| Switch Type: | Linear |
| Mount Type: | PCB Mount |
| Travel Distance: | 2mm Actuation | 4mm Total |
| Force: | 40g Operating |
| Stem Length (mm): | 12.79 |
| Price: | $13.99 (45 pieces) on Akko |
The Akko Rosewood is a budget, lightly-weighted switch tuned to have a deep, thocky sound signature. Pricing wise, it competes with stock Gateron switches like the: Gateron Red and the slightly more affordable Akko V3 Cream Yellow.
Alternatively, the Akko Botany is tuned to be higher-pitched if you’re looking for something a little ‘clackier’.
DISCLAIMER | Please Read:
These switches were sent by Akko for review and testing purposes. I was NOT PAID in any way to write this review. Impartiality will always be a top priority here at KeebWorks; this one included.
TL;DR
It’s a solid choice for those on a tight budget and are looking for a smooth, consistent, lightly weighted switch with a thocky sound signature.
Smoothness: 8/10
On-centre keypresses are extremely smooth with only very minor hints of binding at very slow keypresses. They’re as close to perfection as you can get!
Off-centre keypresses are very smooth with the minor binding issues being magnified slightly, but not in any noticeable manner during normally typing.
Overall, I couldn’t find too many faults with these. They’re very smooth and have excellent performance as expected from an Akko switch.
Akko Rosewood switch disassembled.
Weighting: 4/10
According to Akko, these switches have an actuation force of 40g at 2mm and bottom-out distance of 4mm.
In the real world, the key feel matches the specs as far as I can tell. They’re very light – almost Gateron Clear light which isn’t to my preference at all given I like my switches to be around the 50–60-gram mark when it comes to actuation.
On a more positive note, the Rosewood switch performs very consistently with no hints of inconsistencies throughout my testing period. Then again, this isn’t a huge surprise given they’re from Akko.
Overall, they’re too light for my preferences and aren’t for me. However, I their top-notch consistency is the real highlight here.
Sound: 7/10
These are tuned to be deep and thocky out of the box according to Akko.
So, are they? Well, given my build is very much designed for clack over thock, these switches still have a deep, thocky sound to them. Plus, they’re noticeably quieter than clacky switches.
Overall, while they aren’t as deep sounding as the Gateron Oil King they still offer a pleasant thocky sound signature as intended.
The Akko Rosewood stem length is 12.79 mm.
Typing Performance: 5/10
It’s main downside for me here is its light weighting, and that is heavily reflected in the score, but allow me expand on that further.
Ever since the start of testing, I’ve made several typos – and this was well before the end of the first day of testing. Not a good start. I personally wouldn’t use the Akko Rosewood for any sensitive word processing, programming or data entry – that’s just asking for trouble.
However, to somewhat balance its light weighting, Akko (as usual) made these switches to perform very consistently across all switches as I had no issues regarding scratchiness or mushiness. I did feel hints of binding as previously mentioned, but these weren’t noticeable during actual typing sessions and could only be felt when slowly pressing a key off-centre – you’d have to be looking for it to find it.
Overall, while they aren’t for me, I can recommend this to others who are looking for a Cherry MX Red alternative.
Gaming Performance: 7/10
Now, unlike typing, I can somewhat get used to a lightly weighted switch when gaming as I only tend to use a few keys (unless I want to message someone, but that’s besides the point).
They performed extremely smoothly and consistently for both fast and slow-paced games. However, I did make several mistakes on fast-paced games due to their light weight nature, so I preferred using them for slower-paced games.
Additionally, even in quieter scenes the switches are very quiet which I appreciated as I was able to experience a more immersive gameplay.
Overall, even if I’m not the target audience for these switches, I liked gaming with them. I’d recommend this to someone who values quietness in a switch for gaming without the mushy feel of silent switches.
Final Score = 31/50 (62%)