Are you familiar with the laptop? Corsair K100 AIR ultra-thin wired and wireless mechanical keyboard

Some say that no hobby costs as much money as a keyboard.

It may not be convincing to pay hundreds of thousands of won for a keyboard that is only a simple input tool, but it is true that there is a world of maniacs that can only be felt by paying that price.

Recently, I have seen many people who use multiple keyboards for different purposes or tastes, and Corsair recently released a product that would be of interest to such enthusiasts.

For gamers who want to experience a mechanical keyboard but are familiar with laptops, the Corsair K100 AIR is just that.

■ As is the laptop keyboard, Corsair K100 AIR

The mainstream of the enthusiast-preferred premium keyboard market is mechanical. Membrane or similar plungers are only used in entry-level keyboards, but are difficult to implement different key pressures, clicks, and repulsion, and mechanical keyboards dominate the premium keyboard market.

However, despite these advantages that only a mechanical keyboard can provide, it was difficult to apply such a key structure to a laptop keyboard.

Nowadays, laptops and tablets are more comfortable than desktops, but it was almost impossible to combine the advantages of a mechanical keyboard in such a form factor.

Cherry’s MX Ultra Low Profile Mechanical Key Switch was developed to incorporate a mechanical structure within a space suitable for an ultra-slim form factor such as a laptop, and realized the tactile and feedback unique to a mechanical keyboard despite only 3.5 the overall height was mm.

The high stability and durability that cannot be experienced with a pentagraph are also the advantages of the MX ultra-low profile mechanical key switch.

The Corsair K100 AIR’s Switch is a low-profile tactile version of the MX Ultra. This version has similar features to Cherry’s MX Brown. It is a switch that is quieter and focuses more on the tactile sense than the general model combined with acoustic features. If you consider the three axis characteristics of Cherry, you can easily identify which type it is.

Because of this feature, it is less audible when keyed, but is more suitable for environments that require such features. It is suitable for an office environment where a large number of people share space or a team play environment, and you can enjoy the benefits of a mechanical keyboard as it is.

Combined with MX’s extremely low-profile tactile version, the Corsair K100 AIR is 11mm tall at the lowest point and 17mm at the highest point.

The keycap itself is no different from a laptop keyboard, and the overall height itself is almost the same as the thickness of the laptop, so users who are familiar with the pentagraph can use it immediately without any reluctance period or adapt.

It takes some adjustment in key layout and spacebar length, but there is no difference in the height of the basic keycap, so there is little chance of a typo being caught by an adjacent key while typing. If you already use a pentagraph keyboard for work like I do, it’s even easier to get used to.

The overall design of the Corsair K100 AIR is defined as an extremely slim and full size.

Based on the thickness of a laptop, the relaxed key layout of a full-size keyboard is combined, and the heavy black aluminum chassis with a brushed finish adds luxury and stability.

There’s no anti-skid treatment on the floor, so the keyboard doesn’t move or slide, but if you’re unhappy with the low height and gentle slope, you can improve this by opening the folding stands placed on both floors, but I don’t think many people will do that.

After all, the K100 AIR is probably the product of choice for those familiar with the lightweight trend of laptop keyboards.

A volume wheel and play button, essential for premium keyboards, are also provided. The separate volume mute button, play and pause buttons, skip forward and back buttons are also provided. These buttons are placed below the typing keys to prevent accidental presses and messing up the screen you’re working on.

On the left side of the K100 AIR, a dedicated button is provided for switching Windows users directly, a button for controlling the brightness of the RGB backlight, and a dedicated button for switching the PC to a locked state as well.

■ Familiar typing motion, mechanical typing feel

Simply put, the feel of the Corsair K100 AIR can be thought of as combining the depth of a pentagraph with the typing feel of a mechanical keyboard.

The difference in depth is too big because the stroke itself is less than 1/2 of the general mechanical type, but the very short working distance of 1.8mm is familiar to notebook users, so there is no problem .

The height of the keycap is no different from the height of a normal laptop, so as I said before, it can be used immediately without any adjustment.

