Keychron Reveals Hybrid Optical-Magnetic Mouse Switch for Faster Clicks and Longer Life

Gamers will be well familiar with the pain of a drifting analog stick. This issue has largely been resolved with the introduction of Hall-effect and TMR sticks in modern controllers. Why not apply the same tech to defeat double-clicking mouse switches? Keychron isn't the first to do so, but it might have the best solution we've seen in its new MagOptic Micro Switch.

There are actually two different switch technologies at play here, and arguably three. The switch uses a mechanical leaf spring to produce the familiar 'click', but the actual click detection is performed using either an optical switch or a magnetic sensor. Users can select which mode to use; optical mode offers a traditional mouse clicking experience, while magnetic mode offers adjustable actuation and a feature called "Rapid Trigger".

The advantages of the magnetic mode are clear. Users can adjust the actuation distance to be longer or shorter than usual, giving a satisfying meaty clonk or a very short and sharp click. The "rapid trigger" mode seems interesting too; Keychron says that it offers "dynamic reset detection" that enables more rapid inputs and "cleaner follow-up clicks during gameplay." The feature is still under development at this time, but it could be a real differentiator for these switches.


The real question is why Keychron is including the optical mode at all. The optical sensor doesn't support the interesting features of the magnetic sensor, and Keychron claims that the magnetic sensor still feels clicky thanks to the metal leaf spring included in the switch. Given that, it's not obvious why the optical sensor needs to be there at all.

This isn't the very first product to apply optical switching to microswitches, and it isn't even the first product to use magnetic sensing in a mouse. However, industry inertia around the ubiquitous Omron-style microswitches has been immense, and it's extremely exciting to see a popular vendor like Keychron embracing newer and better switch tech. Hopefully devices based around these new MagOptic switches aren't embarrassingly expensive like Logitech's G Pro X2 Superstrike.