Experience with the HHKB Blank Version
Making the Purchase⌗
After learning about HHKB, I was intrigued and browsed a lot of content about it online. Opinions were mixed, with both praise and criticism. This made me even more indecisive about whether to buy it or not, considering it costs several thousand RMB. I had been using Apple’s Magic Keyboard 2, which feels nice, but my hands tend to get oily, making the keyboard feel greasy. With the philosophy that my technical skills might not be the best, but my tools shouldn’t be inferior, I made a difficult decision on 618 to buy an HHKB to try out. When making the payment, all I could think about was my girlfriend’s potential criticism: “You spent 2700 on this thing?”
Bluetooth Connection⌗
After waiting for a day, I finally received the long-awaited legendary HHKB. I eagerly opened the package, carefully read the manual, set up the keyboard’s DIP switches according to the instructions, and prepared to connect it to my MacBook Pro. I thought I could just click on connect device in the system’s Bluetooth settings, but it turned out I needed to enter a pairing password. Since it was a blank version, I wasn’t sure about the number key positions. After several unsuccessful attempts, I thought maybe the number keys required some special key combination. I searched on Google and Baidu but couldn’t find how to input numbers on HHKB.
Just when I was about to give up, I made one last attempt to enter the pairing key and pressed the return key, then clicked the connect button in the system settings. Miraculously, it connected.
Key Delay⌗
After connecting to macOS, I started testing if the keyboard was working properly. I noticed that when I typed too quickly, there would be a lag, with characters appearing all at once one or two seconds after typing. Ugh! I spent 2700 on this keyboard, and it’s not even as good as a Bluetooth keyboard that costs a few dozen yuan? That shouldn’t be the case.
At first, I thought my computer system was lagging, so I tested with my original Magic Keyboard 2 and found it was smooth with no lag. So there was a result - could HHKB really be just a name?
With a “let’s try” attitude, I connected using the Type-C cable and found no lag during testing. At this point, I thought it must be a connection issue, but the latest version of HHKB uses the latest Bluetooth technology, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I searched online but couldn’t find similar articles. However, I accidentally saw that HHKB has firmware, so I wondered if the keyboard’s firmware version was too low, causing the issue.
Firmware Upgrade⌗
I downloaded the HHKB Keymap Tool from the official website and found the latest firmware. Using the shortcut Fn + Ctrl + 0, I switched the keyboard to Type-C connection, then updated to the latest firmware. After that, the lag issue with Bluetooth connection was gone.
Key Layout⌗
The reason many people like HHKB might be because it’s compact yet doesn’t sacrifice feel and efficiency. However, it doesn’t have arrow keys or function keys, which was quite uncomfortable for me as a new user. But I’m the type of person who likes to deliberately make things challenging for myself, forcing myself to adapt to HHKB’s layout. Even though it’s a blank version, after adapting for less than a week, I found I could use the shortcuts quite proficiently.
For programmers like us who are used to using Ctrl + letter keys to control cursor direction, the adaptation was quite quick.
Commonly Used Shortcuts⌗
| Shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + h | Delete the character before the cursor |
| Ctrl + d | Delete the character after the cursor |
| Ctrl + k | Delete all characters after the cursor on that line |
| Ctrl + n | Move to the next line |
| Ctrl + p | Move to the previous line |
| Ctrl + a | Move to the beginning of the line |
| Ctrl + e | Move to the end of the line |
| Ctrl + f | Move the cursor one position to the right |
| Ctrl + b | Move the cursor one position to the left |
| Ctrl + t | Swap the positions of the characters to the left and right of the cursor |
| Ctrl + o | Place the characters after the cursor on the next line |
| Ctrl + v | Move the cursor to the last character |
| Fn + A/S/D | Volume down, Volume up, Mute respectively |
| Fn + O/P | Screen brightness down, Screen brightness up respectively |
| Fn + [ | Up arrow key |
| Fn + / | Down arrow key |
| Fn + ; | Left arrow key |
| Fn + ' | Right arrow key |
| Fn + Tab | Switch between Chinese and English (need to check Chinese-English switching in system Input source) |
Only tested on macOS, not sure about other platforms.
Impressions⌗
- For someone like me who frequently uses shortcuts, the adaptation was relatively smooth;
- The key travel is much longer than Magic Keyboard 2, and the feedback is more obvious;
- It’s much heavier than Magic Keyboard 2, not as portable as legend has it;
- The adjustment of the Ctrl key position still needs some time to get used to, especially for Ctrl + C in the command line;
- The tilde has been moved to the top right corner of the keyboard, and my brain always pauses when accessing $HOME in the command line before consciously pressing that key;
- The probability of typing errors has increased compared to before;
- The sound is quieter than I imagined;
- After trying it for a few days and then going back to Magic Keyboard 2, I didn’t feel like I couldn’t go back, but I still felt HHKB was better.
Software⌗
- HHKB Keymap Tool (HHKB’s own tool for key remapping and firmware upgrades)
- Typing Works (Website for testing typing speed)
I hope this is helpful, Happy hacking…