You know you’re an idiot when you start comparing keyboards with people you like. But I’m not ashamed to admit, when I unpacked the NuPhy Air75 V2, I felt a little flutter in my stomach. This adorable 75% mechanical keyboard, successor to the equally pretty Air75 V1, is just my type: compact, clean without looking boring, with low-profile PBT keys for easy typing.
Admittedly, one or two issues almost gave me the “wrong” feeling, namely some bugs in macOS, which is a shame to see on a board that costs $119. Overall, though, the NuPhy Air75 V2 is a really nice board. excellent and could be the best. one of the best mechanical keyboards for you. Learn more in our full NuPhy Air75 V2 review.
NuPhy Air75 V2 Review: Cheat Sheet
- What is it? A low-profile, 75% hot-swappable mechanical keyboard that suits both home gaming and typing.
- How much does it cost? $119 from NuPhy.
- For whom? Anyone who wants a compact keyboard that looks and sounds great. The low profile keys make it especially suitable for regular writers or typists.
- What is typing like? Glorious. I achieved my best typing speeds and accuracy.
- Nothing bad? We experienced some freezing in macOS testing and height adjustment is limited.
NuPhy Air75 V2: The advantages
The NuPhy Air75 V2 is a clean-looking, low-profile keyboard with highly customizable RGB lighting. It sounds and writes very well and features high voting rates for players. Connectivity options are extensive and battery life is decent. This is a really nice board.
Style and construction
Appearances are subjective, of course, but the Air75 V2 is my favorite item. I’m a big fan of discreet keyboards, as long as they don’t make minimalism boring, as was the case with the Logitech MX Mechanical Mini.
I love how the simplistic white and gray keys contrast with little bursts of color from the selection keys, status LEDs, and RGB backlighting (which will have its own p later). NuPhy also includes a few extra keys in the box, including a cute kitten key. While it may be stylish, the Air75 V2 still has a fun side.
The build quality is excellent. The top case is made of metal, while all the plastics used are of good quality and there are several layers of insulation inside the board, so it doesn’t feel cheap or sound hollow. I love the metal plate on the bottom of the case, which looks like one of those “handmade by…” plates you’d see on a supercar. Naturally, look closely and you’ll see that the plate says “made in China.”
Size and weight
I travel daily, so carrying my keyboards can’t be a chore. As a 75% composite board, the Air75 V2 is naturally compact, while the low-profile keys avoid deepening the board and prevent things from snagging on the caps during transport. The Air75 V2 is also quite lightweight, weighing 21 ounces (600g), so it wasn’t a hassle to carry home like the Keychron V6 I tried it recently.
The Air75 V2’s feet and grip strips are designed and spaced to fit over a laptop keyboard without touching the keys or trackpad. This means you don’t need extra table space when working in a tight space. NuPhy claims that the Air75 V2 has been tested and fits most MacBooks and a wide range of Windows machines, although they claim that it will be compatible with most laptops (this is coded, as laptops generally they use a 75% design like the Air75 V2). . A full list of confirmed laptops is available on the NuPhy website.
Typing and performance
The NuPhy Air75 V2 is a real pleasure to type on thanks to its low-profile concave keys, which reduce the likelihood of hitting the wrong key when used at a fast pace.
The Air75 V2 took a little getting used to at first, as my words per minute and typing accuracy dropped significantly compared to my moving average after 1 hour of use (using the Air75 V2). 10fastfingers.com typing test). However, after 3 hours, I was back to below normal speed and accuracy.
After 1 week using the whiteboard, I was achieving my best performance with 86 words per minute and over 92% accuracy.
However, the Air75 V2 isn’t just for work. In 2.4G or wired mode, it polls at 1000Hz, making it fast enough for gaming. This drops to 125Hz in Bluetooth mode, but even then I experienced no lag or performance issues when gaming. hell breaks loose on PC.
