Matais Tactile Pro 4

Soon after I purchased my Keychron K6, I purchased a Matias Tactile Pro 4. This is a keyboard with an interesting lineage. It attempts to recreate the feel of the Apple Extended Keyboard (and Extended Keyboard II) by leveraging the same key switches. Well, kind of. The Extended Keyboard, and Apple’s other 1980’s keyboards, used switches made by a company called Alps Electronics. Alps was a popular manufacturer in the 80’s, and while its switches were available through 2012, it never had a following that let it capture the market like Cherry did. The original Tactile Pro used original Alps switches, but Matias had to reverse-engineer its own clones once supply ran out. While they do sell their switches separately, they aren’t compatible with Cherry sockets or keycaps (basically 99% of mechanical keyboards), leaving Matias as the only major brand using them.

The first Tactile Pro was introduced around 2004 (according to marketing materials on the Internet Archive) and has maintained essentially the same design from that time. I remember when it came out and how it advertised that it was bringing the Extended Keyboard II into the modern age. “Modern” in the 2004 Mac community was the transition from Apple’s grey G4 era products into its white G5 era products. The Tactile Pro looked like it came from the middle of these eras, looking very much like the white version of Apple’s Pro keyboard. The marketing material confirms this was the intent. 

The general shape, crystal clear transparent plastic, and the USB ports on either side are nearly identical to Apple’s design. The keys are taller, the borders are a bit wider, and the whole thing is a bit thicker, but it looks very similar otherwise. Over four iterations little has changed.¹ Compared to the original, the clear plastic has been replaced by white, the USB ports have been upgraded to USB 2.0 (with a third port added), and the function keys have media shortcuts – brightness, Mission Control, Launchpad, volume, and playback. Otherwise its design is stuck at the turn of the millennium. Remember, this is a keyboard that sells right now for $150. It doesn’t really fit in with its contemporaries – it’s bulky, it’s all plastic, it wired, and it’s not backlit. It does still have an eject key for those CDs you don’t use anymore. ²

No matter though, a keyboard is about the feel, not the look, right?³. Fortunately it excels in that regard. I really like the way it feels. The keys need a bit of pressure to press and you can rest your fingers on them without unwanted keystrokes. When pushed, they make a satisfying crunch and spring back up. It does a reasonable job replicating the Alps key switches of the Extended Keyboard. They sound a bit louder but feel pretty similar to me. The keys are a different shape which makes it more comfortable for me as well.

Compared to the K6, it’s certainly larger as it is a full-size keyboard with a number pad. It isn’t quite as high off the desk, but still requires a wrist rest to be comfortable. It’s loud, but lower pitched than the K6, making it seem a bit quieter. The keys require similar force but are more stable and less slippery. The layout matches Apple’s keyboards almost exactly, so there are no issues with short shift keys or awkwardly placed command keys. Though it is plastic, it feels sturdy overall, but not quite as firm as the K6’s metal body. The feet aren’t great though – one of mine is already broken and needs taped back on.

Speaking of keys, the printing on the keys is interesting. At first glance they look busy, with most having three different symbols. That’s because they’re labeled with all of the symbols that can be created with the option and option-shift combinations. These combos are built into Mac OS and can be typed on any keyboard, but who can remember them all? The Tactile Pro is the first I’ve seen that prints these characters on the keys for easy reference. For instance, did you know that pressing option-g creates a © symbol? How about option-z for Ω? What about option-shift-\ for »? The key caps look a bit busy, but I appreciate it. I’ve already learned a bunch of new symbols I can use to impress my friends.

Overall it’s a really nice keyboard with a really nice typing experience. My biggest issue is the size. It’s full-width and really encroaches on my mousing space. I’ve been using 75% style keyboards for a decade or so and I’m used to having a lot of space on my right side. The Tactile Pro makes it challenging to place the keyboard in a comfortable position while allowing space for my mouse.⁴ I discovered that Matias makes a smaller version without a number pad that addresses this issue. It even makes a wireless model that has slightly quieter but just as responsive (supposedly) keys that aren’t as obnoxious in an office setting.⁵

I’m glad I bought this keyboard and glad I picked it up for a third of its regular cost. I don’t think I’ll use it on a regular basis due to its size, but that wireless one is kind of tempting 🙂

1. Their website still looks like Apple’s did during that era. See for yourself. ↩︎
2. The biggest piece of feedback I’ve heard about it (other than “it’s loud”) is “wow, that keyboard is white.” ↩︎
3. That’s why I’ve used my 1980’s Apple Desktop Bus keyboard recently.  ↩︎
4. It’s kind of an odd challenge since I used full sized keyboards for many years and didn’t find the width as annoying. ↩︎
5. I’ve brought it to the office and my coworkers say it doesn’t bother them, but I can’t be sure. A quieter version would probably be a good idea. ↩︎