Womier SK75 TMR Hall Effect Keyboard Review
Moving Up The Premium Ladder
When I think of the brand Womier, I don’t normally think of the word premium to describe their products. Womier had always been a maker of inexpensive but good valued mechanical keyboards so I was a bit surprised when I received the SK75 TMR to review. Immediately, the box was already heavier than I had expected and everything about the SK75 TMR elevated my perception of the veteran keyboard maker brand.
From outside appearances I assumed the board was the basic SK75 model as it looks identical in design. Some issues with the switches on the board didn’t help with my misidentification as it wasn’t performing properly. While I initially published the article describing the unit as the SK75, I have since retracted that article and revised it with the correct specification as a hall effect variant. The experience portions of that original article are still valid and have been kept in this new review.
Disclaimer: Womier 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: $149.99
Up A Class
As is with many keyboard names nowadays, the SK75 TMR model name represents the size of the mechanical keyboard and the HE added to listings identifies the Hall Effect nature of the unit. As a 75% board, the SK75 TMR has 81 keys that include a column on the right side for Home, End, PgUp, and PgDown. There isn’t a gap between those additional keys and the main layout, but I do find this compact keyboard to be well spaced out and evenly sorted.
The power switch located next to the Caps Lock switch
Assembled around a powder coated aluminum material, this particular Womier keyboard has a sturdy feel behind it. It’s a heavy item when you consider all of the layers of padding and metal materials ingrained into the construct. A plate foam, IXPE switch pad, acoustic pad, case foam, and insulation film are just a few components inside the keyboard to help it deliver a pretty comfortable and dampened typing experience.
The keys don’t bounce up super smoothly, but some people may like the recoil springy-ness here from these Outemu Tea Magnetic Switches. This translates over to the typing sound of the board as you can hear the springing sound as your finger releases off of the key. It isn’t a noisy typing sound, and it is pretty easy to transition. Still, if you’re not a fan, as with basically all keyboards nowadays, this is easily modifiable as the PCB supports both magnetic and standard mechanical switches. You can mix and match to create a hybrid setup based on your own preference if so desired.
Womier says they use a next-generation magnetic switch powered by Tunneling Magnetoresistance hence the TMR addition to the name. I’m not going to pretend I fully understand the science here, but from my understanding, the electrical resistance for the switch changes based on the alignment of magnets over two layers. Womier says this type of magnetic switch tech is more stable and has zero dead zone. With a full 8000Hz in both wireless and wired mode, an actuation range of 0.1mm-3.5mm, and a 0.125ms reaction time, it’s on par with competitors, at least on the spec sheet front.
With an HE board, magnetic benefits like Rapid Trigger, Multi-Trigger, and Snap Key are all prominent and a main reason why you would consider transitioning over to a board like this. You can literally customize the keys to be so sensitive that just a slight tap on the tip of the keycap is enough to register a click. If low latency is of high importance to you, the SK75 TMR is terrific at it.
To customize these options, Womier has a keyboard software that directs you to their DropBox account. I highly dislike downloading software in this manner. The software is self-explanatory enough for users to modify what they’re looking for– that is if it connects. I’ve found myself needing to unplug and replug the keyboard’s connection to the PC a few times while having the program open for it to see the device. It’s a bit frustrating and inconsistent.
As for the feel of the double shot keycaps, the PBT cherry profile set here isn’t bad for an included choice. I have the black offering with turquoise colored symbology, and like the rest of the keyboard, they’re just straight up a black color with no deviations. It’s a little plain, but there are fans of a minimalistic clean look like this and I’m all for it. While the symbology of the keycaps aren’t pass-through, the south-facing RGB has a nice diffused look seeking around the keycaps. I do think it looks nice and while the preset RGB backlight modes are basic in nature, it works well for this keyboard’s aesthetics.
Aesthetics
Speaking of aesthetics, there are some white speckles on the black frame of the keyboard purely for a little bit of color contrast. It’s as if there’s noticeable dust particles that can’t be dusted off…ever. I don’t mind the accent to what otherwise is a rather bland look, but it technically isn’t a pure black option for those who were expecting it to be from distant marketing pictures online.
