| Switch Type: Tactile | Mount: Plate Mount (3-pin) | Spring: Single Stage | Price: $6.00 (45 pcs) on Keychron |
| Top Housing: PC | Bottom Housing: Nylon PA66 | Stem: POM | Factory Lubed: Yes |
| Actuation Point: | 2.0 ± 0.4mm | Actuation Point: | 2.47mm |
| Actuation Force: | 50 ± 10 gf | Actuation Force: | 40.6gf |
| Total Travel: | 4.0 ± 0.4mm | Total Travel: | 3.90mm |
| Peak Tactile Point: | Peak Tactile Point: | 1.07mm | |
| Peak Tactile Force: | Peak Tactile Force: | 47.6gf | |
| Reset Point: | Reset Point: | 2.45mm | |
| Bottom-out Force: | Bottom-out Force: | 50.7gf | |
| Stem Length: | 12.72mm | ||
The Keychron K Pro Brown is part of Keychron’s K Pro switch lineup which is made using an updated mold – namely a dustproofed stem (apart from the Banana and Mint switches). They’re also factory pre-lubed.
TL;DR
Keychron is clearly trying to imitate the specs of the Cherry MX Brown here, but they fall short given they’re roughly 7-10 grams lighter overall. However, both their tactility in terms of strength and sharpness are very similar.
Performance wise, they’re closer to the Akko POM Brown. Although, the Akko switch has a slightly stronger and sharper tactility. I also think they’re better sounding, but they’re more expensive.
At $0.13 per switch ($6 for 45 switches), these are easily one of the cheapest on the market. In fact, they’re cheaper than Keychron’s non-pro lineup at $0.20 per switch ($9 for 35 switches).
Smoothness: 8/10
On-centre keypresses are extremely smooth with zero scratchiness or binding.
Off-centre keypresses are incredibly smooth with only minor scratchiness at very slow keypresses.
Overall, it took me by surprise just how smooth these are! They’re super smooth and that makes them an easy recommendation.
Keychron K Pro Brown switch disassembled.
Weighting: 5/10
According to Keychron, these switches have an actuation force of 50g at 2mm and a total travel of 4mm.
Keychron K Pro Brown force curve.
As you can see from the force curve above, the Keychron K Pro Brown were within its outlined specs.
Keychron K Pro Brown consistency force curve.
They’re also extremely consistent with Switch 1 and 3 essentially matching! It makes it look like there are only 2 lines on both the down and upstroke graphs. With that being said, Switch 2 doesn’t stray too far with its tactile event occurring slightly later in the travel. As a side note, Switch 2 had the sharpest, but weakest tactility between the switches.
Switch 2 also has a slight downward spike around 0.9mm during the start of its tactile event. Although, this couldn’t be felt when using the switch.
Keychron K Pro Brown vs. Cherry MX Brown force curve.
The above force curve shows a comparison between the Keychron K Pro Brown and the Cherry MX Brown. On both the downstroke and upstroke, the Cherry MX Brown is slightly heavier by around 7-10 grams, but that’s not exactly a noticeable difference in the real world.
Tactility wise, the Cherry MX Brown has a weaker, but slightly sharper tactile bump, but again, this isn’t really noticeable in the real world.
Keychron K Pro Brown vs. Akko POM Brown force curve.
The above force curve shows a comparison between the Keychron K Pro Brown and the Akko POM Brown. As you can see in terms of performance, the Keychron K Pro Brown’s true competitor is the Akko POM Brown.
The POM Brown has a slightly stronger and sharper tactile bump for roughly the same overall weighting. I want to again emphasise that this isn’t really noticeable in the real world.
Overall, it’s a lightly weighted switch with top-tier levels of consistency. I find it too light for my preference, but this a great switch for a beginner or as an upgrade from a Cherry MX Brown.
Sound: 5/10
Average. If you listen closely, you’ll hear some spring crunch and spring ping, but they aren’t distracting. Keychron should’ve focused on lubing the springs a little more thoroughly though.
Overall, they’re very average. You wouldn’t buy these for their sound.
The Keychron K Pro Brown stem length is 12.72mm.
Typing Performance: 5/10
Its light tactility and relatively light weighting are the biggest turnoff for me – I was never a fan of the Cherry MX Brown or its many clones due to this fact.
This switch very much reminded me of the Cherry MX Brown. They have very similar tactility and weighting which has caused me plenty of typos throughout my testing.
However, their consistency was top-notch. I dare say it’s better than Akko’s, but this the first switch from Keychron I’ve tested. I’ll have to do more Keychron switch testing to really find out if this is their standard.
Overall, I wasn’t too impressed by them. They’re okay, and apart from their consistency, they’re aren’t noteworthy.
Gaming Performance: 6/10
Their tactility was more present in gaming.
Although, this only applied in slower-paced games. In most cases, the tactility was non-existent and was practically useless.
However, I do think it is again worth mentioning that these also performed very consistently when gaming. They didn’t suffer any scratchiness or binding even at demanding tasks.
Overall, they aren’t they best gaming switch out there. I also prefer heavier switches, so that doesn’t help it. But for anyone starting out in the hobby, this is a pretty good start.
Final Score = 29/50 (58%)