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Gaming keyboards have modified quickly lately. At one time merely a slab of slick keys and LEDs, due to new sorts of key switches, it is now potential to supply options tailor-made to the trendy gamer, akin to fast set off and adjustable actuation. Most keyboard producers have not missed the memo both—there is a huge swathe of choices to select from. Now, it is Ducky’s flip to wade into the pond with the Ducky One X.
Earlier than you assume it, the One X does not use the Corridor impact. The magnetic switches present in most of as we speak’s prime aggressive gaming keyboards—SteelSeries’ OmniPoint 3.0, Wooting’s Lekker, Corsair’s MGX HyperDrive, Logitech’s Magnetic Analog, and so forth—all largely depend on what’s often known as the Corridor impact to function their speedy switches. However Ducky do not. As a substitute, Ducky’s is a ‘world’s first’ inductive change.
I first noticed Ducky’s One X again at Computex 2024. It was displayed at Ducky’s sales space however there was an empty pedestal for it ready over at Cherry’s. That is as a result of it was billed with Cherry’s new Multipoint change. Between then and now, one thing modified. The keyboard sat in entrance of me comes with Ducky’s personal change, even that includes a yellow colourway and with Ducky’s identify slapped on it. It’s materially completely different from Cherry’s Multipoint induction change, too.
Being the huge keyboard dork that I’m, the very first thing I did when peeling again the packaging on the Ducky One X was take away one of many white PBT keycaps. Two surprises awaited me: 1) the keycap had pulled your complete change out with it, which is not completely unusual on this keyboard; 2) the change has a steel prong protruding out the underside. Actuating the change extends the tapered prong additional. It seems this tapered prong is how Ducky is measuring actuation all through the vary of the change, by way of sensors mounted on the PCB, permitting it to supply a extra feature-filled gaming keyboard. It appears like near-ancient know-how, or on the very least from the late ’80s, but it is model new.
One X specs
Measurement: Full (100%)
Connectivity: Wired (Sort-C), 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth
Switches: Ducky inductive switches
Keycaps: PBT doubleshot + additional Pantone Peach Fuzz + 12 months of the dragon spacebar
Scorching-swappable: Sure (with Ducky inductive switches solely)
Polling fee: 1000 Hz
Software program: Internet-based (duckyhub.io)
Devoted media controls: Sure
Dimensions: 452 x 150 x 41 mm
Worth: $179/£180
So, why not Corridor impact? This being the de facto selection for many gaming keyboards with these types of features these days.
Again at Computex, Ducky consultant Erik Hsieh advised me it is as a result of induction can provide the identical form of feature-set as Corridor impact however for a fraction of the facility. Thus, making a gaming keyboard with all the advantages of Corridor impact and wi-fi connectivity potential. For the file, there are already wi-fi gaming keyboards with Corridor impact switches—the Keychron K2 HE, for instance—which can be why Ducky is not making a giant music and dance of the battery life anymore. I needed to ask about it, and I used to be advised to anticipate round 11 hours with the RGB enabled, or 37 hours with out.
I had already run my very own battery life check, previous to asking. The reason is I felt I needed to cost the One X regularly. For each hour of use, be it by way of the work day furiously typing on it, or gaming into the night, I logged how a lot battery life the Ducky reported by way of its handy shortcut: Fn + B. This disables all RGB lighting and lights up the quantity row, 1 – 0, in pink—1 being empty, 0 being full.
I ended up at 11.5 hours, give or take. For somebody sat at a PC for a lot of the day and into the night whereas gaming, it is a day of cost, or possibly a day and a half/two days of extra reasonable utilization.
With that in thoughts, the battery life is not one thing I might say is price shopping for this keyboard for alone. Different Corridor impact keyboards do it higher. It’s good for a modicum of time away from the desk, however like many wi-fi gaming keyboards, the wirelessness of it feels a bit of pointless. If you’re shopping for a keyboard with specialised options to chop sub-millisecond latency, including a pair milliseconds latency for one fewer cable does not add up. Although Ducky despatched over common latency figures for wired versus wi-fi: 10.48 ms to 12.76 ms, in keeping with the corporate’s personal testing.
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Nevertheless, all hope isn’t misplaced for these savvy switches: they may not be a battery-saving marvel, however they’re nonetheless good for plenty of issues.
