Keychron Q14 Max (Alice Layout) QMK Wireless Custom Mechanical Keyboard

As Darth Tater reviewed, this is an awesome keyboard, but agree that the numpad should be mirrored. I am having a bugger of a time adapting with my left hand. I'm right handed, but the way our brains and nervous system are wired up, a mirrored left-side keypad would be what we know. Each finger would handle the numbers they normally would. I also had to use VIA to change the num/clear to 'backspace' as I it was not deleting (MacOS; I am not techie so no idea if this is normal but I want a backspace option with the keypad; gratefully I could fix that).

Bummed that this did not come with a USB-C dongle for 2.4g... my V10 max had two separate dongles, both lived in tidy homes within the keyboard. One USB-A, one USB-C. It does ship with an adapter... but am perplexed that they cheaped out on this more expensive keyboard.

Last complaint is the stabilizers. Awful. I didn't know what stabilizers were until trying to make this keyboard how I wanted it... I bought banana switches and hated them. Noisy and my fingers fatigued quickly. I know switches are a personal preference thing to a degree. I'm now using some "silent peach v3" for all the primary typing keys and "silent lemon v3" for the numpad and some macro keys etc, F keys, stuff that I want a bit of tactile. Both are indeed silent. However, as I type this, each keystroke that relies on a stabilizer is incredibly noisy. So... down the rabbit hole even further, I go...

Really though, it's the mirrored keypad that Keychron needs to think about. For those of us who bought this, we'll have an 'oof' moment if one is released... and either buy it or struggle against the urge to do so. Or perhaps a swap kit is possible with just a new board? I can dream a little dream...

This is a solid keyboard, and an excellent entry into the fully-custom scene. Up to this point I've had three Logitech keyboards, at least three Razer keyboards, one of which I still own since it is custom (BlackWidow V4 75%), but this is the first time I've ventured out of the "gamer" or "productivity" lineups of other brands and into a brand dedicated to keyboards fully.

As such, I was shocked by the weight of the product upon arrival, but it stands to reason given the fully metal construction and layers of material that are inside the shell. This is a beast of a board.

I'm not a fan of the retro, multicolor keycaps that seem to dominate the hobby, so first on my list was to swap out keycaps, and that's where we immediately reach problems.

The keyboard ships with KSA profile keycaps, but given that it's an Alice layout, if you want to swap them out, you have to buy Keychron's OSA keycaps, or go outside of Keychron's store. That's a major miss in my opinion, because your own accessories don't support the product you're selling fully. Furthermore, as I swapped out keycaps, I can't store them in the replacement OSA box, because the KSA profile is too high for the trays to seal shut. Keychron, if you're going to produce Alice layout and keycaps, make sure your Alice keycaps are the same profile as the keyboard they're made for.

Next, the 10 key pad. Selling point on this whole purchase was ergonomic and productive improvement by going from the traditional key arrangment to less fatiguing Alice arrangement. As a leftie, I've been accustomed to using a 10 key with my right hand, but was eager to try it on the left. However, moving the 10 key left is all they did. They should have mirrored the 10 key arrangement to be used in the left hand by moving the + and Enter keys fully to the left, with numerals inside of those two keys. This is such low hanging fruit, I don't know how Keychron possibly missed it. As a result, you will have to relearn using 10 key in its entirety, because not only is muscle memory changing, but the layout is awkward compared to its normal placement on the right side of the keyboard. Keychron fixed two problems (space on the right of the keyboard relative to mouse, and offering a southpaw layout) only to introduce a new one by not making the 10key layout itself southpaw.

As I was removing the KSA keycaps to replace with OSA, some switches pulled out in addition to the keycaps, so be mindful on that if you are replacing them (specifically the 10key pad again, + and Enter).

RGB lighting was glitchy on arrival. I changed it to solid, and then RGB options 4-14 or so stayed solid white rather than changing. In addition, I've been accustomed to per-key RGB lighting on Razer, so though the south-facing LEDs look pretty, I'd have preferred the ability to do per-key RGB lighting assignments, as I've done on every other keyboard that has RGB. It's particularly helpful when building muscle memory for locations to functions or macros, and you can imagine doubly so when using a southpaw Alice keyboard.

Macros have also been glitchy. I've made three, all of which were accepted, but only one of them consistently works.

Things I like about this board are also extensive, though.
1. The Alice layout does indeed delivery on the ergonomic side of things. My wrists are not strained whatsoever from all day usage.
2. The heft gives confidence to the build quality.
3. I REALLY appreciate that the keyboard does not go immediately to the wired source when plugged into multiple devices. I regularly use my work laptop side by side with my personal desktop, and it drove me crazy how whenever I'd plug in my Razer boards (which did have multiple device support), you could only switch between the wireless devices. Plug one into USB-C and the board was stuck on it. So Keychron rightly gives us the ability to switch between wired and wireless devices without fuss.
4. The keys (Linear Jupiter Reds) are both satisfying for workplace and gaming, with buttery smooth input and volume that is pleasant for the user but won't disturb any except the most quiet of offices. Razer failed at this on the Pro Type Ultra as well with their "silent" Yellow switches, which were quite clacky when assembled.
5. Gaming on it is good!

Tips for Keychron on future developments if they're pursuing this further:
1. Your southpaw boards also need southpaw 10keys. You're not serving lefties by making them use a right handed 10key with their left hand.
2. You need to add Alice layouts to your KSA keycaps, rather than forcing us to buy OSA.
3. You should also expand your south-facing print keycap offerings. I know many in the custom hobby don't care about shine-through keycaps, but there's enough that do that we'd buy them. And yes, make them support Alice layouts please.
4. The Windows 10 logo on the replacement keycap is inverted from the actual Windows 10 logo on Microsoft devices, and the keycaps lack a Wind...

TL;DR Excellent 96% southpaw alice layout. I don't think there's a better layout for me.

After going through many keyboards, starting from your typical gamer brands like Corsair, Logitech, and Razer, my first experience with a southpaw keyboard was the Everest Max, however, the rest of that board did not live up to my expectation. I just knew I liked the southpaw design.

I then tried out Keychron's low profile keyboard, and found myself not liking it, and changed to a GMMK Pro. After months of missing the numpad, I chanced upon the Q14 Pro. I told myself that I would buy the Q14 Max the moment it was available. And that brings me here.

I bought mine with the Gateron Jupiter Banana switches, as I thought I would like the tactile switches. About a week after using them, I switched to the Gateron Oil King. I have also added a tape mod and force break mod to the keyboard, and I am currently enjoying the thocc of this keyboard. For keycaps, I really like the abstract look of the GMK Dots, and that is what I am using for now. In the future, I am looking to try out the new roller switches that have ball bearings in them.

Overall, I would say that I really fell in love with the alice layout, and while many others like the more compact form factors like 75% and below, personally, numpad is a must for me. The alice layout allows my arms and shoulders to maintain a wider stance, without having to split up my keyboard like those split keyboard design.

A sound test of the Keychron Q14 Max with the Gateron Jupiter Banana. This is stock, right out of the box experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaWpv4q_Cuo