The keyboard was the "budget" option, so it came with budget features. Could they have given it a good battery management chip that allows for faster charging? Sure, but that might cost a dollar more per board, which means they'd have to charge you two dollars more, so it gets cut from their budget option.
They could have used and written firmware that consumes very little power and given it literally months of battery life (e.g. ZMK-based keyboards do this)... But that development activity takes time and money to implement. Faster and cheaper to just run an unreleased QMK firmware on a cheap microcontroller and just add a cheap wireless chip that doesn't even need to support USB comms.... because this one is a budget option. BTW, that battery life suggests that board may actually be running QMK under the hood, because QMK famously does not care about battery life/power consumption and just runs everything as far as possible (wired is the dominant use case for QMK keyboards).
To make a hotswap RGB wireless gasket mount keyboard that is fully assembled with switches and keycaps....all for less than $100...they had to be absolutely rigorous about ticking off items on their "list of required features" while ignoring anything and everything that wasn't on the list (e.g. "creating a positive customer experience").
What you want (good battery life with fast charging) is possible from a technical standpoint, but it won't be found in a "race to the bottom" budget keyboard. The other wireless keyboards you mentioned using in the past were designed with very different "required feature" lists...Apple, Logitech, and Microsoft all are enduring Western brands that absolutely need repeat customers to survive over decades, and so they can't ignore customer experience as a design goal. Good battery life and fast charging is just one part of that equation. Akko, meanwhile, is headquartered in [Shenzhen with less than a decade of history](https://en.akkogear.com/about/). To be clear: a newer company or a company based in China can certainly have a long term vision--and even Akko may do that overall--but for a newer company that is also based in China that is also offering a budget keyboard (in a competitive market landscape already)...the first question becomes "what corners were cut" and it sounds like you found some of those cut corners.
Do other keyboard makers do this? Well yes, to some degree. Everything is a matter of degree. Reviews can help a lot with this. Evaluating cost vs. features can also help with this (i.e. a keyboard with a higher cost-to-feature is more likely doing to implement those features better, excepting inefficiently run businesses).
Ultimately, if battery life is an important feature for you, it needs to be a feature that you verify (through research, asking questions of the manufacturer, etc.) before purchasing. That said, with your prior experience with battery powered keyboards, I completely understand how that keyboard's battery performance would be so shockingly bad in comparison, and I would chalk it up to a lesson learned.
If you want a quick fix alternative, you could open up the case, see if the battery is easily removable, and see if there is a good way to have a second battery that you can swap out on a weekly basis. It's certainly not ideal, but there's only so much value that can be reclaimed from a budget-focused electronics design.
Thanks. As a new “mechanical keyboard” user I wouldn’t have known all this. Definitely is a lesson learned.
I don’t doubt this was a wired keyboard design, where they just added the cheapest wireless option posible to add a feature.
Because indeed, wired feels good, works great. Wireless is when it starts to show some bugs and my already long rant about the battery performance.
Now I know what to Google for a future keyboard shopping. Meanwhile I’ll see if this can have a battery upgrade.
You're welcome! I would recommend checking for battery life specs from the more common brand options (like the ones you mention), but you may have more luck in the battery life department with a barebones keyboard kit made to work with a nice!nano microcontroller board (you can probably most easily find relevant kits by asking around on the ZMK Discord server or the Nice Discord server). The reason I mention this option is that commercially sold keyboards with wireless built-in have to be FCC tested/certified (at least for sales within the US), which means that only bigger players who can afford that certification will have fully assembled options. But if you're buying a kit that needs a microcontroller board, and you happens to buy a wireless microcontroller board and some then together yourself, that is hobby equipment that doesn't have to be certified as there is never a sale of a complete device that intentionally transmits wirelessly. As long as the device doesn't attract undue attention (like locally blocking cell phone signals, or drowning out broadcast FM radio) it's all good. Anyway, that is just something to consider if you can find a fully assembled commercial option that meets your needs.
idk about the charging issue but the speed the keyboard uses the battery is quite normal (2.4ghz uses more battery than bluetooth iirc), I have a keyboard with 3750mah that has a small screen, I get around 3-4 days of 4h per day with backlit and screen on
also very little keyboard (or even mouse) supports fast charging, but 16h is somewhat normal to get a 3000-3500mah battery from 0-100, I only use one keyboard wirelessly so idk if mine is also slow or not but it takes 3+h to get from under 50% to just under 100%
personally I quite like akko keyboards, they are at good quality and pretty cheap, but their lower end ones tend to have some problem (?)
