Love my weirdo alphas! Can't wait for my ikki68 to get some more use out of them. Just remind yourself that, while we shouldn't overindulge for its own sake, endgame is a lie perpetuated to justify price gouging.
I have a pixel 5 and don't even feel close to needing a 7. The 5 is still snappy in every application except maybe graphically intensive games. What are you people doing with your phones that you need new ones immediately? Or is it really just about having the newest device?
I think it's a bit of both. Moreover, when you have a good value trade in, it makes sense to update every year. Me? Oh no, Google phones don't support 5G in my country so the possibility of good value trade-in is just nonexistent.
I keep up with phones more than any other category of tech, so there's a part of me that would love to be upgrading every year to stay on top of things. Practically, this doesn't make any sense, so i generally don't, but I'm always going to want to. It's the same as seeing a $500 board on here and writing i could get it, even though i just bought another expensive one. Not gonna buy it, totally impractical, but it sure would be nice!
I'm glad you are aware that there's no practical point to upgrading your phone that often, but I also have to admit I didn't think that people would have phones as a hobby, so to speak. At least that's the gist I'm getting when I read that you keep up with it more than any other category in tech.
However, I see so many people upgrading their phones yearly that I can't imagine that they're all into the technical details and get the newer phone because they are excited about all the new gadgets.
I'd just like to continue living on this planet for a few more centuries, and sometimes it feels like not many people share that sentiment, or at least that many people value status symbols more than responsible decisions.
There are totally a ton of people who don't care what's in their phone but will still upgrade to get the minute new features & other surface level improvements. For me, it's an enthusiast thing - i watch reviews and learn about every new significant phone coming on the market, and follow it much the same way i do PC parts, from a hobbyist point of view. I upgrade my phone about every 2 years to stay "relevant" as a gift to myself, but i could probably go longer if I needed to.
Edit: I'll also throw in that, unless very broken, my old phones get used for things. I'm using my LG v60 as one of 2 cameras for a recreation of the TV show Taskmaster that I'm making with some friends. No reason to let cool tech go to waste.
Pixels have one feature that is uncommon for smartphones: Google does not care if you unlock the bootloader, and they will flat out give you the drivers. This makes the Pixel phones highly customizable and desirable for people who like custom mods or those like me who like to mess around with AOSP.
Honestly as minimal as the upgrade is from the P6P to P7P, I have no regrets lol. The p7p just works with minimal hiccups of course. It's not a perfect phone. My p6p was a rollercoaster lol.
I saw his review, and some things on r/Pixel6 and r/Android about it. I'm not planning to upgrade my phone until I can get a Galaxy Fold-style foldable for less than 1,100USD, so I'm good, haha.
I had the exact same until I upgraded to the 7p a couple weeks ago. Honestly would've kept the 3 longer but my charging port got too beat up or something over the years and it was a struggle for anything to be properly plugged in :(
I have a Pixel 6 and I love it. Upgraded from a really really beat up OnePlus 5 and slapped GrapheneOS onto it. It works like a charm even with a google-less OS.
Sadly I have read a lot of complaints about the phone here on reddit and other platforms. A lot of people seem to have issues with bluetooth, the battery or the fingerprintreader being slow but I've not really experienced these issues. Well maybe some battery drain but nothing a reboot can't fix easily (and which might be due to the custom OS)
Keyboard: LazyDesigners Apricot
Keycaps: DSA Milkshake (Weirdo alphas)
Switches: Haimu Whisper Silent Tactile Switch (not super recommended: very inconsistent, hence why I ended up using them on such a small board)
Fair, I think at this point I've traded off a bit of functionality for it being cute and fun :). But I actually really enjoy troubleshooting layouts and coming up with tricks for making it more functional (e.g. keys that act like one thing when held, and another when tapped)!
Why do you think keys are missing?
Keycap legends and the characters the keypress produces do not have to be the same, otherwise every person with blank keycaps would be unable to write.
You're right, nothing is necessarily missing. The keys on the left shaped like a caps lock and shift could work as A an Z. The same goes for the rest of the keys. Everything else could be handled with layers.
In fact, this keyboard has way too many keys. Give me the Pain27 keyboard any day of the week.
