Backlit Computer Keyboard Reviews Wireless gaming gamers mac apple folding foldable wired
The enquiry
- Why yous should trust us
- Who this is for
- How we picked and tested
- Our choice: Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard
- Flaws but not dealbreakers
- Long-term test notes
- Upgrade pick: Logitech MX Keys Mini
- Best total-size keyboard: Logitech MX Keys
- A cheaper, more compact full-size keyboard: Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard
- Best number pads
- The contest
- Footnotes
- Sources
Why yous should trust us
I've been testing keyboards of all shapes and sizes—Bluetooth keyboards, mechanical keyboards, gaming keyboards, and ergonomic keyboards—for Wirecutter since 2014, and I've written or edited all of Wirecutter's keyboard guides at some point in that fourth dimension. I've combed through studies about manus sizes and calculator ergonomics, and I've coordinated testing panels to solicit opinions from people with different hand sizes, preferences, and typing styles. I've lived with our picks for years, besides.
Who this is for
Wireless keyboards can help you declutter your desk-bound, let you to type more comfortably on your telephone or tablet, or allow you use a calculator or a Idiot box streaming media box from your couch. Desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, smart TVs, and streaming boxes all employ Bluetooth, and the best Bluetooth keyboards tin switch easily between multiple devices without requiring you to re-pair them.
All of our picks connect via Bluetooth because present nearly manufacturers focus on Bluetooth keyboards rather than other wireless standards; these models tend to be better made and more enjoyable to type on, capable of connecting to a wider variety of devices, and priced similarly to older wireless keyboards. Some of our picks can connect via both Bluetooth and a 2.4 GHz USB wireless receiver (also known every bit a dongle), and you may need that dongle to connect the keyboard to an older computer that doesn't support Bluetooth. Or if you desire to add together Bluetooth support to your reckoner, you lot can purchase a Bluetooth 4.0 dongle for around $15.
This guide focuses on wireless membrane keyboards (which are congenital like almost cheaper, older external keyboards) and scissor-switch keyboards (which take the same type of shallow keys every bit on almost laptops). If you're looking for a wireless mechanical keyboard or a wireless ergonomic keyboard, head over to those guides. Note too that the keyboards hither aren't ideal for gaming, partly because of the delay on their wireless connections and partly because they're not designed to register more than a few simultaneous key presses.
How we picked and tested
Following are the features we look for in a wireless keyboard, in crude order of importance:
- Size: In nigh cases, we recommend keyboards without number pads considering broad keyboards force you to place your mouse farther from your body, which can put strain on your shoulders, cervix, and back. Most people don't utilise the built-in number pad on wide keyboards—and you can go a split up number pad for number-intensive tasks—but if yous practice need a built-in number pad, we have recommendations for that. Smaller keyboards too take upwardly less room on a desk and are more than portable. But a keyboard shouldn't be so small-scale that the keys feel cramped and uncomfortable to type on.
- Typing comfort: A keyboard should have full-size, well-spaced keys that feel satisfying and responsive, non cheap or mushy. Most keyboards are angled upward from front to back, and some have piffling feet to angle the keyboard fifty-fifty farther. Only using a keyboard in that position causes wrist extension. "To minimize the take a chance of injury and to optimize performance, it is of import that a keyboard can be used with the mitt in its most neutral position. That is, straight and level," said Alan Hedge, professor and director of Cornell University'due south Human Factors and Ergonomics Research Group at the time of our interview. A keyboard with a apartment—or even negative—slope is ergonomically ideal, but such keyboards are non common. The flatter the keyboard, the better.
- Connection: Bluetooth is a requirement since many recent laptops have only USB-C ports, but a two.4 GHz USB wireless receiver (likewise known as a dongle) is a nice bonus since information technology tin be easier to set and tin can offering a more stable connexion in some environments. The connectedness should be solid, without disconnections or typing delays.1 We likewise prefer keyboards that can pair with and switch betwixt multiple devices.
- OS compatibility: Bluetooth keyboards typically work with all operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, Android, and iOS. Only the standard layouts differ betwixt Windows and Mac, and then information technology'due south ideal if the manufacturer offers different versions of the aforementioned keyboard tailored to each operating system.
- Battery life: At the very to the lowest degree, a great wireless keyboard should terminal a couple of years on replaceable batteries or a couple of months on a charge (without the backlight on). Bombardment life for rechargeable, internal batteries degrades over fourth dimension, so the more a keyboard starts with, the better.
