‘Less is more’ has been our mantra when it comes to designing, yet it demands us to make each change made to evolve our designs count. While the top frame of Air96 retains its minimalistic look (except one more color choice Black), the bottom case has gone through fundamental yet subtle changes. Thanks to the improved laser texturing process, the bottom case is now both more transparent and finer textured, rendering the interiors of Air96 clearly visible, and play into its overall aesthetics.

Inside Out. From the PCB to the battery, the internal components are colored to match your keyboard’s color theme, which together with the now wavy, ‘Ionic’ bottom furrows give off a layered, nuanced vibe. To top it off the light bars glasses are plated with thin layers of metal to enhance both its consistency with the overall look and durability.  

Desktop experience with or without the desk. Desktop, laptop, or mountain top...the support of the large yet agile foldable feet, paired with Air96's great portability, give their users great liberties in choosing the place and style to work & play.

Can thin & light go with extreme keyboard wireless performance and low latency? Tradition says no, but on Air96, our tradition is to challenge the limits of the 'yes' space. After supporting 4 devices simultaneously for the first time, we have made a huge leap in wireless performance by unlocking a 1000Hz polling rate 2.4G connection. Through state-of-the-art chips and attention to detail that facilitates radio wave propagation, we have put the new Air96 in the ranks of 1000Hz pro-gaming keyboards at 2.4G speed.

Success in the circuit lies. A 1000Hz polling rate may be eye-catching, yet actual latency depends on factors including MCU’s matrix scan rate, processing and debounce time, the wireless cache size, etc. Never content with half measures, we support Nordic's state-of-the-art NRF52810 SoC with STM32F072 MCU's high performance and use an elaborate testing procedure to ensure minimized total trip delay.  

Truth by numbers told. We did some benchmarks on the new Air96’s latency performance, against its predecessor and another QMK-based keyboard. Suffice to say, we are both blown away by the results and happy to end the myth that low profile keyboards are unfit for professional gaming and low latency applications, once and for all. 

As much as we pride ourselves in building innovations and our own ideas into our products, we will have to make an exception for firmwares: starting with the V2s, all Airs will be shipped with QMK/VIA. We believe with the full realization of our hardwares' potential under the new firmware, its open source code, the endless key remapping, light customization and other creative possibilities VIA offers our users, the fun has truly started!

Our OS-supporting and nativization effort also evolves to adapt to the conditions of QMK-based platforms. The dedicated 'Spotlight', 'Dictation', and 'Do Not Disturb' shortcuts available in the newest MacOS are now implemented through QMK, while the F-keys replacement keycap set expands to match the new functionalities. We will continue to find more ways, and shortcuts, including building new hardwares, to bring extra values to our users on the software side.

The crisp texts and vibrant colors on Air96's impressively thin double-shot PBT keycaps are as enduring as the keycaps' popularity, but that certainly shouldn't stop you from enjoying the fun and excitement in experimenting, mixing and matching with our extensive selection of double-shot themed keycaps.