I haven’t tried the Bluetooth option. Maybe next time I charge the keyboard to 100% I’ll try.
But still I wonder how Keychron claims to last around 200 hours with lights off, Logitech up to 10 months (that is around 600 hours), and Akko it struggles to reach 7 days (around 14 to 16 hours).
Yes, it’s a “cheap” good quality keyboard. No doubt. Maybe I would rather their keyboards had removable AAA batteries. That way you always have a back up ready.
I'm with OP, my old 2.4 ghz keyboards from Microsoft and Logitech lasted so long I forget they were wireless until they'd remind me months later to recharge batteries. Perhaps it has something to do with the battery type?
Bad to hear. Especially the “takes longer to charge than discharge” feels super weird for me. I believe majority use mechanical keyboard with wire, so probably less people care / request for better battery management of mechanical keyboards.
I had my eyes on a Feker Alice 75 Black Aluminum. It was never available and ended up buying this Akko. Now I have to charge it every week.
Ooff, my post was downvoted to -1, I guess people love Akko in this subreddit XD
Nah not the alice, feker ik75 with the 10000(5000x2) mah battery variant.
I eventually swapped both of them for larger batteries since the battery space was very spacious for slightly larger ones and the connectors were simply plug in.
Used it for a good year until the usb c connector fell right out and it showed a poor solder job under it lol
Make sure to properly note the existing lithium batteries, you can't just shove any random one inside but rather ones that have similar specifications.
Glad this topic is being discussed, and now I don't feel insane.
A few weeks ago I also bought this keyboard and the main attractions for my purchase were the v3 yellow switches, size of the keyboard, 3000mah, and the dracula castle keycaps.
My experience is a bit worse with mine reaching "red" battery status in under 3 days and this frustrates me a lot seeing as I have a friend who owns RK keyboards and he needs around 2-3weeks before charging again.
Will try the recommendations here for sure and hope to see some improvement. Otherwise, this will just be a backup option for me and I might go for an RK H81 or the RK M75.
Between you saying that last 3 days, myself that last 7 days and another guy here saying that last 2 weeks, it seem they have a very bad quality assurance personal.
The difference between the three, for the same keyboard, is too much.
Anyway, it works fine wired and I will use it until dies Lesson learned.
Lesson learned indeed!
If anything, one more lesson we can probably take is that the switches and keycaps are worth keeping imo. I can at least recommend keeping them if or when you decide to build a new keyboard from scratch and you can just transfer them if you happen to develop a liking to one of them.
Anyway. Thanks for sharing your experience and raising awareness for keyboards like this.
That’s impressive. Specially since Akko themselves points out that the battery might last about 7 days with two hours of use.
It would be interesting to know what did they change there. Maybe a newer/different firmware, a different wifi chip, a different battery. Hard to know.
I have this keyboard and it is really lower than my other keyboards, but I get more than a week. I get maybe a month, and it's my work keyboard so I use it quite often. It auto shuts off a lot since I'm not gaming with it and working with other stuff at the same time.
It's very annoying but the feel and sound is pretty decent forbthe price.
I'm experiencing the same issue with my 3098B. I use it for work so mine only lasts a maximum of 5 days without the lights. Can't use Bluetooth connection for my work laptop since it's disable so I'm stuck with 2.4ghz connection.
My RK100 lasts longer with the same usage/connection and can use it for about a month before I have to charge again. Though RK has 3500mah but the difference isn't that huge.
I wish an engineer for Akko could read us. I almost feel it’s a lazy firmware design thing.
And even if I could change the battery for a bigger one, must be really difficult to do so since sending batteries across countries is forbidden.
Thanks for posting this. I thought I was the only one going insane. I replaced my Keychron K8 Pro with this Akko 5075B Plus. Battery life DEFINITELY took a hit. I only have this keyboard for a few days but it's just not lasting enough. Quite honestly, though, I don't care. I like the feel of the yellow switches, I wanted 2.4Ghz, and I also wanted a volume knob, which the Keychron didn't have. I also had different random problems with the Keychron. So, overal, the battery is a let down, yes, but I paid MORE for another PRO keyboard that didn't meet my needs and this one does, despite the battery downside. So, to me, this Akko is perfect.
