So far in this blog we’ve discussed the ins and outs of mechanical keyboards, and all their respective components – particularly switches.  Switches are the most fundamental aspect of a mechanical keyboard and they can define nearly every characteristic of the board from its feel to its sound to its cost.  Today we’ll be discussing a pretty interesting topic, but first it’s important to understand a little bit about mechanical switches.

We’ve already discussed what mechanical switches are, but the basic concept is that a switch uses a few mechanical components like a spring and a simple rail system in order to close a circuit by touching two metal contacts, thus registering a keystroke.  Two very notable characteristics of a mechanical switch are its actuation force and actuation point.  The names are fairly self-explanatory, the actuation force is the force, measured in grams, that is required to successfully register a keystroke.  Likewise, the actuation point is the vertical distance that must be traveled in order to successfully register a keystroke.  So that’s pretty much all you need to know; let’s talk about Hall-effect switches.

Hall-effect switches are not technically mechanical at all.  Rather than use a physical circuit to register keystrokes, Hall-effect switches actually contain two magnets within their housing.  When the switch is compressed, a sensor located between the magnets is able to detect changes in magnetic force, and determine how far down the switch is actually being pressed.  This style of switch is renowned for its durability, as no physical contact is required for the switch to function.  On the surface, this may seem like a small benefit, and it may be hard to see any other upsides.  Well that is because it is a small benefit.  I can assure you, though, that this is not the only benefit of Hall-effect switches.

Because the sensor can actually determine the precise distance that the magnet has traveled, using a little bit of software allows these switches to become unbelievably customizable.  Users of these switches can actually adjust the actuation force, as well as the actuation point of their switches; a feature contained on no other type of board.  Even if you’re not into changing the settings frequently, you can be assured that you can customize the board to your specific preferences.

A major target audience for this type of keyboard is most definitely gamers.  Many people prefer a heavier or longer feeling switch, but unfortunately taking longer to press individual keys is not exactly advantageous when it comes to computer games.  Therefore, being able to instantly adjust the characteristics of your board is a huge bonus.  Due to this, a couple iterations of the design have already seen massive success.  One popular company called SteelSeries introduced what they call the ‘Omni-point’ switch as part of the release for the Apex Pro TKL keyboard.  The board became an instant success, and is now revered for its quality and customizability.  Likewise, a smaller company called Wooting has produced their own board featuring Hall-effect switches, that has a slightly different approach to using the new technology.  A common divide within games is whether or not to play on a controller from a console like a PS5 or Xbox, or to use a standard mouse and keyboard.  Both have their own pros and cons, but a major benefit of playing on a controller is analog movement, or the ability to move a character all 360 degrees using a joystick.  When using a keyboard, on the other hand, players can usually only move a total of 8 directions, using either the arrow keys, or A,S,W,D.  Wooting’s board, however measures exactly how far the user is pressing down either A or D, (the controls for left and right), and rather than move the player in a predetermined direction, the software instead determines what angle the character should take based on the input from the switch.

All of these are just early applications of the technology, but I really do think that this type of switch design is something to look out for in the future, as we could see a whole host of potential benefits as a result.