Why bother grabbing an RTX 4090 gaming PC when you can get a $2,100 mechanical keyboard made from a solid block of aluminum? I can imagine not many would agree, especially as there's no numpad to go along with it.
As spotted by Tom's Hardware, Serene Industries revealed its Icebreaker Keyboard, and it features a 65% all-metal chassis and 800 micro-perforations to allow for RGB lights to pass through the keycaps. It's completely customizable, with multiple PCB options including wireless and two wired models: hot-swappable and hall effect.
The Icebreaker's insane $2,100 price is clearly made for a niche market, and interestingly, a lot of that cost comes down to its base color. For example, you can get the wireless "Clear" color option for $1,500, but change that to "Black," and the price jumps by $500.
That's the price for a sleek, fully CNC-machined keyboard featuring a block 6061 aluminum chassis and an "unorthodox wedge form." As you can imagine (and as Serene Industries notes), this full-metal PC peripheral is super heavy — but there's no word of its official weight.
The future of mechanical keyboards?
As Serene Industries founder Denis Agarkov states, "Serene is meant to be my outlet for creativity, love of materials, experimentation and an endless exercise in learning new things." It certainly piques my interest, as its futuristic wedged design looks like something out of a sci-fi movie such as "Blade Runner."
Clearly, this is a luxury PC peripheral to grab the interest of a niche group. It even comes with a programmable rotary encoder dial. At this price, it would easily be an exemplary typing experience, and it has a few more tricks to it.
Using 800 micro-holes to form the key legends is a lot of work, and it's sure to give the LED lights underneath the keycaps a unique glow. Still, these are holes, and no matter how tiny they are, there's always the risk of dirt or dust getting in them.
Sporting a large chassis measuring 17.7 x 1.7 x 0.9 inches, the keyboard also offers a "dual dampening system" to block out noise and vibrations, along with a large 4,000mAh battery capacity to keep its wireless option lasting for a while.
Reportedly, the keyboard uses full-height MX switches and are fully aluminum, too. These don't come cheap, either, as Icebreaker Keycaps will set you back at least $415.
While the website notes that it's currently out of stock, pre-orders are still available. The Icebreaker is an interesting concept, but I can imagine many will opt for much more affordable options that have a numpad attached. Luckily all the best keyboards you can get today are supremely cheaper.
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