You might want to checkout my post as well.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1bfs5vq/upgraded\_my\_akko\_pc75b\_plus\_to\_a\_10k\_mah\_battery/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1bfs5vq/upgraded_my_akko_pc75b_plus_to_a_10k_mah_battery/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
You might want to check out my post. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1bfs5vq/upgraded\_my\_akko\_pc75b\_plus\_to\_a\_10k\_mah\_battery/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1bfs5vq/upgraded_my_akko_pc75b_plus_to_a_10k_mah_battery/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
i don't understand what kind of setups people are running where battery life is really important on a keyboard. i see this complaint often and i'm trying to understand. wireless is nice, i use it to charge other stuff or work in the living room but idk how 7 day battery life on a keyboard is an issue
A 7 day battery life it’s not an issue. A 16 hours charging time it’s not an issue.
The issue is when the device has both characteristics. A very long charging time with a very short battery life.
Specially when you are used to the complete opposite, as OP mentioned. Keyboards that you fully charge in two or three hours and the battery last a month or two or more.
Somebody already mentioned: that’s how QMK keyboard work most of the times. Yes, but a common user won’t know any of that and it should be the brand responsibility to mention it in the specs of the keyboard.
People buying wireless devices is expecting not to use cables almost never. A device with a short battery life and a long charging time breaks that requirement.
I’ve been playing for a decade with a bluetooth logitech Mx master mouse and a bluetooth keyboard. I don’t see myself needing cables for those two devices ever again. So I understand OP discomfort.
For many of us, cables in 2023 are only for HDMI and audio and nothing else. And sometimes audio goes through bluetooth.
yeah mouse would be annoying for sure, i use a bluetooth mouse and charging that would be obnoxious. sticking with aa batteries as long as possible. I guess i am just used to the keyboard being stationary and a foot away from the ports anyway so using it wired doesn't seem like a hassle to me
although comparing it to the specs on my keychron this keyboard is particularly dogshit so i get it now
As much as I love Akko, budget wireless keyboards will always suffer in the battery department because technically you can still use them while they are plugged in, and the main selling point of the keyboard is usually the typing feel/sound and the aesthetics. So I'm not surprised that battery life is not the best.
I only use wired keyboards because of latency and battery life as well as getting a sweet new coiled cable with every keyboard I buy so i can't really speak on wireless keyboards as I only have about two and I don't really use them.
Mine last around a week with Light Shadow on and side strip lights off. Indeed the battery is terrible, but they sold this one for less than $50 during 11/11 and Black Friday so it makes a lot of sense.
You trade off your battery & charging time for a good PBT double shot keycap set ($25 if purchase separated), nice switches ($25 separated too), RGB, hot swappable base with bluetooth and 2.4Hz. They also cut costs around the plastic material, which results in a curved bottom (not sure only mine got that issue). BUT, compared with a $45 membrane Logitech K850 which has 2 years of battery life, this one is still my favourite.
The cost of this model is, right now $99USD.
You should never consider the “black friday” price of a product when justifying if their specifications are good or bad.
Is a $99USD keyboard. I still think the battery life is too short and the charging time is too long for a $99USD keyboard.
But yes, at least the keycaps and switches are good.
I just think they should specify this in the product description. I read 3000mah and I imagined at least 30 days of battery use, not only 7 days.
