At CES 2026, Keychron introduced a new line of keyboards for Mac with its Q Ultra series. They all offer an 8K polling rate and a fantastic all metal build, and they come in three size variants: 75%, 80%, and full size. I’ll be going hands on with the Q1 Ultra.
Key specs
I’m testing out the Q1 Ultra, the 75% variant. I have limited desk space, so getting the smallest form factor possible was very important to me. If you prefer slightly more keys, you can get the Q3 Ultra for 80%, and if you prefer having a numpad, you can get the Q6 Ultra. The keyboards all come in at a similar price point, between $230 and $240.
The flagship feature with these new keyboards is the 8K polling rate while running wirelessly, meaning that the keyboard offers incredibly low latency while typing. In practice though, you probably aren’t typing fast enough for that to actually be noticeable in any measurable capacity.
Even with this ridiculously high polling rate, Keychron promises up to 660 hours of battery life on a single charge. Assuming 6 hours of computer usage a day, that translates to around 110 days of full usage between charges. At 8 hours a day, thats 82.5 days of full usage. On average, you can probably expect to go around 3 months between charges, which is pretty strong for a wireless keyboard.
All of these keyboards also offer hot-swappable switches, an all aluminum build, and a customizable RGB backlight. There’s also two color options: black/blue and white/orange. Both options allow you to pick from red, brown, or banana switches.
Initial impressions
As for how I feel – you definitely get what you pay for. I’ve never been much of a mechanical keyboard person, though I have tried out the Keychron K2 in the past. This keyboard (look and feel wise) blows that one out of the water.
I will say, the fact that it’s all aluminum isn’t super important. It looks great though, and it certainly fits in well with the general Mac aesthetic. If there’s one bad thing I have to say, it’s the fact that the keyboard doesn’t have adjustable legs – so you’re just stuck with the angle it comes with.
The RGB backlight is rather nice, and there’s loads of options you can customize with. You’ll need the Q3 Ultra or Q6 Ultra for the dedicated backlight switch key. On the Q1 Ultra, you can cycle through the options using fn + Q. Additionally, the backlight is actually per key, rather than being one standard backlight across the whole keyboard. This isn’t exclusive to the Q Ultra series, but it is cool.
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