- Actress features: Backlit keys are a snazzy bonus, simply they come at the expense of battery life. As for software, though some manufacturers offer utilities to further customize the keyboard or add useful features, many people don't use the software included with their wireless keyboard.
We test each keyboard on both Windows and Mac computers by using it for at least a day of heavy piece of work involving lots (and lots!) of typing. In previous years, we also solicited the opinion of panel testers with dissimilar hand sizes and typing techniques, and nosotros took our contenders with us from location to location—from home to java shop, from coffee shop to office, from office to abode. This process gave us a experience for the comfort, portability, and build quality of our finalists. In recent years, nosotros haven't been able to panel-test or piece of work from coffee shops due to the pandemic, but we did apply our findings from previous years' tests to our latest round of testing.
Our pick: Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard
Our pick
| Size: | xi by 4.9 by 0.half dozen inches | Connection: | Bluetooth (3 devices) |
| Weight: | fourteen.9 ounces | Estimated battery life: | 24 months |
The comfortable, compact, and cheap Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard and K380 for Mac can switch between as many equally three paired devices, and multiple Wirecutter staffers have used their K380 keyboards for 2 years or more without needing to change the batteries. Its circular keys take some getting used to, its arrow keys are pocket-sized, and information technology lacks backlighting, merely despite those flaws the K380 is the best Bluetooth keyboard you lot can buy, especially at its low price.
The meaty K380 has a layout similar to that of nearly laptop keyboards. It has all the most oft used keys, including part and media keys along the top and pocket-sized arrow keys at the bottom right. It lacks a full-size number pad, but this compact layout takes up much less room on your desk than a full-size keyboard, thus allowing you to place your mouse closer to your body. And the K380 is minor and calorie-free enough to slip in a pocketbook and take with yous, unlike a long total-size keyboard or the heavy Logitech K480.
Despite the compact layout, the K380'south keys don't feel cramped or too small. The unusual round keys practice take some getting used to—our panel testers and I all took about an hr or so to adjust to the larger gaps between the keys while touch on typing—but they're otherwise comfortable and satisfying to type on. (And the keys aren't so loud as to disturb some other person in the same room.) The K380 has only a slight slope; it's non ergonomically perfect, but information technology is the best nosotros've seen in this category, and information technology's comfy for long typing sessions. The keyboard also feels solid and doesn't creak or flex under spirited typing like some cheaper models we've tested.
The K380 can pair with up to three devices via Bluetooth and lets you switch between them instantly with the push of a push, one of its best features. (All our picks tin can connect to and switch between multiple devices, but that still isn't a universal characteristic amid wireless keyboards.) Y'all could utilise the K380 to showtime typing an email on your computer, move to your smartphone to ship a quick text message, switch to your Apple Boob tube to change your groundwork entertainment, and then bandy dorsum to your computer to stop up that e-mail. The K380 can pair only via Bluetooth, though—it doesn't come with a USB dongle.
Logitech says the K380 is compatible with Windows, macOS, Chrome Bone, Android tablets and phones, iPads and iPhones, and the Apple Television receiver (second or 3rd generation). We especially capeesh that the company has both Windows and Mac versions of the K380, for people who prefer that their keyboard layout matches their operating organization.
The biggest advantage the K380 has over other Bluetooth keyboards is its lengthy battery life. The K380 runs on ii included AAA batteries, and Logitech told u.s. it would last for about two years of heavy utilise (8 hours of use a day, five days a week). Our examination K380 is still going strong after two years of daily piece of work and entertainment, and Wirecutter staffers have had similar experiences with their K380 keyboards.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The Logitech K380 lacks backlit keys, just that's a necessary trade-off to achieve such long battery life. Our upgrade picks have backlit keys, if you want them. The K380 too lacks a built-in number pad, and its arrow keys are small. If you demand a full-size number pad or larger arrow keys, consider a separate number pad to utilize with the K380 or cheque out our larger keyboard picks.
Long-term test notes
Since the K380 has been a pick for years at this point, quite a few people working at Wirecutter have used it for a long time, and their experiences take been generally positive.
Wirecutter supervising editor Courtney Schley has used the K380 daily for work for well-nigh four and a one-half years and reports that it has held up well. Bated from some shiny spots on the keys and the F5 key popping off (which she doesn't miss), the keyboard still works corking despite periodic corruption from young kids who take hold of information technology off her desk and use it to "work." She told me, "I've had to supervene upon the battery so rarely, I couldn't fifty-fifty tell you when I concluding did it."
