Now is the best time to start looking for a colorful mechanical keyboard for yourself. There are already a variety of self-built kits that you can pair with handmade keycaps from independent manufacturers and large-scale manufacturers. Big brands are also exploring this incredibly niche world. Companies like Razer make fully customizable mechanical keyboards and matching keycap sets.

Logitech is the latest large keyboard manufacturer, and its POP Keys peripheral lineup closely follows this trend. These peripherals seem to come directly from the TikTok channel of Gen Z (or maybe this is just my algorithm). The POP series includes a wireless mechanical keyboard with replaceable round keycaps. It looks like a funny typewriter, I fell in love at first sight. But I have been testing it for a while, and I have to admit: typing this review is a nightmare. As cute and powerful as Logitech POP Keys, it is not a keyboard for everyone-even most people.

Colorful wireless mechanical keyboard, both aesthetic

Bold colors, small desktop space, emoji and shortcut keys can be customized through software

You are stuck with the emoji button, the space between the circular keycaps is difficult for long claws to type, and the keycaps are not easily interchangeable

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The Logitech POP Keys keyboard is available in three different colors: Mint, Yellow and Lilac Daydream; Black and Yellow Explosion; and Heartbreaker, which is a rose pink hue, is the version. I tested the latter in this review. The palette of the Heartbreaker version is eye-catching and very bold. But this is not surprising, considering Logitech's implementation of its colorful G-series gaming peripheral product line.

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The POP Keys keyboard is about 13 inches wide and does not take up much desktop space. Technically, it is a 60% layout, which means it does not have a numeric keypad or arrow keys (page up, page down, etc.). However, there are five extra keys dedicated to emoji shortcuts on the right side of the keyboard. By default, Logitech has an emoji menu shortcut and four smiley face emoticons, including heart and smile emoji. I replaced them with three additional emoji keys attached. I prefer to use the prayer hand emoji to beg/thank my editor 🙏🙏🙏, and to express my love with the heart emoji ❤️❤️❤️. Typing 👍 is very easy, especially on Windows, which usually requires you to hold down the start key and the period to launch the emoji menu.

You can use Logitech Options software to customize the keys on the POP Keys keyboard (not to be confused with Logitech G Hub software, which applies to its G series peripherals). You can set application-specific shortcuts and create keyboard profiles for each use case. You can even turn off the keys as needed, as I did with the dictation key, which is located next to the delete key, which I often accidentally press. The Logitech Options software is optional, but if you want to change the emoji, you must download it.

Indeed, Logitech Options provides a wealth of options, but it lacks an option to interrupt my workflow. Specifically, you can’t choose the direction of the emoji key, so I don’t have an easy way to replicate the page-up and page-down keys that I rely on for daily reading. (There is a way to do this by holding down the Function and down keys, but it is not very intuitive.) There are many other shortcut options, such as the function of switching screens or launching a new browser tab. But not a two-way key.

The POP Keys keyboard is a mechanical keyboard, using Logitech's brown switch, which has a tactile feel. When I write this review, my fingernails are very long, and the contact speed between the plastic keycaps and the dense plastic keyboard is very fast. If you are a fast typewriter with claws, things will get very loud. In any case, the brown switch is what I usually like, so it's good not to make a lot of adjustments to my typing style.

I do have a problem with the spacing between each keycap, which is what makes me slow down. If I move too fast, my long nails will slip from the keycaps into the space between each keycap. I often do this, which creates a sinking hole effect. It took me a few days to get used to typing on this keyboard.

I am curious about the customizability of POP Keys. Logitech does not recommend that people replace round keycaps. I tried a regular square keycap in the round keycap. It fits well, but I am not sure how a complete set of square keycaps will work.

In the Monkeytype typing test, I switched to it because it uses more commonly used words. I input 107 words per minute at the fastest speed with an accuracy of 95%, and the slowest is 96 words with an accuracy of 98%. Although my fingers are tired from avoiding all the holes, all the sliding is fine.

The Logitech POP Keys keyboard is connected wirelessly via Bluetooth LE or the included Logi Bolt USB dongle. The latter requires the installation of a companion app for Mac and PC. If you have other peripherals that support Bolt, such as any MX mouse or new POP mouse, this application can help you switch and manage between them.

I hope that there will be more equality between the software that runs Logitech's huge line of gaming peripherals (called G Hub) and its professional and productivity product lines. I have three different applications on my PC to handle Logitech's peripherals, including a Brio webcam that I use for meetings, and two separate dongles to handle the POP Keys keyboard and G305 mouse.

I did not test the Bluetooth connection of POP Keys, but there are three quick switch keys to quickly change the connection between the mobile device and the computer, which is the standard configuration of most wireless Logitech motherboards. The keyboard is compatible with Windows, Mac, iPad operating systems, iOS, Chrome operating systems and Android.

Despite its wireless capabilities, the POP Keys keyboard is still a device fixed on the desktop. Its AAA battery weighs 799 grams, which is nearly two pounds. This is the difference between a padded and comfortable backpack and a carry-on backpack. Logitech said the battery should last three years. There is no backlight on this keyboard, so it helps to extend battery life. And Logi Bolt software will let you know that your keeb is about to die.

Logitech's attempts at cute and approachable peripherals are commendable. If it weren't for the round keycap on the keyboard that tripped my paws and couldn't use the page-down key, I would put it on my desk because it was so damn colorful. Priced at $100, this is a way to introduce the fun of a creative mechanical keyboard without having to build it yourself.

But Logitech clearly built this keyboard for a specific group of people: Gen Z who obviously needs quick access to emoji. It is not suitable for me, and if you work in a professional environment, it may not be suitable for you either-not only because of its appearance, but also because the Logitech Options software may lack the specific shortcut keys or keys you need. If you think these emoji keys are useless, I will also warn against using POP keys. If it is not part of your vernacular typing, even if you designate them as shortcuts, they will feel that they are crowded with the board.

Logitech POP Keys are tailored for influencers with a specific aesthetic, not for people with long nails.

The first is the RGB keyboard, now this looks like someone used Valentine's Day heart-shaped candies to spell out QWERTY.

The keyboard is used for typing. They should make your fingers feel good and invisible to the world because your hands are on them.