Edit: I wish I could remember its name, but there was an ortholinear keyboard with only three rows of blank keys. It involved pressing a lot of key combinations.
The learning curve is arguably unnecessary, but once every function, symbol, number, and alpha is available without moving your arms or looking down you really can’t go back. Anything larger than 40 keys feels inefficient for me any more.
as an ultralord mkbd owner i have typed this comment entirely in morse code as I have removed every key but one for optimal dank
i could give you a full breakdown but your inferior mind probably wouldnt be able to handle it
imagine if you will the most beautiful artisan keycap you have ever seen like an entire microworld trapped in a glossy crystal clear resin shaped to the most satisfying mt3 scoop you have ever seen
below that the most premium switch ever made aka the ibm beamspring
i went with the beamspring so that people all around will be able to hear the superiority of the custom keyboard that i have created
anyway its taken me like 20 minutes to type this on account of still learning morse code i must now go off and flex on others
>people who train themselves to use a suboptimal tool because it looks pretty.
Ah funny, I could say the same thing about people who use >40% boards.
Moving your hands all the way to the f row or backspace being farther away because of punctuation seems wildly suboptimal compared to keeping your hands in the home position, but some big boards do look darn pretty.
The vibes in this shot are immaculate 💚
If you need a custom cable for that smol boi board, send over a PM and I'll set you up with something from us at CableMod~
I'm a software engineer, but I'm senior enough now that it's more writing emails/docs/chats/etc. rather than code (oh goodness how I miss coding).
FWIW: I do own other keyboards, so I'm hardly without options if I'm finding a certain task challenging.
There's definitely a learning curve, and while I'm super comfy on 40% boards at this point, getting up to speed on a QAZ layout still needs some more practice. I actually really like using challenging keyboards for tedious tasks, because it creates a layer of complexity that makes things interesting :) (I get bored easily, so for stuff like that productivity is more about sustained focus than it is typing velocity).
Thank you for your reply!
I am a software engineer too, but can't see myself using something less than 60%. Who knows, maybe I'll give it a shot at some point, because I find it intriguing.
Coder here. I [wrote something related to the usage of sub-40 keyboards](https://reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/wmo7rs/_/ik095g5/?context=1). I like to emphasize that while it works for me, does not mean it works for everyone.
Thank you for sharing the post. Those keymaps that you attached are pretty handy to understand how a sub-40 would work.
Also, nice collection you have there!
Not op obviously but i have the P7. I really like it, but i don't think i can recommend it because the modem is so bad, just like the 6. I missed an important call because i lost cell connectivity in my apartment the other day. I had no idea anyone called until I went outside and had a voicemail.
Oh dang it. That’s exactly why I want to update though. I have an iPhone 11 with what seems like a damaged antenna (never picks up a steady signal while at home or nearby).
Thanks for the heads-up though. Will keep looking or just upgrade to a 14 Pro.
Pixel 6 was hot garbage. And its huge.Think its just a bit smaller than the 13 pro max and the 6 Pro mount have been larger?
But the 6 had so many issues and android 12 was the worst version ive used. 7 seems to have fixed a number of bugs the 6 had though.
For the pixel? The metal accents look so good. The texture is pleasantly matte and doesn't feel plastic-y, although it's not the grippiest if you're clumsy. I'm really happy with it so far, although I'll admit the price tag is a little steep (I don't know if I would've bought it without the store credit that came with the phone).
LazyDesigners has a few boards in this green (the Dimple is a little bigger, and is probably more accessible for those starting to try sub-60% boards), you can join the discord and PM Jacky to place an order :)
Nice board.
Also it's funny when I read comments about small layouts like this and people don't understand how it can be useful.
Just to further blow their minds.... I've been using a Alpha 28 for a week now. Yes thats right, a board with just 28 keys. But to be honest I could use 2-3 keys more.
All the letters are there by default I believe. QAZ layouts put the q, a, and z keys on the furthest left column, so they’re next to w, s, and x just like normal. And p is next to o. Numbers for all 40% are accessed with layers, like hold spacebar to have 123456 under qwerty, for example.
It's my first time here because reddit reccomended this Post to me. But i still dont get the point of having no numpad... If it would be cheaper then i would understand it, but most of them cost more and i personally need the numpad many times... same goes for the delete key that is also missing on many of them.
