Royal Kludge S98 Keyboard Review
Retro Look with A Modern Take
Disclaimer: Royal Kludge sent us a unit free of charge to review, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are our own and were not discussed with the company prior to publishing.
Retail Price: $69.99
After using a series of modern and slim design keyboards, I was ready to go back to something close to full-sized with more space to it. Enter the Royal Kludge S98 wireless mechanical keyboard. With 96 keys, it’s got nearly everything plus RGB backlighting and a smart display and knob. Let’s take a closer look.
Strong and Steady
In a world of over-the-top looking gaming keyboards, the S98 looks far more humble yet still holds a strong and steady outlook. Weighing 4.14 lbs, the lavender purple variant that I have stands out while not being overly obnoxious with the bright colorway. The design has almost a retro look to it but there’s plenty of modern touches making it great for gaming or everyday work. It’s impossible to call out the design of the S98 without noticing its knob implementation in the upper right corner. With this knob, users can adjust lighting, volume, or connection type seamlessly. While in standby mode, the keyboard will display the time, current connectivity mode, and battery life. It’s a great at-a-glance view and the knob design makes it so easy to swap through various functions and features. You can even set a GIF to display as the image to add more or a personal touch to the setup.
The keyboard itself feels high quality and the spacing between keys is comfortable for extended typing periods. This is the type of keyboard that I think folks both young and old can use comfortably without a learning curve. It’s also 2-stage adjustable for those who prefer a more ergonomic fit.
Plenty of Connectivity Modes
There’s three convenient ways to connect to the S98. It comes with a Type-C cable that can be wired to the keyboard directly. This is also how you charge up the keyboard when it’s low on battery. The keyboard also can pair via Bluetooth 5.0 to up to 3 devices at a time. Lastly, it can use a USB receiver as the third method of connectivity. I’ve tried all three modes of connectivity and they’re all seamless and reliable, but switching via Bluetooth between my Windows laptop and MacBook Air are especially convenient to do in just a few seconds.
Customization with Option
Thanks to the ease of use with the knob, there are many ways to customize the keyboard. Users can circulate through plenty of different RGB modes and colors and also adjust brightness and speed. For a casual user who is just looking to add some color or backlight mood to their desk setup, this keyboard does exactly that. When connected via USB and using the software that pairs with this keyboard (downloadable via Royal Kludge site), users can also control key mapping, macros, and backlighting.
Having access to the controls via the knob was plenty enough for me and I was able to enjoy changing my backlighting when I felt like it without needing to always use the software or connect the cable to the keyboard. Having the knob was so effective for features like this and I loved the convenience that this keyboard provided.
Clicky Keys That Aren’t Annoying
The S98 keyboard that I’m reviewing came with the Linear Viridian switches that are hot-swappble with ABD Double Shot Keycaps over them. Royal Kludge touts the design as having custom stabilizers that dampen sound while keeping key movements consistent and effective. While I didn’t do a whole ton of gaming with this keyboard, I’m an avid typist and use my keyboard extremely regularly for work in different ways. I thoroughly enjoyed typing on this keyboard. It’s loud enough and gives strong tactile feedback, but can be also used in an office or home setting without it feeling out of place. Note that Royal Kludge also sells the S98 with pale green tactile keys as well for those who want a clickier sound effect when typing.
Disappointing Battery Life
Honestly, my only disappointment with the S98 was the very poor battery life. I had to charge this keyboard almost every other day, if not close to every day. This was surprising considering the 3,750 mAh battery capacity, and while Royal Kludge advertises this keyboard as having an ultra long-lasting battery life, my real life testing with the backlight on came in much less than the advertised 30 hours. Sure, it’s not a big deal to plug in the keyboard and charge it while using it, but it’s still not great to see the battery indicator continue to drain despite the keyboard going into standby mode when not in use. All that to be said, this was the only part of the keyboard that I disliked and hope to see improvements in future iterations.
Final Thoughts
There’s not a lot to complain about the Royal Kludge S98 other than the poor battery life. It’s a very solid keyboard in build quality, price, and functionality. There’s nothing super unique about it, but it comes with enough bells and whistles to make it easy to use regardless of the purpose. The keys are tactile and give just enough typing feedback to make it feel good without sounding or looking obnoxious. The keyboard itself comes in a variety of colors and features like the RGB backlighting can be customized to each user’s liking. If you’re looking for a solid everyday keyboard for gaming, work or both, and don’t mind plugging in the keyboard regularly, this is a very solid option.
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