Later on 18 months of ownership, deputy editor Christine Cyr Clisset likewise praised the long battery life, saying she hadn't needed to supervene upon the bombardment yet. Merely she also noted that she has to re-pair the K380 to her personal MacBook oftentimes, even though it has no problems with a divide MacBook Pro for piece of work.
Wirecutter's Andrew Cunningham bought a K380 to replace our previous upgrade pick, the Logitech K811, when that model's internal rechargeable battery began to wear out. "The K380 isn't as nice of a keyboard, and I miss the backlight, simply I've had it for more than 2 years, and I still haven't replaced the original AAA batteries it came with, and so I never concluded up getting another K811," Andrew said in 2018. As of 2020, he had inverse the batteries once. (He as well had an issue with the spacebar sticking only stock-still it past removing the spacebar, cleaning it, and putting information technology dorsum on.)
Aside from testing, I personally used the K380 for piece of work nearly every day (when I wasn't testing other keyboards and laptops) for virtually a year and a half, typing hundreds of thousands of words on information technology and traveling with it a few times a month. Bated from normal wearable and tear—namely shiny spots worn into the most used keys—the K380 looks merely as proficient and works just besides as on the twenty-four hour period it arrived. And the bombardment hasn't run out in that time.
Upgrade choice: Logitech MX Keys Mini
Upgrade pick
Logitech MX Keys Mini
A more familiar design
The MX Keys Mini's backlit keys are especially comfy to blazon on and don't crave an adjustment catamenia. Information technology'southward about every bit compact equally the K380, just information technology has much shorter battery life, and information technology'due south pricey.
Buying Options
| Size: | 11.7 past v.two by 0.eight inches | Connectedness: | Bluetooth (three devices) |
| Weight: | 17.ix ounces | Estimated bombardment life: | five months with backlight off |
If you lot're willing to spend more twice as much for a better typing feel, nosotros recommend the Logitech MX Keys Mini and MX Keys Mini for Mac. Our upgrade pick has foursquare, backlit keys that are well spaced and experience wonderful to type on, and it can pair with and switch betwixt three devices via Bluetooth, just like our top option. Simply it takes up a bit more desk space than the K380, and its rechargeable battery's life is much shorter—measured in months, or but days with the backlight on, rather than the K380'south years.
The MX Keys Mini has the same compact layout as the K380 and most laptop keyboards. This model is 0.7 inch wider, so it takes up more horizontal space on a desk-bound, but the MX Keys Mini is even so leagues more than ergonomic when it comes to mouse placement than a total-size keyboard with a number pad. This keyboard is too a bit heavier than the K380—by near 3 ounces—just it'southward not a noticeable difference that would deter you from taking the keyboard on your commute.
The all-time characteristic of the MX Keys Mini is its full-size, foursquare keys. They feel much more natural and comfortable than the K380's round keys, and I didn't require any adjustment period to get used to them. Like our other picks, the MX Keys Mini has only a slight slope—merely a little steeper than that of the K380 and identical to that of the full-size MX keys. And information technology feels sturdy and doesn't flex during typing.
Similar the K380, the MX Keys Mini tin pair with up to three devices via Bluetooth and switch betwixt them. Information technology doesn't come with a USB dongle, merely it does work with Logitech'south new (and supposedly more secure) Bolt USB Receiver, which is available for $15. Most people volition be fine with the default Bluetooth connection, but if you experience frequent disconnects, typing delays, or repeated inputs, the Bolt receiver should solve the problem by providing a more stable connectedness.
Logitech's compatibility listing for the MX Keys Mini includes Windows, macOS, Chrome Os, Linux, Android tablets and phones, and iPads and iPhones. Like our other picks, the MX Keys Mini comes in Windows and Mac versions, and then you tin cull the layout you lot prefer.
The MX Keys Mini doesn't concluding nearly as long on a charge equally the K380—Logitech claims 5 months of battery life with the backlight off only only 10 days with the backlight on—and information technology recharges through an included USB-C cable. The internal battery isn't replaceable, and nosotros expect that the battery life will degrade over time every bit in previous models we've tested. Nosotros would have preferred to see a replaceable battery in such an expensive keyboard. Like the K380, the MX Keys Mini supports Logitech Options and Catamenia software and comes with a ane-twelvemonth warranty.