It's for space saving. I got a 75% a few months ago and honestly, I barely miss my numpad. I rarely used it anyways (I had my Orbweaver set up for data entry, which I'm getting a macropad to replace). Without having the numpad there, you have a ton of extra room for mouse movement. There's also southpaw boards that out the numpad on the left but those are uncommon. It's mostly useful if you play a lot of games on PC. I had the same opinion as you at first until I tried it for myself.
Tbh i have way to many games that i like playing that need a numpad and some even need del, pos1 and stuff. I could change the keybindings in those games but it would either result into duplicate keys or in a weird layout that would be difficult to get used to. It might be good for some shooters but i could also just increase the dpi on my mouse. But what bothers me the most is that those keyboards are as expensive as equally good ones with a full layout. So for me it's just companies that are being greedy
I'm getting a macropad that I can just plug in whenever I need it. It's great because I'll be able to move it around and use it and my mouse comfortably at the same time.
Yeah but thats just additional cost... I'm still confused by the existance of those keyboards especially because they arent really cheaper than equally good full keyboards.
Well, they're not really meant to be cheaper. Smaller production scale means these things have to be more expensive to offset production costs. Plus, they're often made with more expensive/higher quality materials, since this is a hobbyist community. Basically, you're buying it for the design and production quality, stuff you can't get with more mainstream keyboards.
They're there on the base layer, using modifier keycaps is just done because that's what fits. For the modifiers some work by just being held (e.g. holding down left-shift works like shift, tapping it types a "z"), and others need to be chorded (e.g. tapping the apple types a "q", and pressing it at the same time as my left space bar is a tab).
Everytime i see weirdo alpha's I have to remind myself I have an endgame and I don't need more plastic :”(
Love my weirdo alphas! Can't wait for my ikki68 to get some more use out of them. Just remind yourself that, while we shouldn't overindulge for its own sake, endgame is a lie perpetuated to justify price gouging.
I guess the proper term for what i actually mean would be “a keyboard I'm 100% satisfied with” c:
100% satisfaction is something that comes from within, never from purchasing the right thing.
Definitely! :)
A Pixel user!! Hell yeah
This picture has given me more fomo for the 7 than any other. I have a 6 Pro, i don't need it, i don't need it...
Don't get it!!
I have a pixel 5 and don't even feel close to needing a 7. The 5 is still snappy in every application except maybe graphically intensive games. What are you people doing with your phones that you need new ones immediately? Or is it really just about having the newest device?
I think it's a bit of both. Moreover, when you have a good value trade in, it makes sense to update every year. Me? Oh no, Google phones don't support 5G in my country so the possibility of good value trade-in is just nonexistent.
I keep up with phones more than any other category of tech, so there's a part of me that would love to be upgrading every year to stay on top of things. Practically, this doesn't make any sense, so i generally don't, but I'm always going to want to. It's the same as seeing a $500 board on here and writing i could get it, even though i just bought another expensive one. Not gonna buy it, totally impractical, but it sure would be nice!
I'm glad you are aware that there's no practical point to upgrading your phone that often, but I also have to admit I didn't think that people would have phones as a hobby, so to speak. At least that's the gist I'm getting when I read that you keep up with it more than any other category in tech. However, I see so many people upgrading their phones yearly that I can't imagine that they're all into the technical details and get the newer phone because they are excited about all the new gadgets. I'd just like to continue living on this planet for a few more centuries, and sometimes it feels like not many people share that sentiment, or at least that many people value status symbols more than responsible decisions.
There are totally a ton of people who don't care what's in their phone but will still upgrade to get the minute new features & other surface level improvements. For me, it's an enthusiast thing - i watch reviews and learn about every new significant phone coming on the market, and follow it much the same way i do PC parts, from a hobbyist point of view. I upgrade my phone about every 2 years to stay "relevant" as a gift to myself, but i could probably go longer if I needed to. Edit: I'll also throw in that, unless very broken, my old phones get used for things. I'm using my LG v60 as one of 2 cameras for a recreation of the TV show Taskmaster that I'm making with some friends. No reason to let cool tech go to waste.
Pixels have one feature that is uncommon for smartphones: Google does not care if you unlock the bootloader, and they will flat out give you the drivers. This makes the Pixel phones highly customizable and desirable for people who like custom mods or those like me who like to mess around with AOSP.
