How everything starts...

We noticed that most high-end mechanical keyboard brands supported MacOS, and were not specifically designed for Macs. Dedicated to the desktop culture, our team tested all high-end mechanical keyboards in the past years, but couldn't find a good keyboard with great input experience and fully supported MacOS. So, our team decided to develop our mechanical keyboard for the Mac, focusing on the input experience.

Our R&D over the past two years led us to believe that the core of any mechanical keyboard is the switch. It arguably has the biggest impact on the press feel of the keyboard, and to provide Mac users with an excellent typing experience, we needed the best switches.

Everyone is familiar with the Cherry Switches. There are other great  switch with similar or even better features and performance than the cherry switches, but very few of them mets with our requirements.

After trying a lot of switches from various manufacturers, they were all enthusiast-level and pricey. The Hephboard team wasn't discouraged, and we strived to find another type of switch that would be perfect for our keyboard.

 

Then we thought about optical switches.

 

It has a simple structure and can be made more stable by enlarging its stem. However, optical switches have a fatal flaw, Power-hungry? which is not what we want.

During our extensive research, we discovered Hall-effect switches - electromagnetic switches.

A contactless magnetic switch powered by Hall effect sensors. No metal leaf. No pins. No optic lasers. It had almost no parts that could be affected by wear and tear, and its simple design allowed us to achieve a smooth and frictionless linear actuation. There is no bump, rub, or scratch, and every keypress is like cutting into rich, creamy butter with a hot knife.

Hall effect switches have a similar structure to optical switches, but they consume much less power because they are powered entirely by magnets. However, because this is a new style of the switch, the Hephboard team is researching more about interference with Bluetooth options.

 

How we made our switches

CONSISTENCY

It is impossible to have the same feel and sound from each key on the whole keyboard, but we can make it as close as possible. First of all, our switch is designed with a simple structure. It doesn't require nearly as many parts as a traditional mechanical switch, and with fewer parts, we can reduce the difference in quality with each batch. An added benefit is that with simpler and fewer parts, there is less of a chance that it will malfunction.

TOLERANCE

we decided to have dustproof stems for our switch, which reduces the stem wobble and gives the user a better typing experience.

QUALITY

Our switch molds are precise. The tolerance of every part is only offset by a maximum of 3 micrometers, while other popular brands have a maximum offset of 5 micrometers.

STRONG FEEDBACK

Our switches have a smaller bottom-out force with a stronger rebound force. We used an extra-size inner diameter spring and redesigned the spring measurements so that our Hall-effect switch can be pressed with fewer forces but still come back up quickly and powerfully. Furthermore, the switches sound better and smoother because of the factory lubrication.

HOT-SWAPPABDLE SWITCHES

The Hall effect H1-Hera will be hot-swappable, it allows you to change the switches by only using a switch puller. No need for desoldering and resoldering. Just pull out the switch and replace it. it's that easy

BEST PERFORMANCE

Hall-effect shafts are faster and more durable than traditional mechanical switches, with 8x faster response, 5x faster actuation, 2x durability, and IP68 dust/water resistance.

 

Now let's talk about the keyboard..⌨️

 

MAC AND WINDOWS

The H1-Hera will have a macOS keyboard layout with a seamlessly switch between Windows and Mac.

 

CONNECTIVITY📡

This keyboard will support up to three devices, it has a detachable USB-C to USB-C cable with USB-A adapters. We will be using Bluetooth 5.1 on this keyboard, but there is an interference issue with the magnets on the PCB, and the Hephboard team is working to fix this issue.

 

8000mAh BATTERY🔋

We strived to optimize the position of the heating element on the circuit board, so that the battery has more spaces, and we can use the largest battery on the keyboard possible.

 

RGB🎮

There are more than 20 types lighting effects options, and you could change these lighting effects with the rotary knob. We redesigned the Switch, Keycaps, and LEDs to ensure that you'll get crisp font RGB without RGB leaking out of the side of the keycaps.