Unless you’re a hardcore keyboard enthusiast, you might not know the difference between a 71-key keyboard and standard 100% or Tenkeyless (TKL) sizes. A 70% layout strips away the traditional number pad and the dedicated function row to achieve a much smaller desktop footprint. This size is popular because it saves desk space and keeps your mouse hand closer to your natural typing center, but it comes with a catch in that you’re forced to rely on layered shortcut combinations to access the keys that were removed.
The Epomaker Split70 Keyboard takes this compact philosophy and physically cuts it in half, requiring you to connect the left and right sides with an included USB-C-to-USB-C cable. With this design, you can approximate something like a row-staggered Alice layout, but with a more traditional orientation by angling the two halves to perfectly match your natural shoulder width. It’s a fantastic concept for ergonomics, but there’s a steep learning curve that will undoubtedly change how you work.
Epomaker Split70 Keyboard – Customization and Design
The Epomaker Split70 comes in Black Grey and White Blue colorways, outfitted with gradient PBT Cherry-profile keycaps. In the box are the two keyboard halves, a USB-A to USB-C device-to-keyboard cable, a USB-C-to-USB-C cable to connect the left and right halves of the keyboard, a combination switch and keycap puller, three Macintosh keycaps to swap out, three extra Wisteria Linear Switch V2 switches, and paperwork.
I like the matte black plastic finish, but it does seem to accumulate light scratches through normal use. These scratches are only visible from certain angles, but once you see them, they can’t be unseen. The left side of the keyboard features a built-in programmable volume knob, while there’s a cleverly hidden storage port on the back for the 2.4GHz wireless dongle.
Where the Split70 struggles is in its physical layout. Because the board is split and compact, Epomaker had to make some awkward compromises. The Tilde (~) key is pushed all the way to the right next to Backspace, there are two “B” keys to accommodate either hand, and the Escape key is shifted from its usual home. Most egregiously, the right Shift key is small, compressed to a standard 1U key size, and placed awkwardly to the left of the Up arrow. This placement took me quite a bit of time to get used to. I miss the Function and Home keys too. While you can access the Home key (like the other missing keys) via a shortcut (Fn + H in this case), there are practical limits to a keyboard with fewer keys. It’s great to have the smaller size, but I’d happily give up a little width for frequently used keys rather than learning shortcut combinations.
Epomaker Split70 Keyboard – Performance and Software
Despite the layout gripes, typing on the Epomaker Split70 feels good. It comes equipped with Epomaker’s Wisteria Linear V2 switches, which are pre-lubricated from the factory and require a light 45g of bottom-out force. However, if those aren’t to your liking, the PCB is fully hot-swappable, allowing you to easily drop in your preferred 3-pin or 5-pin switches without any soldering. Combined with the gasket-mounted structure and a 5-layer sound-dampening system that features sandwiched latex, a PET sound-enhancement pad, and a silicone base, the keyboard absorbs hollow rattle and produces a smooth, creamy “thock” that any keyboard enthusiast can appreciate.
The tri-mode connectivity of Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4GHz, and Wired is powered by a 3,000mAh battery, providing more than 10 hours of usage with the RGB lights on, and up to several hundred hours with them off. To conserve battery life, the keyboard goes to sleep during inactivity, but it wakes up fast and gets right back to work. The south-facing RGB backlighting is vibrant, and the lighting gets really bright, even when set to just a fraction of its maximum capacity.
For gaming, the Split70 is nice and responsive for fast-paced games like Fortnite, thanks to its 1000Hz polling rate in wired and 2.4GHz modes, which nets a low 3ms to 5ms latency. However, depending on key mapping, you’ll likely still find that some keys are in a weird place during tense firefights until you’ve fully adjusted to its oddities.
As a nice gaming bonus, since all of the “smarts” and battery are contained on the left half of the keyboard, you can unplug the right half and put it aside. This allows you to use the left side independently, effectively turning it into a dedicated WASD macro pad, giving you a tremendous amount of free desk space on the right side for sweeping mouse movements.
The keyboard is compatible with the popular, open-source configuration application, VIA. By loading Epomaker’s JSON file into the web-based app, you can easily remap the keys, assign custom macros, and tinker with the RGB settings to alleviate some of the layout frustrations.
Purchasing Guide
The Epomaker Split70 is available from Amazon and Epomaker with an MSRP of $115.99.
Bill Loguidice is a contributing freelancer for IGN specializing in video game and computer hardware and accessories. He has several decades of experience and has written for a wide variety of publications. Bill has authored a dozen mass market books and was a writer and producer on a major feature film documentary on the history of video games.
