The fastest low profile gaming keyboard? Nuphy Air60 HE Hall Effect
Today, we are diving into a keyboard that truly caught me off guard and quickly became one of my favorite gaming keyboards: the Nuphy Air60 HE. This isn’t just a low-profile Hall effect keyboard; it’s also one of the fastest Hall effect keyboards on the market right now. Combine that with the impressive stock sound and excellent software, and I have to admit that I’m genuinely impressed. But of course, no keyboard is perfect. Let’s jump into the review and break it all down.
Unboxing Experience
The unboxing experience is pretty simple. Inside, you get the keyboard, a dust cover, a 90° angled USB-C cable, a keycap and switch puller, plus extra keycaps for Mech users and non-translucent keycaps if you prefer a more minimal look.
The Air60 HE comes in two variants: one with Magnetic Jades for $120 and one with Magnetic Jade Pros for around $140. The Magnetic Jades have a POM stem, PC top housing, and nylon bottom housing, giving them a higher-pitched sound and a lighter feel due to the spring. On the other hand, the Jade Pros are fully made out of POM, offering a deeper, more thocky sound and smoother feel, but they come with a heavier spring. I personally went with the Jade Pros because I like heavier switches, and sound is important to me. If you prefer something lighter, I recommend the regular Jades.
Design and Build Quality
Design
A lot of people had complaints about the loud design of the Field 75H, but with the Air60 HE, Nuphy definitely kept things toned down. It’s a clean, minimalistic 60% keyboard with muted colors. The keycaps feature gray alphas, black modifiers, and some translucent purple accents, which I think look super cool. You’ve also got customizable RGB side lights on the aluminum top frame. The bottom is translucent gray ABS with flip-out feet that have decent grip and a shiny badge, similar to what we’ve seen on the Field 75H. On the front side of the keyboard, you’ll find a mute switch and a small Air60 HE logo.
The only design flaw for me is the USB-C port placement, which is on the left side. If you want to use a custom cable, it might look a bit weird. However, I found a right-angle USB-C adapter that fixed this issue for me.
Build Quality
The build quality is extremely impressive for such a slim keyboard. It feels surprisingly solid, especially considering its lightweight of just 541 grams. From the aluminum top frame to the ABS bottom, everything feels nice to the touch. The only area where I’m less impressed is the keycaps. They’re pretty thin, allowing RGB to shine through easily, and some legends on the modifiers appear slightly crooked. They’re also slippery and lack texture, which isn’t ideal for me.
Typing and Gaming Experience
The typing experience on the Air60 HE is super smooth and stiff, which I personally prefer on Hall effect keyboards. The low-profile Jade Pro switches feel amazing, producing a satisfying, subtle, and creamy sound thanks to various dampeners, including PCB and plate foam, plus a silicone dampener at the bottom. Another benefit is that these switches have the same 3.3mm travel distance as regular-sized Jades, offering plenty of room for rapid trigger and other Hall effect features.
The stabilizers are exceptionally well-lubed out of the box. However, the spacebar could use some tweaking to be quieter. I suspect the noise comes from the keycap itself, as it lacks the silicone molding around the stem seen on previous Nuphy boards.
When it comes to gaming, the Air60 HE performs right up there with the best. It features an 8,000Hz scan and polling rate, resulting in extremely low latencies. Although I didn’t have tools to measure latency, the keyboard felt incredibly responsive during a month of use. Its ultra-low front height, paired with low-profile switches and keycaps, delivers an amazing in-game experience. It’s so good that it turned me into a low-profile enthusiast, though it did take some time to get used to the narrow gaps between the keys and rows.
Software Features
The Air60 HE is packed with features like SD Mod Tab, dynamic keystroke, and adjustable actuation points, all accessible via Nuphy’s web-based software. In the key binding tab, you can set up features like DKS Mod Tab, toggle key, rapid shift, SOCD, and hyper tab by right-clicking a key. You can also remap keys and set up function layers.
In the trigger settings section, you can fine-tune actuation points, rapid triggers, and dead zones for each key. Actuation points range from 0.1mm to 3.3mm, with rapid trigger adjustments as small as 0.01mm. The switch selection tab lets you recalibrate the keyboard based on the switches you’re using. The new macro tab is a welcome addition, allowing for easy macro setup.
In the lighting tab, you’ll find various RGB effects, including both backlight and sidelight customization, though per-key RGB isn’t available. Under mode settings, you’ll find gaming-related features like key locking, gaming optimization, and polling rate adjustments. A settings icon allows you to save, import, and export configurations and update firmware. It’s worth noting how frequently Nuphy releases updates, showing their commitment to improving their keyboards.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the Air60 HE offers incredible value for the price without sacrificing performance or features. If you’re looking for a low-profile compact option, it’s easily one of the best out there, especially considering the fair price point of around $120 with regular Jade switches.
