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Cherry Viola Switches Announced at CES 2020:

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Findecanor:
I think they should have spent their resources on developing a tactile "MX Low Profile" over this. They can't really compete with Kailh Choc with only linear low-profile switches in their catalogue.

The point Cherry makes for this switch is that it is cheaper than Cherry MX, for "sub $100 gaming keyboards" ... but then they are ignoring all the sub-$100 keyboards with MX-clone switches.
Unlike membrane switches, this switch still seems to require a keyboard-sized PCB, a mounting plate and if you want backlighting: individual LEDs soldered to the PCB — and that means that the cost savings would be only in the switches themselves and in nothing else. Membrane keyboards (like standard rubber domes, "mecha-membrane", stacked spring etc) are still significantly cheaper also in that they require no soldering on any membrane and that they tend to use cheaper lamp solutions that can light up all keys at once from underneath.

Therefore, I believe that the only manufacturer that might jump onto this would be large manufacturers that would have a exclusivity-deal with Cherry that would prevent them developing their own membrane switches or from buying MX-clones, iff there is a manufacturer out there that had been stupid enough to enter such a deal.

HungerMechanic:
Yeah, the need for 'low-cost' switches struck me as a fallacy, as it only makes sense if you assume that Cherry is the only player in the market.

Switches are only part of the cost of a keyboard, and as Findecanor points out, these switches will still require most of the apparatus of a standard Cherry MX keyboard.

I agree that low-profile tactiles would have been a better direction for Cherry.

I also think that, instead of going downmarket to complete with rubber domes [and the many Cherry MX clone manufacturers who can out-compete them at the low-end], they should have gone up-market. Aren't hobbyists buying a lot of switches? Cherry created the designs for what makes the Ergo Clear, for example, so why can't they make a better version of that? The nicer manufacturers like Varmilo and Leopold would use improved Cherry tactiles, since they already offer Clears and Varmilo even offers Zeal switches now. "Cherry Ergo Clear" or some enhanced version of that would make a big splash in the hobbyist and premium-factory market.

ArchDill:
This looks like a mix between Romer G and MX

voodoo6k:
There's been very little coverage on this but Cherry is also increasing the lifetime of their regular lineup to 100 million keystrokes with added "Hyperglide" rails:


--- Quote ---When we were invited to meet Cherry at CES 2020, we expected more news on the >100 million actuation rating for their popular MX switches. CORSAIR had broken the news, in a manner of speaking, when they used the new MX Brown and MX Speed (Silver) switches in their new K95 RGB Platinum XT keyboard, and Cherry confirmed to us that all currently produced MX Red, Brown, Black, and Speed (Silver) switches are now rated to this higher count (from 50 million before) with no loss in quality. This improvement comes in the form of an increased gliding surface area on the front side of the switch stem, in addition to having eight guide rails inside for added stability, which Cherry calls "Hyperglide". The company claims to also have optimized the contact force for the gold cross-point contacts, which has now resulted in a reduced debounce rate of under 1 ms. They are working on having similar improvements done to their remaining MX switches, including the MX Blue.
--- End quote ---
https://www.techpowerup.com/262809/cherry-updates-mx-switch-lifetime-introduces-new-viola-mechanical-switch

Sintpinty:

--- Quote from: ArchDill on Sat, 11 January 2020, 19:47:31 ---This looks like a mix between Romer G and MX

--- End quote ---

Romer g sucks a##.

I tried the tactile variants and they feel so awful

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