Keychron V1

The V1 is the original 75% board in Keychron's V line. Per Keychron's spec page it uses an ABS plastic case, a steel plate on a tray mount, hot-swap sockets for 3-pin and 5-pin switches, screw-in PCB stabilizers and south-facing RGB. It is wired only (USB-C, 1000Hz), runs QMK with the Keychron Launcher web app, and came in Frosted Black, Carbon Black or Shell White, with or without a rotary knob, fully assembled with K Pro switches and double-shot OSA PBT keycaps or as a barebone. Keychron lists 970 g assembled; Tom's Guide gives 34.2 oz.

Tom's Guide (May 2024) described a solid, durable build, a foam and silicone-pad sandwich under the plate, a knob with a fair bit of resistance that can be remapped in VIA, and a typing experience it ranked very high in a 10fastfingers comparison against the other boards it had on hand. It recommended the V1 for office use and for anyone starting to mod. Nextrift found that the plastic case avoids the metallic ping it dislikes on Keychron's aluminum boards, described a low-pitched, almost thocky sound, and rated the stock screw-in stabilizers as good, although the backspace key ticked slightly.

Nextrift's main complaint was feel: a tray mount with a steel plate leaves no flex and can feel harsh over longer sessions. It also noted that the case screws bite into bare plastic with no metal inserts, so repeated disassembly can strip the threads, and that VIA did not recognize the board out of the box at the time (a JSON file from Keychron's page was needed). Keychron's page now lists the V1 8K and V1 Ultra 8K as newer versions, and the V1 Max is the wireless one, so check stock before planning around this model.