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Made by Google 2024: A few AI features you might’ve missed

Google’s annual Made by Google hardware event was held earlier Tuesday, and because the company announced so much stuff, a lot got lost in the shuffle. We rounded up some of the more intriguing AI-related announcements that didn’t get a ton of play, like the image-generating Pixel Studio and Pixel Screenshots, which helps save and organize info in screenshots.

Call Notes summarizes your conversations

For short-term-memory-challenged folks like this writer, Call Notes could be a useful feature.

Available on the Pixel 9 family of devices, Call Notes saves a summary of your conversation following a call. The details — and a transcript — are saved to your phone’s call log.

Image Credits: Google

Now if that sounds like a potential privacy nightmare, you’re not wrong. Google says that Call Notes runs fully on-device and notifies all people on the call when recording is in progress — but we’ll have to let the security experts weigh in.

Pixel Studio is a new image-generating app

Pixel Studio, exclusive to the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, is an image-generating app powered both by an on-device generative AI model and Google’s Imagen 3 model running in the cloud. Pixel Studio lets you enter prompts to generate whatever creatively moves you, and add stickers and make edits and changes after the fact.

Image Credits: Google

Creations from Pixel Studio — which requires a steady internet connection to use, despite the on-device component — can be shared with contacts via Google Messages.

Google PR told my colleague Ivan Mehta that Pixel Studio can’t generate human faces yet, presumably because of Gemini’s unfortunate slip-ups earlier this year. But the spokesperson didn’t say whether there were any other safeguards to prevent the app from generating potentially harmful images.

Pixel Screenshots are searchable

If you’re like me, you screenshot things liberally — tickets, QR codes, boarding passes and what have you — for easy access later. But screenshots aren’t exactly search-friendly. And that makes them a real pain in the rear end when you’re trying to find something specific.

Fortunately for soon-to-be Pixel 9 owners, there’s Pixel Screenshots, a new app that uses AI to analyze the content of screenshots, including any captured text, people and objects. Google Photos already did this — but Pixel Screenshots works locally.

Google gives this colorful example: “Let’s say your friend, who loves squirrels, has a birthday coming up. You may browse Google Chrome for a gift for them, screenshotting squirrel shirts, squirrel coasters and everything else squirrel-related you think they might like. Pixel Screenshots will analyze the content of all those images and make the information searchable for you in the app. So all you’ll need to do is open the app and search for ‘squirrel,’ and these results will pop up. Even better, it will include links to where you found everything and a summary of what you’re looking at with relevant information.”

Pixel Screenshots will also helpfully search for things like door codes and addresses across photos.

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AI Communication and Connectivity Gadgets Google Hardware

Google Gemini is the Pixel 9’s default assistant

Tuesday’s Made by Google event cemented Gemini’s place as the Pixel’s default assistant. The company had previously allowed users to opt in to replace Google Assistant with the generative AI platform, and now the newly announced Pixel 9 phones are the first devices to ship that way by default.

Google notes that if users are unsatisfied with a hallucination-prone platform that might not yet be fully baked, they can roll their new handset back to what the company has taken to calling its “legacy assistant.” The title isn’t entirely apt, however. Google recently reconfirmed that Assistant will live on as part of its Nest/Home operations.

That side of Google’s hardware division recently received its own shot in the arm, courtesy of an overdue update to the Nest Learning Thermostat, the Chromecast-replacing Google TV Streamer and new AI capabilities under the hood.

Gemini currently has both the higher ceiling and the lower floor. The last few generations of neural networks have proven to be extremely impressive for a wide range of tasks, from natural language conversations to image generation. The black-box model is still prone to hiccups, however, leading some to question whether the current hype cycle may has made companies like Google overly aggressive in rolling out their solutions.

Google has already showcased a number of extremely impressive AI tools, particularly on the imaging side, including features like Magic Eraser and the new Add Me editing feature. The Pixel 9’s arrival marks additional AI features, including the Gemini 1.5 Pro-powered Live, which brings more human-like conversations to the handset.

Following the new Pixels’ arrival, Google is no doubt eyeing a broader Android-wide Gemini assistant. That adoption will come down to Google’s update timeframe and the device-makers themselves. Some, like Samsung, have been working on their own take on generative AI, though there’s no evidence that offerings like Galaxy AI have a hope of eclipsing Gemini in a meaningful way.

Also key to the timeline is whether or not Google intends to continue supporting the “legacy” Assistant indefinitely on mobile devices — and whether lower-end devices will be up to the task of adopting Gemini.

