Cherry MX = the end-all-be-all monopoly of mainstream boards?

[Velma]

The topic is not in any way a discussion about the quality of cherry mx switches, its if/when there will be a "next level" as fashion junkies refer to paradigm shifts when a new big actor enters the scene.

Yes, i know about alps and topres and bucklings, but lets face it, Cherry MX has become the standard go-to switch for pretty much every keyboard maker that does not own the patent to the switches theyre selling.
Will there ever be a competitor that can bring some variation and good ol' competition to the market. To me it feels like it has kinda stagnated,  you have the low-end retail store level where companies have slowly introduced new types of cherry switches to the mainstream audience but by now there are several OTC options to just blacks and blues, and mid-end-over-100bucks-league (filco, ducky etc) that keeps making new boards with the same (almost) full range of switches and versions (standard, tenkeyless, backlit), with new backlit colours being the biggest innovation. Then we have the custom made korean and topre boards that are marketed for a niche audience of enthusiasts, and Bucklings and alps for the vintage guys.

Do you think we will ever see another switch-oriented company make it big on the mainstream or will we still be looking for new reds and browns year 2020? im certainly not complaining since i love all my cherry boards to death and wouldnt use a computer without them, but competition is always good, it brings innovation and new ideas. To me it seems like Cherry has almost gained a monopoly in the mainstream mechanical keyboard market and history shows that monopoly has often led to stagnation. 

Since the market is certainly expanding and I BELIEVE in a pretty early state since the widespread demand of mechanical keyboard is awakening and expanding in an accelerating speed right now, so it should by no means be too late for a new big switch brand to enter and compete with cherry for the mainstream audience. I think the time would be perfect right now, since by now many people have gotten used to or familiarised themselves with the cherry range and even the mainstream audience would be eager to try something new. Just the fact that lots of people are asking for clears and greens just to see what else the market has to offer shows that there is a demand for "different" types of switches and alternatives to the ones we are used to push.
 What do you think? Just some food for thought

[alaricljs]

Well, Matias is introducing 2 new Alps-type switches that they say will be available at excellent cost.  The question is will they gain traction?

[Velma]

Id certainly be very curious about it and buy one if they become avaible in my region. And if i know this place right from my one-day of membership, lots of others will be more than eager to try. If you already have a good rotation of boards but are willing to buy the new ducky version for the different backlight colours (no bashing i do this as well, i understand the collector value), you certainly wouldnt hestitate to try something completle new would you ?

[jkercado]

This is a very interesting topic. It seems that there's really not much innovation in the market, aside from the fact that most people, let's face it, don't give a rat's bum about keyboards, and are completely happy with whatever rubber done junk they get with their computers.

So in that sense I think Cherry has been very smart to capitalize on that and become, probably due to sheer volume, in the main provider of mechanical switches for keyboards. I think Unicomp should consider licensing the buckling spring technology...

[Velma]

I believe the spreading demand for mechanical keyboards correlates to the growth of the E-sport scene and games like Starcraft 2 and League of Legends. The key point is that the Keyboard is the most important part of gear for this genre of popular games. Just look at the huge rise of the gaming mice market during the quake and counterstrike era, and i think its safe to say that we are experiencing something similiar right now but this time gamers spend their bucks on keyboards to give them a small actions-per-minute boost in starcraft 2 instead of better aim in a FPS game.

Its obvious that the big companies that sell mechanical keyboards focus on the gaming audience, just look at how much money they are throwing at LoL/SC2 tournaments and teams just to get their names on the players shirts and their keyboards in the player booth.

The growth of the mech-board market lies with the growth of e-sport oriented games that emphasises heavily on keyboard use. The question is if this trend will continue and these games grow bigger, wich they are, it wasnt long ago i watched the first televised starcraft 2 tournament on public service TV channels. We have dota 2 and Heart of the Swarm expansion for SC2 just coming up and the dark horse Guild Wars 2 just being released with an immense hype, wich, if it stays true to its preceeder, will be heavily focused on Player versus Player and fast keyboard tapping, so that might be another E-sports goldmine for Razer and Steelseries (and the way things are now, cherry) to milk.

[Velma]

It might also be worth noticing that when Starcraft was the most popular "sport" in korea, the keyboard market bloomed and skyrocketed there, but the rise of starcraft came during a huge economic recession in korea so neither the companies nor the players could afford expensive mechanical keyboards, so the market consisted of "ergonomic" rubber dome boards that where cheap but suited RTS gamers well at the time.

