychron K Max series. For more information, see the Multi-Key Latency section.

The Keychron K8 Max [K2 Max, K10 Max, etc.] keyboards deliver impressive multi-key latency performance. However, performance is measurably worse compared to the Keychron K5 Max, which we tested separately. This is surprising, as both variants use the same STM32F402 MCU.

The discrepancy may stem from differences in the scan matrix layout, or possibly a more conservative debounce implementation in the K8 Max's firmware—either of which could account for the performance gap between two models that we otherwise expect to behave more similarly.

The Keychron K8 Max [K2 Max, K10 Max, etc.] keyboards support a maximum polling rate of 1000Hz. Data transmission isn't bottlenecked by other latency components when connected wired or wirelessly via their 2.4GHz receivers. For reference, see the raw USB output using a 2.4GHz connecction.

Using a Bluetooth connection limits the polling rate to ~90Hz, which is normal and expected.

These keyboards come with 6-key rollover (6KRO) enabled by default, but you can switch to full N-key rollover (NKRO) using the Fn + N hotkey.

Unfortunately, when NKRO is enabled in either wireless connection mode, we experienced significant key chatter (repeated keystrokes) and, at times, delayed repeat inputs, which made normal typing virtually impossible.

Switching back to a wired connection or toggling back to 6KRO resolved the issue. The root cause is unclear—it could be a firmware-related quirk, which may be something Keychron can address in a future update. We haven't seen similar reports from the wider community, so it's also possible that this behavior is specific to the unit we tested.

If you've encountered this issue with your own keyboard, feel free to let us know in the comments.

The Keychron K8 Max [K2 Max, K10 Max, etc.] keyboards deliver remarkable chord split performance, with very low 4-chord and 8-chord split delay. It's an outstanding option for playing rhythm titles or other games requiring many simultaneous inputs.

Note: The Keychron K8 Max we tested performs significantly better in this test than the low-profile Keychron K5 Max model we reviewed separately. We expect this is partly due to a different keyboard matrix design, but we'd also like to point out that this test has a 'skill element' that can produce some variability in results depending on the different individuals testing. The difference this contributes typically isn't very large and isn't enough to account for the entirety of the performance difference here. It's clear there is some performance architecture difference between the standard and low-profile models in the K Max series.

These keyboards use a web-based configurator that you can access from Keychron's website using a Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome.

This software has a straightforward layout and lets you customize a range of expected settings. Note that you can only use the software when using a wired connection.

These keyboards are also compatible with open-source QMK firmware if you're interested in flashing your own firmware.

The software compatibility for the normal variants of this keyboard is different from the low-profile K Max series models which we've reviewed separately. The low-profile models are compatible with both VIA and Keychron Launcher, while the K8 Max and other standard profile versions are only compatible with Keychron Launcher. The software looks different but doesn't have any significant feature differences at this time.

Note: Accessing the Keychron Launcher software works on Windows and MacOS right out of the box, but if you're a Linux user, you may need to adjust udev permissions first. A helpful member of the community has posted a guide for this process in a Reddit thread.

There's a switch on the left edge that allows you to toggle between Windows/Android and Mac/iOS compatibility modes. There's also a set of alternative Windows keycaps included in the box.

The web-based software is compatible with Windows and macOS out of the box, while Linux users may have to adjust their system permissions first. For more details on Linux software compatibility, see the note in the Configuration Software section.