Epomaker’s new keyboard, Magforce 68, may look like a regular mechanical keyboard, but its core tech runs deep. It has Hall Effect keys, which sound fancier than they are. The Hall effect happens when electricity flows through a material, and a nearby magnet pushes the moving charges to one side, creating a small voltage across the material. This voltage is used to detect the motion of the key.

Devices using this phenomenon have become popular for video gaming because it is very robust and take regular abuse without failing or succumbing to joystick drift. As far as keyboards, there aren’t too many that use the tech specifically because having multiple magnets in the same area can cause havoc with the working of this type of trigger. Plus, what would be the benefit over a mechanical switch, which is meant to be the creme-dela-creme of keyboard tech?