Keychron unveils the C100 8K, a 100-key mechanical macro pad designed for enhanced productivity and gaming, featuring high polling rate and customisable lighting effects.
Keychron has introduced the C100 8K, a mechanical macro pad that takes the idea of extra shortcut keys to an extreme. Lowyat reported that the device is real rather than a joke product, despite its deliberately over-the-top design, and Keychron is positioning it as a tool for users who want far more programmable keys than a standard keyboard provides.
The layout is built around 100 keys arranged in a 10 by 10 grid, although four corner keys are tied to lighting controls and cannot be remapped. That still leaves 96 user-programmable keys, all of which ship unassigned and can be configured through Keychron’s QMK-based Launcher for macros, shortcuts or other commands. Keychron says the pad is aimed at productivity, editing, programming and gaming, with particularly obvious use in simulation setups.
Under the surface, the C100 8K uses Keychron’s pre-lubed Apex switches, which pair a POM stem with a nylon base, and it comes with transparent ASA keycaps to let the RGB lighting show through. The switches are hot-swappable, so users can replace them with compatible alternatives if they prefer a different feel. The device also supports more than 22 lighting effects, including per-key RGB and a split-zone Mix RGB mode.
As the name suggests, the pad supports an 8,000Hz polling rate, meaning it can report inputs to a connected computer at a very high frequency. Whether that matters much on a macro pad is debatable, but Keychron is clearly aiming it at both power users and gamers. The drawback is that it is wired only, with USB Type-C connectivity rather than Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless.
Keychron says the C100 8K measures 196.65mm square, has a plastic body and offers adjustable feet for 0, 2 or 5 degrees of typing angle. The box includes a Type-C cable, a Type-A to Type-C adapter and a keycap and switch puller. In the US, the company lists the pad at $64.99, while Lowyat reported there was no word on a Malaysian launch.
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