geekhack Community > Ergonomics

Keyboardio Preonic

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squizzler:
I'm wondering if any of you have pre-ordered the Keyboardio Preonic, or have thoughts on the unit?

I already have that firm's Atreus which I can confirm to be a well made unit available off the peg with hot-swappable MX-pattern switches. Keyboardio seem to be iterating from the success of their Atreus which is probably their big seller, rather than their flagship 01 and 100 series, and hence this is another small format, highly portable keyboard. The more conservative grid format of the Preonic would, in ergonomic sophistication, be a retrograde step from the Atreus staggered column arrangement and I am inclined to give it a miss.

Notwithstanding that, some features look promising and hopefully will find their way into future Atreus revisions. I can see the quad RGB indicators in their butterfly trademark in particular being handy to see what layers or modifiers might be active, but perhaps remembering to program them will become a chore when fine-tuning layouts? I have been living happily without a rotary knob so do not know if this is something I am missing out on. It also has bluetooth, which would be handy on the Atreus which frequently travels with me.

It is also a gateway into that firm's Kaleidoscope firmware and Chrysalis graphical web configuration tool, which I feel to be a highly underrated package that is able to do things QMK cannot do - such as the bluetooth. I hope this - open source, nach - firmware becomes better known and adopted by more manufacturers over time, and if the Preonic is successful it can only help put Kaleidoscope more firmly on the map. ZMK is also available.

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