Earlier this year, Akko released a new lineup of MOD007 75% keyboards equipped with Hall effect magnetic switches and today they’re on sale for 20% off. They are normally priced from $129.99 to $134.99 but right now you can get it for as low as $103.99 after you clip 20% off clippable coupon. They’re available in three cute designs – Anniversary Edition (Wired), World Tour Tokyo (Wired/Wireless) and Santorini (Wired/Wireless). They’re less expensive than magnetic switch keyboards from other brands: the Corsair K70 Max is $189.99, the SteelSeries Apex Pro is $199.99, and the Wooting 60HE is $194.99.
Akko MOD007 75% Magnetic Switch Keyboards from $103.99
What makes the new MOD007 special are the included switches. Both keyboard models come with Akko’s Hall effect magnetic switches. Digital mechanical switches recognize key presses via physical contact points. Analog magnetic switches work by detecting changes in magnetic field intensity. The biggest advantage is customizability: (1) you can set how far the key travels before it actuates (2) you can set different commands for a “half-press” and a “full-press”. You can do that both ways (during both the press and the release), for up to four different commands from a single key press. (3) magnetic switches support “Rapid Trigger,” which allows you to re-press the key without having to wait for the key to reset. Another advantage of a magnetic switch is that since there’s no need for a contact point, there’s less resistance and wear. The two switches offered are Akko Cream Yellow and Kailh Sakura Pink. They are essentially the same keys, but with different color schemes. The keys are hot swappable, so you’ll also be able to change out the magnetic switches to standard mechanical ones if you want.
The Akko MOD007 keyboard design itself isn’t new. This is a 75% mechanical keyboard that eliminates the numpad. The arrow keys are retained, along with Del, Home, Page Up/Down, and End keys. This is a well-built keyboard with a lot of great features, probably the most outstanding of which are the mixed wireless and wired connectivity options. The MOD007 can connect via USB Type-C, Bluetooth, or 2.4GHz WiFi (depending on the model you choose). Other features include a nice gasket mount, plate-mount stabilizers, RGB backlighting, a handy volume knob, and onboard hardware-based memory profiles. The keycaps are of good quality and both designs really stand out; they’re made of a PBT material and printed with a dye-sublimation process. The chassis itself is thick, solidly built and has a good amount of heft. I own a MOD007 myself and it feels better built than any of my Logitech and Razer TKL keyboards. It’s not quite as substantial as my all-metal Keychron Q2 Pro, but that keyboard costs almost twice as much.
If you’re looking for a keyboard with the Hall effect magnetic switches, this is one of the few options that doesn’t cost an exorbitant sum of money, especially if you’re looking for a smaller tenkeyless design. It’s also a well built keyboard in its own right, and it rocks a good look as well. Akko isn’t as well known as other brands, so they aren’t in our list of the best (mainstream) gaming keyboards of 2024, but in my opinion this is better than a lot of the keyboards on the list.
