Either the perfect “work-from-anywhere” keyboard, or I’m in too deep to back out now.
In the realm of “hobbies that convince you to spend hundreds of dollars in supplies”, mechanical keyboards are up at the top, alongside recreational nuclear reactor building. I’ve never built a nuclear reactor before, but I would assume the raw material cost is about equivalent in cost to a single GMK plastics keycap group-buy.
I’m looking at you, GMK Botanical 2, starting at $160 USD for the base kit. 🪴
Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, like myself, justify the rising costs of endless switches, hot swappable PCB, fancy plastic keycaps, and niche indie sellers that specialize in one type of artisan lube. To be honest, they should absolutely majestic. These keyboards aren’t the “gamer” mechanical keyboards that are in your local electronics store (with missing pieces pulled off by young children and a miscellaneous sheen on the top– mmm, sweaty), but fully-realized, multi-hundred dollar creations in search of the next great thonk.1
Opening up my wallet to only look a keyboard on my desk is a sign of vanity, however.
Mechanical keyboards come with a variety of features that promote good hand positioning and a looser key press overall for better blood flow and quicker movement to the next key. I type thousands of words a day, all day, every day WFH’ing asynchronously with Automattic, so it’s important to make sure my hands are in the optimal positions possible, all the time.
Note: these medical claims come from absolutely 0% medical knowledge, and more that my hands feel better after hours of work. ymmv.
I spend my entire day behind a keyboard, either at work or in my free time. At the same time, while my default NK65 keyboard is a fantastic keyboard, it’s not designed around being easy to haul around, and lacks Mac support.
The included case, while supportive and protective, is bulky on the best of days. That’s not even counting the footprint of this keyboard itself, which comes with a sizable polycarbonate case that I can only describe as “great for braining zombies, if push comes to shove”. Yet, working on my first multi-hundred dollar keyboard was a revelation in experience that didn’t make me eager to return to anything less than a fully mechanical keyboard.
But mechanical keyboards are bulky, require room for physical switches, and don’t come with Mac-first preference. What’s the discerning keyboard fan to do? Swap to Windows? Disgusting.
Hammer, meet a 75% keyboard-sized nail.
Enter the NuPhy Air75, which I found on TikTok of all places. And before you make some smug statement about how TikTok is full of kids dancing around: the niche for Mac-friendly mechanical keyboards is so small, it takes an app as personalized as TikTok’s algorithm to actually connect us “mechanical keyboards but on Mac” enthusiasts together.
Thus emboldened by multiple great thonk videos in fifteen second chunks, and popular creators recommending this keyboard left and right, I decided to dive right in. After all, I justified to myself, even if I decide not to use this board regularly, it’s perfect for travel or connecting directly to a TV.
I went with the Gateron Low-Profile Red option, despite having the choice between red, browns, and blues. I’ve been using a NK65 keyboard with linear NK Silk switches for the last six months as a daily keyboard option (and suffering through the mushy M1 MacBook Pro’s scissor switches). I wanted something to match my preferred linear typing preference, and also because I find heavier tactile switches, like Cherry Browns or Halos often cause typing fatigue after a while.
Niche fact: Halo Trues are my preferred switch to play Final Fantasy 14 on. WHM > *, and I will fight you on this.
I also added the optional keyboard case to the purchase, as it can double as a tablet or phone mount when connecting via Bluetooth, but passed on extra keycaps. Extra keycaps are already included by default to match both Windows and Mac, and while low-profile keycaps are rare— they’re not that rare to find online. NuPhy themselves also offer low-profile keycaps on their site here.
The NuPhy Air75 Experience, but make it an anime girl.
Right after opening, I was immediately blown away by the build quality.
The aluminum frame is solid without using unnecessary weight to feel expensive, and the low-profile Gateron Red switches feel as fleshed out as a full-sized switch itself. Connection via either Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, or USB-C was a breeze, and swapping between OSes and connection modes are done with a delightful physical switch. Extra keycaps for Windows compatibility are included in a little bag, alongside a combo switch-and-keycap puller, a full-page instruction manual even DankPods would appreciate, a solid black USB-C to USB-A cable, and stickers.
Low-profile Gateron Reds are nothing to write home about, and these are no exception. The switches are solid Cherry Red dupes, but are half the size. There’s a satisfying sound when depressed, but they do bottom out quite quickly. I feel like if I’d gone for the Gateron Brown switches, for example, the keyboard may have ended up too resistant for pure typists like myself.
Manufacturers like Kailh and Keychron offer a few other variations of low-profile switches that you can use with this board, but the hot-swappable PCB does support standard height switches… if you want to make a truly cursed-looking board. Personally, I’m eyeing to pick up a few Keychron Low-Profile Optical Whites for a type test in the near-future.
