Best keyboards 2021: Our pick of the top PC and Mac keyboards

(Pocket-lint) - Looking for a caller keyboard? You've travel to the close spot - here's our roundup of the champion keyboards we've tested out.

As you'd expect, determination are options for each requirements, from radical who benignant each time to those who usage them chiefly for shortcuts successful apps similar Photoshop.

There are besides options for a scope of antithetic budgets, whether you're prepared to bargain thing much premium oregon conscionable privation a inexpensive utilitarian keyboard. 

If you're looking for a gaming keyboard, cheque retired our alternate guide: Best gaming keyboards: The champion quiet, loud, colourful and arrogant mechanical keyboards around

Best keyboards disposable to bargain today

Apple Magic Wireless Keyboard 2

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If you person a Mac, the astir convenient spot to commencement is with Apple's ain peripherals. The Magic Keyboard isn't virtually magic, but due to the fact that it's Apple, it pairs automatically with immoderate Mac with precise small effort. 

What we emotion astir Apple's keyboard is however tiny and portable it is. It's precise slim, and the keys are bully and big, positive they're airy and casual to benignant connected quickly. 

The debased illustration keyboard ensures your hands aren't astatine excessively overmuch of an angle, making it comfy to benignant connected implicit agelong periods arsenic well.

And due to the fact that of its size, and compatibility with iPad, it's casual to propulsion successful a container with the tablet erstwhile you're retired and about. 

Logitech K780

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Logitech is the champ of mundane keyboards, but it has upped the ante present - this is simply a wireless multi-device keyboard.

At the interaction of a button, you tin seamlessly power betwixt devices. It tin link to a PC oregon Mac via the included Logitech Unifying Receiver oregon you tin conscionable usage Bluetooth. Indeed, we recovered that utilized Bluetooth with our PC, iPad and iPhone, alternatively of the receiver.

Although it's a slimline keyboard, cardinal question is rather generous and you'll rapidly find yourself astatine home. While the keyboard layout is chiefly Mac and iOS-orientated, it works good with Windows and Android devices.

There's besides a ridge down the keyboard that tin beryllium utilized for holding pens oregon stylus but it'll prop up your iPad oregon iPhone, too. The keyboard besides doesn't slip, either. Power comes from 2 AAA batteries, portion there's besides a abstraction for the receiver successful the artillery compartment, too. 

Microsoft Surface Bluetooth Keyboard with Fingerprint ID

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Microsoft's Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID mightiness not person a sleek and minimal name, but its plan and functionality is everything you'd privation from a modern, slim, wireless typing tool. 

One of its cardinal features - arsenic its sanction suggests - is the built-in fingerprint scanner. It's compatible with Windows Hello, meaning you motion successful to your PC by resting your fingerprint connected the scanner. 

As for typing, it's speedy and easy, acknowledgment to those large quadrate keys and the keyboard's wide slim profile. It's comparatively ergonomic, too, with it being somewhat slanted, successful a akin mode to Apple's keyboards. And with it being built chiefly from a sturdy expanse of aluminium, it's some charismatic and durable. 

It connects by Bluetooth to your PC oregon laptop, and with a artillery beingness of up to 4 months connected a azygous charge, which is fantastic.  

Logitech Craft

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With the Craft, Logitech has pushed into the nonrecreational market.

In the top-left country of the keyboard, there's an input dial that tin beryllium customised to connection antithetic features for antithetic apps.

Using Logitech's desktop bundle you tin take to person it summation oregon alteration the measurement successful Spotify, power tabs successful Chrome, oregon scroll done a video timeline successful Final Cut Pro. And those are conscionable immoderate of the options, determination are galore more. 

Elsewhere, the backlit keys airy up automatically erstwhile your hands attack the keyboard. Using the unifying receiver oregon Bluetooth, you tin brace it with up to 3 devices and power betwixt them easy too. 

Keychron K1

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For the astir part, the mechanical keyboard marketplace is filled with big, chunky keyboards and mostly lone truly disposable with Windows keys connected them. For those with Macs, oregon those who privation a slim wireless option, the choices are limited. That's wherever the Keychron K1 comes in. 

You tin take to person a fig pad, oregon not, oregon take to person Apple keys oregon Windows buttons. The important happening though is that it's mechanical, slim and wireless. 

Keychron achieved this by processing its ain mechanical switches that are somewhat much compact than accepted switches. The keycaps themselves are slimline too, much successful keeping with what you'd find connected a laptop. 

Those looking for a nice, steadfast mechanical click mightiness beryllium disappointed by the keys' rather brushed response, but that does mean 1 thing: it's casual to benignant rapidly on, and it won't effect successful arsenic overmuch cramp arsenic a full-on mechanical enactment might. Did we notation the keys besides person RGB backlighting with a big of pre-made animation effects? 

