Why I'm using a low-profile keyboard (for now)

================================================================================

For years I was firmly in the mechanical keyboard camp, and specifically a 60%
person. No numpad, no function row, no arrow cluster, just the keys I actually
used, in a footprint small enough to leave room for the mouse. A handful of
boards came and went, but they all had the same shape: clacky, and a bit of a
statement piece on the desk. There’s still a couple in the photo on my now page
(https://blog.omgmog.net/now/), left over from that era.

Lately though, I’ve drifted somewhere unexpected: low-profile, and further than
that (off mechanical switches entirely). I’ve been daily driving a Logitech MX
Keys (https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/shop/p/mx-keys-s) alongside an MX Master 2S
(https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/shop/p/mx-master-2s), and enjoying it more than
I expected to.

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/2026-07/logitech-920-010250_extra1.png]

The original reason I picked them up had nothing to do with typing feel, it was
for multi-device pairing. Both can be paired with multiple machines, one over
the USB receiver for automatic switching, and up to two more over Bluetooth via
a button on the device.

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/2026-07/universal-control.png]

Back then I had a Windows PC and a MacBook, and hopping between them without
re-pairing was exactly what I needed. What’s kept them on my desk is something I
didn’t plan for though: now that I’m on macOS day to day, Universal Control
(https://support.apple.com/en-us/102459) does most of that job for me, no more
relying on third-party apps like Synergy2 or Duet to move a single keyboard and
mouse between machines. The original reason has quietly become less important,
and I’m still using them anyway.

The keyboard charges over USB-C, wakes from a light touch on the frame, and is
already ready to go by the time my hands land on the keys. The mouse,
frustratingly, charges via micro USB (the newer MX Master 3S fixes that gap).
But the bigger surprise has been the typing feel itself. I expected to miss the
travel, the tactile bump, the clacking sound. In practice the low-profile
scissor switches have been comfortable enough for long sessions that I haven’t
gone looking for a replacement, quieter and flatter than the taller boards I
used to run.

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/2026-07/xda-keys.png]

The thing I do miss is the customisation, going through keycap sets bought
because the key profile (obviously XDA is the best key profile) or key legend
caught my eye. There’s no equivalent here, same slab of keys every day. None of
those old purchases were extravagant on their own, but it added up over years in
a way I didn’t notice until I totalled it up. This one, by contrast, was one
purchase: £96 back in 2023, and that’s been it since.

Old habits die hard, mind you, the numpad sits there on the right collecting
dust, a little monument to a decade of telling people I didn’t need one. I don’t
think I’m done with mechanical keyboards for good, but for the keyboard I reach
for every day, low-profile and boring-in-a-good-way has won out, for now.

================================================================================
Published July 03, 2026

Generated from the original post:
https://blog.omgmog.net/post/why-im-using-a-low-profile-keyboard/


- Github: https://github.com/omgmog
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/omgmog
- Email: mailto:hello@maxglenister.co.uk
- Mastodon: https://indieweb.social/@omgmog
- Reddit: https://reddit.com/u/omgmog
- Discord: https://discordapp.com/users/omgmog#6206
Max Glenister is an interface designer and senior full-stack developer from
Oxfordshire. He writes mostly about front-end development and technology.