OnePlus aims to penetrate the PC market with its first keyboard

OnePlus is best known for its smartphones, but it's also known for a range of other products, such as wearables (like smartwatches), audio products, accessories and gear. Now, for the first time, OnePlus is going to announce a keyboard. They announced it themselves a while ago during an OEF (Open Ears Forum) event, but this time renders and prices have been leaked by a tipster.

There's a website where OnePlus briefly talks about the keyboard. We can even see part of the design in a video that OnePlus has posted on its website. There is also a timeline on the site.

OnePlus also talks about a double gasket design, which should ensure a more accurate calibration, but also a softer keystroke and a satisfying sound. After all, it's a mechanical keyboard, which is what you'd expect from most mechanical keyboards. The keyboard is made of aluminium. There's also explicit support for Windows, Linux and MacOS. In the video we can see that there's a hardware switch on the keyboard for Windows and Mac, as well as a slider for Bluetooth, USB and some sort of power state that you can change. There's something remarkable about this keyboard, though. OnePlus claims that this product supports advanced features, such as hot-swappable switches and even open source firmware, which are quite rare to find on a company's first keyboard. They have explained this in an additional thread.

OnePlus has also released a video about the OEF, which you can watch here:

In the OEF Recap, we can see a photo of the switches that were tested. The conclusion of this OEF was as follows, according to OnePlus' Product Marketing Manager:

• Painpoints from the Daily Office scenario: Users have so many gadgets and electronic peripherals, which could create a mess on their desks
• Painpoints with keyboard User Experience: Being a device that could be utilized for long hours, an overly-high keyboard might hurt the wrists
• Preference detail on mechanical keyboard: The choice of the switches is very subjective. Different users could have completely different preferences
• Price of the product: most of the products out of the market are too expensive, especially for the newcomers

In another thread, OnePlus showed how they brought a prototype keyboard to the company's 9th anniversary, which they made two videos of.

Although we already know what the keyboard looks like (from what OnePlus has posted), 91Mobiles, in collaboration with a tipster, has revealed some additional details, such as that it's supposed to have RGB lighting. Not only that, but although it initially looked like it would be an India-only launch, 91Mobiles says there's a chance the mechanical keyboard will be released globally as well.

Although 91Mobiles claims that the red button is the power button, we highly doubt it, as we can already see the power button in a video posted by OnePlus (see earlier in this article). We think it's a volume button that you can rotate.

Not only is the design now known, but the price has also been leaked by Pricebaba. It's said to cost INR 9,999 and it's rumoured that Red Cable Club members will get an exclusive discount when pre-ordering the keyboard.