By | July 2, 2024
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The new Icy Silver V2 Pro switches are part of what gives the RGB 65 it’s thocky tone. The cutouts in the Polyoxymethylene (POM) plate combined with adjustable leaf springs give the keys a bit of flex while typing.

But the real surprise is that what at first blush looks like a container for nearly $600 of parts an existing board is actually Angry Miao’s best mech to date.

The RGB 65 is a 65 percent layout keyboard, but its large dot-matrix LED pan means it takes up almost as much space as most 75 percent keyboards. It looks a lot like a flattened one Cyberboard (which is running over $800 for some variants), which makes me wonder if Angry Miao had extra stock of these LED displays and wanted to download a batch. But thankfully, the RGB 65 takes more of its design cues from one of the most loved handheld devices in human history than from one often mocked rolling garbage can.

The retro vibes are most pronounced on the white and purple versions, but all colors of the RGB 65 have small details that pay homage to Nintendo’s industrial design from the original ”DMG-01” Game Boy. This includes a curved lower-right corner with six slats that mimic the speaker grill, a negative D-pad cutout surrounding the USB-C port, and mock B and A buttons on the underside, replacing the existing wireless charging pad on other AM models Another aesthetic flourish is a Galaga pixel art graphics adorning the plastic antenna window that allows Bluetooth 5.1 and 2.4GHz wireless connections through the metal chassis.

Typing on the RGB 65 is a breath of fresh air compared to previous Angry Miao boards. The marble-colored sound signature is still present, but the new Icy Silver V2 linear switches with their nylon housings and revised internal design give the RGB 65 a deeper, much more “thump” sound than other AM keyboard I have tried.

I’m relieved to see Angry Miao making progress in the sound and writing feel departments. While I’ve personally enjoyed the sound of most previous AM keyboards, it’s all very subjective. And “meta” around what’s popular in the custom mechanical keyboard scene continues to develop. I think Angry Miao does a good job of following the trends here, and it has to. This is a very expensive keyboard that should feel and sound good out of the box, especially when you consider that it reproduces a major design element from the Cyberboard.

The 200-LED dot-matrix panel on the Cyberboard always looked charming, but although recycled on the RGB 65, it’s better implemented and a bit more practical. Instead of being angled away from you and upside down like the Cyberboard, it’s flat on the main deck and easy to see. It’s still mostly a flashy novelty to go along with the RGB light show under the keys, but you can use Angry Miao’s page to make some in-depth customizations or download ready-made presets from the community. It’s fun to tinker with, although I end up using it as a large desk clock most of the time.

But the most overwhelming thing about RGB 65 is this “cyber gray” color combination, at least compared to the white and “violet rage” options. It looks nice in its own right, sure, but the other two feel like it’s where it’s at for maximum Game Boy vibes. If the gray model used opaque light gray or jet black buttons, it might channel a little bit Game Boy Advance SP or Game Boy Pocket.

Anyway, RGB 65 is in desperate need of review atomic purple or jungle green action (which is another ongoing trend), so I hope Angry Miao considers a cheaper all-plastic version in the future. I’d even be willing to sacrifice some of that swagger if Angry Miao can afford not to over-engineer every little thing from aluminum.

AM RGB 65s Kickstarter campaign launches today, starting at $449 for a bare-bones kit (no keypads or switches) and topping out at $598 for a complete pre-built package in violet. Angry Miao is running an early-bird discount of 8 percent for the first 48 hours of the promotion.

Photograph by Antonio G. Di Benedetto/The Verge

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