| Switch Type: | Linear |
| Mount Type: | Plate Mount |
| Travel Distance: | 2.0mm Actuation | 4.0mm Total |
| Force: | 43g Operating | 58g Bottom-out |
| Price: | $13.99 (45 pieces) on Akko |
The Akko Haze Pink Silent is a very light dampened linear switch. It currently competes with other light linear switches like the Cherry MX Silent Red.
TL;DR
The Akko Haze Pink Silent is essentially a silent Gateron Clear.
So, if you’re a fan of the Gateron Clear, but wanted them to be quieter, then this is the switch for you.
Smoothness: 9/10
On-centre keypresses are ultra-smooth with barely any scratchiness or inconsistencies present in any of the switches. Impressive!
Off-centre keypresses also impressed me as there were only very minor levels of scratchiness, most of which couldn’t be detected when normally typing.
Overall, smoothness is probably the single strongest point for these switches. I would say that these are up there with the best optical and hall-effects switches, and that’s mighty impressive given these are traditional contact-based switches. We’ve really come a long way from the days of scratchy Cherry switches. There aren’t any excuses anymore!
Akko Haze Pink Silent switch disassembled.
Weighting: 4/10
According to Akko, these switches have an actuation force of 43g at 2.0mm and bottom-out force of 58g at 4mm.
In the real world, they feel a touch lighter than what the force curve suggests in all metrics which I did not like in the slightest!
On a positive note, they were at least very consistent throughout my testing period. Then again, these were made by Akko.
Overall, the weighting is ultra-light and isn’t for me. But as per Akko tradition, these are at least very consistent off the shelf without the need for any modifications which is a big plus.
Sound: 7/10
Silent (or dampened) switches are sort of in their own segment when it comes to sound as you have a group of people who think they sound mushy, whilst you have others preferring it over the sound of hard clacking.
These Akko switches sound… well, quiet. But without the mushy soundtrack that comes with other silent switches. Akko has once again, in their first attempt, executed the soundtrack with these switches wonderfully.
Overall, it’s no Alps Blue or Capacitive Buckling springs, but for a budget silent switch, these may be one of the better sounding ones.
Typing Performance: 4/10
Before you continue, I want to make something clear. If for whatever reason you decided to skip to this section without reading the above or perhaps this is first review of mine that you’re reading. These are ultra-light linear switches – one of my least favourite categories of switches to type on. So, I naturally wouldn’t like these as I prefer heavier tactile or clicky switches.
With that said, plenty of typos were made during the write up of this review, and of course many more elsewhere. Also, in case you didn’t know, I usually write these reviews with whatever switches I’m testing.
It’s pretty safe to say that I’m not a huge fan of lightly weighted switches such as these. Additionally, the actuation point also feels like it is higher up in the travel, perhaps closer to somewhere around the 1.7mm mark which led to plenty of typos and lots of very frustrating moments.
However, it’s not all downsides. These may be ultra-light, but they’re also ultra-smooth and extremely consistent. This is something Akko has been very good at since the very beginning and it really shows with these switches, especially now with a few years of experience manufacturing switches.
Overall, they’re very smooth and very consistent switches. There’s certainly a market for them out there, but it’s clearly not for me.
Gaming Performance: 4/10
Gaming is pretty similar to typing in a lot of ways.
The weighting is just too light for any precise controlled movements. In FPS games, I would find myself strafing to one side when trying to go straight as I tend to lean on the switches when gaming. I also found this to be the case for many fast-paced games I tried out. Although, for slower-paced games these issues weren’t as prominent.
On the positive end of things. The smoothness and consistency I mentioned in the typing section also applies for gaming. I didn’t encounter any issues with them.
Overall, if you’re after a silent, ultra-light, ultra-smooth and ultra-consistent switch for gaming. These could be the switches you’re looking for!
Final Score = 28/50 (56%)