Underneath the sleek exterior the RK Round offers a great set of features and a satisfying typing experience.
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Today we are reviewing the Royal Kludge Round. This is a very unique-looking keyboard characterised by a round chassis and typewriter style keycaps that come in a pink and white colourway. The distinctive appearance makes this the ideal centrepiece in a customised desk setup, but it can also be a great gift for your partner. Needless to say if you have an affinity for pink, this is the keyboard for you.
Considering all the features of this keyboard, the current price of $50 is very attractive. The RK Round comes with 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity, and it even features hot-swap sockets. These are not features you typically expect at $50. Additionally, the RK Round features Royal Kludge’s Pink linear switches, full RGB, and dedicated multimedia keys.
These Pink switches are actually really good, and they’re comparable to something like Gateron Yellow. The bottom out feels around 67g, which will be comfortable for most users. My main gripe would be the metal ping, although it was mostly masked by background noise and it’s definitely not the worst I’ve ever experienced. The board is of course hot swappable so lubing or switch replacement is easy. The stabilisers are really good and come prelubed; I didn’t pick up much rattle on any of the bigger keys. I’ve never used typewriter style keycaps before so it was definitely an adjustment, especially when trying to type at higher speeds. These keycaps have a smaller surface area than conventional keycaps, and you have to try and hit them in the middle, otherwise you’ll end up hitting two keys. The case is completely flat, but there are dual flipouts on the bottom so you can find an ergonomic typing angle.
The RK Round comes in a 65% layout and is packed with functionality. The keyboard features dedicated arrows plus a dedicated Delete, Pg Up, and Pg Dn. The Fn Layer is fairly small but all the important stuff is present, like Prt Sc, RGB Controls, and a Windows Lock. The RK Round has compatibility with Windows and Mac, and you can switch between modes with Fn + A and S. The Quick Access buttons feature connection controls which is very convenient for switching between wireless modes. The media buttons are also very handy and it’s something I cannot go without. I was expecting these buttons to feel mushy, but they have a very satisfying mechanical feel.
More and more people are personalising and customising their desk setups, so I think this aesthetic will be very appealing. From the round chassis to the retro typewriter keycaps, this keyboard just oozes style. It’s great to see innovative keyboard designs and the round case looks great with the round keycaps. The RK Round features full RGB backlighting with over 20 colour modes. The keycaps aren’t shinethrough and it is quite difficult to see the legends in low lighting, so something to take into account if you plan on using this in the dark. In addition to this pink version, the keyboard is also available in a white colourway, which just has a white chassis with pink keycaps, so the colours are flipped.
The RK Round comes with a 2.4GHz dongle that sits in a magnetic slot on the bottom of the keyboard. Connecting is as simple as switching the keyboard on, then pressing the 2.4GHz button. The 2.4GHz connection felt very snappy and I experienced no connectivity or output issues. The backlighting will automatically switch off after five minutes of idle. The other wireless mode is Bluetooth 5.1, which will come in very handy for laptop users. There are actually three Bluetooth buttons, so you can pair and switch between up to three devices on the fly. The keyboard also comes with a USB-C port, and the cable usefully has a converter so you can go USB-C to USB-A or USB-C to USB-C.
There is software for the RK Round, and take note that the keyboard has to be running in wired mode for the software to work. Pretty standard stuff here, and you have the ability to remap keys on the standard layer and record your own macros. Then there are RGB controls, which includes a page where you can design your own colour mode.
Overall I am very impressed with the RK Round. Underneath the sleek exterior it actually offers a great set of features and a satisfying typing experience. And all that for only $50!
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