NuPhy Halo96 Mechanical Keyboard (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://nuphy.com/collections/keyboards/products/halo96
Like many a keyboard creator before them, NuPhy were until recently a complete unknown to me. Appearing seemingly out of nowhere with some really interesting-looking designs and layouts, I was incredibly excited to jump into my first 96% layout. Do they do enough to stand up in this ever-crowded market though?
While NuPhy might be a little newer on the scene than some of its competitors, they’ve done a great job out of the gate in delivering keyboards that look fantastic in some interesting layouts. 96% is a layout I’d not seen until recently, with it striking a nice balance between the compact nature of a tenkeyless board with the functionality of a full-sized one. Notably, the end result is a design with no spacing at all between the main keys and the numpad. It does take a bit of getting used to, with the smaller 0 key also feeling a bit wrong at first. Once you get past that first hurdle though, you’re in for a really good time. To my eye, the only keys you miss with the 96% layout are Insert, Scroll Lock, and Pause; even on my full-sized keyboards I’m fairly sure I’ve only pressed these keys in error. Losing these keys really will be nothing more than trimming the fat for most.
In terms of connectivity, NuPhy are on board with the recent trend of offering both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz connetions to go with your regular USB C wired option. Though I’m a person that will usually opt for a mouse, I can’t express just how nice it is to have the option to drag a keyboard over to a different PC without having to fish cables out from my desk. The dongle fits securely in the keyboard, another plus, and matches the light blue accented keys nicely. The Bluetooth also allows you to save up to three connections, meaning you could have this as your desk mainstay and quickly swap between laptops, tablets, or phones that you might have lying around without the faff of Bluetooth settings after initial setup.
Aesthetically-speaking, the Halo96 is immaculate. You have the choice between a black or white aluminium frame on top of a matching plastic base. The white model admittedly hurts my head a little with how all but four of the keys are white. I prefer a few more accented keys personally, and the black model I have on hand meets my needs perfectly. I feel it’s a little more important here to have some kind of definition on the numpad, but this will naturally come down to preference. You’re free to swap in your own keycaps if you’d like, but it’s certainly no necessity for the Halo96. The included PBT keycaps feel great, and you have the option to buy a set of matching shine-through ABS keycaps if that’s something you’re interested in. The keyboard does feature a great assortment of RGB configurations, so this is a good option for those wanting to show it off to its fullest.
One of my favourite features from the Halo96 is its aptly-named Halo lighting. Where most keyboards tend to exclusively have lights behind the keys, NuPhy took it a step further by adding a band of lighting around the keys that can be used either by itself or alongside the usual per-key light effects. After my initial play around, I’ve kept just the Halo light on; it just looks really great without being too over the top. You can also get an acrylic wrist rest separately that allows some of the Halo light to shine through, with it coming subtly from the bottom of the case as well as inside. Having recently reviewed Roccat's Vulcan II Max I was left underwhelmed by how little it shines through, but it’s not exactly a make or break point for me. The wrist rest is really sturdy and feels comfortable, so it does everything it needs to.
I don’t usually comment on manuals or guides, but I do also just want to put in a quick word here to say that the guide here doubles as an A3 poster featuring NuPhy’s anime mascot. This certainly won’t be for everybody, but I think it’s commendable for any company to put effort into making something that may otherwise be looked at once and thrown away into something you would want to keep and maybe even display. If you’re a fan of the mascot, you even get a few stickers!
Your typing experience on the Halo96 as usual will come down to the switches you’ve oped for at checkout. There are some commonalities however, and NuPhy really did do a great job as a whole. The big theme on show is silicone, and through various layers of it you have remarkably muted keypresses. Out of the box you have a choice of six switches, with my keyboard coming with NuPhy's Rose Glacier switches. These offer a really heavy tactile bump, with a 60gf actuation force. Weirdly, the Halo96 opts for a unified space bar, featuring one of NuPhy's own Night Breeze switches regardless of whcih option you choose at checkout. Thanks to the included accessory kit that offers one of each switch type alongside some accent keys, you're free to swap this out should you prefer. All of the larger keys feel great to use, but the space bar is a little special thanks to NuPhy’s unique “GhostBar” with a small support in the middle. The general idea is to make the key a little less hollow, but in reality I think the pleasant experience is carried more by the silicone pads underneath. Using a different space bar I had on hand produced similarly pleasant results. It is still a positive mark for NuPhy, but I just feel I’m missing something when it comes to their space bar.
While it isn’t advertised all too well at the moment, the Halo96 is fully customisable via NuPhy’s driver software NuPhy Console. I assume this isn’t listed on the main product page due to it currently being listed as beta, but from my experience it really does do everything you’d expect from the big hitters. If you don’t like messing with keyboard shortcuts to set your lighting, you can sort it all out here, but more importantly, you can both remap keys and create macros. These are where your real value are going to live, especially with a numpad on the right of the keyboard just asking to be remapped to bigger and better things. It’d also be very little hassle to swap your layout to something like AZERTY if that’s what you’re used to, which is great when this keyboard is only sold as QWERTY ASCI. There are a few quirks, like the shortcut it makes after running the installer being broken, and some of the UI not quite being as clear as it could be, but it remains simple to use and does everything I’d want.
NuPhy may have been an unknown to me until recently, but the Halo96 has put them solidly on my radar. A well-constructed keyboard that offers a fantastic typing experience and feature set, it has me genuinely excited to see what’s coming next from them. To me it more than justifies its $140 price tag, and I’d encourage you to check them out if you’re looking for a fantastic and flexible pre-built board.
Verdict
- Well-built and premium-feeling device
- Sublime lighting with Halo lighting as a standout
- Really nice noise dampening via silicone layers
- Great connectivity between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz dongle
- All the keys most people will realistically need and want
- Driver software offers a good amount of customisation
- Nice accessory kit with small assortment of accent keys and spare switches
- A few spare switches included
- Hot-swappable PCB
- Lack of spacing between main board and numpad can take some getting used to
- Only available in ANSI layout
- Driver software still needs a little polish
