Hey all - when I was purchasing my keyboard this was the review I wanted and couldn’t find; so I’ve decided I will be the “one” that “me” needed.

I purchased all variations of the Keychron K3 as I wanted a low profile, Bluetooth, mechanical keyboard. Keychron has a stellar reputation for those who want mech keyboards but aren’t just ready to transition down the rabbit hole of custom boards…yet. These switches follow the regular “colors” of switch groups but they’re optical which prove to be quite a difference…

Overall - all of these feel a little…mushy. I don’t know whether that’s due to them being optical, low profile, or both. I’ll add to this review when the next batch of keyboards (the non optical switches) comes in next week. I love the slim profile so if it’s due to them being low profile I may have to give up my hopes of a good wireless low profile mech keyboard and just go back to my custom one.

Sound test - https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/s4rllz/keychron_low_profile_optical_mechanical_switch/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Optical: white, orange, bananas, and mint to come soon

Red - linear - I dislike low profile linear. I ordered this one just to see what it would feel like, and it’s pretty much what I expected. The sound is pretty really nice but the feel is as if you were pressing down on a spring. This is mostly due to it being low profile + linear and not having much travel space. I have durock linears in my custom board; I prefer those over these. I would not trust YouTube videos of sound. They sound vastly different in person than they do recorded.

Blue - clicky - these felt really good. The click is a bit high pitched for me and of the three this is the only one that had a loud pinging sound. I think you could get rid of it with foam or a tape mod but the low profile board could make that quite difficult.

Brown - tactile - these were nice but the tactile bump is barely there. I read some other reviews saying the same thing - but wanted to feel for myself. I usually don’t hate browns that much but these are just a little too mushy for my taste.

Gateron:

Red - didn’t try this one because it wasn’t in stock when I checked. I would imagine it’s better than optical but is still low profile linear nonetheless.

Blue - these are LOUD. They make the optical ones sound quiet af. The feel is good and I could like them - but def not my first choice for work as they’re very loud and deep for blue switches. They’re thocky but also…not? In sound - these sound the most like their non-linear counterparts.

Brown - these are my favorite. I like these more than optical 100% and will be using this one as my main driver. I also noticed these keycaps are different. They’re smoother plastic not so much the soft-touch that the others have - and it seems to hold up against shine better. Not great but better than the other two.