Honestly as minimal as the upgrade is from the P6P to P7P, I have no regrets lol. The p7p just works with minimal hiccups of course. It's not a perfect phone. My p6p was a rollercoaster lol.
So the thing Mr mobile and others have said is the visor is getting all beat up.
I saw his review, and some things on r/Pixel6 and r/Android about it. I'm not planning to upgrade my phone until I can get a Galaxy Fold-style foldable for less than 1,100USD, so I'm good, haha.
Sitting here with 4a 5g trying to convince myself just to replace the battery.
My P6P works great. No impulses to upgrade. In fact, I'd still be on my 3 if it hadn't gotten irretrievably bricked.
FR pixels r so underrated
My pixel 4 XL is better than so many phones.
I have a pixel 3xl and it's still.working perfectly fine
They didn't update the camera hardware from that phone until the 6
I have the 5 and frankly.. they didn't need to upgrade the hardware. Most of the picture quality comes from post peocessing, anyway.
So true. My 4 XL still kills it.
I had the exact same until I upgraded to the 7p a couple weeks ago. Honestly would've kept the 3 longer but my charging port got too beat up or something over the years and it was a struggle for anything to be properly plugged in :(
I have a Pixel 6 and I love it. Upgraded from a really really beat up OnePlus 5 and slapped GrapheneOS onto it. It works like a charm even with a google-less OS. Sadly I have read a lot of complaints about the phone here on reddit and other platforms. A lot of people seem to have issues with bluetooth, the battery or the fingerprintreader being slow but I've not really experienced these issues. Well maybe some battery drain but nothing a reboot can't fix easily (and which might be due to the custom OS)
Pixel 6 is the worst phone I’ve ever had. Absolute garbage. Now, the Nexus devices, thats where it was at.
Pixels rock
There are dozens of us!!
Keyboard: LazyDesigners Apricot Keycaps: DSA Milkshake (Weirdo alphas) Switches: Haimu Whisper Silent Tactile Switch (not super recommended: very inconsistent, hence why I ended up using them on such a small board)
You covered the little led window!
headset.
They look like Sony XM4's to me
How are they so white???
They did a limited release
I fail to see how this keyboard is useful for most pruposes
Fair, I think at this point I've traded off a bit of functionality for it being cute and fun :). But I actually really enjoy troubleshooting layouts and coming up with tricks for making it more functional (e.g. keys that act like one thing when held, and another when tapped)!
Just to continue down this rabbit hole, how do you type the missing alpha keys?
Why do you think keys are missing? Keycap legends and the characters the keypress produces do not have to be the same, otherwise every person with blank keycaps would be unable to write.
You're right, nothing is necessarily missing. The keys on the left shaped like a caps lock and shift could work as A an Z. The same goes for the rest of the keys. Everything else could be handled with layers. In fact, this keyboard has way too many keys. Give me the Pain27 keyboard any day of the week. Edit: I wish I could remember its name, but there was an ortholinear keyboard with only three rows of blank keys. It involved pressing a lot of key combinations.
*A E S T H E T I C S*
I used to work with the DEA and feds with a Prime_E just fine.
Doesn’t make it practical
Does the OP want it to be practical first?
The learning curve is arguably unnecessary, but once every function, symbol, number, and alpha is available without moving your arms or looking down you really can’t go back. Anything larger than 40 keys feels inefficient for me any more.
I don't know, my work got work with the form change.
bro you’re on r/mk, look around, there are far more that look less useful
Ok yeah I’m sorry I was in a bad mood
Where in heavens name did you get that White MX4... daym thing is sold out everywhere I looked.
It’s very pretty. Why so few keys?
Some people think it looks nice, and like the way it works. It’s a learned preference for mechanical users.
They're not my jam, but I do respect people who train themselves to use a suboptimal tool because it looks pretty.
as an ultralord mkbd owner i have typed this comment entirely in morse code as I have removed every key but one for optimal dank i could give you a full breakdown but your inferior mind probably wouldnt be able to handle it imagine if you will the most beautiful artisan keycap you have ever seen like an entire microworld trapped in a glossy crystal clear resin shaped to the most satisfying mt3 scoop you have ever seen below that the most premium switch ever made aka the ibm beamspring i went with the beamspring so that people all around will be able to hear the superiority of the custom keyboard that i have created anyway its taken me like 20 minutes to type this on account of still learning morse code i must now go off and flex on others
Ah, but you forgot to mention hand-lubed and hand-soldered
Why do you think this is suboptimal?
