Kinesis mWave Mac Mechanical Keyboard: A Short Review

My favorite keyboard of all time is probably the Microsoft Sculpt. I actually own four (yes, 4) of them because I was afraid that Microsoft would stop selling them, and I wanted enough for a lifetime.

However, around a year ago, I switched to a MacBook and so I stopped using the Sculpt. I've been looking for a Sculpt alternative that is made for macOS, and I was very excited when I heard about the Kinesis mWave for Mac. I immediately bought one and I've been daily driving it for over a week now. This will then be a very brief review.

I'll start by saying I love this keyboard and I don't see myself using any other keyboard any time soon. However, let's now jump into what's not good about this keyboard.

What I don't like

• Major: The keyboard runs on batteries and not a proper battery that can be charged (so you always have to have batteries around just in case).
• Major: The palm rest is not good for people who easily get sweaty palms. Be warned, it can get very warm!
• Major: The media keys row does not match the macOS order. This is really frustrating if you're going to be switching back between a MacBook's native keyboard and an external keyboard.

Now for some more minor stuff:

• The backlighting only works if you connect the keyboard via cable.
• The keyboard doesn't come with a keycap remover which is important for deep cleaning.
• The cable it comes with is a USB-A <> USB-C. It should be USB-C <> USB-C in 2025.

What I like, and why I'll use this "forever"

• The Gateron Brown switches feel great, and the build quality is pretty good.
• The Sculpt-like layout position is really comfortable for me. The split space key (just like in the Sculpt) is also well done.
• It's heavy enough, but not too heavy.
• I can use my left palm for Ctrl! (Yes, I use Emacs shortcuts everywhere)
• The palm rest is really, really comfortable (see, however, my note above about sweaty palms).
• I think the price tag ($120 USD) is fair. No batteries were included though.
• It's basically the only keyboard I know in this category, so I really don't have a choice despite some of the downsides.

Feel free to reach out on Twitter/X if you have any questions!