I am typing on my brand-new (manufactured 4/21/2020) Unicomp Spacesaver M Mac layout keyboard and it is an undeniable joy. I'm new enough to the enthusiast ranks to not completely understand the quest for the so-called "endgame" keyboard, but I suspect barring the DIY kits you can get out there, this is about as close as I can get. And I have the absolutely gorgeous Matias Tactile Pro and went ahead and bit on the trendy Azio MK Mac board. Both are great boards, although the Kaihl brown switches in the Azio are
not tactile (don't let the marketing fool you).
I have to admit that, after watching many Youtube videos on the Unicomp keyboards, I was a bit worried about the build quality. One notable Youtube reviewer reviewed one he has that was built in 2009, and while overall his review was positive he was twisting his keyboard around like a wet rag, which indicated a slip in build quality and gave me pause. The keyboard was audibly creaking and it sounded like he was torturing a small animal. I'm happy to report that my keyboard is solid and sturdy and does not twist or complain painfully.
Other reviewers, even commenting on boards built as recently as 2017 (which is as recent as I found), were complaining about the quality next to the 1985 originals. Sure, but those keyboards went for three times as much (more, counting for inflation over the decades) back then, so don't let that scare you. No one may complain about the quality of a modern keyboard next to a vintage-1985 board unless you buy a $350 keyboard. Everything else is just whining. The keyboard I have is amazing, given what I paid for it. Spend $250 on a gamer Corsair board and compare
that to one of those vintage boards. The old IBM build quality will still blow it away. It's just not a fair comparison.
There are a couple of things about the Mac model, though, that one should note:
- The media keycap legends are not as well-designed as they could be. The icons are too large and out of proportion with the legends below them and could stand to be reduced a tad. That's a nitpick.
- The keycap color seems like it would better go with a beige board rather than the black chassis in which they are set. It was jarring at first, but I freaking love it. This is how it's pictured on their web site, but the photo is of such low quality it's easy to overlook the color on the keys. But, even alongside my Matias all-white and that gorgeous Azio backlit number I have for working in the dark, the Unicomp is the most distinctive and beautiful among the lot. If aesthetics are your thing, then the Unicomp will be as well, in spite of the media legends on F7 through F12.
I do have to say that the unboxing experience--and what the hell is that on Youtube beyond pornography?--is not well represented. Unicomp cares nothing about packaging appearance, probably because a) it began its life as an OEM manufacturer, and b) who needs stupid marketing when you're selling the keyboard upon whose layout all others since the 80s are based? So save the brown cardboard box in which it's shipped and packaged, because you may need to move or protect this keyboard and honestly this is an industrial product that is worth the care upon which you lavish upon it.
Finally, in terms of the typing experience, if you've never typed on the buckling-spring mechanism this board employs, you're in for a treat, particularly if you're used to the kinds of cheap keyboards that typically come with most computers, and even the kinds of key switches the most popular mechanical-keyboards use (I am speaking of Cherry and their ilk). And as a Mac user, this keyboard wipes the damn floor with Apple's Magic Keyboard, whose minuscule key travel and flat, chicklet-style keycaps make it absolutely impossible for me to type without error after error.
I thought I loved that Apple keyboard, but if you use Slack as much as I do to manage a staff remotely (these days), you find yourself typing all day long and beginning to hate it. It's the reverse with the Unicomp. I know this sounds idiotic, but every keystroke feels like a revelation, and I sometimes have to pause, sit back, and be in the moment with the unique key feel of this board (we have a room, thank you). It's like nothing else, and it's worth everyone trying at least once if you haven't. And let me just say that if you research the IBM/Lexmark/Unicomp keyboards long enough, you start to detect a bit of a religious cult that has sprung up surrounding them, along the lines many people accuse Mac enthusiasts. It's all so silly, so let the children beat each other up over their religious convictions; we have found a manufactured product that has the potential to make our lives demonstrably
better, every day. Yay Industrial Revolution!
A side note, but important: the caps lock and function-key lights are a blinding blue when lit. It's awesome. I'll never
not know the caps lock key is engaged.
Many Youtube reviews, in an effort to be fair, come off as being equivocal. But don't let any of it confuse you: this board is worth it, even though they raised the price ten dollars recently to $95 US. Good on them. Make money and stay in business, Unicomp, I'm rooting for you. You have my hundred semolians, with thanks for being there after all these years, as I made my way back across the sea of crappy (mostly Apple) keyboards.