Well, somebody has been trawling the depths of the Mechanical Keyboards subreddit. Keychron has a history of incorporating features and techniques from the modding and building community into its designs, but this 10×10 mechanical macropad might be the most obvious adaptation I’ve ever seen of a DIY attitude into a finished product.
The Keychron C100 8K Giant Custom Macro Pad (breath!) is… well, it’s that. The gadget has 100 mechanical keys all laid out in a grid, and it connects to your PC via USB-C. All the keycaps are blank, though of course you could supply your own if you want something more visually distinct. You get 100 Keychron Apex switches, which can be swapped out for any MX-compatible switch. It’s all programmable via QMK and Keychron’s web-based launcher tool. It has extras like RGB lights and fold-out feet.
And for some reason it has 8,000Hz polling, which I guess is just how keyboards work now.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about this goofy gadget is its price: just $64.99 USD. For 100 switches and caps, plus a custom PCB, that’s extremely reasonable. It’s priced low enough that the gadget has sold out immediately, though I wonder if that speaks more to a smaller initial run than huge demand. It’s certainly a more affordable way to roll your own Elgato Stream Deck.
If you’re chomping at the bit to get your hands on one, you can submit your email address to get alerted when it comes back in stock.
