London startup Electronic Materials Office launches the Altar II, a remarkably slim mechanical keyboard featuring user-customisable accessories and eco-friendly materials, setting a new benchmark in compact computing accessories.
Electronic Materials Office, a London-based hardware start-up, has followed its first keyboard with a more ambitious second model that pushes low-profile design further while keeping a mechanical typing feel. The Altar II is described as measuring 0.19 inches thick, which is slimmer than Apple’s Magic Keyboard, yet it still uses full mechanical switches rather than the scissor mechanism found in most thin boards. For context, Apple says its USB-C Magic Keyboard is 0.41cm to 1.09cm high, depending on the angle, which underlines how aggressively compact the new device is.
According to the company, the trick is a sideways arrangement of the switch spring, which lets the mechanism sit almost flat against the desk. That engineering choice is intended to preserve the travel and tactility associated with mechanical keyboards without adding bulk. The keyboard also includes haptic feedback through what Electronic Materials Office calls the Harmonic Synthesiser, plus a layered damping system designed to reduce the sharp noise that often accompanies mechanical keys.
A detachable magnetic M-Dial adds another layer of functionality. It can handle volume, playback and track skipping, with the assigned function changing according to how the dial is clicked. The company also says users can swap in alternative shapes, including one they design and 3D print themselves, which gives the accessory a degree of customisation unusual even by enthusiast keyboard standards.
The Altar II continues the material and sustainability focus seen in the company’s earlier Altar I, which was positioned as a recyclable, minimalist wireless keyboard for Mac and Windows users. The new model is built from a single block of aluminium, uses at least 50% recycled plastic in its non-metal parts and ships in paper and sugarcane-pulp packaging. It also pairs with a Mac companion app for remapping keys and the dial, while its amber-red NiteLite backlight is meant to activate only in darkness and avoid disturbing sleep.
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