Keychron Launches Q11 Ultra Split Wireless Mechanical Keyboard

Keychron has been busy updating its mechanical keyboard line-up over the last few months switching to hyperefficient firmware and its updated Silk POM mechanical switches. Now, the Keychron Q11 gets the same treatment, with the Q11 Ultra being a much bigger improvement over the original Q11 than the other keyboards Keychron has recently updated. The reason for this is that Keychron’s only split keyboard was the Q11, with no Max or Pro variants to add wireless connectivity into the mix. This time, though Keychron has gone one step further with the Q11 Ultra, not only eliminating the USB-C cable to the PC, but also making the two halves of the split keyboard communicate wirelessly as well. Keychron claims that the dual batteries in the Q11 Ultra are capable of delivering 300 hours on a single charge, and the keyboard connects via Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, or via the USB-C cable on the left half. With 2.4 GHz and the wired connection, the polling rate can go as high as 8 kHz, even though that’s hardly necessary for a mechanical switch. The Q11 Ultra is available for $239.99 from Keychron’s online store.

The Q11 Ultra is a 75% split keyboard, meaning the keyboard splits in half for ergonomic purposes, although it still maintains the row staggered layout, so it should feel familiar for most users coming from a regular mechanical gaming keyboard. Despite the 75% layout, the Q11 Ultra has an additional five-key macro column on the left edge of the left side of the keyboard, and there are two programmable knobs—one on each half of the keyboard. The keyboard cases are constructed from CNC aluminium with an integrated top plate, and the keyboard uses double-shot PBT keycaps in Keychron’s KSA profile. The Q11 Ultra is only available in black with blue accent keycaps, and it seems to miss out on the decorative bottom panel found on the likes of the Keychron Q1 Ultra. It comes with a choice of Keychron Silk POM Red (linear), Brown (tactile), and Banana (sharp tactile) switches, but the PCB is hot-swap compatible, so you can bring your own switches and keycaps if you don’t like the stock experience. The Q11 Ultra has south-facing per-key RGB backlighting, which, along with the layout, is fully programmable in Keychron Launcher.