Keybot, the official Keychron partner here in Malaysia, was initially set to open local pre-orders for the Keychron Q1 sometime this month. Well, this is no longer the case: the Q1 will now only be available for pre-order here next month in October 2021.

This new pre-order date is shown on Keybot’s product listing for the Q1 over here. Although it’s unfortunate that the pre-order has been pushed back, it may be worth waiting still if you’re not keen to purchase the Q1 directly from Keychron’s online store to save on shipping costs.

Anyway, what makes the Q1 particularly interesting is its feature set. Not only does the Q1 use a gasket mounting system – this mounting style is typically only offered on custom keyboards – it also has a full CNC aluminium case, along with a hotswap PCB that supports VIA out of the box for easy key mapping.

Keychron also worked with Gateron quite a bit for the Q1. Not only can it be purchased with three new factory lubed Gateron Phantom switches – Phantom Brown (tactile), Phantom Red (linear), or Phantom Blue (clicky) – it features screw-in stabilisers made by Gateron too.

Usually, the stock stabilisers of pre-built keyboards are not of particularly good quality, but that’s surprisingly not the case with the Q1. These Gateron-made stabilisers are lubed quite well at the factory to minimise rattling, and they feel nice and secure too.

If you’d like to learn more about the Keychron Q1, check out our video review above or our written review. Rest assured, we’ll keep a close eye on the Malaysian pre-order and pricing of the Q1 from Keybot – we’ve gotten in touch with the company too for future updates.