Sound
The Air75 V2 features a sturdy plastic and metal construction with several layers of insulation inside, resulting in a pleasantly muffled sound. This makes the board a decent choice for office work, especially when using quiet switches like the red Gateron ones we tested.
Of course, this is a hot-swappable board, so you’ll be able to fine-tune that sound with the switches of your choice and the keys with your favorite sound.
RGB lighting
The NuPhy Air75 V2’s RGB lighting is a standout feature. Even in its brightest form and in unicorn vomit mode, the lighting is relatively soft and doesn’t look too flashy, which suits the minimalist aesthetic of the board. There are many different RGB patterns to choose from, which you can adjust with color, brightness and speed settings.
Connectivity
Connectivity options are extensive on the Air75 V2. There are three Bluetooth 5.1 channels, plus a fourth 2.4G Wi-Fi channel. The 2.4G dongle doesn’t fit neatly into the bottom case of the keyboard, like the Epomaker TH80 Pro, but it does come with a holder that clips onto the included cable.
Battery duration
The NuPhy Air75 V2 features a large 4000 mAh battery, which is impressive given its low profile and compact size. This is the same rating as the battery in the much larger model. Epomaker TH80 Proand much larger than the 1500 mAh battery of the similarly sized Logitech MX Mechanical Mini.
NuPhy rates the battery for 220 hours without RGB. After using the Air75 V2 continuously for work and gaming for about 3 weeks, with the backlight on, it was still at 35%.
I like that the status screen on the right can be toggled to always show the approximate battery status (green, amber, red), although I prefer how the Epomaker TH80 Pro uses its RGB to display a battery bar, which allows you know more. exactly how much juice is left.
NuPhy Air75 V2 Review: The Cons
As I mentioned above, I was head over heels in love with the Air75 V2 and there are actually very few issues with the keyboard aside from a few minor annoyances. However, my test model proved to have an extremely frustrating glitch that affected its reliability as a working keyboard.
Freeze on macOS
During testing, I experienced a bug where the keyboard frequently and completely froze between and, more annoyingly, during keystrokes: Inserting several hundred tab spaces into an article is, as you’ll appreciate, very frustrating. Disconnecting and re-pairing didn’t work, the battery was full, and it seemed to happen on separate Bluetooth channels.
This only happened on macOS – I had no problems using the board for a full weekend of gaming on Windows. I was ready to update the firmware (which NuPhy makes very clear should only be a last resort) when the problem stopped. It hasn’t returned, but this incident affected my confidence in the long-term reliability of the Air75 V2, especially as a work keyboard.
I also found it quite difficult to switch between Bluetooth channels. It’s disappointing to see bugs like this on a $119 premium keyboard.
Height
Another minor complaint I have with the Air75 V2 is its maximum height or lack thereof. The board has two height adjustment settings, but I didn’t find the highest one tilted the keys as much as I’d like. This didn’t affect my typing speed, as evidenced above, but I can personally see the board getting a little uncomfortable during longer periods of writing.
No dedicated software
As a QMK/VIA-enabled board, the Air75 V2 can be customized using open source VIA application. This isn’t all bad, as the software is very effective at remapping keys, macros and adjusting RGB, plus it runs in a browser, so no dubious downloads are required.
However, VIA is quite dilapidated. It is temperamental in which browsers it opens in, and can sometimes be difficult to get the web application to recognize forums. For the Air75 V2 to work, you will need to download the JSON code for the keyboard from NuPhy and follow the loading instructions in your place; Although it is not difficult, the process is not exactly simple.
NuPhy Air75 V2 Review: Verdict
The NuPhy Air75 V2 is a brilliant mechanical keyboard if you want a low-profile hot-swappable plate that’s easy to carry, nice to type and play on, and will look good on your desk (or on top of your laptop keyboard). It’s not the cheapest board out there, but it’s not like you have to pawn an arm and a leg to get one.
Based on our experience, however, you may need to be prepared for a bit of madness, which is an unfortunate disappointment for an otherwise brilliant keyboard.
