Keychron C2 Wired Mechanical Keyboard

As per title, I bought the Non-Backlight (Retro Color) version of the Keychron C2. This is my first mechanical keyboard and I have been using it for a couple of days. The build quality is great and it's a pleasure to type on it. I must say that the retro color looks even better in person as I was completely in awe when I unboxed it.

It might take some time to get used to it coming from a membrane keyboard but I love the tactile responsiveness of the keys and they are not very noisy (I got the Keychron Mechanical Hot-Swappable Red switches).

The only criticism that I have is that the USB-C cable seems to wiggle just a little when inserted in the connector. Also, not all USB-C cables fit in the connector as the recessed area around it is not big enough. In fact, I tried using multiple cables just for testing purposes and some of them would not even "click" and connect properly. Obviously, the cable that is in the box doesn't have any issue and I also tried with my Android phone charging cable and had no issue.

I love the fact that I can use it on both macOS and Windows with no compatibility issues at all. It's a great bang for the buck and a fantastic product. I am genuinely happy with my purchase and I can definitely recommended it for those like me who want to get a mechanical keyboard without spending an unreasonable amount of money.

Well done Keychron!

Overall, my initial impression of the C2 is that it's a high quality keyboard for the price. I've been shopping keyboards for a while now and keep coming back to Keychron because of their design, variety of offerings, and large customer base. Being new to mechanical keyboards, the extra key travel and louder typing sound will take some time for me to get used to.

Likes:
- Quality build with solid construction
- Backlit, with dimmer and multiple lighting effects
- USB C to A adapter included
- Packaging, gives a premium feel
- Customization options (white or RGB LED, Hot Swap or Soldered, wide range of key Caps and switches to choose from). I went with the white LED non-hot swap version.

Dislikes:
- The black shine through keycaps are muddy looking and difficult to read in most lighting situations when backlight is off; to their credit, Keychron has explained this thoroughly on their site.
- LED color is a bit harsh and lowest brightness setting isn't dim enough for me; would prefer a warmer white (typical of that seen with household lighting) and wider range of control over the dimness level. It seems like the lowest setting is around 50%, with 5 levels, a better choice would have been 20, 40, 60, 80, & 100%. Perhaps this is something Keychron can address if they ever decide to bring QMK/VIA support to the C1/C2.
- My typing accuracy took a hit when switching from a standard low profile $20 Dell keyboard; maybe just takes some getting used to.
- Keyboard is louder and key travel is longer than expected. I went with Brown switches, perhaps one of the low profile offerings would have been a better choice for me.
- Some of the keycap label decisions were a questionable step away from the norm.
- Directional, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn labels missing from numpad which is fine by me
- Backspace key is almost identical to the Return key
- Punctuation and special character labels are to left vs above default key label

I bought this keyboard in the 'retro' colorway with brown switches for my work from home set up and it looks and feels great. The quality is great for the price, especially when paired with the wrist rest. This is my first set of brown switches, I was planning on taking them out right away for some Silk Yellows but the feel and sound of the stock brown switches are better than expected.

I recommend this keyboard to anyone!!! I went with the retro look with reds. It feels amazing and sounds fantastic! I will definitely be buying another one someday! I just want to type all the time. If I had this keyboard in college. I would have had no issues writing any of my essays haha.

Key-p up the great work Keychron!!

I bought a K1SE for when I work from home and a C2 (non-backlit, non-hot-swappable) for the office. Both were great purchases. The C2 looks great for the office (not flashy) and I really enjoy typing on it. I was very happy to find a full-size keyboard, since I often need the num pad for work. While it is comfortable to use, for me it definitely needs a wrist rest (which I already had).
One of my biggest complaints is the lack of alternative layouts available, either when buying the keyboard or even with the available sets of keycaps. Even having a uniform-profile like XDA would have been enough, but that isn't available for the 100% size. I was able to get keycaps from WASD that work for me.
The keyboard also goes to sleep on me if I'm away for a while like going to a meeting or to lunch. They have a fix for it, but I am not able to try it do to the admin restrictions our company puts on the laptop. I just unplug/plug and it works again. I guess this is coming from the laptop and not from the keyboard (based on the suggested fix), but my previous $10 keyboard never did that, so I'm not sure why this one does.
It also has a click on the right shift button depending on how I hit the key. It seems to be the stabilizer, but since I have the non-hot-swappable version there isn't much I can do about it.
Still, all these are relatively small issues and it feels like at least a four-star keyboard, especially considering it was less than $50 (when I bought it).