Pixel 9 devices start shipping August 22.

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Google’s Pixel Watch 3 comes in two sizes

Choice is good — especially when it comes to wearables. Human bodies come in all manner of shapes and sizes, and there’s no such thing as one size fits all. Until Tuesday’s Made by Google 2024 event, the Pixel Watch has only been available in one size: 41 mm.

Announced Tuesday, the Pixel Watch 3 adds some much-welcomed choice to the line. In addition to the 41mm model, the smartwatch will also be available in 45mm. Both versions sport larger screens than the Pixel Watch 2, owing in part to smaller bezels.

The display is now brighter, as well, jumping from a peak of 1,000 to 2,000 nits — a nice improvement for a device designed to be checked in daylight. The AMOLED display packs a 320 ppi density, with a refresh rate up to 60 Hz.

The chip remains unchanged from last year’s model. It’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 5100, with a Cortex M33 coprocessor. The battery is the same size as well, on the 41mm at 306 mAh, whereas the 45mm version’s is 420 mAh. Google is claiming the same 24 hours of battery life with the always-on display enabled. With Battery Saver mode, the life jumps to 36 hours.

That’s a nice bump over the Apple Watch’s stated 18 hours of life. Battery continues to be that product’s biggest sticking point. The OnePlus Watch 2, meanwhile, is on the other end of the spectrum at up to 100 hours. That comes courtesy of a dual-engine architecture, which switches processors to dramatically decrease power consumption.

Image Credits: Google

The other noteworthy bits are on the software side. Fitness is a core feature, as Google’s 2021 Fitbit acquisition continues to be foundational for the watch. The company is getting more serious about appealing to the running community with the Watch 3. It uses a combination of motion sensing and machine learning to form a fuller picture of things like cadence, stride length and vertical oscillation.

A new running dashboard maintains all of those metrics in a single spot.

“Create a variety of running routines — add timed warmups and cool downs, set target pace, heart rate, times, and distances, or even set up interval routines with repeats,” Google writes. “Plan, execute, and reflect to beat your best. Then execute your saved run routines with real-time on-wrist guidance via audio and haptic cues.”

The company is still trying to upsell “serious” runners to the $10 a month Fitbit Premium membership. That upgrade leverages Google AI, combined with past runs to create workout goals.

The Fitbit app now offers a Morning Brief feature, as well. That includes sleep metrics a “readiness score,” weekly goals and other health numbers. Weather’s in there as well, for a better picture of what the morning run will look like.

The 41mm starts at $350 for the WiFi model and $450 for LTE. The 45mm version runs $400 for WiFi and $500 for LTE.

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Google’s $1,799 Pixel 9 Pro Fold arrives with 8-inch inner display and Gemini

Pixel Phones dominated Tuesday’s Made by Google 2024 event. In addition to a full refresh for the Pixel 9 line, the company unveiled the successor to its first foldable, the Pixel Fold. Google rejiggered its numbering scheme this time out, jumping to Pixel 9 Pro Fold for what is its second take on the category.

The new name puts the device in line with the rest of Google’s mobile portfolio. Time will tell whether the new “Pro” bit presages the arrival of a lower cost foldable, or if it’s simply a nod to the high-end pricing and specs on the $1,799 device.

The first Pixel Fold won us over when it launched last summer. It was a well-rounded device that featured a more manageable footprint/aspect ratio than the category dominated Samsung Galaxy Z Fold.

Image Credits: Google

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold looks to be more of the same, which is a good thing. The biggest change on the hardware side is the move from a 7.6-inch (same as the Galaxy Z Fold 6) to a full 8-inch internal display when opened flat. Those extra fractions of an inch put the handset in the running for largest display on a foldable. By way of comparison, the latest iPad Mini’s display is only 0.3 inch larger.

That main screen sports a 2076 x 2152 OLED display at 373 pixels per inch. The refresh rate maxes out at 120 Hz and the brightness at 2,700 nits. The outer display is larger as well, bumped up from 5.8 to 6.3 inches. That one has 422 pixels per inch, with a 1080 x 2424 resolution. It’s covered in Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

The handset is thinner than its predecessor, as well. It’s 0.4 inch folded and 0.2 inch when open. The battery is 4650 mAh, which Google claims will get you more than 24 hours on a charge. That number jumps to 72 hours with Extreme Battery Saver mode. Like the rest of its Pixel 9 brethren, the foldable is powered by Google’s new Tensor G4 chip. That’s coupled with 16GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage.

