Mechanical gaming keyboards are big business. About a decade ago, mechanical keyboards were limited to stuffy business-class decks and only a handful were available in the U.S. I know this because at the time, I was importing keyboards from Japan to satisfy my curiosity and learn as much as I could about the various key switches that were available.
Since then, mechanical keyboard have gone mainstream and they’ve been updated and modernized with a myriad of additional features like media keys, backlighting, and USB pass-through, among many other things.
Boutique gaming brand Razer has been playing in the mechanical keyboard space for a while now, but yesterday they stepped up their efforts with the new Huntsman and Huntsman Elite keyboards featuring innovative, proprietary Opto-Mechanical Switches that minimize the number of moving parts and maximize accuracy, consistency, and speed.
“We have amassed years of experience developing and manufacturing our very own Razer Mechanical Switches designed specifically for gamers,” says Razer CEO and Co-Founder Min-Liang Tan. “This focused expertise has now expanded upon our brand’s legacy with the new Razer Opto-Mechanical Switch that delivers an all-new level of performance that is optimized for top-tier esports competition.”
Traditional mechanical key switches have springs and metal parts that make contact when actuated. Razer’s new Opto-Mechanical Switches, however, have infrared lights and photo-sensors instead. When the switch’s stem blocks the light, the switch is activated. The switches have similar 1.5mm actuation and reset points as Razer’s linear switches, and provides a similar tactile feel to Razer’s current Green switches, though they have a lighter actuation force of only 45 g. The lifespan of Razer’s Opto-Mechanical Switches is rated for up to 100 million keystrokes because there are fewer moving parts that are likely to wear out.
Other features of Razer’s Huntsman Elite keyboard include a magnetically attached wrist rest, with a leather-like texture, a multi-function dial with media controls adjacent to dedicated media buttons, and per-key backlighting and Chroma Underglow lighting with 62 customizations zones. Lighting profiles are also available for some popular games and custom profiles can be saved to the cloud or the keyboard itself, thanks to some built-in storage.
The Razer Huntsman Elite is available now for $199.
