Keychron K5 Max review: Perfect for the office
One of Keychron's most iconic keyboard designs, made for home or the office.
Keychron’s K5 Max is a full-size, low-profile keyboard that offers a wonderful typing experience on something you can bring into the office.
One thing I promised myself I would do with the launch of Pickle Tech is go hands-on with more high-quality mechanical keyboards that aren’t focused on gaming features.
The Keychron K5 Max is just that. It's full size for those who require a numpad, and low profile for a nice sleek design that’s perfect to bring into the office or for working from home.
Keychron sent it over to test out, and as a full-time journalist, I quickly fell in love with its design
Key Specs
- Switch type: Gateron Brown
- Keycaps: Low profile double-shot PBT
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, 2.4Ghz, Wired
- Form factor: 100%
- Lighting: Per-key RGB
- Features: 1,000Hz Polling Rate, acoustic foam, slim design
- Price: $119.99
Design & Features
The K5 Max features Keychron’s most notable colorway, with a slim black body and gray low-profile keycaps. There’s no branding on the top part of the keyboard, but anyone familiar with the brand will be able to identify it.
It’s just 22mm tall at its thickest point and comes in at just over a pound so it’s not very heavy. The back legs flip out at two different heights, for even better ergonomics, so your wrists don’t hurt after typing for hours.
My review unit features low-profile Gateron Brown switches, which are hot-swappable so they’re easy to change to something different. They’re tactile, which means there’s a slight bump when actuating the switch. I really like this for typing, which is about 90% of how I use it.
There are two common stem types for low-profile switches. Regular, cherry-style ‘plus sign’ stems and ones that look like a wall outlet from 1983 with two prongs. Gateron uses the former on these, meaning you can replace the retro-esque gray keycaps with other low-profile keycap sets without any issues.
Unlike most keyboards you’ll see me review on Pickle Tech, the K5 Max is full-size with a numpad, which is perfect for someone who does a lot of number crunching or data entry. I personally value my desk space more than having the numpad, but there’s definitely a market for it.
Like most other Keychron keyboards, it supports 2.4Ghz and Bluetooth wireless connections on top of regular USB-C wired. There’s also a preset mode for MacOS users that you can select with a physical switch on the keyboard. Unlike the K2 HE, the USB-C port as well as the OS and connection switches are located on the back side of the K5 Max.
Software
Like all of Keychron’s newest keyboards, it uses the Keychron Launcher web app that allows you to make changes without having to install yet another program to run in the background.
Everything’s saved to the keyboard, too, so if you make a change on one machine and go to use it on another, you won’t have to make the same change.
All the options in Keychron Launcher are easy to find and very well explained, making it one of the easiest-to-use software I’ve gone hands-on with so far.
Performance
The typing experience on the K5 Max is absolutely wonderful, but it does take a bit to get used to the low-profile keycaps if you’re new to it. The stabilizers keep longer switches from wobbling too much, and layers of acoustic foam inside make the keyboard sound amazing while typing.
It’s not a gaming keyboard like the K2 HE or NuPhy’s Field75 HE, but I used it to play some Warzone and thought it was rather suitable. The only issue I could see while using it is that it’s a full-size keyboard, and takes up more room on your desk, meaning you have less space to move your mouse around.
Battery Life
I primarily used the K5 Max through Bluetooth with my MacBook Air, and it lasted nearly two weeks with the backlight on. Keychron says it’ll last 110 hours with RGB off and 70 hours with it on, which lines up with my findings.
2.4 GHz wireless always takes up a little bit more power, but it’s safe to say it’ll last well over a week before needing a charge.
Verdict - 4/5
The Keychron K5 Max is a wonderful keyboard for someone looking for an enthusiast-level, full-size option. It works great with every operating system and would be a superb choice for someone looking to switch from an Apple Magic Keyboard to something mechanical.
Disclaimer: Keychron provided this keyboard in exchange for a review, but did not influence the results whatsoever. Also, links on this page may be affiliate links that pay me a small commission.