Scissor switch: a low-profile switch design often used in laptop keyboards that uses plastic or metal hinges to support the key. Most inexpensive keyboards use this switch design. Rubber dome: a standard non-mechanical keyboard design that uses a sheet of rubber to cover electrical switches, which are then activated when the key is depressed. The square stem is incompatible with most keycaps. Romer-G: A Logitech key and stem design with a fast actuation. Very popular for “gaming” mechanical keyboards.
Red: linear switch with no click and a medium 45g actuation.Clear: tactile switch with no click and a very strong 65g actuation.Green: tactile switch with “clicky” audio feedback and a very strong 70g activation.Very common as a lower-volume alternative to blue switches. Brown: tactile switch with no click and medium 45g actuation.Blue: tactile switch with “clicky” audio feedback and a strong 50g actuation.Black: linear switch with no click and a strong 60g activation.Key manufacturers use different color codes for their various switches, but most roughly follow the Cherry style of color coordination: Key switch colors: similar key switches are offered in different “colors,” with each color corresponding to different aspects of the switch design itself: clicky versus non-clicky, tactile versus linear, and different actuation forces. Authentic Topre switches use a circular stem that is not compatible with Cherry-style keycaps, though adapters can be installed. Topre switches are rarer than Cherry-style switches and are used on the company’s own Realforce brand keyboards as well as the Happy Hacking Keyboard family. Topre: A Japanese corporation famous for their titular electrostatic capacitive switches. Tactile switches are generally preferred by typists for their actuation feedback. Tactile: a key switch design with a distinct “bump” in the actuation, as opposed to the smooth motion of linear. Linear switches are generally preferred by gamers thanks to their superior speed for multiple rapid presses. Linear: a key switch design with a smooth motion from top to bottom and actuation, with no “click” or tactile feedback. Most modern switch designs are offered with optional LEDs built in, allowing for simple backlighting or more elaborate multicolor “RGB” lighting. Topre is the most common electrostatic switch, and similar designs are often called “Topre clones” and “Topre-like.” Electrostatic capacitive switches produce a distinctive “thonk” feeling when pressed, and are available in different spring strengths and with different key stems. Switch designs without this extra audible feedback are described as “non-clicky.”Įlectrostatic capacitive switch: an alternative “semi-mechanical” switch that uses a rubber or plastic dome over a spiral-shaped spring that rests directly on the keyboard’s circuit board. Not to be confused with tactile switches some switches are both “clicky” and “tactile,” but not all tactile switches are clicky. Many companies have copied the Cherry switch design and use the same cross-shaped stem to make keyboards and keycaps interchangeable.Ĭlicky: the audible “click” sound made from a switch. Cherry MX switches are available in different “colors” which correspond to different switch features and resistances.
Cherry-style switch manufacturers include Gateron, Kailh, and Zeal PC (Zealio).Ĭherry MX switch: the de facto standard key switch type for modern mechanical keyboards, developed by German company Cherry in the 1980s. Buckling spring switches inspired modern key switch designs, but are not actually used on most keyboards, except the legacy models still sold by Unicomp.Ĭherry clone: a switch designed to match the Cherry MX style, but manufactured by another company.
Rubber dome keys usually require a full bottom out to activate.īuckling spring switch: a relatively simple and old-fashioned spring switch first designed by IBM, and made famous by the Model M keyboard. Mechanical keys actuate before bottoming out, meaning it’s possible to type faster and with less force (though some heavy typists still do so). Bottom out: the act of pressing a key to its full depth.