This is basically about why I think the Framework 13 keyboard is really good. I am a connoisseur of keyboards. I especially like ortho and ergo split keyboards. My favorite and best I have found so far is the ZSA Moonlander. I also have a VERY good UHK v2, a ZSA Voyager, ZSA Planck, and HHKB.
There are a lot of factors going into what keyboard is the best, and it should be remembered that this terms can only really be applied individually as it is VERY subjective.
For me one of the tangible tests that I have derived for helping to cut through the subjectivity is typing tests. How fast can I type on a keyboard.
My average wpm is around 120. I am able to type this fast on all of they keyboards I have. Consistency is an important secondary metric here.
It has to do with the time I have spent on staggered qwerty layouts but that is where my speeds are the most consistent and accurate.
All of this to say that my typing speed and accuracy is the MOST accurate and consistent when I am using the Framework 13 keyboard. I attribute this to the excellent key travel and spacing on the deck. I just wanted to share this as I feel it is worth mentioning.
YMMV but I really think the engineering into the keyboard has paid off.
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I’m also a fan of the Framework 13 keyboard. I’m curious: how much do you use that relative to the others? I’ve noticed, whenever I switch keyboards, there’s a period of time where my brain has to relearn the finer points of muscle memory. Any particular keyboard I start using after a day or two of less use, I fumble more for a little while, key travel and pressure being different on all of them. That’s even among similar switches, and all with roughly the same basic QWERTY layout.
I go periods without using it for a while, but I have to use a staggered keyboard at work. (I suppose if I brought a keyboard in I could use it, but I have not been bothered to do this.)
I do not need any grace period when using the FW 13 keyboard. I am instant with it. It feels like coming home. I think that is just because it is a good staggered keyboard.
Now when switching between the Moonlander and the UHK I need a quick retraining (5 minutes or so) because the thumb clusters are different. (Thumb clusters are one of the best things. Putting your thumb to much better use like the backspace key and the space are just genius.)
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I have mixed feelings. I started with some initial bias because I had to order an ANSI keyboard with the Framework 13 on release and waited a very long time for the JIS keyboard to be released. It’s an okay laptop keyboard. It hasn’t catastrophically failed. It does the thing. But some of the keys are weirdly squished together and/or very narrow, which felt odd because they sold whole top plate (with the touchpads and fingerprint sensor) with it and at the time didn’t sell it standalone.
(Off topic: Admittedly, I use the 13 a lot less these days. The 16 just proves more capable, but is also stuck in the “they don’t sell the keyboard I want” status, so I take an external Varmilo or Keychron with me pretty much everywhere I take the laptop and simply refuse to USE the 16’s onboard keyboard.)
(edit: Adjusted my wording as it was called out that the keyboard modules exist in the store now for the 13 at a more reasonable price, and interchangeability with the top plate makes more sense now. It was a positive move forward. Now let’s see if it happens for the 16 and 12 any faster.)
I do see standalone 13" Japanese keyboards listed on the Marketplace now, FWIW.
Otherwise, I’m with you about the layout. I really like their choice of mechanism though, for a basic, flat, laptop keyboard. Over the past few years, I’ve found it consistently my favorite laptop keyboard, among the Dell, Asus, and Apple alternatives I’ve tried. The layout… I’d have wished for something more like a ThinkPad 7-row, but this was probably a lot cheaper.
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