ScreenshotImage Credits: Google

The back of the phone inherits the even more pronounced camera bar that’s been rolled out across the line. There are three rear-facing cameras: a 48-megapixel wide, 10.5-megapixel ultra-wide and a 10.8-megapixel telephoto. The later does 5x optical zoom and up 20x with Super Res Zoom, though that’s going to start to introduce noise into the image.

The big news is, of course, the addition of Gemini as the default smart assistant. The handset comes with a year of Google One AI Premium, which includes Gemini Advanced, Gemini in Gmail and Docs, along with 2TB of Google Cloud storage. The handset also arrives with seven years of guaranteed OS and security updates, along with new features from Pixel Drops.

The Fold is coming to the U.S., Canada, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, the U.K., Australia, India, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. It ships September 4.

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AI Communication and Connectivity Gadgets Google

TechCrunch Minute: Google reveals new Pixel phones and more at Made by Google

Google’s big hardware event Made by Google is happening today, with the company revealing new Pixel phones, as well as a bigger role for its Gemini AI.

Made by Google’s headliner is the Pixel 9 phone. There are now three phones in the main Pixel lineup — the Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Apparently the new Pro has similar dimensions to the regular Pixel, so you can think of it as the option with better specs but a standard size, while the Pro XL is both higher performance and bigger.

And if you want to be able to fold your phone, there’s the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It doesn’t sound like a huge change from the previous Pixel Fold, but now it has a bigger 8-inch screen when opened flat.

Meanwhile, Gemini has become Google’s flagship AI technology, so the company is also making it the default smart assistant across all these new phones.

Hit play to learn more, then let us know what you think in the comments!

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Google’s Pixel 9 line offers more size options, better cameras and Gemini by default

The new Pixel 9 lineup took centerstage during Tuesday morning’s Made by Google 2024 event. Along with the inclusion of the Pixel 9 Fold Pro, the company added an additional size option. The trio of devices are: the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL.

The Pro now sports the same size display as the base Pixel at 6.3 inches, albeit at a higher resolution (1280 x 2856 vs. 1080 x 2424). The new Pro XL model is essentially an update to last year’s 8 Pro, with a 6.8-inch display at 1344 x 2992 pixels.

Another option is a good thing, and the Pixel 9 lineup is similar to what Apple offers with the iPhone. The splitting of the Pro devices now lets people opt for a higher-spec product that isn’t overly large. The displays are around 35% brighter than their predecessors, peaking at 2,700 nits. They’re also covered with Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

The other important thing to note here is, naturally, Gemini. Through a beta program, users can assign the Pixel 8a’s Power button to trigger the platform. Now with the Pixel 9 line, the generative AI is the default assistant and replaces Google Assistant, which the company has taken to calling the “legacy assistant” in the Android context.

GoogleImage Credits: Google

If people find the new offering underwhelming or underbaked, they can switch back to Google Assistant on the devices. As we noted last week, the older Assistant will continue to play a role in the context of Google Home and Nest devices.

The industrial design gets an overhaul here, as well, with sharper corners and an even more pronounced rear-facing camera bar. The Pixel 9 sports a pair of rear cameras, while both 9 Pros have the same three-camera setup. The base device gets a 50-megapixel wide camera with 8x Super Res Zoom, coupled with a 48-megapixel ultra-wide lens. The Pros add in a 48-megapixel telephoto with 5x optical and up to 30x Super Res Zoom. The Pros also sport 42-megapixel selfie cameras.

Google continues to add to its excellent suite of AI-based editing tools here. Add Me lets someone take a picture of a group and edit themselves into the shot by merging two images together. Magic Editor also gets automatic image reframing, crop suggestions and the ability to expand images.

One place Google breaks from Apple is the decision to include the new Tensor G4 chip across the Pixel 9 line. That’s coupled with the Titan M2 security chip. The Pixel 9 ships with 12GB of RAM and either 128 or 258GB of storage. The Pros have 16GB of RAM and storage up to 1TB. Both 6.3-inch models sport a 4700 mAh battery; the XL’s is 5060 mAh. Google says all three should get 24 hours on a charge or up to 100 hours with Extreme Battery Saver mode switched on.

The Pro devices come with a year of the Google One AI Premium plan, which includes Gemini Advanced access, Gemini in Gmail and Docs, and 2TB of Google Cloud storage. All of the new handsets come with seven years of OS and security updates, along with new features included in Pixel drops.

