Pint Sized Delight - HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S Review
I'm in the process of moving and anticipating being without my main setup for the next two months. Since I'm packing light in terms of hardware, I decided to go shopping for a very portable - but not totally dreadful keyboard. Needless to say, I went a little more overboard than I thought I would.
This of course, is an HHKB - shorthand for "Happy Hacking Keyboard". The brainchild of Japanese computer scientist Eiiti Wada, he was frustrated how keyboard layouts were getting increasingly more complex with each subsequent major hardware revision, such as the transition from XT to ANSI. He wanted a more simple layout, but one that was adaptable to different machines across hardware generations.
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| An original 1996 spec HHKB. Not that much has changed! |
Wada partnered with PFU Limited to create the HHKB, releasing it's first version in 1996. It featured a then-uncommon 60 percent form-factor, inspired by both the original Macintosh M0110 keyboard and the IBM AT layout. The first versions used standard rubber dome over membrane switches and connected over PS/2, but modern versions now offer USB and Bluetooth connectivity with Topre switches.
The version I have is the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S, which sounds more like a name for a car than a keyboard. This the newest Topre switch equipped model and the first to feature both Bluetooth and USB connectivity options on the same device. The Type-S moniker denotes that this keyboard is set up to be quieter than a normal HHKB - and partly why it's more expensive.
It's a very minimalist design, even as far as already pretty streamlined 60 percent keyboards are concerned. It's quite literally just a wedge shaped keyboard. There's no RGB, no backlighting, no lock lights - hell, the only light on the damn thing is the tiny little status light for power and Bluetooth. This is so inoffensive, that you could almost call it elegant.
The case measures a meager 11.5 inches wide, 4.5 inches deep, and just shy of 1.25 inches tall in the rear. Loaded with batteries, the keyboard still weighs only 1.4 pounds thanks to it's all plastic casing. But despite the lightweight construction, the keyboard actually feels extremely solid and rigid - quite reassuring feeling for something that's likely going to spend most of it's life getting tumbled around in a backpack in between typing sessions.
On the back you'll find the power button, the battery compartment housing two AA batteries, and a USB type-C port. Underneath the keyboard is a set of two position flip out feet and a tiny little cover for that hides the keyboard's dip switches.
Yeah, dip switches. Six of them.
These dip switches are crucial to setting the keyboard up for the user's exact needs. On the bottom of the keyboard is legend describing what each position of the switches do, such as setting the keyboard to work with Windows or Mac, the behavior of the delete key, and the power saving setting behavior of the keyboard.
A lot of this is because of this cooky layout festooned upon the keyboard, apparently known as a Unix layout. Being a 60 percenter, this keyboard makes heavy use of a function layer to make up for the lack of a function row and a nav cluster. Things like the arrow keys, print screen, and the volume controls all require the 'Fn' button to be held down to use them. That's nothing new though, and it's not even close to the weirdest part.
I did mention this keyboard was partly inspired by the M0110 and the AT layout, and it certainly combines elements of both. The control keys are completely absent from the bottom corners of the keyboard, instead placing it where caps lock normally goes in ANSI. Escape goes where tilde normally is, which is now located where backspace would have been. Instead of backspace, you get a delete key where backslash would normally be. That key also puts backspace behind the function layer, though it can be flipped around with the dip switch.
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| Shouldn't something... be here? |
Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of this. I guess the intention behind this layout is to put more commonly used commands like the control key in a more easily accessible position, but I think omitting the bottom corner keys entirely is kind of a waste of useful real estate. I eventually got used it it, but even then it's a little ironic that this layout is supposed to help streamline one's workflow, yet I occasionally find myself reading the legends, hunting for certain keys that I need.
Oh, right. The legends.
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| If you don't already know how to touch type, you're definitely going to learn with these keycaps. |
The keycaps are dye sublimated PBT, but in a perplexing combination of black lettering on dark gray keycaps. This of course, is because you can't effectively dye dark colored materials, resulting in PFU settling for this ultra low contrast combination. So while my legends aren't likely to wear out anytime soon, it doesn't really matter because I can't see them for shit to begin with - especially the one's printed on the fronts of the keycaps.
But I'd rather have them opposed to the unprinted option that somehow exists for this keyboard. And I suppose it does make the keyboard look pretty cool in it's already extremely minimalist form.
Just do yourself a favor and get the white model instead.
In terms of connectivity, the Hybrid HHKB's can be paired to up to four Bluetooth devices at once, or plugged into a machine with USB. Granted, this isn't an automatic process and you have to use a key combo to switch devices, but for a travel keyboard it's very handy. I can have this paired to my phone, laptop, and desktop all at once and switch between them with little fuss.
Battery life from the two AAs is estimated at around four months, which seems plenty adequate. Am I going to test that? No, but being able to run it wired without any batteries is a big peace of mind. The power saving mode will shut the keyboard off if it's been idle for an extended period of time. However, this is not a sleep mode and the keyboard needs to be manually powered back on every time it shuts off. A little annoying, but it can be disabled with the dip switches.
The keyboard's software is also pretty minimalist, almost to a fault. It's only a keymapping program so it's very lightweight and never runs in the background, but it's also completely unusable unless you plug the keyboard in with USB - why???
