The company was Wooting, and the keyboard was the Wooting two Lekker Edition.
Five years later, HE keyboards are starting to gain traction, and thats great news for gamers.
These sticks are immune to stick drift thanks to a contactless design that uses a magnet and a sensor.
Wooting
This change is measured and used to report the position of the joystick.
Aside from joysticks, Hall Effect sensors are also used in analog triggers.
This time, each of the two triggers features a tiny magnet.
Corsair
Hall Effect keyboard switches work similarly to Hall Effect analog triggers.
Instead, youve got a tiny magnet placed just below the stem, like in the image below.
The bottom of the switch has a hole so that the magnet can fully bottom out.
Keychron / Gateron
The sensorthe tiny chip at the bottom of the imageis located on the printed circuit board.
This measures the change in voltage and determines the position of the magnet.
The sensors measurement accuracy is very high.
Most HE keyboards feature a customizable actuation point that can be tweaked in 0.1mm increments.
Rapid Trigger is also adjustable.
On some keyboards, the lower bound is set at only 0.1mm.
This can dramatically improve your gaming experience in fast-paced, movement-based games and titles where strafing is important.
This includes most first-person shooters, especially titles likeApex LegendsandThe Finals.
This allows you to walk when you lightly press a key and sprint when you press harder.
Another advantage of HE keyboards is the slower buildup of finger fatigue.
Finally, magnetic switches also have a dramatically longer lifespan compared to regular mechanical switches.
Razer, on the other hand, still doesn’t offer an HE keyboard.
TheirRazer Huntsman Mini Analogkeyboard has the Rapid Trigger feature, but the switches inside the board arent magnetic.
Most brands only offer one or a few HE keyboards, meaning theres not much choice regarding form factors.
One thing you should be aware of is that not all HE switches are interchangeable.
This means that double-rail switches and PCBs are incompatible with other HE switch designs.
Should I Get a Hall Effect Mechanical Gaming Keyboard?
Take a look atour favorite mechanical keyboards(andnon-mehanical keyboards) for more ideas.