In fact, since the keyboard I use for work at work is a pentagraph, it was often inconvenient to use a mechanical keyboard at home, but the Corsair K100 AIR was able to adapt immediately without such inconvenience. In addition, it is not an exaggeration to say that there is hardly any better option than this, because you can experience the unique mechanical typing feeling instead of the constant repulsive force of the pentagraph keyboard.

Since the high-profile MX key switch itself is included in expensive gaming laptops, the Corsair K100 AIR is the only type of universal keyboard.

As mentioned earlier, the keying sound itself is similar to Cherry’s MX Brown, but the key weight itself is slightly higher than MX Blue, so it has a feature that puts a little more force on your fingers . It’s very similar to the repulsion of the pentagraph, so it’s not particularly difficult, but if you want a lighter typing feel, you may be disappointed.

■ Wireless and wired, Corsair K100 AIR in one solution

Corsair K100 AIR is a wired/wireless combination product.

A USB Type-C port is also provided for wired connection, and Corsair’s proprietary 2.4GHz slipstream wireless connection supports Bluetooth connectivity. It also provides a dedicated button that allows users to instantly select these combinations, so you can always connect directly to the device you want.

If you use your PS5 and PC at the same time while using your TV as a monitor like me, you can connect the PC via a wire, connect the TV via Bluetooth, and connect the PS5 to r 2.4GHz slipstream, which allows you to control all the devices you want with one keyboard. .

In addition, if you want to use a smartphone or tablet as a keyboard, two buttons are dedicated to Bluetooth, so the advantage of the K100 AIR is that it can solve even such an environment at once.

■ Up to 50 hours with RGB backlight, battery capacity only 4170mAh

All wireless keyboards use batteries, so the longer you use it, the better. The shorter it is, the more times it can be recharged, so no one wants a product that needs to be recharged often. In particular, these products, which are based on RGB light, have a shorter battery life, so users are more sensitive.

The Corsair K100 AIR reflects the needs of such users. It lasts 10 hours longer than other companies who guarantee 40 hours of continuous use. Even with the RGB backlight turned on.

When the RGB backlight is turned off, it can be used continuously for up to 200 hours. For this, a large capacity lithium-ion battery is applied inside the keyboard. The actual capacity is 4170mAh, which corresponds to a large capacity smartphone battery that guarantees long-term use.

The built-in battery appears to be removable and replaceable, but this is explained in the guide.

■ Native 8000Hz and 50 onboard macros made possible by AXEON

Another feature of the K100 AIR is that Corsair’s exclusive AXON hyper processing technology is applied.

This technology is the key to determine the hyper-voting rate and key scanning rate of the keyboard. Like the K100 with the same technology, a polling rate of 8,000 Hz and a key scanning rate of 4,000 Hz have been applied to the Corsair K100 AIR.

Higher polling and key scanning rates mean you can respond faster to key presses, so understand how quickly you can react to keystrokes as they are typed compared to the 1,000-2,000 polling rates on typical gaming keyboards.

For reference, Corsair’s keyboard input time with AXON hyperprocessing technology is only 0.25ms, but most high-performance gaming keyboards say it stays at 2ms.

AXON hyperprocessing technology is also used for on-board macro functions. Although macros are not used much these days, the Corsair K100 AIR provides macro functions with AXON hyper-processing technology, so you can use macro functions with just the keyboard without additional software.

How to use: After pressing the lock button for 2 seconds, input all the desired keys, press the lock button again to exit, and then press the key to assign. The key to assign can also be used with the FN key combination, so there is no overlap with normal key operation.

You can use the macro function with iCUE provided by Corsair, but it is a software method, so it can only be used when iCUE is running. The on-board macro functionality is hardware based and can be used anywhere, regardless of software.

■ Exclusive keyboard, Corsair K100 AIR

The Corsair K100 AIR has a clear concept.

The Corsair K100 AIR is the realization of the experience and design of a laptop keyboard with a mechanical switch.

The experience that should be felt with a general mechanical keyboard is that the K100 RGB model has already been prepared for a long time, so it is meaningless to compare the Corsair K100 AIR with such products.

The Corsair K100 AIR is a product for enthusiasts who only want to experience the experience of a laptop keyboard with a mechanical switch, and at this time, it is the only choice and there is no other choice.

If you need such a keyboard, the Corsair K100 AIR is the answer, and in my opinion, it’s worth it.