The keyboard is fantastic, but there are details.
I've been using mechanical keyboards for about three years and it caught my attention when I saw my favorite YouTuber (2synthetic (she deserves recognition)) using an Akko keyboard in English. I honestly didn't know the brand, so I started researching. When I discovered that Akko didn't make any Spanish-language keyboards to date, I was truly disappointed and forgot about the brand. Spanish is my native language and I've been using Spanish-language keyboards for at least 30 years, how could I, after so many years, start learning to type again on an English keyboard? It didn't make sense to me to switch to an English keyboard, but I`ll be honest... I love custom mechanical keyboards so I didn't give up, I started looking into ISO keyboards in other languages and discovered that the German ISO keyboard has the same key layout as the Spanish one; the only thing that changes are the keycaps and anguage that you configure in your Windows. I contacted Akko USA, and they told me they didn't have any German ISO keyboards; they only had ANSI English layouts. However, they recommended me to ask Akko Europe. When I opened Akko Europe online store and saw this beautiful 5098B with a German ISO display, I immediately spoke to them and explained that I live in Latin America, but I have a mailbox in Florida where they ship everything to my house. When they said "Yes," I bought it the next day.
After waiting almost a month and seeing the box in front of me, the first impression is that you know it's a fabulous keyboard when you see how well it's packaged. The box is very pretty, and that's a good indication of the quality and the attention to detail Akko pays to. The keyboard has a good weight, the build materials are very good, and it has some surprising details, such as the screen, the light strip under the screen, the light strips under the keyboard, the metal plate under the keyboard. It doesn't feel like a cheap or ordinary product; you know you're looking at a special keyboard. When you start typing and feel how smooth the piano switches are and their sound, you're completely satisfied. The screen is great; the option to add animations is fun and helps you further customize the keyboard. The knob for adjusting the volume and managing the screen menu is great. I've always used wired keyboards, but this one is multimode, so when I'm feeling lazy, I just set it wireless, lie down on my bed, and mirror my PC to my 55" TV. What could go wrong? Using Akko is happiness. I have no negative comments about the product, but I do have some questions about the configuration. When you activate the number keys, the light strip on the screen turns blue; when the number keys is off, the strip is rainbow, and if you activate Caps Lock, the strip is half white and half blue. Is there a way to customize these colors? I didn't find any options for this in the Akko Cloud Driver. Is there a way to have the screen turn off and on when I press "Enter," for example? Or is it better to keep it on for the duration of its lifespan?
My final comment is simply a suggestion to Akko as a company. If you want to expand your reach even further the Spanish-speaking market, all you have to do is make keycaps with exclusive Spanish characters and swap them for exclusive German characters, and that's it. I solved the problem with my Spanish keycaps by buying a set on Amazon. I'm sorry it doesn't come in the black, gray, and yellow colors that come with the keyboard, but that's part of the sacrifice a keyboard fan, and now an Akko fan, must make.
