REVIEW – I’m back again with another mechanical keyboard. This time from Akko. I’ve never had a keyboard from them, but I have read/seen/heard good things about them. So when the Akko MOD007b HE PC Santorini came along I was very eager to grab it, not only because it was from Akko but because it also has Hall effect switches. Yep, you read that right. Hall effect switches in a keyboard. What exactly does that mean? Would it be useful for you? I guess you’ll have to read on to find out.
What is it?
The Akko MOD007b HE PC Santorini is a mechanical keyboard that uses Hall effect switches.
What’s in the box?
- Akko MOD007B HE PC mechanical keyboard
- Switch puller
- Keycap puller
- 2.4 Ghz dongle
- Coiled USB A to USB C cable
Hardware specs
- Switch- Akko Cream Yellow Magnetic Switch/Kailh Sakura Pink Magnetic Switch
- Interface- Wireless/Bluetooth/USB Type C
- Macro- Akko Macro V1.0
- N-Key Rollover Supported
- Disable Winlock Supported
- Backlit- RGB backlit
- Hot-Swappable- Yes
- Dimensions- 333*147*32mm
- Weight- Approximately 1KG
- Material- PBT Material
- Profile- Cherry
- Printing Technology- Dye-Sublimation
Design and features
If you know, you know. For those of you who don’t know what Hall effect sensors or switches are magnetic sensors that determine the strength and direction of magnetic fields.
In the case of the Akko MOD007b HE PC Santorini mechanical keyboard, this means the actuation of the key press is determined by the strength of the magnetic field as a magnet in the key switch approaches the sensor below it. That circle in the bottom center of the switch is an actual magnet! There are no pins to make contact with the PCB.
The real beauty of this is the fact that you can program the switches to actuate at a very light press or very hard depending on your typing style. With the downloadable Akko software, you can set up each key individually or whole sets to actuate how you want them.
Next, let’s talk about the most eye-catching feature of the Akko Santorini, the nautical-themed keycap set. I personally love the colorway chosen. The bright white and dark blue look great together. Fonts and the seaside port town art are very crisp thanks to the dye sublimation printing used. The keycaps are made of PBT so they won’t develop a shine and the print should last for a very long time.
If, for some reason, you don’t like this set, the switches and stabilizers have a Cherry profile, so swapping them out would be very easy. On top of that the PCB is hot-swappable and compatible with 3-pin mechanical switches, so you’re not stuck with just using Hall effect switches. Honestly though, if you’re going to do all that, then you may want a different keyboard altogether.
The Akko Santorini is a tri-mode keyboard, meaning you can use it wired with the included coiled USB cable or wireless via Bluetooth or 2.4 Ghz with the included dongle. It comes with a 3600 mAh battery so you can enjoy hours of typing wirelessly. I can’t tell you how long it lasts because I use my keyboards wired all the time. I have so many other wireless devices in close proximity and have found they don’t always play nice together, so one less thing to troubleshoot is a must for me.
The switch plate is gasket mounted, adding some good cushioning for a softer typing feel. It also has flip-out feet to give you two other options for height/angle. I prefer the default angle provided by the case itself, but it’s nice to have options. And there’s a knob! I like knobs. It’s just nicer to spin a knob for adjusting volume than having to use key combos.
For you Mac people out there, I think you’re out of luck on this one. I didn’t see anything on the Akko site saying the Santorini was Mac-compatible. I mean, it would probably work, but you wouldn’t be able to use the software to customize it.
Speaking of customizing, of course, the Akko MOD007b HE PC Santorini mechanical keyboard has all the RGB behind the keys, and the switch plate is sort of frosted, so it acts as a diffuser. You can use the Akko Cloud driver to change the lighting, set up macros, set up Fn key combos, switch actuation, and more. I did find it odd when I first installed the software, the Windows firewall wanted to know if I wanted to allow domain access for it. I denied it and it still works fine.
I’m sure the Akko software is legit, but A. I’m using it on my company laptop, and 2. I’m not letting just any software have that kind of access. One of the coolest things I found in the software was the ability to share settings. For instance, if you select Share- Lighting, you can download lighting schemes other people have developed. This is the first time I’ve seen this sort of community interaction in keyboard software.
Setup
Setting up the Akko Santorini depends on how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go. Sure, you can just connect it to your PC and let ‘er rip, but to experience what Hall effect sensors can do you’ll want to install the software and play around.
I’m a heavy-handed typist, so I set all the switches to activate at a high level. What I found, though, was not all my fingers are as heavy-handed as I thought. I set the switches I hit with my thumbs and pinkies to actuate at a lighter press because I was missing too many key presses otherwise. Now that’s cool!
Performance
I don’t really have anything bad to say about the performance of the Santorini. The switches Akko has for it are linears and I don’t like linears. I prefer tactile switches. I will say that even though the switches are linears, they aren’t mushy feeling at all. The sound is very quiet so you shouldn’t bother anyone in an office setting. The form factor is 75% and that’s my preferred size, so yeah, I’m happy with that.
What I like
- Hall effect switches, but I’m on the lookout for some tactile ones
- Customizability
- PBT keycaps in a nice colorway and design
- Knob
- Coiled cable
What I’d change
- Give me a braided coiled cable
- Software can be a little overwhelming
- No docking area for the wireless dongle
- I wish the font size were smaller. The current size bothers me. I think it would look better.
Final thoughts
The Akko MOD007B HE PC Santorini is a fun keyboard for nerds like me who like to tinker around. I love that it has Hall effect switches and that I can tune them individually to suit my typing style. It’s also cool that you can download settings like lighting schemes, macros, and such from the community, though I would say do that at your own risk. At the asking price, I think this is an excellent entry point into the whole Hall effect phenomenon. If I can get my hand on some other Hall effect switches, I’m certainly going to swap them just to experiment and play around.
Price: $149.99
Where to buy: Akko and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Akko.