The Pixel 9 starts at $799, the Pixel Pro at $999 and Pixel 9 Pro XL at $1,099. Preorders open Tuesday. The Pixel 9 and 9 Pro XL ship August 22. The ship date for the Pro is still TBD.

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Smartwatches shipments see sharp decline in India

India is the second-largest wearable market after China. At times, it has also been the largest smartwatch market. However, in Q2, wearable shipments in the country declined 10% year-on-year to 29.5 million units. The first half of the year, meanwhile, fell 4.7% to 55.1 million units, analyst firm IDC reported this week.

Market analysts believe this decline may widen over the coming quarters, and they place the blame firmly on smartwatches.

According to the survey, smartwatch shipments in India declined by 27.4% YoY to 9.3 million units in Q2, down from nearly 12.8 million. Counterpoint separately confirmed to TechCrunch that according to its analysis, the Indian smartwatch market dipped by as much as 30% YoY.

Earlier this year, TechCrunch reported that Indian smartwatch players faced pressure from the sudden rise of unknown brands. Established names, meanwhile, have failed to distinguish themselves in the market. Some have begun diversifying into other segments, including smart rings, for revenue.

IDC reported the share of smartwatches in the overall wearable market dropped to 31.5% from 39% a year prior.

Indian wearable shipmentsImage Credits: TechCrunch / IDC

“Innovation fatigue or hardware exhaustion is the prime reason why the smartwatch market in India is declining,” Vikas Sharma, IDC’s senior market analyst for smart wearable devices, told TechCrunch. “Most local brands are launching models without any new features.”

The top three players in the Indian smartwatch market are all domestic brands: Noise, Fire-Boltt and boAt. All saw a significant dip in Q2. The average selling price of smartwatches in India also declined to $20.6 from $25.6 a year ago as brands have cut prices to clear inventories.

But price cuts have failed to attract customers.

“Consumers are not warming up to buying a new smartwatch or replacing an existing one due to low differentiation in terms of features and limited innovation in the market,” Anshika Jain, a senior analyst at Counterpoint, told TechCrunch.

Jain added that smartwatches’ appeal primarily drove their hyper-growth in India over the past few years. However, she noted that this growth phase is now cooling down as the initial excitement of the segment is tapering off.

“This is also reflected in the dwindling growth rates and a bleak outlook,” the analyst said.

Unlike simpler models, advanced smartwatches (which have an app store and run a full-fledged operating system), saw an increase of 21.9%, with their market share growing to 2.5% from 1.5%, IDC reports.

India’s top smartwatch playersImage Credits: TechCrunch / IDC

However, the firm confirmed to TechCrunch that Apple and Samsung saw a decline in their quarterly shipments of around 29% and 26% in their respective market shares.

Apple captured 0.5% of the overall smartwatch market in India by shipping around 35,000–40,000 Apple Watch units in Q2, while Samsung had a 0.9% share with 75,000–80,000 units shipped during the quarter, the firm said.

Sharma said that the market share dip for Apple and Samsung was cyclical.

“Samsung introduced new watches at the end of Q2 along with no bundle offer; also, thanks to online sales, people usually wait for deals to come on higher price watches. For some time, Samsung had stopped the bundle offer [that used to cost its smartwatches to customers at around $36 when purchasing with a flagship smartphone],” he stated.

The analyst also noted that the Apple Watch lineup is due for an update, so the company has largely focused on clearing out old stock.

The overall advanced smartwatch segment saw an increase in its share as some Indian companies launched new models running Android OS. That’s full Android — not Wear OS — along with the Play Store. Some companies refer to the devices as “WristPhones,” as they come with a nano SIM card slot and have voice calling support.

Nevertheless, IDC forecasts the country’s annual smartwatch shipments declining by 10%. Similarly, Counterpoint believes India’s smartwatch will witness a double-digit percentage drop this year.

Headphone shipments flatten

Alongside smartwatches declines, headphones numbers remained flat in India, per IDC, with 20.1 million units shipped in Q2. That represents 0.7% YoY growth. The true wireless stereo (TWS) segment grew 9.1% YoY to a share of 71% from 65.5% a year ago. However, tethered (or neckband-styled) and over-ear headphones — which IDC lumps together — declined by 16.1% to 5.8 million units.

