https://hhkeyboard.us/hhkb-studio
Looks really interesting. Shocked they’re moving away from Topre for a new release.
3 Likes
Big mistake. They should’ve doubled up on their strong points, Topre, instead of chasing after MX market.
7 Likes
I’m sure people will have strong feeling on this one.
Curious if anyone has any input on the 6u spacebar. I like HHKBs and regularly use one but I’ve always thought it was funky and maybe a relic of when it was made. Seems like they could correct that here since they’re going MX. That perhaps points toward the fact that there’s nothing to correct. Does 6U maybe keep those modifiers closer and that’s a plus for people?
1 Like
Interesting. It’s almost like as time marches on, the people interested in a dedicated “professional” keyboard will come into the market with a different set of expectations. Probably quite a few Gen X’ers now who have fond memories of their IBM-built ThinkPads, and MX keyboards, one way or another, are default for anyone who wants to move beyond membranes and laptops. I doubt they’ll sell very many of these to enthusiasts, but it could do well and is a smart hedge against potential erosion of their traditional customer base.
4 Likes
I mean, they didn’t even have to chase the MX market for customization. They could have just had MX compatible sliders for customization. Who knows 
What’s the pricepoint?
If the board was around $150-$200 I would buy one. If it’s over 200, that’s just a bad read.
2 Likes
With all of the touch sensor stuff built in I’m thinking it’s way more than that.
Worth noting, because of the Thinkpad nub, most aftermarket sets won’t work with it. I think they were just looking to commoditize it. Assembly, etc of Topre keyboards must be more expensive than that of MX boards.
Also, it’s pretty interesting that this is coming out in the wake of the Angry Meow HHKB board that was teased earlier this year. It’s got the touch screen and everything.
1 Like
Was just thinking about that as most popular sets (read: GMK, etc.) won’t work with the nub. I think this is truly for the group that wants an all in one keyboard that they can change the switches out of and maybe a few accent keycaps and that’s about it. Those sliders are very reminiscent of the Novatouch sliders of yore.
1 Like
This thread (and others I’ve been reading on various platforms) demonstrates that keyboard enthusiasts think this is a miss. So maybe we just aren’t the target market.
4 Likes
I think it does a lot of cool things the more I ponder on it, but at the same time if I were to get it, I would want it in Topre…
It’s neat but why not play to your strengths? There really should be two versions.
1 Like
The real story is that it’s $449 at full price! Good golly.
Also:
looks like their “HHKB Switches” are Kailh silents. Not a bad choice, really. They remind me of the Deep Sea switches and I’m a pretty big fan of those for silent switches.
2 Likes
I’m wondering if they went with MX to cash in on the bigger market, but also because the EC swiping ability on the sides interfered. And for whatever reason, they thought the latter was important.
With customization options severely limited by the 6u spacebar and the trackpoint, I really don’t see the point of adopting mx switches.
5 Likes
Not to mention the keyboard-specific keycaps necessary to accommodate the pointer mouse.
One of the significant downsides of Topre was the difficulty in finding attractive aftermarket caps. Now they’ve gone with MX but still found a way to make aftermarket caps all but impossible.
7 Likes
This 100%, we already have the Tex Yoda if someone wanted a 60% MX board with a track nip. Definitely a big miss with that. I mean there is this GMK set made for the Tex Yoda, but I think it doesn’t come with a 6u space bar & good luck finding one of these sets nowadays.
2 Likes
Im also not sold on this, I think it really misses the point. Topre was THE selling point for the more expensive HHKB boards for me, changing this to MX now feels just…wrong.
I like the trackpoint and also think that the touch input could be useful, but in a package with MX thats oddly not enough for me, to justify that pricepoint. If they would also gone Topre, that would be a whole other story.
1 Like
I’m sure it will be a quality keyboard. Maybe priced a bit too high at full retail. Can’t get over the fact that this is like Tesla coming out with a new gas car.
2 Likes
Mentioned Tom’s Hardware review in Interesting Finds so I’ll cross-link here.
What do I know - I don’t even have a HHKB or Topre board (yet). However, it seems like an odd product that does not play to the brand’s strengths.