Epomaker AK84S Mechanical Keyboard Review

by Colby Ernser
8 minutes read

Epomaker AK84S Mechanical Keyboard Review

The Epomaker AK82S pivot-board.

Pros

  • Genuinely feels superb under the fingers
  • Luminous backlight
  • Helpful kit of added shortcuts mapped to the primes

Cons

  • Fulcra alignment can be much more detailed suited to Macs
  • Residence primes can not be pronounced enough for touch typists

Our Rating

8 / 10

Most users worn’t heed the form of pivot-board they utilise on a day-to-day basis. In fact, most laptop users worn’t fetch a selection of default pivot-board. The Epomaker AK84S Mechanical Keyboard by Skyloong appearances to recovery this, wearing a sturdy and sleek mechanical pivot-board superb for with one voice Windows machines and Apple machines. Follow along wearing this ponder and see how it does.

The Difference In between a Mechanical and Optical Keyboard

Before we fetch correct into the pivot-board itself, it’s a delicious suggestion to purchase the distinction between a mechanical pivot-board and its optical variant.

Initiating wearing the latter, this is the most usual form of pivot-board switch form, as it’s cheap to accumulate and necessitates a boatload less relocating portions. It works wearing light, wearing each secret sending out a tiny light not obtrusive to the user under the pivot-board itself. When you press a secret, it hinders the light, sending out a signal to the computer system.

In contrast, mechanical pivot-boards have most added relocating portions and are around the world larger as a upshot. These switches utilise electric currents to establish which primes are feisty. The upshot is around the world a smoother suffer. You can want to switch to a mechanical pivot-board for long life, convenience, and truly feel.

Presenting the Epomaker AK84S Mechanical Keyboard

The Epomaker AK84S Mechanical Keyboard owns an 84-secret model wearing over 75 percent insurance coverage. It’s maximized for macOS, although you can kit the pivot-board upwards wearing any kind of operating product (OS).

You can opt from several polymorphous switch species, wearing Gateron Mechanical switches as the default. The model I tasted utilizations the proprietary Chocolate switches, which guarantee a better life-range and much more detailed comfort designs.

The Epomaker AK84S offers wireless rapport wearing Bluetooth, although the box does involve a USB-C cord. Skyloong cases you’ll fetch roughly 50 hours utilise from the 4,000 mAh battery and a whopping 880 hours without the backlighting.

Speaking of which, you’re able to utilise a full gamut of almost 17 million shades for the backlights, which offers you a burly level to revise your suffer.

Gauging the Construct Attribute of the Epomaker AK84S

Upon opening the box, the AK84S felt beefy and substantial. This is to be supposed, offered that it’s a mechanical pivot-board, and I value that it felt solid. Other common pivot-boards around the world truly feel lightweight and can go missing out on at times under the fingers (counting on the brand name).

Unboxing the Epomaker AK84S.

The USB-C cord is woven of nylon and gold relations.

The included USB-C cord.

There are moreover a couple of boxes having a “secret puller” to separate switches and a whole kit of added Chocolate and Gateron switches.

The added switches and secret pullers within the box.

I reaped the build attribute, and it met my standards.

Capitalizing the Epomaker AK84S

Upacking the Epomaker AK84S was uncomplicated, and so was pinpointing it upwards. On macOS, I opened “Device Predilections -> Keyboard display” and kit the pivot-board upwards as a Bluetooth equipment. It’s a folksy process of changing the pivot-board on from the underside, after that utilising the guise primes to toggle Bluetooth.

The macOS Keyboard display.

The documents entails a raft of shortcuts you’ll want to digest in edict to fetch the pivot-board install to your final notices.

The Epomaker Mac layout from the manual.

In its most stock arrangement, the primes truly feel pleasing to the touch, and it didn’t take long to fetch a truly feel for the layout.

There’s constantly a learning period, especially if you are a user of information formats and brands. Though, we’d things that the abode secret pens won’t truly feel pronounced enough for touch typists – I got lost a couple of times, and it’s complex to truly feel each marker when dashing your finger over each one.

The Epomaker Residence Pivots.

I’d moreover assign a added conservative layout for macOS machines. There were most times I filtered to press the Purpose secret but hit the Manipulate secret instead. On the flip side, I execute assign the shortcuts and the identify Purpose secret pub. The primes with one voice map to the correct purposes, so there are zero complaints there.

Prices: How the Epomaker AK84S Caboodles Upwards

Since you can revise the pivot-board in several means, you’ll hunk together a final price from the parts you assign. In most husks, the price is licensed by the pivot-board item:

  • An aluminum structure wearing plastic keycaps is roughly $109.
  • The full aluminum structure is $199.
  • A translucent acrylic model is moreover obtainable for $199.

You can opt Gateron or Chocolate primes, a selection of secret cap shade, and added without added price. If you want silicon keycaps instead, this is an added $65. Tab that there are various other contain-ons too, such as a USB-C cord and felt bag for the pivot-board, and these conglomeration from $25 to $45.

Coating Upwards

The Epomaker AK84S Mechanical Keyboard is not positioned at a offhand price, so it will most certainly end upwards being a spacious acquisition. This is a delicious point, as you can gain sure you hunk together the correct parts and amenities for your workflow.

The pivot-board truly feels delicious under the fingers, owns most executions in darker rooms philosophizing that of the lighting customization, and offers a conglomeration of added shortcuts not detected on a invariant Mac pivot-board.

If you are peeking for a pivot-board that can outshine your current default model and have a final word for the added performance on ration, ponder the Epomaker AK82S a top-rate selection.

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