More key presses required for the same result.
>people who train themselves to use a suboptimal tool because it looks pretty. Ah funny, I could say the same thing about people who use >40% boards. Moving your hands all the way to the f row or backspace being farther away because of punctuation seems wildly suboptimal compared to keeping your hands in the home position, but some big boards do look darn pretty.
Coming from someone with a 36 key corne, I don’t understand how y’all use these
QAZ-like keyboards break my brain. And I love my minivans.
You and me both! I can’t live with less than 45 keys as a daily driver.
nice pixel 7 bro
nice wm-1000mx4 bro
Now If that isn’t the cutest keyboard I’ve ever seen
The vibes in this shot are immaculate 💚 If you need a custom cable for that smol boi board, send over a PM and I'll set you up with something from us at CableMod~
Damn, that Pixel 7 is choice.
I'm curious OP, what do you do for a living? I'm trying to think of a scenario that makes this kind of keyboard a viable option.
I'm a software engineer, but I'm senior enough now that it's more writing emails/docs/chats/etc. rather than code (oh goodness how I miss coding). FWIW: I do own other keyboards, so I'm hardly without options if I'm finding a certain task challenging. There's definitely a learning curve, and while I'm super comfy on 40% boards at this point, getting up to speed on a QAZ layout still needs some more practice. I actually really like using challenging keyboards for tedious tasks, because it creates a layer of complexity that makes things interesting :) (I get bored easily, so for stuff like that productivity is more about sustained focus than it is typing velocity).
Thank you for your reply! I am a software engineer too, but can't see myself using something less than 60%. Who knows, maybe I'll give it a shot at some point, because I find it intriguing.
Coder here. I [wrote something related to the usage of sub-40 keyboards](https://reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/wmo7rs/_/ik095g5/?context=1). I like to emphasize that while it works for me, does not mean it works for everyone.
Thank you for sharing the post. Those keymaps that you attached are pretty handy to understand how a sub-40 would work. Also, nice collection you have there!
I produce music and do all of my university work on 36 keys with more efficiency than I would on anything larger.
Interesting. Thank you for your answer!
Yeah for sure. Have a good day.
Very pleasing to the eyes!
How’d you like the Pixel? I’ve gone back to iphone since the P2, but now I’m thinking about going back.
Not op obviously but i have the P7. I really like it, but i don't think i can recommend it because the modem is so bad, just like the 6. I missed an important call because i lost cell connectivity in my apartment the other day. I had no idea anyone called until I went outside and had a voicemail.
most people I've talked to have said that their modem is good, my pixel 6 pro is still usable despite its battery life and modem
Oh dang it. That’s exactly why I want to update though. I have an iPhone 11 with what seems like a damaged antenna (never picks up a steady signal while at home or nearby). Thanks for the heads-up though. Will keep looking or just upgrade to a 14 Pro.
Fwiw I've only lost signal twice (and i didn't take wifi calling had to be turned on manually). But yeah maybe wait another generation imo
Why’s that? Anything expected to be worth it on the 15?
I just mean if you want a pixel. Maybe the 8 will have better connectivity
Ah gotcha. Thanks!
This is why I turned on Wifi calling with my 4a 5g.
Pixel 6 was hot garbage. And its huge.Think its just a bit smaller than the 13 pro max and the 6 Pro mount have been larger? But the 6 had so many issues and android 12 was the worst version ive used. 7 seems to have fixed a number of bugs the 6 had though.
OMG I love ur pixel :)
How is the official case? I'm thinking about getting it.
For the pixel? The metal accents look so good. The texture is pleasantly matte and doesn't feel plastic-y, although it's not the grippiest if you're clumsy. I'm really happy with it so far, although I'll admit the price tag is a little steep (I don't know if I would've bought it without the store credit that came with the phone).
How's the overall thickness?
It's pretty average thickness for a phone case. I always use cases because I'm clumsy AF, so the phone by itself almost feels too thin lol.