Now starcraft 2 is starting to reach a similiar widespread following, but this time globally, to the richer parts of the world where people can afford the luxury of mechanical keyboards that are superior to the old generation of rubber-dome gaming boards that where just as expensive as the mechs are today.

[swagpiratex]

Other manufacturers are gonna have a difficult time bringing value into the equation, since brand equity with Cherry switches are so high. If you look at people trying to break into the industry, they're using the cost leadership angle. If it happens, it'll be because someone was able to make the switches even better at a better price point. I'm pretty sure we all agree this is going to be difficult to accomplish.

[adrock]

it probably comes down to economies of scale (i think that's the term).

if someone came up with a new "better" switch type, they'd not be manufacturing in anywhere near the quantities cherry mx switches must be made in, so they'd be significantly more expensiveto produce which would deter people from buying them and force them to stay a niche product. This may even be what's happened with topre switches, and i'm sure the prevalence of rubber domes (and now cherry mx boards) is down to them being cheaper to manufacture.

[sth]

i think matias' new alps would take off if they were to revisit their industrial design. apple's early-mid 2000s design was questionable and the only people that were really into it (unlike their newer metal stuff that i believe has a more universal appeal) were apple nerds.

more standard/'classic' and/or 'sleek modern' type designs would probably do a lot to open their market to PC enthusiasts.

[Velma]

it probably comes down to economies of scale (i think that's the term).

if someone came up with a new "better" switch type, they'd not be manufacturing in anywhere near the quantities cherry mx switches must be made in, so they'd be significantly more expensiveto produce which would deter people from buying them and force them to stay a niche product. This may even be what's happened with topre switches, and i'm sure the prevalence of rubber domes (and now cherry mx boards) is down to them being cheaper to manufacture.

Thats also the reason why we still use QWERTY despite it being designed to be the slowest possible layout for typing so that the old typewriters wouldnt doublecross 

[Velma]

It would be pretty cool if cherry introduced some new alternatives aswell, it would be something to chew on. Maybe something ultra-light so that keyboard makers could start to do topre-esque keyboards with uber light switches on the "pinkey keys" and browns in the main typing field or something like that? could be awesome to type on.

[FoxWolf1]

Well there are other kinds of Cherry switch besides the MX; they're just not as well-liked.

I do think that there's potential for other kinds of switches to compete, though. After all, there's a definite incentive for companies to try and seek independence from the vagaries of Cherry switch supply.

ALPS have hit something of a low point lately, with the more-used XMs being (imo) rather bad and only able to sell on the basis of low price, and the better ones neglected; that might change, though, especially if the new Matias ALPS catch on.

Also, if you look at low-priced Chinese-market mechanical keyboards, there's been a few lately with cloned MX switches that aren't quite the same weight as any real Cherry switch: Rapoo had one using a yellow switch; there's a Newmen-brand mechanical with linear blue switches; a related design sold under the Genius and ViewSonic brands uses a mix of real Black and fake Red (heavier than standard) switches. If the maker(s) of these switches continue to have their clones diverge from the originals, maybe something interesting could result...

[Findecanor]

Mechanical boards are still not mainstream. Mainstream boards are scissor switches with rubber domes.

The Matias switches are only Alps clones, made mostly because the previous maker of Alps clones stopped making them. Not really a new type of switch, but I have high hopes that the quality of the new switch can be as high as the old original complicated Alps CM. Still, I do not see Alps taking off.

I think that in the next few years, the company that is the most important for developing new mechanical switches is Cherry. They have the most incentive to develop completely new switch types. They could also develop new variants of the Cherry MX.
I think that there would be a demand for a switch that feels like a Cherry MX but has a lower profile (even though that is hard, longer spring usually implies better feel).

I would also like to see some new types of scissor switch keyboards. How about scissor switches with leaf springs instead of (or complementary to) rubber domes, or scissor switches on a curved back-plane?

Thats also the reason why we still use QWERTY despite it being designed to be the slowest possible layout for typing so that the old typewriters wouldnt doublecross 

That is a common misconception. QWERTY was designed so that typists could type at a reasonable speed while not getting the type-arms jammed.