Domestic brands continue to dominate the segment in India, followed by Chinese smartphone vendors Oppo and its sub-brand Realme. Apple (and its subsidiary Beats) and Samsung (including sub-brands JBL, Infinity and Harman), meanwhile, accounted for 0.9% and 2.3% of total headphone shipments.

Top earwear brands in IndiaImage Credits: TechCrunch / IDC

Sharma of IDC told TechCrunch that the dip in the headphone segment is temporary, as demand for TWS earbuds still exists.

India also receives a significant number of non-branded earbuds, which are available online and in stores. IDC does not track those units, however.

“Q3 will be very big [for headphones] compared to Q2,” Sharma said. In contrast, smartwatches are not likely to see growth until at least 2026, according to Jain.

“In 2026 and beyond, we expect the market to recover, driven by newer use-cases in smartwatches,” she said.

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Looking Glass’ new lineup includes a $300 phone-sized holographic display

Looking Glass on Thursday announced that it has begun shipping a pair of new displays, with a third arriving at customer homes later this month. The larger Looking Glass 16- and 32-inch Spatial Displays are available now. The smaller model runs $4,000. The Brooklyn-based startup is making the 32-inch model’s price available on request.

The most interesting of the trio, however, has to be the $299 Looking Glass Go. Pricing has always been the biggest barrier to entry for the company’s holographic displays. While scaling production will continue to bring per-unit costs down, the technology has been largely price prohibitive.

Image Credits: Looking Glass

Looking Glass first addressed the issue at the end of 2020 with the $399 Portrait, a holographic digital photo frame. Like the Portrait, the Go debuted as part of a Kickstarter campaign. The device features a six-inch display, making it roughly the size of a smartphone. The device has a foldable base that props it up for display purposes.

The company has also been lowering the barrier of entry on the content side. Users can display spatial images with their own hardware — a feature Apple rolled out on the iPhone 15 Pro and Vision Pro headset. Looking Glass also offers software that can convert older 2D photos to 3D, before transferring them over to the displays via Wi-Fi.

Image Credits: Looking Glass

“With the[…] Apple Vision Pro and new spatial 3D capture capabilities in phones, we’ve decided it’s about time for a headset-free holographic device for mainstream users,” Looking Glass writes on the Go’s product site.

Prior to the Go’s release, Looking Glass shipped a self-reported “tens of thousands” of displays. With the price point for the line now starting at a hair under $300, the company will no doubt be growing that number more rapidly, hooking in people who were curious about the tech but didn’t have the thousands of dollars needed for entry.

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Made by Google 2024: How to watch Google unveil the Pixel 9, a new foldable and more

Google’s been on a consumer hardware jag in August. On Tuesday, the company announced the long-awaited new Nest Thermostat, along with Google TV Streamer, which replaces the 11-year-old Chromecast line. Next Tuesday at Made by Google 2024, the software giant is refreshing the Pixel line with a slew of new smartphones.

Previous years’ Made by Google events have occurred on the East Coast in October. This one is happening in the company’s Mountain View headquarters, kicking off at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET on August 13.

As ever, the easiest way to watch is through Google’s own livestream, coincidentally embedded below.

As always, the gang at TechCrunch will be bringing you the news as it breaks.

Along with announcing new home devices and an upgrade to Google Assistant, the company has teased two new mobile devices: the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Fold. It also removed any doubt that its generative AI platform will take center stage, with the taglines, “A (foldable) phone built for the Gemini era.”

We should be seeing a lot more of Android 15 at the event. The mobile operating system should debut on the Pixel 9 line, along with an upgraded in-house processor. The latest version of the Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds Pro are also rumored for release.

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Communication and Connectivity Gadgets

Keychron’s K2 HE turns magnets and wood into an affordable mechanical keyboard

The $79 K2 has long been one of Keychron’s bestselling mechanical keyboards. As with all of the company’s K-line boards, it offers a relatively no-frills experience but provides all of the advantages of a mechanical keyboard in an affordable package with a 75% layout (which means you get arrow keys and a row of function keys, but no numpad).

Now Keychron is going a bit upmarket with the K2 by launching a new version, the wireless K2 HE with Gateron double-rail magnetic switches and, optionally, a chassis that combines wood, aluminum and plastic into a package that starts at $130 (or $125 during the Kickstarter). But unless all you care about is the additional gaming features that a hall effect magnetic switch can offer you, you’ll probably want to spring for the extra $10 to get either of the special editions with their light- or dark-colored wooden side panels.