The full-page instruction manual itself shows the key combinations for setting macros, changing the lighting, resetting the board, and other shortcuts in four languages, so nobody feels left out or left behind (English, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese). Even without the translations, however, I never had an instruction manual use such clear, full-color images to show you what to do. There’s clearly been a lot of thought and design around their international audience, which I appreciate. Also, most keyboard manuals (even some of my $400+ boards) only include instruction manuals on a PDF linked somewhere on a community Discord server. I’m easily impressed, apparently, at a little effort.
The back of the instruction page is also a full-sized anime girl poster with the NuPhy logo under her. I am charmed and horrified at the same time. Yes, it’s going to be framed on my office wall, but out of the sight-lines of any colleagues via Zoom.
The LEDs on either side of this 75% keyboard slowly strobe through the full RGB spectrum, which is the most eye-catching part about this entire keyboard. They’re also used as status and layer indicators, if toggled on, as well as a handy battery indicator with a simple keypress. The RGB LED strips keep the keyboard interesting— alongside the almost-CYMK keycap colors— without compromising battery life or professionalism.
The back of the keyboard is equally delightful, with a lovely metal badge sharing the studio’s name and the keyboard itself. The only thing I’ll knock my Air75 for (and I’m not sure if this is specific to my keyboard itself or the entire Air line itself), but the ““next generation”” AirFeet are a noticeable issue.
Putting A Sock— er, AirFeet On It.
As an M1 MacBook Pro user, I already expected to not rest this keyboard over the laptop’s keyboard itself, due to the keyboard size differences. NuPhy also makes this crystal clear with a compatibility chart on the site itself mentioning the laptops this keyboard can rest on. Out of curiosity, I did attempt this maneuver on the M1 MacBook Pro, but quickly ended up sending random symbols and returns everywhere as the keyboard naturally shifted around.
So, being unable to take advantage of the “Resting On Top Of The Keyboard” feature, I expected the AirFeet (the little rubber nubs that raise the keyboard at a traditional keyboard angle) to be easier to keep on the keyboard itself. There’s a little magnetism to each rubber AirFoot (laughing), but not enough to keep the little guys on for even light shifts of the keyboard around the desk.
The first time I even attempted to put on the rubber feet, they fell off as soon as I placed the keyboard down too hard. I’m not too upset, as I primarily plan to use the Air75 with my standing desk, but it’s still a bummer. I feel like they’ll be easily lost when traveling even when stored within the folio case, unless taken off the keyboard and stored safely in a separate place.
Post-publication update: I realized that I was putting on the feet slightly wrong, which was user error on my end. It’s much more stable, especially when rescuing the keyboard from the cat sitting on it, but my main criticism of the feet magnets being weak still applies.
She’s A Ten– But Her Feet Regularly Fall Off.
All-in-all, I’m pretty happy with the NuPhy Air75 keyboard. Aside from the issue I mentioned above, there hasn’t really been any other issue that couldn’t be solved with a little workflow change. I appreciate the Mac-forward design, and that the F-row keys maintain their compatibility with newer M1 MacBook (and new M2 MacBook) versions. A noticeable absence is the dedicated new Globe key on newer M1/M2 Macs, which brings up a dedicated emoji selector if not set to change to a different keyboard layout. Emojis can still be brought up with the default Mac ^-⌘-Spacebar shortcut. ✨
For $130, you could purchase the Apple Magic Keyboard, and can upgrade to add native TouchID support for $199. Yet, Air75 and a carrying case comes in just under the Magic Keyboard itself, at $129 total. (The keyboard itself, your choice of switches, and one set of keycaps is $109.) That’s enticing enough by itself.
But for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts who use macOS daily for work or out of preference, this keyboard should stand at the very top of your consideration list– even if you’re only looking to dip your toes into the mechanical keyboard experience.
With a great unboxing experience, competitive price, a few-compromises experience, and some great thonk, I’ll be daily-driving the NuPhy Air75 for the near-future— at least until I find another keyboard to add to my growing collection. (I see you, Osume Dalgona x Aurora collab.)
It even comes with free anime girl stickers, which should be carefully considered as an unlisted selling point.
You can take a peek at the NuPhy Air75 (and the baby Air60 and 40% F1) here.
Footnotes, Because Of Course There Are Footnotes
1. I’m not even joking here, “keyboard sound test” or “thock sounds” regularly rack up millions upon millions of views on YouTube alone– here’s one with 14 million views.
Brin Bliss 
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