I’ve always had challenges with my multiple systems on my desk. I have Windows, Linux, and Mac systems, which was always a clutter challenge. Having 1 keyboard per system is overkill but good Macs and Windows compatible keyboards are limited/few. Especially ones that support Bluetooth.
The best option I’ve been using for about a year now is the Keychron K3 Pro. It’s a slim profile mechanical keyboard that you can get with quiet keys unlike 99% of the mechanical keyboard options on the market. What I also love about this is it uses the open source QMK/VIA firmware – so you can reprogram the keys.
You might notice this isn’t your typical mechanical keyboard with that low profile. The keyboard in the image above actually has the feet on the top bottom down to help with the typing angle. I use mine with the feet extended like it shows in the picture, but the keyboard itself is just 22mm on the high top side and 17mm down by the space bar. It’s amazingly slim – especially for a true mechanical.
The keyboard is one of the quietest mechanicals I’ve ever used. I purchased mine with the hot swappable red keys. You can get louder/snappier keys and there’s an entire industry it seems around the mundane world of keys and key caps that could make your head spin. The ease of this keyboard is you can get the red keys and stop worrying about noise.
There are other K Pro series size / layout options. There’s the full size K5 Pro but on my cluttered desk, I really like that that K3 Pro has all the keys I want but in a small, slim package (including a Del key that works with Mac!).
I have reprogrammed a couple keys, but the QMK/VIA software works great and as advertised. I did the reprogramming from my Mac system and it worked great.
To switch between systems, you just hold down the fn key plus 1, 2, 3, or 4 depending on which system you want to connect to. On the top frame there’s a small switch to convert from Mac to Windows layout. There’s also a switch to change from Bluetooth to wired or off.
The RGB lighting is cool as well – there are many options there but it’s not a major component of why I purchased this particular keyboard.
