Corsair First to Use CHERRY MX RGB Key Switches

CHERRY is the world’s market leader in keyboard mechanical switches; its various switch types are used by most keyboard manufacturers and solutions providers (and are very familiar to many of our readers).

In January, and in partnership with Corsair, CHERRY will introduce its newest key switch type, the MX RGB. The CHERRY MX RGB switch solves several issues, as Karl-Heinz Müller, the company’s Product Developer, explains: “The illumination of keyboard symbols – especially in terms of their uniformity of illumination – is a technically highly complex and demanding task. The previous solution with the incorporation of 3mm LEDs led to unsatisfactory results. With our newly developed MX RGB switch, key symbols can be evenly illuminated not only in the widest variety of brightness levels but also up to 16.7 million different colors.“

SMD (surface mount device) LEDs are the secret behind the revolutionary MX RGB key switch. SMD LEDs are surface-mounted to the switch’s circuit board; using an optimized, transparent case with a light-scattering surface lens, the MX RGB key switch achieves a more consistent symbol illumination compared to previous lit-up mechanical key switch solutions. An additional benefit is that SMD LEDs are said to be more cost-effective compared to older solutions.

The great thing about the MX RGB switch is that it retains all of the previous benefits of all other CHERRY switch types. They remain highly precise switches, suitable not just for professional applications, but for the highly demanding gaming market sector as well. Not only that, but CHERRY MX switches are renowned for their durability and superior quality. The MX RGB switches will retain the characteristic 50 million keystroke minimum prior to failure that all other CHERRY MX switches are famous for.

The new MX RGB switches will initially be available in four types, with characteristics identical to their original iterations:

– Blue – Clicky, with tactile and audible feedback
– Brown – Soft, with tactile feedback
– Red – Linear, non-tactile, very light
– Black – Linear, non-tactile, slightly heavier than Red switch

Corsair will be the first hardware manufacturer to have access to CHERRY’s new MX RGB switches. The first exclusive demos will be at CES in January.