Logitech K380

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For its sheer usefulness, it hasn't taken america agelong to admit however awesome the K380 is - each for a precise tenable price.

This compact Bluetooth keyboard is multi-device, letting you power betwixt 3 paired devices astatine the interaction of a button. Its keys are bully and quiet, though with coagulated travel, and its size makes it a large enactment for those whose moving abstraction changes often. 

You get a afloat scope of relation keys, which is truly useful, and we're besides superior fans of the keyboard's looks. We've got the achromatic model, but each of its colour options, including a delightful heavy blue, are stylish and modern.

As efficaciously a shrunk-down mentation of the fantabulous K780 above, if you're a minimalist idiosyncratic oregon conscionable privation a reliable, no-frills keyboard, this is apt to beryllium a truly superb option.

Logitech ERGO K860

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Logitech has returned to ergonomic keyboards with a splash successful the signifier of the K860, and we've loved transitioning to it.

It cautiously gets your wrists into a much earthy presumption to easiness the strain connected them, and has a brushed but steadfast wristpad built-in for added comfort.

With raisers that marque it cleanable for lasting oregon sitting desks, the aforesaid superb cardinal strategy arsenic the Logitech MX Keys, and wholly soundless operation, it's a imagination to use.

Easy pairing and instrumentality switching marque it adjacent smoother, and erstwhile you're utilized to it you'll conflict to spell backmost to a mean keyboard, astatine slightest for work. 

Azio RCK

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If you privation your keyboard to beryllium the centre-piece of your trendy chic, succulent strewn bureau desk, this is that keyboard. Azio's RCK (Retro Compact Keyboard) is simply a stunning illustration of plan and aesthetics, and 1 that's intelligibly made to emulate the classical typewriter keyboards of yesteryear. 

It's an incredibly sturdy and well-made keyboard that's disposable successful a fistful of charismatic finishes. The mechanical switches are tactile and clicky, meaning the consciousness and dependable are some beauteous wonderful. 

It's wireless, too, and has a immense artillery for agelong life, arsenic good arsenic moving conscionable arsenic good implicit a Type-C cable. It besides lets users power betwixt Mac and Windows easy by offering a power connected the back, with a matching wrist wrest besides featuring to assistance bring your hands up to level.

If you're not a instrumentality of the tiny compact design, Azio besides makes a bigger mentation with a fig pad. 

Corsair K83

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Corsair is simply a well-known marque successful the satellite of PC peripherals, and, with the K83, it wants to get into your surviving room, arsenic well.

Unlike its astir fashionable typing machines, it's not a heavy, customisable gaming keyboard. This is simply a slim, sleek fig with a acheronian brushed metallic screen connected the apical and - much importantly - a big of different controls connected the close side. There's a circular trackpad, rodent buttons, a agelong scroll instrumentality and a joystick, arsenic good arsenic a mates of enarthrosis buttons. 

It's an perfect keyboard if you hap to person your PC hooked up to the TV successful the surviving room, and means you don't person to beryllium with a abstracted rodent and keyboard connected the sofa.

It's each built into a azygous portion that's lightweight and slim capable to store. What's more, you tin brace it with up to 3 devices (one with the Corsair receiver, 2 Bluetooth), and power betwixt them rapidly with the dedicated relation keys connected the apical row. 

Roccat Vulcan TKL Pro

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If you're a gamer looking for a caller mechanical keyboard, you should cheque retired Roccat's Vulcan TKL Pro. It's got a truly rugged, concern plan and RGB lighting that you tin easy power and dial up oregon down.

The keyboard keeps things bully and simple, without galore added buttons, but a utile measurement dial is 1 sensible addition.

With a USB cablegram to link it to your PC, input lag is simply a happening of the past, and the cardinal enactment is satisfying, and casual to trigger, making your effect times wholly down to your reactions. 

Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard

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Just similar Logitech's ergonomic K860, the purpose with the Microsoft Sculpt bid of peripherals is to get your hands and wrists astatine much earthy angles, reducing strain and helping typists to debar getting repetitive strain injury. 

As for the keyboard itself, it's besides fantastic for anyone who does a batch of typing time successful and time out. There's a built-in wrist rest, and the 2 halves of the keyboard are divided apart, giving much earthy separation betwixt your 2 hands.

They're besides angled inwards slightly, to support your wrists and hands pointing successful the aforesaid absorption arsenic your arms. What's more, the 2 halves slope downwards, to support your wrists from being wholly flat, and there's adjacent an further basal to drawback connected beneath it if you request your hands to beryllium astatine a much downward angle. 

Perhaps the lone downside is that it lone works with the Microsoft receiver. It doesn't person Bluetooth, truthful can't link to a Mac, for example, without a dongle - that puts the Logitech supra retired successful front, for us. 

Writing by Cam Bunton. Editing by Conor Allison. Originally published connected 1 July 2019.