For example, the One X provides adjustable actuation on any keys from 0.1 – 3.5 mm, in 0.1 mm settings. In my testing I attempted the total gamut for gaming and typing. My outcomes are fairly conclusive: 0.1 mm is for sadists.
Certain, if you wish to set your keyboard to what’s technically the quickest possibility, 0.1 mm is it. Nevertheless, I discovered even resting my fingers on the WASD keys would trigger me to float left and proper as I ran round my lil’ military man video games, Arma Reforger and Delta Power, and you may utterly neglect about typing at this setting. It is a massacre—typos everywh~ere.
The exact opposite happens when set to three.8 mm—who might’ve seen that one coming—which makes for hilariously highly effective stabs on the keys to translate any form of motion in-game or letter in a phrase doc. Although I ought to say, it isn’t unhealthy for typing. You make fewer typos while you’re mashing every key with the drive of ten stampeding buffalo.
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I discovered someplace across the 1.1 mm mark is fast and typo-proof sufficient for my wants. I like to recommend setting it someplace round there if you happen to’re attempting to make use of this keyboard for each typing and gaming, although you might edge all the way down to 0.5 mm if you happen to’re primarily utilizing it for gaming alone. This highlights one among my greatest gripes with the Ducky, nevertheless. There isn’t any simple option to have the perfect of each worlds.
There isn’t any change between profiles or modes on the One X. The Ducky Hub software program does not provide the performance and the Ducky has no key or shortcut to vary them even when it did. I checked in with Ducky on this one, and I used to be advised they’re “trying into” profiles. For now, although, it is sorely missed and all adjustments need to be made throughout the Ducky Hub software program over a USB connection. That takes time, and it makes altering a few of its specialised options between video games or typing an enormous nuisance.
The Ducky Hub software program is fairly simple to make use of, if a bit of restricted and never essentially the most inviting to take a look at. It is accessible through the browser (Chromium-based, sorry Firefox) and connects to your keyboard offering it is connected through a USB cable (a beautiful colour-matched one is included within the field). In it, the choices for perform layer shortcuts, macros, lighting, actuation, fast set off, and multi-point set off.
The software program lacks any form of steerage on what something means, or what any of it does, which is a bit of daunting for the first-time consumer, and particularly so if you happen to’re new to keyboards with this degree of customisation. I pulled out the Wooting 80HE for comparability, which has the spectacular Wootility internet software as one among its strongest options, and it is night time/day how a lot simpler it’s to navigate and use the Wootility than the Ducky Hub.
I needed to dive into the offered reviewer’s information to determine methods to use multi-point set off, and even then, I discovered it complicated at first. It is a function that ought to allow you to depress a key to actuate one perform, then, relying on how far it has been pressed or launched, actuate one other perform. You may allow as much as 4 features this manner, although I battle to consider simply two for a single key.
I’ve set-up multi-point set off to be used in Hunt: Showdown. I set my W key to actuate as regular between 0.6 mm and three mm, then for the ultimate 0.5 mm of journey, that exact same key additionally actuates Left Shift. Which means with the important thing absolutely depressed, my keyboard registers W + Left Shift collectively. This interprets to me with the ability to stroll and run in Hunt: Showdown with a single key press, relying on how far I press down, which frees up my pinky from Left Shift—this may then, in flip, be reassigned to one thing else.
Mutli-point set off isn’t with out its faults, nevertheless. I am going to admit that I had some challenge with setting it up that was finally all the way down to user-error. I hadn’t realised after establishing my multi-point set off in its personal devoted window that I additionally had to enter the important thing settings web page and drag that over to switch a key on my keyboard. Although there is no steerage to recommend this within the app and the way in which it features has a knock-on impact.
The second is an even bigger challenge stemming from the dearth of profiles. Whereas stroll/run with W is pretty widespread throughout FPS video games, extra particular multi-point triggers are solely going to be helpful in a single, or possibly a small handful, of video games. With out profiles, you’ll want to reassign your keys for each recreation you play, earlier than you play, or threat adversarial penalties. Equally, you’ll want to do the identical earlier than you utilize your keyboard for any typing. It is a ache, and after doing this a few instances, I used to be fed up with the method and simply did not use multi-point set off altogether.
Speedy set off is less complicated to allow, with a easy on/off toggle. This enables every key in your keyboard to deactivate (or reset) instantly upon launch, reasonably than at a pre-set level. It is essentially the most handy aggressive function to allow, being simple to allow and profit from with out concern of the ban hammer like SOCD, therefore why it is the go-to for best keyboards today. I have a tendency to show it on and go away it that means, it doesn’t matter what I am taking part in, as I am but to see any downsides throughout any use case.