There’s literally nothing on the entire frame of the board. No ports, no switches, and no toggles. It’s a uniform look on all four sides of the rectangle. The flipside to this clean look is that there also isn’t a slot to store the USB dongle which most modern wireless keyboards provide now somewhere on the body so you don’t lose that little but important piece. Womier accomplishes this hole-less look by applying two somewhat unique alterations to the standard keyboard design. The first one is pulling the USB-C port below the frame and onto a sub layer beneath the frame. As there’s no adjustable legs on this keyboard, this layer acts as a leveling base to designate the typing angle for the SK75 TMR. You can’t adjust the angle of the keyboard so you’ll be stuck with this one preset no matter what. I found it to be comfortable and angled at a pretty good height to comfortably type on.
This is also where the unique identifier of this keyboard’s design lies too. This layer contains this odd mirror design made out of tempered glass. It’s what Womier calls a decorative piece, but it’s located on the underside of the board which is firmly planted down on the desk when you’re operating the keyboard. So even if it does look different or unique, you’re not seeing it when using the keyboard at all. I applaud Womier for trying something eye catching for marketing purposes as mechanical keyboards have been a bit stale and replicated across the market, but I’m not sure how this gimmick sets this specific keyboard apart when you can’t see it while using it and what you do see is a generic black layout anyway.
The second change– and one I found to be intrusive– is how Womier hid the connection switch under the Caps Lock keycap in a tiny little switcher. This is a wireless board so you technically can switch between three modes: Bluetooth 5.0, a USB-C wired connection, and a 2.4 Ghz receiver. Technically it’s simply an “ON” battery switch that you likely will leave in that position permanently. Still, it’s extremely inconvenient to have to take off a keycap to toggle the keyboard off to save battery life at night if you’re the type to do that. The switch is also incredibly tiny and needs to be flicked with a fingernail. This is not a user-friendly design at all.
Performance
As far as battery life goes, this heavy board houses a 8,000 mAh battery that survives a bit more than a week off a charge with the RGB lights enabled. It’s not great or class leading, but it’s enough to get by. Since it’s such a minimalistic board, it’s difficult to identify when the battery life is low as it doesn’t have a specific indicator to how much juice (percentage-wise) is specifically left on the charge. Fortunately, Womier has programmed a key combination that actually uses the RGB on multiple keys to highlight the battery level. I don’t know how I missed this in the manual my first time around, but it’s actually a really nice way to keep an important notification on a minimalistic board.
The biggest issue I faced with the SK75 TMR was the lack of reliability. It’s a gaming keyboard, and I legitimately lost matches in a game because of this keyboard. We review keyboards for at least 30 days of consecutive usage for these reasons as issues don’t often arise in the first couple of weeks. Out of the box, the SK75 TMR felt flawless to operate, but it quickly came crashing down after an Amazon return period (30 days). It started with a single key demonstrating what I assumed was key chattering. I would apply a single input and it would register a handful of inputs. I opened it up and cleaned the board. It didn’t go away. Replacing the switch helped ease the issue for that specific switch, but soon after the space bar began acting up followed by more keys as if a plague was spreading throughout the SK75 TMR.
It soon became impossible to type on the board as it felt like it was sentient and had a mind of its own. I’ve seen quality control issues on keyboards before, but not usually on boards in the triple digit price range. However, after I realized the board needed a factory reset on the software and programming, I popped the original switches back in and gave it a test. It’s been a few days after and I haven’t had an issue since. I’ve come across HE keyboards that OEM’s have instructed me to always factory reset (Womier did not tell us to do this) before using which I’ve found to be counterproductive to a plug and play experience. I don’t know if every SK75 TMR goes haywire without first syncing with the Womier software, but I highly recommend that to the first course of action when you unbox the unit.
Color coded
Womier provides complimentary colored keycaps for the W,A,S,D and additional caps for Mac functions.
While the mirror inclusion will get your attention online, it’s basically irrelevant to the aesthetics and performance of the board. So what it comes down to is the full aluminum offering of a pretty convincingly valuable hall effect experience. You’ll feel like this is an expensive board when it really doesn’t cost a whole lot more than it’s mechanical sibling. For $150, it performs at a high level that is extremely competitive to other hall effect gaming keyboards I’ve reviewed this year. It’s a respectable semi-premium keyboard at what I would still find as an acceptable price point for an impulsive purchase.
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