All-time full-size keyboard: Logitech MX Keys
Also groovy
| Size: | 16.9 by v.2 by 0.8 inches | Connection: | Bluetooth (three devices) and USB dongle |
| Weight: | 28.6 ounces | Estimated bombardment life: | v months with backlight off |
If you desire a total-size keyboard, we recommend the Logitech MX Keys or MX Keys for Mac. The MX Keys has backlit keys that are well spaced and comfortable to type on, and it can pair with and switch betwixt iii devices over Bluetooth or connect via an included Unifying USB wireless dongle. But information technology takes upwardly much more desk space and has shorter battery life than our other picks, and it's pricey, as well. Withal, no other full-size keyboard offers the same versatility and typing experience.
The MX Keys is a standard total-size keyboard, so in addition to the about ofttimes used block of keys, it has full-size arrow keys, navigation keys, and a number pad. Equally a result, it'south nearly six inches wider than the K380—which is just xi inches broad in total—and it'due south fifty-fifty a few inches wider than the K380 alongside our number pad selection. Most full-size keyboards are this size, merely that extra width forces you to place your mouse farther away, and for some people that position tin can cause strain in the shoulders, neck, and back. The MX Keys is also heavier, and less portable, than our other picks. If that'south not a concern for you, the MX Keys is the best full-size wireless keyboard nosotros've tested.
Merely like the MX Keys Mini, typing on the MX Keys's full-size, square keys feels more natural than doing so on the circular keys of the K380 and K780. The keys are satisfying to type on and quiet, and so they shouldn't disturb anyone you lot share a workspace with. Like our other picks, the MX Keys has only a slight slope—just a picayune steeper than on the K380, merely not noticeable unless you were to put the two models next. And it feels sturdy and durable while you're typing.
The MX Keys can pair with upward to 3 devices via Bluetooth and switch between them, similar our other picks. It also comes with a Logitech Unifying wireless USB dongle, if you lot prefer that connection to Bluetooth. But the MX Keys doesn't accept anywhere to store the dongle when you lot're not using it, as our other full-size pick, the K780, does.
Logitech lists compatibility with Windows, macOS, Chrome Os, Linux, Android tablets and phones, and iPads and iPhones. The MX Keys also comes in Windows and Mac versions, so you tin can choose your preferred layout.
The MX Keys has shorter battery life than the K380 and K780. In line with the MX Keys Mini, Logitech'due south estimate for the MX Keys is five months of battery life with the backlight off but only x days with the backlight on. The MX Keys also recharges through an included USB-C cable. As with the MX Keys Mini, the internal battery isn't replaceable, and we look that the battery life will get shorter over time. The MX Keys supports Logitech Options and Flow software and comes with a one-year warranty.
A cheaper, more compact full-size keyboard: Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard
Also great
| Size: | fifteen by 12.3 inches; from 0.3 to 0.9 inch tall | Connection: | Bluetooth (three devices) and USB dongle |
| Weight: | thirty.9 ounces | Estimated bombardment life: | 24 months |
If you want a wireless keyboard with a born number pad that's cheaper, more than meaty, and blest with longer battery life than the MX Keys, get the Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard. The K780 is very similar to the K380—information technology has circular keys, information technology can pair with and switch between up to three devices via Bluetooth, and it has the same estimated battery life, software, and warranty. The K780 as well adds a number pad, a congenital-in stand up for smartphones and tablets, and a Unifying USB wireless dongle. Simply the K780 lacks backlighting, and Logitech offers no Mac-layout version.
Although the K780 has a number pad, it isn't quite a total-size keyboard. Its arrow keys are small (like the K380'south) and crowded together beneath the Shift key, and the navigation keys—Home, End, Page Upward, and Folio Downward—lurk beneath a function layer on the number pad. Compared with traditional full-size keyboards, the K780 is a couple of inches more compact and thus more ergonomically friendly. If you need full-size arrow keys or navigation keys, get the Logitech MX Keys instead.
The K780 is just as comfortable to blazon on equally the K380. It has the same unusual round keys—though they feel a bit larger and a flake more naturally spaced—and a similar gentle gradient. And like the K380 and the MX Keys, the K780 can pair with up to three devices via Bluetooth and switch between them. The K780 too comes with a Logitech Unifying wireless USB dongle, if y'all adopt to connect that way; it has a modest cavity behind the bombardment door to store the USB dongle when you're not using that piece.
