Epomaker NT68 is a mechanical alternative to your MacBook keyboard

If you can’t stand typing on a Macbook’s scissor keyboard, let alone a butterfly model, and don’t feel like lugging around one of the few laptops with a full mechanical keyboard built in, then Epomaker’s new wireless keyboard could be one for you. The NT68 is designed to sit on the keyboard of a MacBook or other laptop so your fingers don’t have to support their rubber switches for a second longer than necessary.

It’s not an entirely new idea (Nuphy’s NuType F1 keyboard is another recent example) but the quality and specs of Epomaker’s previous keyboards make the NT68 worthy of attention. It can be wired via USB-C, connected via Bluetooth to up to three devices, and its switches are hot-swappable so you can change the keyboard typing feel without having to pull out a soldering iron. It uses what’s called a 65% layout, which means you only get five rows of keys and no dedicated function rows. It’s compact, but at the cost of a few extra touches.

Image: Epomaker

Oh, and there’s the RGB backlighting too if you care about that sort of thing. The NT68 has what Epomaker calls an “invisible stand” and its magnetic case can support any phone or tablet you want to pair it with. Its 1900 mAh battery is designed for cordless use for two to five weeks.

Yes I was never going to make the effort to carry a small mechanical keyboard to use on a laptop, so I would seriously consider the NT68. But that’s a big “if”. For starters, even as someone with around half a dozen different keyboards, it still seems impractical to carry an extra keyboard to replace the perfectly functioning one built into my laptop. Even then I couldn’t see myself bothering to put on the keyboard directly above the keyboard of a laptop computer when it is much more ergonomic and comfortable to sit on the desk in front of you.

But hey, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. Epomaker has yet to announce a release date or price for the NT68, but it is urging people to sign up to receive updates on its website.