My new keyboard for work and traveling

For almost six years on my desk, in addition to the monitors and the current Mac, a mechanical keyboard IQUNIX F96 Coral Sea – now out of production, this one – has stood stable and proud.

It’s become an indispensable tool for me, even though I occasionally find myself typing on decent Macs (not all the ones I’ve used, unfortunately). Using a mechanical keyboard with silent, soft-touch switches isn’t (just) an aesthetic pleasure or (just) pure nerdiness; it’s a gift to my fingers and my typing-at-the-computer self. It’s pure joy. I’m faster, more precise, more stable, and happier.

Since I’ve been working for my new company, and I work mostly remotely, I’ve set up a new workstation in a dear friend’s office. My keyboard is there.

When I’m in Bologna, where my company is based and where I travel periodically, when I’m not in a meeting room, I use the MacBook Air that was given to me and a monitor with power delivery for more comfort. I don’t have a keyboard that delights my fingertips. I use the one on the MacBook Air, which, meh.

A few years ago, a former colleague told me about Nuphy keyboards. He recommended the Air for its elegance. I saved the link. Since then, every couple of months, I’ve had a task that asks: Is it time to buy a NuPhy Air?

A few days ago I bought a NuPhy Air75 v3 on Amazon. I’d read a long list of negative reviews on Reddit: double-clicking keys, unstable Bluetooth syncing, keycaps that don’t work and need replacing. I guess I was lucky, I didn’t have any problems. The keyboard is fantastic, it types beautifully, it’s quiet, it has a nice travel – despite having short keys – and my fingers, I can’t explain it, my fingers enjoy typing on it. I’m happy.

I bought it on Amazon so I could return it in case I wasn’t happy with it¹. And instead, I was very happy with it. But then I saw that the Air65 v3 was also recently produced, smaller and 100 grams lighter. So I decided to buy that one, on the NuPhy website, and return the one from Amazon when it expired. I saved over €50, I have a slightly smaller but lighter keyboard – given my goal of using it while traveling, it’s fine for me. For the same price, I also managed to buy an original case to keep it in my bag.

I tempted fate by purchasing it directly from the official website. But I wanted to trust the manufacturer.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.