I found it to be one of the best low-profile mechanical keyboards on the market.
The NuPhy Air75 V2 is the second revision of the company’s 75% low-profile mechanical keyboard.
you could find the keyboard onAmazonfor $139.95 and $149.95 respectively, depending on your switch choice.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek
The keyboard I tested is the Air75 V2 with tactile Moss switches, in Ionic White.
Theres no reason to pick the original over the revision, except for perhaps a massive discount.
Even then, these improvements seem worth it for anyone looking for a premium yet portable low-profile keyboard.
The NuPhy Air75 V2 is the second revision of the company’s 75% low-profile mechanical keyboard. It comes with a variety of switch choices in three color schemes, is hot-swappable, and has support for QMK/VIA customization.
This is the first mechanical keyboard that Ive owned outright.
My hope for the Air75 V2 was to find a more satisfying, interesting, and customizable typing experience.
Im also still unsure if Ill be using the keyboard full-time going forward.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek
A low-profile keyboard makes sense for someone who has grown accustomed to essentially typing on a flat surface.
Bluetooth has a satisfactory polling rate of 125Hz.
There are switches on the back for moving between wireless and wired, Windows and Mac.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek
That means that the Air75 V2 feels like a workout for the hands in comparison.
Im still faster on a Magic Keyboard.
That said, speed isnt everything.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek
So what about accuracy?
This is hard to gauge as an objective metric, so Im not going to bother.
The right Shift key is smaller than Im used to, and the Backslash is a lot bigger.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek
Navigating text with a slightly adjusted arrow key layout also threw me.
The truth of the matter is that muscle memory develops over time.
Switching to a keyboard like the Air75 V2 also means making do without Touch ID.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek
The Magic Keyboard is boring by comparison when it comes to the many ways you might customize the Nuphy.
This starts on the board itself, with its removable low-profile keycaps and hot-swappable switches.
One area where the revised V2 Air75 improves on its predecessor is with VIA/QMK support.
This effectively allows you to customize what every key does and create macros.
I tried disconnecting the keyboard, restarting my Mac, and installing different versions of Chromium-based browsers.
For me, this isnt a huge deal.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek
I didnt pick the Air75 V2 for its firmware-level customization.
That was just a nice bonus that I was looking forward to playing with.
That said, Mac users hoping to dig into this stuff might want to reconsider.
Ironically, Tyler had similar issues whenreviewing the Nuphy Air60 V2.
The Air75 V2 includes customizable RGB lighting too.
There are 40 different RGB rainbow effects, but no see-through keycaps are included in the box.
you could switch them out, but it feels like a missed opportunity.
Lighting is fun but ultimately provides no function outside of looking pretty.
For what its worth, the standalone Magic Keyboard doesnt include any lighting at all.
Turn the lighting effects on and this can drop as low as 35 hours, according to Nuphys numbers.
I had the lighting mostly off all week and I barely noticed the battery level drop.
This makes it a great portable typing companion for tablet or smartphone users.
The large battery helps add some heft to the board that keeps it planted on your desk, too.
Should You Buy the Air75 V2 Keyboard?
Its a worthy alternative to a Magic Keyboard.
Theres no easy answer here.
At some point, you just have to try it and see.
In terms of alternative keyboards, theLoFree Flow84is arguably the closest competitor.
The real competitor in this review, for me, was the Magic Keyboard.
Even after my time spent with the Air75 V2, I still think Apples keyboard is a great choice.
You might even be able to throw in faster on it and make fewer mistakes.
Its light and bouncy, and it even features Touch ID if you spring for the pricier version.
Some people will prefer the Magic Keyboard to any mechanical keyboard, and thats ok.
But its also a world away from being a mechanical keyboard.
