The Air75 V2 is the low-profile 75% to beat: Tom's Hardware calls it one of the best low-profile mechanical keyboards, thanks to its 1000Hz tri-mode wireless, QMK/VIA support, and 4000mAh battery. The flat keycaps need an hour of adjustment, the RGB glows around rather than through the PBT caps, and the newer V3 exists. Check the live Amazon price.
— THE VERDICT · JUDGEANY EDITORSWhat the Air75 V2 is
The Air75 V2 is NuPhy's second-generation low-profile 75% mechanical keyboard: 84 keys, an aluminum top frame over a translucent plastic bottom, and doubleshot PBT keycaps. Tom's Hardware reviewed it in fall 2023 and called it "one of the best low-profile mechanical keyboards you can buy," and it was the first tri-mode wireless board to ship with QMK/VIA support. Against the V1, the V2 doubled the battery from 2500mAh to 4000mAh, lifted 2.4GHz polling from 500Hz to 1000Hz, moved the keycaps from dye-sub to doubleshot PBT, and replaced the fiddly magnetic feet with proper tilt feet. Everything below comes from published reviews and owner reports — JudgeAny runs no lab and tested nothing here ourselves.
Typing feel and sound
Typing is the V2's strong suit. Buyers choose between improved Gateron 2.0 low-profile switches (red, brown, blue) and NuPhy's own flower series — Aloe (linear, 37gf), Cowberry (linear, 45gf), Wisteria (tactile, 55gf), Moss (tactile, 60gf) — all pre-lubed with long-pole stems for a cleaner, poppier sound. Tom's Hardware measured travel at 75-80% of a full-height MX switch, more than double Kailh Choc's, and found the board "immediately more familiar" than other low-profile keyboards. Two foam layers — PORON plate foam and IXPE under the switches — plus pre-lubed Cherry-style stabilizers and silicone plugs under the spacebar give it a deeper, fuller sound than the V1. The flat keycap profile takes an hour or two to get used to; How-To Geek found the keys sit closer together than average and the right Shift small. Every switch is hot-swappable, but the sockets only take Gateron low-profile stems — Kailh Chocs won't fit. Tom's Guide's typing tests logged 90 WPM at 81.26% accuracy, below their tester's rolling averages — one reviewer's hands, but worth knowing.
Connectivity and QMK/VIA
Tri-mode is standard: 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.1, and wired USB-C, with up to 4 devices paired at once. The 2.4GHz mode polls at 1000Hz — Tom's Hardware played Battlebit: Remastered on it against a Corsair K100 and felt "no difference at all in responsiveness." Bluetooth runs at 125Hz; wired at 1000Hz. On the software side, QMK/VIA brings 8 layers of full remaps saved on the board, working from a web client on Mac and Windows with no proprietary app. The catches: VIA won't recognize the board until you load NuPhy's JSON file, macros are limited to short text strings, and a custom static lighting scene is awkward to set. Software is also where the complaints cluster — more on that below.
Battery and backlight
The 4000mAh battery is the spec that matters most here: NuPhy's lab figures put it at 35-57 hours with the backlight on and up to 220 hours with it off. Real-world use backs that up — KeebFinder recharged after about 12 days of normal typing. Two slim RGB strips on the frame double as status indicators, and the right one can show battery level at all times. The backlight itself is the feature to calibrate expectations on: the keycaps are solid PBT with no shine-through, so the brighter RGB glows around the keys and off the desk; it never shines through them. NuPhy's own Amazon Q&A confirms the keycaps have no backlight. Tom's Hardware left the lighting off during the day and switched it on in dimmer rooms.
Where the reviews disagree
Three points of friction are worth naming before the recommendation. First, the wrist rest: Tom's Hardware says the board benefits from a palm rest (not included) because of the flat profile, while How-To Geek found it works great without one. Both can be true — the 13.5mm height and AirFeet silicone strips make it fine on its own, but long sessions still improve with a rest, which NuPhy sells separately. Second, the software story: Tom's Guide logged "no dedicated software" as a con and hit a macOS freezing bug that "fixed itself but doesn't inspire confidence"; How-To Geek also struggled with VIA on macOS. Against that: VIA is open-source, remaps live on the board across 8 layers, and there is no proprietary app to install — the hardware consensus is strong, the software experience is the variable. Third, sound: most reviewers praise the deeper, dampened tone, but KeebFinder heard the occasional rattle they called intrinsic to the low-profile design. None of this overturns the verdict, but it sets the right expectations.
Who should buy it
Buy the Air75 V2 if you want a slim 75% mechanical board with near-full travel, real QMK/VIA programmability, tri-mode wireless, and a battery measured in weeks instead of days. It's Mac-friendly out of the box — a Mac/Windows toggle on the back edge, alternate keycaps for both layouts in the box — and Creative Bloq used it as a Mac daily driver for weeks. The one real caveat is the Air75 V3: Tom's Guide tested both and found the V3's thicker aluminum top case, extra dampening, and slightly heavier build (1.65 lbs vs 1.32 lbs) feel more premium. The V2 is the earlier revision, but it's the one that earned Tom's Hardware's recommendation. Don't confuse it with the V1, which has a 2500mAh battery, 500Hz 2.4GHz, and no QMK/VIA. Skip the V2 if you need shine-through RGB, an ISO layout (SemiPro Tech+Gear notes there isn't one), or built-in storage for the 2.4GHz receiver. Check the live Amazon price.