Keychron K2 HE — 75% magnetic-switch keyboard, ISO layouts

At a glance

Magnetic switches

Gateron Double-Rail. A magnet moves, a sensor reads the depth, nothing makes contact.

0.2 to 3.8 mm

Actuation set per key, to 0.1 mm, anywhere in the travel.

Screw-in stabilisers

Screwed into the PCB, not clipped to the plate — the version that does not rattle.

4000 mAh

Up to 110 hours, over 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth or the cable.

75%, and everything still where you expect it

The K2 HE keeps the function row and the arrow cluster and drops the number pad — the layout that gives back the most desk for the least relearning. At 316 mm wide it leaves room for the mouse to travel, which is exactly what a keyboard with adjustable actuation is likely to be asked to do.

Why a magnetic switch is a different instrument

A mechanical switch closes a contact — down or not down, and the point never moves. A Gateron Double-Rail magnetic switch carries a magnet, and the sensor under it measures how far that magnet has travelled. The board knows the depth of every key continuously, and everything below follows from that one fact.

Choose where the key fires

Anywhere between 0.2 mm and 3.8 mm of travel, resolved to a tenth of a millimetre, and set per key. Shallow on the keys that need to be quick, deeper everywhere else so a resting hand does not type by itself. Rapid trigger goes further: the key resets the moment it starts to rise, rather than at a fixed point on the way back up.

One key, four commands

Because the board reads depth rather than a contact, a single key can hold four different commands at four different depths, and it can also give analogue gamepad output — how far you press decides how far you lean. With last-keystroke prioritisation, pressing the opposite direction key overrides the one already held instead of cancelling both.

Aluminium, and a special edition in wood

The standard K2 HE has an aluminium body at 980 g; the special edition wraps it in wood, at 965 g and four millimetres wider. Both sit on an aluminium plate over an ABS bottom case, and both are heavy enough to stay where they are put.

Keychron K2 HE Special Edition, aluminium and wood

Layered so it lands flat

EVA foam under the PCB, an EPDM film between plate and board, PET film across the bottom case and a silicone acoustic pad beneath it. Four layers whose only job is to stop a metal box ringing after each bottom-out.

Internal structure of the Keychron K2 HE

Screw-in PCB stabilisers

The stabilisers under the spacebar, shift, enter and backspace screw into the PCB rather than clipping to the plate. That is the construction that does not develop a rattle, and third-party screw-in stabilisers fit if you want to change them.

Hot-swappable, within the family

Switches pull out and push in with no soldering iron. One thing to know first: magnetic switches are not cross-compatible the way MX-style mechanical switches are, so the replacements have to be Gateron Double-Rail magnetic switches.

All of it set in a browser tab

Actuation points, rapid trigger, the four-command action keys, key mapping and the backlight are configured in the Keychron Launcher web app — nothing to install, the same page on Windows, macOS and Linux, and the settings are written into the keyboard so they travel with it.

ISO layout versions

Keychron builds the K2 HE fully assembled in UK, German, Nordic and Swiss ISO layouts, as well as Spanish and French. Ask us which are in stock.

Keychron K2 HE, Spanish ISO layout — Spanish

Keychron K2 HE, French ISO layout — French

In detail

Specification

Keyboard

Layout: 75% · ANSI / ISO
Switches: Gateron Double-Rail magnetic, version 1 or version 2
Switch support: Hot-swappable within the same magnetic family only
Keycaps: Cherry profile double-shot PBT, shine-through (standard); OSA double-shot PBT (special edition)
Plate: Aluminium
Stabilisers: Screw-in PCB
Backlight: North-facing RGB
N-key rollover: Yes, wired and wireless
Damping: EVA foam, EPDM film, bottom-case PET film, silicone acoustic pad

Hall-effect features

Actuation point: 0.2 – 3.8 mm
Resolution: 0.1 mm
Rapid trigger: Yes
Dynamic keystroke: Four commands on one key, at four depths
Last keystroke priority: Yes
Gamepad analogue: Yes

Connectivity and power

Connection: 2.4 GHz / Bluetooth / USB-C
Polling rate: 1000 Hz on 2.4 GHz and wired, 125 Hz on Bluetooth
Battery: 4000 mAh lithium-polymer
Battery life: Up to 110 h
Controller: 256 KB
Operating systems: macOS, Windows, Linux

Physical

Dimensions: 316.4 × 126.7 mm, or 320.5 × 126.7 mm on the special edition
Weight: 980 g, or 965 g on the special edition
Height: 30.2 mm at the front, 40.7 mm at the back, with keycaps
Typing angles: 5° / 9.34° / 12.43°
Frame: Aluminium over an ABS bottom case, or aluminium and wood on the special edition
Operating temperature: −10 °C to 50 °C

Figures published by the manufacturer. Battery life is a laboratory result and varies with use.

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