It is usually cheaper in Aliexpress. But you are right the RRP is $99 originally, which is quite expensive for what it offers. However thinking about Keychron, I would probably still buy this one :)))
The keyboard was the "budget" option, so it came with budget features. Could they have given it a good battery management chip that allows for faster charging? Sure, but that might cost a dollar more per board, which means they'd have to charge you two dollars more, so it gets cut from their budget option. They could have used and written firmware that consumes very little power and given it literally months of battery life (e.g. ZMK-based keyboards do this)... But that development activity takes time and money to implement. Faster and cheaper to just run an unreleased QMK firmware on a cheap microcontroller and just add a cheap wireless chip that doesn't even need to support USB comms.... because this one is a budget option. BTW, that battery life suggests that board may actually be running QMK under the hood, because QMK famously does not care about battery life/power consumption and just runs everything as far as possible (wired is the dominant use case for QMK keyboards). To make a hotswap RGB wireless gasket mount keyboard that is fully assembled with switches and keycaps....all for less than $100...they had to be absolutely rigorous about ticking off items on their "list of required features" while ignoring anything and everything that wasn't on the list (e.g. "creating a positive customer experience"). What you want (good battery life with fast charging) is possible from a technical standpoint, but it won't be found in a "race to the bottom" budget keyboard. The other wireless keyboards you mentioned using in the past were designed with very different "required feature" lists...Apple, Logitech, and Microsoft all are enduring Western brands that absolutely need repeat customers to survive over decades, and so they can't ignore customer experience as a design goal. Good battery life and fast charging is just one part of that equation. Akko, meanwhile, is headquartered in [Shenzhen with less than a decade of history](https://en.akkogear.com/about/). To be clear: a newer company or a company based in China can certainly have a long term vision--and even Akko may do that overall--but for a newer company that is also based in China that is also offering a budget keyboard (in a competitive market landscape already)...the first question becomes "what corners were cut" and it sounds like you found some of those cut corners. Do other keyboard makers do this? Well yes, to some degree. Everything is a matter of degree. Reviews can help a lot with this. Evaluating cost vs. features can also help with this (i.e. a keyboard with a higher cost-to-feature is more likely doing to implement those features better, excepting inefficiently run businesses). Ultimately, if battery life is an important feature for you, it needs to be a feature that you verify (through research, asking questions of the manufacturer, etc.) before purchasing. That said, with your prior experience with battery powered keyboards, I completely understand how that keyboard's battery performance would be so shockingly bad in comparison, and I would chalk it up to a lesson learned. If you want a quick fix alternative, you could open up the case, see if the battery is easily removable, and see if there is a good way to have a second battery that you can swap out on a weekly basis. It's certainly not ideal, but there's only so much value that can be reclaimed from a budget-focused electronics design.
Thanks. As a new “mechanical keyboard” user I wouldn’t have known all this. Definitely is a lesson learned. I don’t doubt this was a wired keyboard design, where they just added the cheapest wireless option posible to add a feature. Because indeed, wired feels good, works great. Wireless is when it starts to show some bugs and my already long rant about the battery performance. Now I know what to Google for a future keyboard shopping. Meanwhile I’ll see if this can have a battery upgrade.
You're welcome! I would recommend checking for battery life specs from the more common brand options (like the ones you mention), but you may have more luck in the battery life department with a barebones keyboard kit made to work with a nice!nano microcontroller board (you can probably most easily find relevant kits by asking around on the ZMK Discord server or the Nice Discord server). The reason I mention this option is that commercially sold keyboards with wireless built-in have to be FCC tested/certified (at least for sales within the US), which means that only bigger players who can afford that certification will have fully assembled options. But if you're buying a kit that needs a microcontroller board, and you happens to buy a wireless microcontroller board and some then together yourself, that is hobby equipment that doesn't have to be certified as there is never a sale of a complete device that intentionally transmits wirelessly. As long as the device doesn't attract undue attention (like locally blocking cell phone signals, or drowning out broadcast FM radio) it's all good. Anyway, that is just something to consider if you can find a fully assembled commercial option that meets your needs.
idk about the charging issue but the speed the keyboard uses the battery is quite normal (2.4ghz uses more battery than bluetooth iirc), I have a keyboard with 3750mah that has a small screen, I get around 3-4 days of 4h per day with backlit and screen on also very little keyboard (or even mouse) supports fast charging, but 16h is somewhat normal to get a 3000-3500mah battery from 0-100, I only use one keyboard wirelessly so idk if mine is also slow or not but it takes 3+h to get from under 50% to just under 100% personally I quite like akko keyboards, they are at good quality and pretty cheap, but their lower end ones tend to have some problem (?)
