Name: Altair & Altair-X by ai03 - Group-Buy
Brand: KEYGEM
Price: 302.52 EUR
Availability: InStock

Altair & Altair-X by ai03 - Group-Buy

After half a decade of development and over two years of use as a daily driver, Altair and Altair-X represent ai03’s current benchmark in keyboard design for productivity and comfort. Going beyond just internals or mounting methods, the Altair family blends a fully-split ergonomic key layout with high-end keyboard visuals and internals to take typing comfort to the next level.

When designing the Altair family of keyboards, ai03 used three pillars to act as design beacons. These three pillars can be seen throughout the keyboard design and philosophy.

Starting: 29th April 2024

Ending: 3rd June 2024

Shipping Estimate: Q1 2025

SPECIFICATIONS

ALTAIR

7° typing angle
~1200g total weight
Aprx 144 x 127 x 30mm
1.2mm hotswap PCB
Aluminum chassis
PC Plate
Brass weight only
PCB gasket mount
E-White, Dark Grey, and Rose Gold

ALTAIR-X

7° typing angle
~900g total weight
Aprx 144 x 108 x 28mm
1.2mm hotswap PCB
Aluminum chassis
PC Plate
Brass weight only
PCB gasket mount
E-White, Dark Grey, and Rose Gold

DESIGNER Q&A
Q: No Tenting Kits?
A: I don't have one planned this time around - adding tenting or variable angle capabilities either adds complexity that raises the board height and makes it difficult to type on, or adds mechanical complexity that raises cost in addition to the challenge of having to create two keyboards for the price of one.

Also, part of it comes down to personal preference - I originally tried a tented design with the Orbit, and found it too unwieldy to use without a wristrest; since I value keyboard versatility, I decided to ditch it altogether and optimize the board for a single-angle with a very low front height so it could be comfortably used even without tenting or a wristrest.

Q: Which form factor is better for me?
A: The five-row Altair may be easier to adjust to in steps due to having a numrow.The four-row Altair-X may be more suited for those looking for a compact solution.

Q: How long does it take to adjust to this layout?
A: This will depend from person to person. In the case of the designer of the board, it took 3 weeks to reach the same speed and typing accuracy jumping straight from a tenkeyless board, and another 2~3 weeks to exceed previous speeds and accuracies.

Q: How should I plan my Altair(-X) build?
A: Here are some recommendations:

Since ergonomic keyboards are often typed with the wrists anchored, there is less force to press each switch. Try a switch lighter than usual.
Altair's unique internals can make switches sound very different from a typical keyboard. Try various switches until you find one that suits your preferences for this board in particular.
Look for keyset compatibility that can cover an ortholinear keyboard such as a Planck.

DESIGN TIMELINE
2018
The development of ergonomic keyboards began in 2018 after finding inspiration from Tokyo keyboard meetups of the time, where the vast majority of boards on display were of ergonomic nature.

Blending the ergonomic factor and high-end custom keyboard design, the Orbit split ergonomic keyboard was designed and sold as a semi-private group buy.

2019
The original Orbit design was revised based on feedback, such as by moving the interconnect cable to the rear for greater freedom in placement.

Hard-to-reach keys along the rims were removed entirely, and new technologies such as seamless case detachment and internal case screws were applied.

This design was finalized as the Orbit-X.

2020 and 2021
The Orbit-X design was once again revised, this time based on a year of real-world usage as a daily driver. Internals were overhauled to remove stiff points near plate mounting points, and acoustics were brought up to comparable standards against newer designs within the constraints of the small case size.

Keys that proved difficult to press near the outer front corners were removed, and new keys were added along the inner column in accessible locations.

This new design was finalized as the Altair-X, and a variant with a numrow was developed as the Altair.

2022 and 2023
The Altair-X was used extensively as a daily driver for over two years, and was subject to real-world reliability tests, such as robustness in shipping and transport, ESD handling in the winter, and heavy use for designing other keyboards and writing software.

Minor issues were addressed based on the usage, such as moving the rubber feet for maximized stability and replacing the internal daughterboard cable with a flat ribbon cable to reduce its impact on typing feel.

This revised iteration of the Altair-X, and the revised Altair based on it, is the final version being presented on this page.