I’ll give the Ducky a thumbs up for one essential factor: the switches are largely nice to make use of. They’re steady, with much less motion than Wooting’s Lekker switches. They’re clean to actuate as properly, due to a dollop of lube utilized on the manufacturing unit, which saves a job of doing it your self. Dig underneath the switches and you will find a number of layers of froth and sound dampening, too, which altogether makes for a responsive and comparatively low noise gaming or typing expertise.
These induction switches are additionally hot-swappable, as made clear by the actual fact they come out connected to the keycaps more often than not. Even if you happen to push down on a key too exhausting, the change pops out, which makes me barely fearful for the longevity of the plastic housing. That is particularly regarding when these switches are proprietary, and subsequently solely swappable with different switches of the identical design, and the dearth of spare switches within the field.
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Ducky hasn’t included any spares, so you may need to supply a substitute presumably from Ducky direct within the occasion of a fault. That is in stark distinction to the Wooting 80HE. It has proprietary switches however comes with 4 spares within the field, protecting most ordinary put on and tear.
I’ll give Ducky some credit score for what is included within the field: a small brush within the form of a duck. Then there’s the collection of keycaps in a beautiful pink hue and beautiful spacebar to have fun the 12 months of the dragon. It is the 12 months of the snake now, although this keyboard was meant to launch late final 12 months, which most likely explains that one. I am solely left wanting for a number of extra RGB LEDs throughout the spacebar to really do that partially translucent spacebar justice. Ducky has seen match to incorporate two additional LEDs left and proper of the only change beneath, however a pair extra both facet would make all of the distinction. Equally, the bonus peach keys aren’t as legible with lighting enabled as the usual set, which seems to be a bit pants.
Nonetheless, Ducky has created a really attractive-looking gaming keyboard right here and there are methods to make it your personal included within the field. In conventional Ducky style, you may discover no fancy screens or dials. There are, nevertheless, a collection of media keys within the prime proper hand nook. I’ve all the time appreciated this straightforward strategy from Ducky, and in return you get a really properly put collectively keyboard with solely the slightest little bit of flex.
In some methods, the issues the Ducky One X will get proper are the issues Ducky is thought for: high quality, simplicity, an ideal typing really feel, and a keyboard you might genuinely wield in gladiatorial fight. There’s little or no to complain about with regards to selection and sheer amount of supplies used within the One X.
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Purchase if…
✅ You need the quickest actuation round: You may set the induction keys within the One X to 0.1 mm, which is so delicate you may virtually actuate its keys with ideas alone (probably not, however it’s darned delicate).
✅ You desire a beautiful typing expertise: The induction switches within the One X are pre-lubed and really feel nice to each recreation and kind on. They’ve minimal wobble, which is ace in comparison with the competitors.
Do not buy if…
❌ You need glorious software program: Ducky’s software program is not nice—the fundamentals are there however there are not any profiles, which massively stings, and no explanations of what every setting does.
❌ You desire a backup plan ought to something go fallacious: Sadly Ducky does not embody any spare switches, which appears like a miss for an organization recognized for reliability and longevity.
In different methods, Ducky nonetheless has an extended option to go to compete with the highest aggressive gaming keyboards on the market. The software program, most of all, does not really feel as much as par with the competitors, which is more and more necessary with smarter gaming keyboards, and the dearth of profiles stings most of all. Ducky says it’s rolling out new options, profiles probably amongst them, so watch this area, however for now it is considerably complicated to make use of and missing necessary options. I additionally merely do not see the advantage of induction switches over extra prevalent Corridor impact ones proper now.
However we’ve not spoken about worth but. The Ducky One X is $179/£180, which is on the cheaper finish of the marketplace for aggressive keyboards, although $40 greater than our present prime rated Corridor impact keyboard, the Keychron K2 HE. That being mentioned, the One X is out there in two sizes: I am reviewing the dearer full-size mannequin, however the 60% model is $139. That is a reasonably good worth, if solely a bit of greater than the NuPhy Air60 HE, and for a wi-fi board.
I can see why Ducky has made the One X—the demand for aggressive gaming keyboards with options like fast set off is not going away, solely rising. Even so, I am struggling to see why you’d purchase this intelligent keyboard over the even cleverer competitors proper now.
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