Ask anyone here at PCWorld about keyboards, especially those of the mechanical variety, and they’ll send you my way. (I may have a problem, but the solution is always another keyboard.) Logitech doesn’t command much of a presence in the mechanical keyboard space—often asking for a lot of dosh and delivering very little compared to other brands—but the new Alto Keys might buck that trend.
The coloring is the first thing that caught my eye. The Alto Keys K98M comes in gray for boring people, white-and-gray for Mac people, and a “lilac” option that features muted blue hues that look fetching combined with a bit of transparent plastic on the upper housing. That look shows off the gasket mount that surrounds it. Gasket mounting is a custom innovation that’s making its way into the mainstream, suspending the circuit board and switches in layers of vibration-absorbing material to give the keys an absorbent, slightly bouncy quality.
Speaking of keys: the switches. These are custom linear designs that Logitech refers to as a “Marble Switch.” Nice, but I can’t say much about them without getting my hands on the keyboard. They are backlit, and the PBT keycaps (another nice upgrade!) are shine-through. More interesting to me is that the switches are hot-swap capable, a feature I consider essential for any premium keyboard. That means you can swap in any Cherry MX-standard switches you want with minimal fuss and no soldering or special tools required aside from a puller.
This is a 96% triple-wireless design, offering a nearly full layout with a bit of squashing around the arrow cluster. It’s got Logitech’s usual multi-device switching between the wireless USB dongle and Bluetooth, though it looks like it may not operate in wired mode, which might draw the ire of some PC gamers.
But what I’m really impressed by is the price: $119.99 USD. A big wireless mechanical keyboard with a gasket mount, hot-swap switches, and PBT keycaps at that price is already a good deal, but seeing one from Logitech is practically unprecedented.
The Alto Keys K98M is shipping now from Logitech, in its one good color and its two boring ones.
