Keychron Q12 QMK Custom Mechanical Keyboard

Great Product, amazing customer care

I am actually writing this review from my new Keychron and it is an amazing product. Very sturdy and hefty, and great build quality. The customer service is fast and caring, and helped me with my order mishap immediately. Can only recommend!

Solid Keyboard.

This is really a solid Keyboard. Literally. I was surprised by the build quality and weight of the frame since this product feels like a solid chunk of aluminum. The weight makes it quite rigid and keeps it from sliding away, even while typing furiously.
The Knob is a neat feature as it allows for easy music controls. The LED Lighting has loads of customisability and easy to understand controls.
Especially for small desks, the left numpad is really useful as it provides more space for the mouse on the right side.

Be warned however: The barebone version obviously does not include keycaps, however, the layout on the right side is quite unique. Thanks to the arrow keys being shifted a little to the left, you need a 1.75u right shift (which is rare) and a 1u right Crtl.

Via support works like a charm, even on a Linux machine.

Even though the price is not cheap, the quality and accessories, as well as the care that was put into the product are definitely worth the premium!

Space bar is a rattling nightmare

Otherwise good but I think I’ll be selling this on due to the space bar

Sublime

Wanting to keep the numpad but move it to the left side, I was dabbling with the idea of getting a TKL+separate numpad to get the keyboard closer to the center of the desk for more comfortable typing. In the end I decided against it as it would just add an another thing and a cable to my desk. So my choices were slim to none, unless I wanted to spend an astronomical amounts of money for a keyboard, wait months for group buys and learn the ANSI as very few manufacturers make a keyboard in an ISO layout where the numpad is on the left. But then I found out about the Q12, the answer to my woes.

After receiving my Q12, my first impression was "wow, this is heavy", to a point where I think it could be used as boat anchor. The overall quality is definitely two steps above my previous keyboard (Vortex Tab 90M). Moreover, as my keyboard was a barebone version, I installed Gateron CJ switches, which again just elevated it above my last keyboards Cherry MX Red switches.

I also use the Q12 for gaming and I have few recommendations to make. Get a wrist rest if you are anything like me and rest your palm on the table as it greatly helps with wrist extension. Get lower profile keycaps than OEM. I switched mine to Cherry profile and I find myself making less mistakes when hitting keys and again, less wrist extension. Of course this is my preference so YMMV.

I also have to give a shout out to the Keychron customer service team. I originally ordered the Q12 in silver grey as the black variant wasn't in stock in the German site, but was in their international one. So I decided try my luck and sent them an e-mail whether it could be possible switch to a black variant. They promptly answered with yes and now I got the color I wanted. A+ customer service.

To those who live in EU, delivery took about two weeks from China.

TLDR;
Good built quality all around
HEAVY (Fully built 2477g)
Good customer service
Good for EU folk who don't want to give up ISO and learn ANSI layout for a quality custom keyboard
To help with wrist extension, get lower keycaps than OEM + Wrist rest
Relatively fast delivery of two weeks to EU from China

Awesome keyboard. Highly recommend.

Bought my first keyboard (K8 TKL) a few months ago and was so happy with my mobile workhorse that I decided to get myself the Q12 for my office at home.

I really like the option to have a fullsize keyboard with a numpad to the left. The color is pretty cool (got the blue one), the sound is amazing for a stock model and I highly debated with myself if I even wanted to swap the keycaps and switches (got the stock reds). Nice sound out of the box, nice feeling, only bummer for me is the non-shine through caps as I often times work in a dark environment and would like to at least have a bit of lighting.

Coming from an OEM profile the OSA feels like heaven and I have never before typed so smoothly on any layout.

Keychron Q12

Setting the best example for efficient space usage, the Q12 has a compact 96% layout design with a left-positioned Numpad while retaining all the essential function keys. With its full metal CNC machined body, double-gasket design, QMK/VIA support, and exceptional southpaw design, the Q12 is ideal for fulfilling your space-saving and typing needs!

Left-Handed (Southpaw) Design

Not just for left-handed people, you will also enjoy this design if you are right-handed too because it leaves more room for your mouse and it will be more convenient when using the mouse and numpad at the same time!

Features of Keychron Q12 Compact 96% Layout Custom Mechanical Keyboard

Customize Your Q12

Choose the keycaps, switches, and more accessories for your Q12

A Refined Piece Of Metal Art

The entire metal body is crafted with 6063 aluminum that is processed through CNC machined, polished, anodized, sandblasted, and undergoes 24 more manufacturing stages to make this solid metal piece of art that is the Q12.

All-Around Customizable Keyboard

To build a fully customizable keyboard, we designed every component easily assembled. Therefore, you can customize and adjust each component you want.

