Redragon have once again very kindly sent me one of their latest lovely keyboards to try out. This time it’s the Azure K652 ultra-low-profile keyboard for Mac and Windows.
The K652 is an 84-key / 75% keyboard. It has an ANSI layout, is compatible with Mac and Windows and connects via USB-C wired, BT 3.0/5.0, and 2.4Ghz wireless (dongle stashed underneath) to up to five devices. You’ve got a discreet little Win/Mac selector switch, and a wireless on/off and mode selector switch set into the left side of the board.
The K652 comes loaded with dark and light grey keycaps, with an additional full set of caps with accent orange keycaps also included. The ultra-low-profile caps all have transparent characters, allowing the RGB backlights to shine through, as well as around, the keys.
The backlights on the K652 are the standard Redragon “vibrant groovy” RGBs with 20 pre-set patterns/effects cycled through using Fn & PgUp. Brightness, colour, and speed are all also easily adjusted using keyboard shortcuts. As per usual, I picked a solid backlight colour; a nice blue, which adds an extra metallic edge to the already cooly industrial-looking keyboard.
I’m not sure what the battery size/capacity of the K652 is, and as I’ve been using it wired most of the time (apart from testing out the BlueTooth and Wireless connections, which both worked fine), I can’t really comment on battery life or longevity. The K652 does have a cool battery indicator feature, however: hit Fn and RShift and the number keys will light up. If 1 to 0 are green then you’re at full charge. If 1 to 3 are red then you’re at 30% and it’s probably time to plug in.
The K652 comes with a choice of low-profile Red, Blue or Brown switches. I got the low-profile Browns, and I must admit that I haven’t got on with them all that well. Although they’re labelled as tactile switches, I’ve found them a little flat and “soft” feeling for me. On balance, I think I should have gone with the Blues, but that’s just a matter of personal taste, of course. The switches are hot-swappable, meaning that they can be easily swapped out for other low-profile switches with no need for soldering or unnecessary messing about. Unfortunately, I don’t have any spare low-profile switches knocking about.
The top plate of the K652 is made of polished dark grey aluminium, while the bottom is black plastic. Again, this adds to the stylish industrial aesthetic of the board. It has a pair of flip-down feet, meaning you can adjust the typing angle.
The K652 weighs just 494 g, so it’s a truly lightweight keyboard, and this combined with its ultra-low-profile and compact 75% layout are really its greatest strengths. The K652 is a very, very portable keyboard. It’s definitely a “take anywhere” board – one that can live in your laptop bag taking up next to no space and adding practically no weight to your travelling set-up.
The K652 is really reasonably priced at just £55 / $70, which is another big plus. If you’re looking for an affordable, truly portable take-anywhere keyboard with all the bells and whistles of a desktop mech, then the K652 is hard to beat.