3 ms·

Mechanical keyboards are nice, but what stumps me is the lack of support for USB hubs embedded in the keyboard. Anyone who uses yubikeys know the importance of

Mechanical keyboards are nice, but what stumps me is the lack of support for USB hubs embedded in the keyboard. Anyone who uses yubikeys know the importance of having those a key stretch away, not to mention the convenience of being able to plug headphones and USB pens ok what you're already holding.

m463 2y ago
I have a steelseries apex pro with an additional USB port. It doesn't have a hub, it is a separate port and the keyboard cable has two usb-a male plugs on the end. I remember years ago having an apple keyboard that had a usb-a female on the side for the mouse. It wouldn't boot up with my mouse though, I suspect keyboard+mouse drew too much power. I had to run the mouse separate.
- motorest 2y ago
  The steelseries apex pro is awfully pricy for that kind of keyboard. For budget-minded fans, as far as I can tell so far the Royal Kludge RK84 is the only decent keyboard with a usable USB hub, but it's cheap plastic chassis and keycaps are quite the turnoff. Hopefully something decent shows up in the market that mixes the best of mechanical keyboards with the very basic user experience of using a laptop.
zamadatix 2y ago
For most the "USB passthrough" section at the end covers the need of plugging a device and/or a headset in without needing a full hubs worth of devices sticking out of the keyboard. In general though the more functionally useful a keyboard would be the fewer options you'll find. I think a large part of it is many buyers are more worried about maximizing the aesthetics of the keyboard rather than creating a swiss army knife of a keyboard so that's what is easier to find.
adrian_b 2y ago
I prefer USB ports on the monitor, which can have a higher speed without creating problems. Most keyboards are designed for low speed USB links, not even for USB 2.0. Having to replace the cheap cable normally used by keyboards with an expensive cable, at the great cable length that is desirable for a keyboard, would raise the cost with negligible benefits. Many PCs have additional USB 2.0 ports for slow peripherals, i.e. mainly for keyboards, mice or graphic tablets. A keyboard with a USB hub suitable for a USB memory would need to use a USB 3 port on the PC, occupying a port that might have been better used for other peripherals, while leaving unused the slow USB ports.
supercoffee 2y ago
Some of the Drop branded keyboards like the Alt have a USB passthrough. I used to own one and I used it to plug in my headset dongle.
- Findecanor 2y ago
  The Drop keyboards merely have two upstream ports, so you can select to have the cable on the left or on the right. There is no hub. If it was passthrough, the cable would be fixed (or use a non-standard connector), with two USB plugs at the host end: one for the keyboard and one for the passthrough. Some older gaming keyboards have such passthrough for USB ... and audio jacks!

m463 2y ago

I have a steelseries apex pro with an additional USB port. It doesn't have a hub, it is a separate port and the keyboard cable has two usb-a male plugs on the end. I remember years ago having an apple keyboard that had a usb-a female on the side for the mouse. It wouldn't boot up with my mouse though, I suspect keyboard+mouse drew too much power. I had to run the mouse separate.

motorest 2y ago
The steelseries apex pro is awfully pricy for that kind of keyboard. For budget-minded fans, as far as I can tell so far the Royal Kludge RK84 is the only decent keyboard with a usable USB hub, but it's cheap plastic chassis and keycaps are quite the turnoff. Hopefully something decent shows up in the market that mixes the best of mechanical keyboards with the very basic user experience of using a laptop.

zamadatix 2y ago

For most the "USB passthrough" section at the end covers the need of plugging a device and/or a headset in without needing a full hubs worth of devices sticking out of the keyboard. In general though the more functionally useful a keyboard would be the fewer options you'll find. I think a large part of it is many buyers are more worried about maximizing the aesthetics of the keyboard rather than creating a swiss army knife of a keyboard so that's what is easier to find.

adrian_b 2y ago

I prefer USB ports on the monitor, which can have a higher speed without creating problems. Most keyboards are designed for low speed USB links, not even for USB 2.0. Having to replace the cheap cable normally used by keyboards with an expensive cable, at the great cable length that is desirable for a keyboard, would raise the cost with negligible benefits. Many PCs have additional USB 2.0 ports for slow peripherals, i.e. mainly for keyboards, mice or graphic tablets. A keyboard with a USB hub suitable for a USB memory would need to use a USB 3 port on the PC, occupying a port that might have been better used for other peripherals, while leaving unused the slow USB ports.

supercoffee 2y ago

Some of the Drop branded keyboards like the Alt have a USB passthrough. I used to own one and I used it to plug in my headset dongle.

Findecanor 2y ago
The Drop keyboards merely have two upstream ports, so you can select to have the cable on the left or on the right. There is no hub. If it was passthrough, the cable would be fixed (or use a non-standard connector), with two USB plugs at the host end: one for the keyboard and one for the passthrough. Some older gaming keyboards have such passthrough for USB ... and audio jacks!