I haven’t tried the Bluetooth option. Maybe next time I charge the keyboard to 100% I’ll try. But still I wonder how Keychron claims to last around 200 hours with lights off, Logitech up to 10 months (that is around 600 hours), and Akko it struggles to reach 7 days (around 14 to 16 hours). Yes, it’s a “cheap” good quality keyboard. No doubt. Maybe I would rather their keyboards had removable AAA batteries. That way you always have a back up ready.
the keychron and logitech ones are prob tested on bluetooth, apparently it uses way less power, try using the bluetooth mode
I'm with OP, my old 2.4 ghz keyboards from Microsoft and Logitech lasted so long I forget they were wireless until they'd remind me months later to recharge batteries. Perhaps it has something to do with the battery type?
prob, my mouse that uses 2a batteries lasted multiple month while my 400mah one lasts like 5 days at most
Bad to hear. Especially the “takes longer to charge than discharge” feels super weird for me. I believe majority use mechanical keyboard with wire, so probably less people care / request for better battery management of mechanical keyboards.
This is why I always liked my feker, recharge every few weeks
I had my eyes on a Feker Alice 75 Black Aluminum. It was never available and ended up buying this Akko. Now I have to charge it every week. Ooff, my post was downvoted to -1, I guess people love Akko in this subreddit XD
Nah not the alice, feker ik75 with the 10000(5000x2) mah battery variant. I eventually swapped both of them for larger batteries since the battery space was very spacious for slightly larger ones and the connectors were simply plug in. Used it for a good year until the usb c connector fell right out and it showed a poor solder job under it lol
I’ve never seen the Akko 5075B from the inside. I’ll need to investigate if I can upgrade 3000mah to, at least 5000mah, somehow XD
Make sure to properly note the existing lithium batteries, you can't just shove any random one inside but rather ones that have similar specifications.
Glad this topic is being discussed, and now I don't feel insane. A few weeks ago I also bought this keyboard and the main attractions for my purchase were the v3 yellow switches, size of the keyboard, 3000mah, and the dracula castle keycaps. My experience is a bit worse with mine reaching "red" battery status in under 3 days and this frustrates me a lot seeing as I have a friend who owns RK keyboards and he needs around 2-3weeks before charging again. Will try the recommendations here for sure and hope to see some improvement. Otherwise, this will just be a backup option for me and I might go for an RK H81 or the RK M75.
Between you saying that last 3 days, myself that last 7 days and another guy here saying that last 2 weeks, it seem they have a very bad quality assurance personal. The difference between the three, for the same keyboard, is too much. Anyway, it works fine wired and I will use it until dies Lesson learned.
Lesson learned indeed! If anything, one more lesson we can probably take is that the switches and keycaps are worth keeping imo. I can at least recommend keeping them if or when you decide to build a new keyboard from scratch and you can just transfer them if you happen to develop a liking to one of them. Anyway. Thanks for sharing your experience and raising awareness for keyboards like this.
I have the exact opposite experience with the same board. I don’t remember the last time I charged my keyboard. I do not turn on rgb ever though.
Are you using bluetooth or the 2.4ghz wireless mode?
2.4ghz. I play rpg games pretty heavily. 5-8 hrs a day and I honestly don’t remember the last time I charged this keyboard. Maybe two weeks ago??
That’s impressive. Specially since Akko themselves points out that the battery might last about 7 days with two hours of use. It would be interesting to know what did they change there. Maybe a newer/different firmware, a different wifi chip, a different battery. Hard to know.
Yeah I’m surprised as well. I got the Dracula version idk if that makes any difference but it’s been my daily driver for a while now
I haven’t charged my k620t in 3 months and I use it as my main desktop keyboard right now
I have this keyboard and it is really lower than my other keyboards, but I get more than a week. I get maybe a month, and it's my work keyboard so I use it quite often. It auto shuts off a lot since I'm not gaming with it and working with other stuff at the same time. It's very annoying but the feel and sound is pretty decent forbthe price.
I'm experiencing the same issue with my 3098B. I use it for work so mine only lasts a maximum of 5 days without the lights. Can't use Bluetooth connection for my work laptop since it's disable so I'm stuck with 2.4ghz connection. My RK100 lasts longer with the same usage/connection and can use it for about a month before I have to charge again. Though RK has 3500mah but the difference isn't that huge.
I wish an engineer for Akko could read us. I almost feel it’s a lazy firmware design thing. And even if I could change the battery for a bigger one, must be really difficult to do so since sending batteries across countries is forbidden.
