Kinesis Form review

If you browse through the usual online retailers, you'll find no end of keyboards with built-in touchpads, so for Kinesis (makers of the superb Freestyle Edge RGB) to enter that particular market, you'd naturally expect them to have something special. And at $199, the Kinesis Form does need to be special.

At first glance, it certainly stands out from the usual crowd of all-in-one keyboards. The chassis comprises two pieces of milled aluminium and it uses low profile, low force Gateron mechanical switches. The keys are split into two groups, providing a degree of ergonomic comfort for your shoulders, and there's a so-called Windows Precision touchpad nestled between them. There's even switchable white LED backlighting and a dual-profile Bluetooth connection.

Let's break all of that down, starting with the body. Eschewing the norm of using ABS plastics for the body, Kinesis has gone with CNC-machined aluminium and it's extremely robust. That does make it a little on the heavier side of things but at just 2 lbs (just under 1 kg), you're not really going to notice. It certainly makes it easy to just jam the whole thing in a bag, if you need to work on the go.

Switch type: Gateron KS-33 Red
Keycaps: ABS
Lighting: White backlighting, dimmable
Onboard storage: None
Extra ports: None
Connection type: Bluetooth LE, wired USB
Cable: USB Type-C/USB Type-A, detachable
Weight: 0.91 kg / 2.0 lbs
Price: $199

The downside to this approach is that the flat, low-profile format means there's no scope for any tenting, something that's a must for my daily use keyboards. That's a real shame because tenting is typically a strength of Kinesis. Perhaps if the Form is a success, the next iteration could have it.

I'd also like to see some means to provide a modicum of tilting. The Form is about as low-profile as you're going to get with a mechanical keyboard so it's not like your wrists are going to be overly extended while sitting at a desk. But if you prefer working at a standing desk, then it's