Keychron K8 Pro [K2 Pro, K3 Pro, K4 Pro, etc.] Keyboard Review

The variant we bought and tested has a TenKeyLess (80%) design, which means it has a function row, arrow keys, and a navigation cluster—but it lacks a numpad.

A wide variety of other size variants are available in the this series of keyboards, including the full-size (100%) Keychron K10 Pro as well as more compact models like the compact (75%) Keychron K2 Pro, and even slimmer, low-profiles models designed to be more comfortable to type on without a wrist rest, like the Keychron K5 Pro. For more details, see our Differences Between Sizes and Variants section above.

These keyboards have excellent build quality. The outer frame and base plate are solid metal, while the bottom of the keyboard is hard plastic, so it doesn't flex. The keys feel stable with only a bit of wobble in the larger keys, but as the stabilizers are screw-in, you can easily change them. Like the original K Series, these keyboards keep the plate-mounted switches, but they now have a layer of sound-dampening foam and a silicone bottom pad for better acoustics. Another notable change is the new OSA-profile PBT keycaps found on Keychron's more premium Q Series boards. Overall, these boards feel higher quality than the original K Series since they use many of the same materials and features as the customizable boards in the Keychron Q Series.

The high-profile models in this series, including the K8 Pro we bought and tested, have acceptable ergonomics. There are two incline settings, but you'll need to angle your wrists fairly steeply to reach all the keys, and these keyboards don't come with a wrist rest, although Keychron sells wrist rests separately on their website.

Some models in this lineup have low-profile designs, which provide better ergonomics if you prefer not to use a wrist rest. For more details, see our Differences Between Sizes and Variants section above.

These keyboards offer remarkably good hardware customizability. Note that the screws holding the Enter and Space key stabilizers are tucked under the backplate and require you to open the keyboard to access the screws. All other stabilizer screws are accessible without needing to remove the backplate.

These keyboards have full RGB backlighting. The companion software allows you to customize the brightness, colors, effects, and effect speed.

These keyboards have poor backlighting, as the keycaps don't have shine-through legends. Furthermore, the LEDs are south-facing, so if you want to replace the stock keycaps with shine-through keycaps, the legends will be quite dim. For reference, we've taken a photo with several stock keycaps replaced with shine-through keycaps that you can see here.

These keyboards come with a detachable braided USB-A to USB-C cable. It's shorter and retains some kinks from the packaging, but it feels nice overall.

Most of the keyboards in this series, including the Keychron K8 Pro we tested, use a 4000mAh rechargeable battery that Keychron advertises to last up to 300 hours of use with the backlighting off and up to 100 hours with the backlighting on the lowest brightness.

Note: Low-profile models in this series have a smaller battery that Keychron advertises to provide 100 hours of battery life with the backlighting off and 33 hours with the backlighting on at the lowest brightness.

If you're interested in a similar keyboard lineup with added 2.4GHz connectivity, check out our review for the Keychron K5 Max.

Most keyboards in this series don't have dedicated macro keys, including the K8 Pro we bought and tested. However, some models do have dedicated macro keys. For more details about models with dedicated macro keys, see our Differences Between Sizes and Variants section above.

The media keys and backlighting controls are accessible through hotkeys outlined in the user documentation. Like most other Keychron boards, these keyboards have a toggle to switch between Windows and macOS systems. The charging port and power switch are next to the operating system toggle. Three small lights above the arrow keys light up to indicate when Caps, Scroll, or Numlock are enabled. Not all models in the wider K Pro series have dedicated media keys or lock indicator lights.

• Keychron K8 Pro
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• 4x Windows-specific keycaps
• Keycap puller
• Switch puller
• Screwdriver
• Hex key
• User documentation

These keyboards provide a very good typing experience. The double-shot PBT keycaps have a smooth texture that feels nice on the fingertips. The keys have a standard placement, so they don't feel cramped to type on. There's a bit of wobble in the keys, but it's not too noticeable or distracting during use.

We bought the Keychron K8 Pro with Gateron G Pro Blue switches that have a satisfying tactile bump that feels very smooth throughout the keypress and produces an audible click.

We bought and tested the Keychron K8 Pro with clicky Gateron G Pro Blue switches. The switches are loud and produce a high-pitched clicking sound that some find satisfying but likely isn't appropriate for most office settings where you may disrupt others around you.

These keyboards are also available in various other Keychron K Pro, Gateron G Pro, or Low Profile Gateron Mechanical switches options. While we expect all Blue switch options to be similarly loud, the Red and Brown switches are considerably quieter.

These keyboards are available with your choice of Gateron G Pro, Keychron K Pro, or Low Profile Gateron Mechanical switches, depending on your chosen model. All switches come pre-lubed from the factory.

We bought and tested the Keychron K8 Pro with Gateron G Pro Blue mechanical switches. This unit also has a hot-swappable PCB, which allows you to change switches without needing to solder them.

We purchased the Keychron K8 Pro with Gateron G Pro Blue switches. These switches are fairly light to type on, with a pronounced but smooth tactile bump that produces an audible click. The pre-travel is a moderate distance, which can help avoid typos, but the total travel is quite long, which can be helpful if keys with shorter total travel seem to bottom out too quickly for you.

These keyboards have impressive latency, provided you're using a wired connection. However, latency performance is much higher and less consistent via Bluetooth, so we don't recommend playing faster-paced, competitive games with these keyboards using a wireless connection.

When using these keyboards with a wired connection, they offer impressive multi-key latency performance, with low and reasonably consistent key press and key release results, making them well-suited for playing games that require additional inputs while you're already pressing and holding down keys.

These keyboards have great data transmission performance overall. When using a wired connection, they have a maximum polling rate of 1000Hz and aren't bottlenecked by other latency elements. Note that using these keyboards wirelessly with a Bluetooth connection limits the maximum polling rate to 125Hz, which is normal and expected. This isn't an issue for everyday browsing or work but significantly impacts gaming performance.

When using a wired connection, these keyboards have excellent chord split performance with low 8-chord and extremely low 4-chord split delay, making them good candidates for playing rhythm games or other titles that demand simultaneous inputs.

These keyboards support QMK firmware and VIA software for configuration. You can download and install the VIA software app on Keychron's product page. Or, you can use a web-based version of the software using any Chromium-based browser using the link here.

This software has a straightforward layout. It allows you to customize a range of expected settings, including key assignments, backlighting, and macros. You can also save your custom settings as profiles onto your keyboard's onboard memory.

These keyboards have outstanding compatibility, and the software is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. All keys work as intended on Windows and macOS, as long as you have the toggle on the left side set to the proper operating system. On Linux (which also uses the Mac toggles setting), only the brightness hotkeys and the Fn+F3 toggle don't work.

On all mobile operating systems, the F3 hotkey doesn't work. On iOS and iPadOS, the F4 hotkey also doesn't work.