[Keyboarder]

Mechanical boards are still not mainstream. Mainstream boards are scissor switches with rubber domes.

Ditto that statement. But as the market for mechanical keyboards start to kick off due to the increasing presence of E-sports and online games, I believe that the market for mechanical keyboards are slowly but surely coming into the mainstream market. Due to the smaller market right now, companies may be hesitant to invest in the R&D of a new type of switch. I believe the reason that Cherry switches have come to dominate most of the mechanical keyboard market right now is due to the fact that they have cornered most of the different ways that users use their keyboard. From the mx blues- typing, browns - silent typing, red - light-handed gaming, to black - heavy-handed gaming, Cherry seem to have all the bases covered...

In order for an new contender in the switch race, they are either going to have to design a switch that does something better than any of the current mx switches do, OR somehow find a completely new niche for their switch.

[ra7c7er]

I don't think you can consider mechanical keyboards coming into the mainstream just because they are the new "it" item to have for gaming. When current gamers quit gaming do you think they will continue to use 100+ dollar boards or will they go back to using cheap boards. The vast majority will go right back to using whatever keyboard the local box store sells.

This community is a supremely small niche in the world of keyboards. the reason it seems like there is such an explosion of interest in mechanical keyboards is gaming. It's not people are waking up one day and saying "I'm buying a mech today" it doesn't happen. (except with people here, lol).

Honestly on another note I don't think the gaming tag associated with mech boards right now is good for getting mech keyboards into the mainstream market. Non gamers see that and think it's an overpriced gimmick and don't look twice at a mech board.

[sth]

It's not people are waking up one day and saying "I'm buying a mech today" it doesn't happen. (except with people here, lol).

those are good days for me

Honestly on another note I don't think the gaming tag associated with mech boards right now is good for getting mech keyboards into the mainstream market. Non gamers see that and think it's an overpriced gimmick and don't look twice at a mech board.

you and me both hombre. i think a lot of non-gamer mech enthusiasts get into it by using model Ms or vintage alps boards mostly. if my options for mechanicals were as limited as those who only see what Fry's sells (razer ugh) i may have never even bothered.

[PointyFox]

E-sports...  )
Anyway, I hope we see something beyond Cherry MX switches.  They may feel nice, but each version is not ideal.  Ideal would be something like a rubber dome with good stabilization, smooth and predictable feedback, long life, and a way to replace the key caps with stupid custom ones. 

[fohat.digs]

I am an old guy who hopes to be able to use my Model M/Fs for the rest of my life.

Having said that, I look at my teenage children and see that they will live in a very different world (they already do).

I do not see mechanical keyboards being more common 10-20 years from now, however, there may be a small market for them for a long time. And, of course, if the number of keyboard users in the world doubles while the percentage of mechanical users halves, there will still be just as many of us as there are now.

My big strong fingers are great for a lot of things, but I have a great deal of trouble with smart phone screens. I am a touch typist who thinks that a keystroke without a click is unsatisfying. Imagine how I feel about stabbing at a piece of glass with my index finger and then having to look at another area under that glass to see what character or characters did or did not register!

I predict that in a decade (or two), (at least) 2/3 of computing will be done on smart phone/tablet/touch screens, and the remaining third (or less) will be keyboard computing with (at least) 2/3 being "laptops" (or something similar) and 1/3 (or less) desktops utilizing some form of chiclet keys with very little movement (say 1mm or less) and capacitive switching.

Somewhere (well) under 1% will be diehard keyboard lovers divided between half a dozen main choices and still arguing about which is best.

[tp4tissue]

Seems like the OP is just looking for something to buy.

Keyboard's are topped out in terms of technology. Its current iteration is well beyond human capacity.

[trax]

Ripster would've come up with some great theory...

I DO believe some "big" company (Logitech, Microsoft,...) will come up with their 'own' (probably ALPS-Based) keyboard switches IF mech boards gain more popularity.

[alaricljs]

Pretty sure we can rule out Logitech... There's been some info floating about that they bought an F-ton of Cherry switches.  As for MS, a keyboard is the farthest from their agenda right now w/ Surface coming out.

[Velma]

Seems like the OP is just looking for something to buy.

Keyboard's are topped out in terms of technology. Its current iteration is well beyond human capacity.

If you say so. That means there is rooms for keyboards/switches more suited for the "human capacity" that we can utilize better thats how you turn problems into innovation.