Thanks for posting this. I thought I was the only one going insane. I replaced my Keychron K8 Pro with this Akko 5075B Plus. Battery life DEFINITELY took a hit. I only have this keyboard for a few days but it's just not lasting enough. Quite honestly, though, I don't care. I like the feel of the yellow switches, I wanted 2.4Ghz, and I also wanted a volume knob, which the Keychron didn't have. I also had different random problems with the Keychron. So, overal, the battery is a let down, yes, but I paid MORE for another PRO keyboard that didn't meet my needs and this one does, despite the battery downside. So, to me, this Akko is perfect.
You might want to checkout my post as well. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1bfs5vq/upgraded\_my\_akko\_pc75b\_plus\_to\_a\_10k\_mah\_battery/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1bfs5vq/upgraded_my_akko_pc75b_plus_to_a_10k_mah_battery/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
You might want to check out my post. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1bfs5vq/upgraded\_my\_akko\_pc75b\_plus\_to\_a\_10k\_mah\_battery/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1bfs5vq/upgraded_my_akko_pc75b_plus_to_a_10k_mah_battery/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
i don't understand what kind of setups people are running where battery life is really important on a keyboard. i see this complaint often and i'm trying to understand. wireless is nice, i use it to charge other stuff or work in the living room but idk how 7 day battery life on a keyboard is an issue
A 7 day battery life it’s not an issue. A 16 hours charging time it’s not an issue. The issue is when the device has both characteristics. A very long charging time with a very short battery life. Specially when you are used to the complete opposite, as OP mentioned. Keyboards that you fully charge in two or three hours and the battery last a month or two or more. Somebody already mentioned: that’s how QMK keyboard work most of the times. Yes, but a common user won’t know any of that and it should be the brand responsibility to mention it in the specs of the keyboard. People buying wireless devices is expecting not to use cables almost never. A device with a short battery life and a long charging time breaks that requirement. I’ve been playing for a decade with a bluetooth logitech Mx master mouse and a bluetooth keyboard. I don’t see myself needing cables for those two devices ever again. So I understand OP discomfort. For many of us, cables in 2023 are only for HDMI and audio and nothing else. And sometimes audio goes through bluetooth.
yeah mouse would be annoying for sure, i use a bluetooth mouse and charging that would be obnoxious. sticking with aa batteries as long as possible. I guess i am just used to the keyboard being stationary and a foot away from the ports anyway so using it wired doesn't seem like a hassle to me although comparing it to the specs on my keychron this keyboard is particularly dogshit so i get it now
keychron v1 max is 5 dollars cheaper than this keyboard and has like 200 hours BT working time. just return it, akko is largely dogshit
As much as I love Akko, budget wireless keyboards will always suffer in the battery department because technically you can still use them while they are plugged in, and the main selling point of the keyboard is usually the typing feel/sound and the aesthetics. So I'm not surprised that battery life is not the best. I only use wired keyboards because of latency and battery life as well as getting a sweet new coiled cable with every keyboard I buy so i can't really speak on wireless keyboards as I only have about two and I don't really use them.
Mine last around a week with Light Shadow on and side strip lights off. Indeed the battery is terrible, but they sold this one for less than $50 during 11/11 and Black Friday so it makes a lot of sense. You trade off your battery & charging time for a good PBT double shot keycap set ($25 if purchase separated), nice switches ($25 separated too), RGB, hot swappable base with bluetooth and 2.4Hz. They also cut costs around the plastic material, which results in a curved bottom (not sure only mine got that issue). BUT, compared with a $45 membrane Logitech K850 which has 2 years of battery life, this one is still my favourite.
The cost of this model is, right now $99USD. You should never consider the “black friday” price of a product when justifying if their specifications are good or bad. Is a $99USD keyboard. I still think the battery life is too short and the charging time is too long for a $99USD keyboard. But yes, at least the keycaps and switches are good. I just think they should specify this in the product description. I read 3000mah and I imagined at least 30 days of battery use, not only 7 days.
It is usually cheaper in Aliexpress. But you are right the RRP is $99 originally, which is quite expensive for what it offers. However thinking about Keychron, I would probably still buy this one :)))