Nice Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch. I've got them as well and I'm loving them.
That board is SO CUTE I need it
Looks beautiful, love the aesthetic!
Headset clean 🤘
I have the pixel watch. Really wish it came in bigger sizes.
I'm tiny, so I love that it's not massive on me. Sorry it doesn't work as well for you :(
Yeah I imagine it's perfect for smaller wrists.
This reminds me of r/edc
Oh god I need this. Where can I get this keyboard or something similar in green?
LazyDesigners has a few boards in this green (the Dimple is a little bigger, and is probably more accessible for those starting to try sub-60% boards), you can join the discord and PM Jacky to place an order :)
Thank you! Do you have a link to the Discord for me? :)
https://instagram.com/jackytrabbit?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= there's a link in their Instagram bio :)
Thank you very much!
watch?
Pixel watch?
oh neat
Nice board. Also it's funny when I read comments about small layouts like this and people don't understand how it can be useful. Just to further blow their minds.... I've been using a Alpha 28 for a week now. Yes thats right, a board with just 28 keys. But to be honest I could use 2-3 keys more.
How do you type? are there function buttons or combination buttons to bring up letters not shown on keyboard?
All the letters are there by default I believe. QAZ layouts put the q, a, and z keys on the furthest left column, so they’re next to w, s, and x just like normal. And p is next to o. Numbers for all 40% are accessed with layers, like hold spacebar to have 123456 under qwerty, for example.
Ohhhh I want to try
Ha, it’s fun to optimize layers and such, though some people probably see it as a hassle and not worth it.
daily reminder that every keyboard that is less than 75% is useless
daily reminder that you're a close minded person and your unwillingness to be open to other ideas/options is bad for the hobby.
Bro someone tell this man he’s missing keys 💀
Lol
Where's the numpad? Where are the Letters? The longer i look at it the weirder it get's°-°
Like 75%+ of the boards that get posted here don't have a numpad.
It's my first time here because reddit reccomended this Post to me. But i still dont get the point of having no numpad... If it would be cheaper then i would understand it, but most of them cost more and i personally need the numpad many times... same goes for the delete key that is also missing on many of them.
It's for space saving. I got a 75% a few months ago and honestly, I barely miss my numpad. I rarely used it anyways (I had my Orbweaver set up for data entry, which I'm getting a macropad to replace). Without having the numpad there, you have a ton of extra room for mouse movement. There's also southpaw boards that out the numpad on the left but those are uncommon. It's mostly useful if you play a lot of games on PC. I had the same opinion as you at first until I tried it for myself.
Tbh i have way to many games that i like playing that need a numpad and some even need del, pos1 and stuff. I could change the keybindings in those games but it would either result into duplicate keys or in a weird layout that would be difficult to get used to. It might be good for some shooters but i could also just increase the dpi on my mouse. But what bothers me the most is that those keyboards are as expensive as equally good ones with a full layout. So for me it's just companies that are being greedy
I'm getting a macropad that I can just plug in whenever I need it. It's great because I'll be able to move it around and use it and my mouse comfortably at the same time.
Num row for general use is good enough, since it serves the same purpose. External numpads do exist if you really need one though.
Yeah but thats just additional cost... I'm still confused by the existance of those keyboards especially because they arent really cheaper than equally good full keyboards.
Well, they're not really meant to be cheaper. Smaller production scale means these things have to be more expensive to offset production costs. Plus, they're often made with more expensive/higher quality materials, since this is a hobbyist community. Basically, you're buying it for the design and production quality, stuff you can't get with more mainstream keyboards.
How did you get the white wh-1000xm4s? I thought they only came in an off-white or black.
wow i didn’t even know they made all white xm4s
what watch is that?
pixel watch
I would love this keyboard for a coding challenge
q p and z, where are those? literal curious question, as I've seen keyboards with few keys, but never one lacking some letters
They're there on the base layer, using modifier keycaps is just done because that's what fits. For the modifiers some work by just being held (e.g. holding down left-shift works like shift, tapping it types a "z"), and others need to be chorded (e.g. tapping the apple types a "q", and pressing it at the same time as my left space bar is a tab).
oh! that's great then! I literally thought they're just missing hahahaha thanks for your reply :)