Image Credits: Keychron

Like with most of its new designs, Keychron is launching the project on Kickstarter. Typically, crowdfunding would come with a few caveats, but at this point, this is more of a marketing mechanism for Keychron than a way to fund a new project. This is still a pre-sale, though, and the first boards are scheduled to ship in October.

If you’re in the market for one of these, the main choice to make is whether you want the standard edition, with its aluminum frame and plastic body, or the white or black special edition with the wood and aluminum frame and plastic body. The dark rosewood on the black special edition gives it a vintage synthesizer vibe, while the lighter color feels more minimalist.

There have been other keyboards out there with wooden accents — and sometimes wooden frames — but very few are available from mainstream brands like Keychron.

Image Credits: TechCrunch/Frederic Lardinois

I’ve been testing the black version with Gateron’s Nebula switches. I have quite a few more keyboards sitting beneath my desk at the moment, but even though the K2 HE isn’t the most premium board I could be using right now, I haven’t felt the need to switch it out.

There are a couple of things that really help — on top of the versatility of the magnetic switches. The first thing you’ll notice is that while it’s relatively light, the board doesn’t feel cheap. The aluminum frames and wooden accents lend a more premium aesthetic, even though the rest of the board is made from plastic.

That combo also results in a pleasant sound. It’s a bit on the muted side but still pleasantly thocky — though perhaps not quite as marbly or poppy as some would like.

Image Credits: TechCrunch/Frederic Lardinois

There is also no board ping to be found. Keychron achieves that sound by using a combination of a silicone pad and acoustic foam.

The switches also make a difference here, of course. This is my first time trying out Gateron’s pre-lubed magnetic switches and they work quite well. There’s not a lot of wobble and they operate well in combination with the rest of the board’s materials to shape the sound. There is also zero rattle from the screw-in stabilizers.

Keychron also did a nice job with the web-based software for tweaking the software side of the keyboard. There’s no need to install any additional software. That means you can’t use VIA/QMK to make adjustments either, but I didn’t miss that in day-to-day use.

It just works.

Image Credits: Keychron

This is also where the advantages of the magnetic switches come into play. By now, there is a set of features you’d expect from a keyboard like this. At its most basic, that means setting the actuation distance from how far down you need to press before the keyboard registers a keystroke. You can set that with 0.1mm precision from 0.2mm, which pretty much triggers it the moment your finger touches the keycap, all the way down to 3.8mm, just before the switch bottoms out.

That’s fun for typists and can help prevent the occasional typo, but magnetic switches really start to shine when it comes to gaming. Here, you can use rapid triggers, for example, which resets the key much faster than a traditional switch and hence allows you to spam keypresses much faster.

Image Credits: Keychron

Magnetic switches also allow you to create what are essentially macros that trigger different keystrokes at different points during the down press and release. Here, Keychron allows for up to four actions that you can trigger on a single keystroke. The canonical example for how to use this (with just two actions set to a single key) is to switch between walking and running.

Those who are far more creative than me will likely be able to dream up plenty of productivity use cases.

It’s worth noting, however, that there’s no flex here. That feels like a bit of a concession to the gaming audience that may be attracted to the magnetic switches and their customizability. That may make longer typing sessions a little bit more fatiguing, but that’s very much a personal preference. It should also be easy enough to mod the board to bring back some flex.

I’m happy to report that Keychron will use standard Cherry profile keycaps here, which I much prefer over the higher KSA keycaps Keychron often includes by default. The sample I received originally came with a set of OEM profile caps (and that’s what you see in some of the images here), but during my testing, I also switched that out for a basic set of Keychron Cherry keycaps I already owned and while there are higher-quality sets out there, Keychron has always done a perfectly fine job with its keycaps.

Image Credits: TechCrunch/Frederic Lardinois

One other nice feature that is often missing in modern mechanical keyboards: The K2 HE features two small plastic feet that let you adjust the keyboard’s angle.

There are, of course, LEDs under every key and 22 different ways to make them light up. If that’s your thing, you’re in luck.

Image Credits: Keychron

At this more affordable price point, you are making a few trade-offs. Unlike some other boards that let you use both magnetic and traditional switches, the PCB that Keychron is using here isn’t set up to support anything but magnetic switches. Thankfully, there’s an ever-increasing number of magnetic switch options out there now, including tactile and clicky ones, but that’s something to be aware of.

Oh, and there’s no knob, if that’s important to you.

Overall, though, this is a very nice package and as so often with Keychron, it’s an easy one to recommend if you want to dip your toes into hall effect magnetic switches.

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