Logitech lists compatibility with Windows, macOS, Chrome Bone, Android tablets and phones, and iPads and iPhones. Although the K780 works with both Windows and Mac computers, there is no version of the K780 with Mac-specific keycaps and the Fn key in the bottom-left corner. If y'all need that layout, consider our other picks.
Best number pads
Likewise smashing
| Size: | 4.4 by 3.2 past 0.4 inches | Connection: | Bluetooth (three devices) |
| Weight: | two.viii ounces | Estimated battery life: | 24 months |
If y'all utilize a number pad only sometimes—or if you utilise one oftentimes and adopt to accept it split up from your keyboard—nosotros recommend the Microsoft Number Pad. Almost of the number pads nosotros tested felt inexpensive and flimsy, but our pick is sturdy and enjoyable to type on, plus it has a flatter gradient than most other models nosotros considered. The Microsoft Number Pad is also the but number pad we tested that can pair with upwardly to iii Bluetooth devices and switch between them—other models can pair with just i device at a time. Microsoft lists but Windows compatibility on its website, merely we tested this model on macOS, and it worked reliably (except for the reckoner launcher push button in the upper-left corner). Microsoft claims the Number Pad will concluding up to 24 months on its included bombardment. But it runs on a single CR2032 coin battery, which is less common than the AAAs or rechargeable batteries found in our other picks.
As well smashing
| Size: | 5.8 by 4.5 past 0.4 inches | Connection: | Bluetooth (one device) |
| Weight: | 4.5 ounces | Estimated battery life: | 50 hours |
If you desire a number pad with total-size pointer keys and a navigation cluster, get the Satechi Bluetooth Extended Keypad. It'south sturdy, like the Microsoft Number Pad, and it doesn't experience hollow or suffer from rattling keys like other models we tested. It works on both Windows and Mac, but it can pair with only one device at a time. Satechi claims information technology will terminal for upward to 50 hours of continuous utilise on a charge, and y'all tin can recharge its congenital-in battery with the included USB-C cable.
The competition
Compact
The Lenovo ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II feels bully to type on and includes a TrackPoint nub as well equally left- and right-click buttons, simply it can pair with simply one device at a fourth dimension and doesn't come in a Mac-layout version. It too costs more twice as much as the K380.
Similarly, Apple tree's Magic Keyboard offers a solid typing feel, just it carries a steep price tag and lacks device switching, and Apple doesn't brand a Windows version.
Microsoft's Designer Meaty Keyboard has springy, responsive keys and can connect to three devices. But it's available with only a Windows layout, powered by coin batteries, and typically priced higher than our picks.
The Satechi Slim X1 feels decent to type on and can connect to iii devices, but information technology's expensive compared with the K380, it's bachelor with only a Mac layout, and its battery isn't replaceable.
The Logitech Keys-To-Go tin pair with only one device at a time and is coated in a Cronenbergian texture that Logitech calls FabricSkin. In our tests, typing on it felt like poking a person'south clothed thigh or pressing into a textile Band-aid on someone's arm—a texture that several of our panel testers strongly objected to. If you can tolerate the sensation, the Keys-To-Go is a decent keyboard; it has layouts for both Mac/iOS and Windows/Android, and information technology's thin, light, and spill resistant.
Full size
On the Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard, Satechi forgos a Windows layout and omits a USB wireless dongle, both of which Logitech offers with the MX Keys.
The Satechi Slim X3 has the same problems, plus its keys aren't as comfortable to blazon on as those of the MX Keys.
The Logitech Craft is a keyboard marketed toward creative professionals, with a customizable "creative input dial" that you tin can employ while navigating Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Google Chrome. But it's too darn expensive, and it doesn't come in Windows- and Mac-specific layouts. Wirecutter Deals senior editor Nathan Burrow used "a massive Amazon gift card haul" to purchase a Craft. "It's the all-time Bluetooth keyboard I've owned, while still not rising to the level of being worth what information technology costs," he said.
The Microsoft Designer Bluetooth Desktop has less comfortable keys than the similarly meaty Logitech K780. It'due south also uniform with fewer operating systems, and it can't pair with multiple devices.
Number pads
Although the Foloda Wireless Number Pad is pop, in our tests it flexed and creaked under normal typing pressure level, and its keys rattled when nosotros pressed them.
Footnotes
Sources
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Alan Hedge, Ergonomic Workplace Blueprint for Wellness, Wellness, and Productivity, Baronial 5, 2016
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Alan Hedge, director of Cornell Academy'due south Human Factors and Ergonomics Enquiry Group, interview
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-bluetooth-keyboard/
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