Double Gasket Design

The Double Gasket Design is a new innovative structure in the industry. In addition to the gaskets on the plates, we added silicone pads between the top and bottom cases to significantly reduce the sound resonance between the metals and reduce the noise of the impacted metals. This design allows the keyboard to maintain the flexibility of the gasket structure and improves the overall typing sound.

An Epic Core Inside The Keyboard

A powerful ultra-low-power ARM architecture MCU equipped with 128K Flash will provide more flexibility for developers. The polling rate is 1000 Hz out of the box, which makes latency non-existent for the competitive game.

OSA Profile Double-shot PBT Keycaps

These double-shot PBT keycaps have a similar height to the OEM profile and has an SA-like shape. We named it the OSA (OEM spherical angled) keycap. The PBT keycaps will provide excellent oil resistance, enhance the type feel, and prevent the legends from fading out.

Switch layouts between macOS & Windows

Built with the Mac users’ experience in mind while still retaining compatibility for Windows devices, the Keychron Q12 comes with a system toggle and an additional set of customized keycaps for both Windows and macOS systems. You can now save two different layouts on the keyboard, one for each system.

Programmable Knob

Designed to enhance your creative workflow, the aluminum rotary encoder allows you to easily customize your favorite keys and macros on the knob through the VIA software.

Rotary encoder function of Keychron Q12 Compact 96% Layout Custom Mechanical Keyboard

You can easily customize the Q12's knob to your desired key or macro commands such as: zooming in/out, adjusting screen brightness, brush size, volume, selecting video clips or photos, or backlight hue.

Setting the macros for "zoom in/out"

Using the knob as "zoom in/out"

Program Q12 with QMK & VIA

With full QMK and VIA support, you can easily program and remap each key on the keyboard. The open-source firmware means endless possibilities for keyboard layouts, shortcuts, backlight effects, even the knob, and more.

QMK VIA screen capture of Keychron Q12 Compact 96% Layout Custom Mechanical Keyboard

Click here to use VIA Keychron Q12 source code

Hot-swappable.

The hot-swappable sockets are mounted on the PCB, so you can install or change the switches without soldering. The PCB supports both 3 pin and 5 pin MX mechanical switches.

South-facing RGB LED Lights.

The south-facing RGB LED is designed to better illuminate the keyboard backlight from the typist’s angle with the premium non-shine-through PBT keycaps installed. The south-facing RGB is also free from interference when the users install OEM or Cherry-profile alternative keycaps on the keyboard.

Barebone US layout of Keychron Q12 Compact 96% Layout Custom Mechanical Keyboard

Pre-lubed Gateron G Pro Switch

By optimizing the switch mold, the Gateron G Pro switch wobbles less than a standard mechanical switch and feels smoother on each hit. Plus, the factory pre-lubed process on all the G Pro switches (excluding the clicky ones), no doubt this will ensure the best smoothness at your fingertips when typing.

All New Screw-in PCB Stabilizers

The screw-in design increases stability and makes it easier for changes and upgrades. Precise craftsmanship makes the stabilizers more stable and less shaky. The big keys’ (space bar, shift, enter, delete) typing experience is now more stable and smooth. The Keychron Q12 also supports third-party screw-in PCB stabilizers.

ANSI & ISO Layouts

ISO layout is widely used in Europe while the ANSI layout is widely used by the rest of the world. Note: If you are European, we recommend you purchase the "Barebone ISO” version with the corresponding ISO keycaps. The "Barebone ISO” is suitable for all ISO keyboard countries like the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, etc.

ANSI/US layout of Keychron Q12 Compact 96% Layout Custom Mechanical Keyboard

ANSI Layout

ISO Layout

What's in the box?

Package List of Keychron Q12 Compact 96% Layout Custom Mechanical Keyboard Fully Assembled Knob Version

Package List of Keychron Q12 Compact 96% Layout Custom Mechanical Keyboard Barebone Knob Version

Specs

Width	145 mm
Length	409.4 mm
Front Height	20.2 mm (without keycaps)
Back Height	30.9 mm (without keycaps)
Feet Height	2.4 mm
Angle	5.3°
Weight	2491 ± 10 g (Fully Assembled Version)
Body Material	Full CNC machined aluminum
Plate	Steel
Polling Rate	1000Hz

Keycaps (Fully Assembled Version)	Double-shot PBT keycaps, not shine-through, OSA Profile (OEM height, SA shape)
Switches	Gateron G Pro (Fully assembled version)
Backlight	South-facing RGB LED
Switch Support	Hot-swappable (5 pin & 3 pin)
Stabs	Screw-in PCB stabs
Connectivity	Type-C cable
Cable	Type-C cable + Type-A to Type-C adapter
MCU	Ultra-low-power ARM Cortex-M4 32-bit STM32L432 (128KB Flash)
Operating Environment	-10℃ to 50℃

Keychron Q12 User Guide

Learn more about the Keychron Q12 such as the Q12 shortcuts, assembling the Q12, factory reset, and more in the FAQ section.