I also found that the functionality of the tool itself is pretty lacking. There's no macro capabilities, and you can't add any additional function layers beyond the default one. There are also no switchable profiles, so you better get your one layout absolutely dialed in for what you need, otherwise you'd better hope you didn't leave the USB cable at home.
As I stated earlier, the HHKB makes use of Topre switches. These switches are actually a big subject of controversy in the keyboard enthusiast community. Some uphold Topre as the best thing since sliced bread, while others decry it as overhyped hipster garbage. They're not even MX keycap compatible.
It's also not unheard of for Topre die-hards to call it a mechanical switch, while others argue it just isn't - and that's despite the actual word being so loosely defined. I think this is all because the word "mechanical" in the context of keyboards has gone on to apply to any keyboard that doesn't use rubber dome over membrane switches like every shitty office or laptop keyboard on the planet.
Let's get one thing straight here: Topre is a rubber dome switch. Anybody who looks inside a Topre board and doesn't clearly see that is either deluded, or just an idiot. But, it doesn't function anything like a rubber dome over membrane keyboard either, and that makes it distinct.
Topre switches are capacitive, and they work in a roughly similar principal to the IBM Model F's capacitive buckling spring switches for example. There are two points of contact under the switch that sense a change in capacitance across them, which registers a keypress at a certain threshold. There are two main benefits to keyboards built like this: one is inherent n-key rollover and two, is a longer switch lifetime.
In the case of Topre, the capacitive material is a very thin spring located underneath the rubber dome. As the switch is pressed, it compresses the spring, gradually changing it's capacitance. As a result - and unlike traditional rubber domes - these switches will register keypresses without the need to fully bottom them out, which may help reduce fatigue while typing.
Topre is a bit notorious for being a fairly noisy switch though, largely because of how the slider strikes the housing on the upstroke of a keypress. The HHKB Type-S models (along with some of the OEM Topre Realforce boards) remedy this by adding silencer rings to the sliders, dampening the impact of the upstroke and in theory, making the keyboard a lot more quiet.
As for how this all works in practice, it's way better than I thought. To be honest, I was seriously expecting to be completely underwhelmed by this keyboard's typing feel but it's actually a really pleasant thing to hammer away on. The HHKB's keyfeel is very smooth and consistent while it's Topre switches are rated at 45 grams of actuation force. In reality, I find it's closer to 50 - 55 grams at the actual breaking point.
The tactility on the Topre switches is also much more subtle compared to some other rubber dome switches. That's not to say they aren't tactile - they definitely are - but they have a noticeably more gradual lead in opposed to just a sharp break. And that's despite the actuation point being set relatively high. I don't really know how else to describe it; Topre just feels different, but in a pretty good way.
The Type-S also lives up to it's labeling - this keyboard is really goddamn quiet. There's virtually no rattle and every key hits with that distinctive "thock" us keyboard nerds like to obsess over. Even the wide keys - especially the space bar - just sound plain meaty. It's a really satisfying, baritone sound, and the most important thing is that it likely won't piss off people next to you in really quiet settings. I'd take this over a shitty laptop keyboard any day of the week, and it's not half bad at my own desk either when I don't feel like "pinging" my brains out with the sound of my Model F.
But - and this is sure to piss every single Topre diehard off - I didn't feel like these switches were all they're cracked up to be.
I'm going to compare the HHKB to my former daily driver rubber dome keyboard: the HP 5187. This is by all accounts just a dirt cheap multimedia keyboard from the early-2000s with rattly, thin keycaps and an all-plastic casing that weighs virtually nothing for it's size. That said, the case is actually quite rigid and it has incredibly tactile 55 gram domes that - while significantly sharper feeling than Topre - don't feel all that dissimilar, apart from the non-capacitive operation. It even has just a little bit of that "thockiness" to it's sound.
Don't get me wrong though; the HHKB is still a way nicer keyboard than the HP 5187. The HP's keycaps are definitely on the nastier side in terms of quality and the HHKB is much quieter overall - in no small part to the silenced sliders and significantly better fit and finish. But this just shows that Topre's supposedly "god-tier" typing feel isn't going to feel all that special if you've used a halfway competent regular rubber dome keyboard prior to it.
It's certainly very good, but the hype definitely isn't all real. Especially not when you factor in the price.
The current crop of HHKBs start at $241 while this black Hybrid Type-S model retails at a fucking eye-gougingly expensive $385. Even at it's current sale price of $299 as of writing, you could buy several keyboards that work at least as good as this for less, and they might even have more going for them too. I do like this keyboard a lot and even though I managed to get a decent deal on it, that kind of money just feels absurd no matter how you swing it.
The HHKB feels a bit like an Apple product in a way. PFU knows people will pay whatever they charge for it, but it's just different enough from the competition where it's likely to stay that way for a long time. It is indeed a high quality product that generally lives up to it's expectations - but it's nowhere near full-featured or extravagant enough to deserve of a price roughly three times as high as comparable offerings.
If you can get it on sale and have an understanding of it's functionality and limitations, I think you'll be very happy with the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S. I can absolutely see this being an endgame board for the right user. Otherwise, you'll probably be saying "wait, I spent how much on this again?"
What's Good
- Surprisingly satisfying capacitive rubber dome switches.
- Great range of connectivity and OS compatibility options.
- Super compact and portable.
- Very quiet.
- Unconventional key layout.
- Black-on-black legends are too difficult to read.
- Mediocre software experience.
- Flat-out overpriced.
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