this, both the need to research basic facts like "what brand am i buying from", and the attitude when you ask questions to research those basic facts, is why someone would want to buy a logitech mechanical keyboard
I think that they don’t need to know or research or ask about other brands is the point. It’s like you know that Monster Cables will be sufficient.
That said why would such a person want a mechanical keyboard but not want to out in the effort to learn about them? I’m guessing it’s for dabblers or people who’ve heard of mechanical keyboards and it’s more an impulse buy than an investment.
(I’ve tuned my own springs by finger so that’s where I stand personally)
> You'd need to be completely, utterly clueless to go to Logitech for a mechanical keyboard. The faintest of Google searches would lead you to established products which are both cheaper and better.
Not clueless, just not someone who would Google around for reviews or care to get the absolute best. They go to Best Buy.
This is virtually every adult I know over age 40/50 outside of the industry. They'll roll up to Best Buy for a new keyboard, see this and think "cool! Some new type of thing!"
A household brand name like Logitech is significant. They've been making mice almost as long as I've had a computer. This is extremely important to anyone who's been around long enough to have ventured into trying alternatives and eventually come back to the big names for consistency, warranty, return-ability.
Mechanical keyboards are filtering down into corporate IT purchasing after they've entered the consumer mainstream (gaming keyboards and the like), particularly in smaller / "hip" companies that decide to buy smaller amounts of premium hardware instead of trying to shave pennies off unit costs in volume (Fortune 500 etc.). Logitech's retail reach makes this a much simpler decision for those purchasing agents, who will likely be able to purchase these through pre-existing channels, compared to smaller outlets offering specialized keyboards.
You are not the target market. There are not enough people like you to justify a product. If you like the keyboard great, but who is their target? People who have heard of “mechanical = good” and know the Logitech brand. It’s just a weird niche compared to many more people who come into mechanical keyboards from the hobbyist tinkerer side of things.
> There are not enough people like you to justify a product. If you like the keyboard great, but who is their target? People who have heard of “mechanical = good” and know the Logitech brand.
I bet this category easily outnumbers all massdrop hypebeasts or Cherry switch sommeliers out there.
In the same way that middle-upper class men who want a nice pair of headphones, vaguely remember that "high impedance = good" and know the Sennheiser brand easily outnumber audiophiles.
> Anyone interested in mechanical keyboards surely is able to use Google to find decent offers.
Umm, there are now almost daily threads on HN about how bad Google search has become, especially for product search... So I'd guess many people will be happy about a no-nonsense offering from a somewhat reputable manufacturer like Logitech.
This is my issue. I really want a mechanical keyboard, but the amount of choice is insane, and the price difference between different ones are insane.
Sadly these days it's hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to products.
All of this, and I have very basic requirements too (at least I think so). 70% keyboard layout, needs to be somewhat quiet, and I don't really want to pay an arm and a leg. Is there not a website where I can filter from many different keyboards so I can short-list what suits me best? I've not found any. The only places where I've been able to find quality information are Reddit and other similar communities, but they contain a barage of information and it's hard to find anything useful.
edit: I'd really like to not have to build it myself.
Consider a video of an office worker smashing their keyboard in frustration and an interview about the server being constantly down. If the article and comments section focused on the clear inferiority of Logitech peripherals you would probably wonder if brand prejudice was playing a role.
Being from a recognizable brand and available at Staples/Bestbuy/Walmart are big things.
Sometimes people who are deep into things forget about that. You've done 100s of hours of research. You've chosen X Y and Z for reasons. You've built this and that, tried some of those.
Most people's keyboard choice is about 3 minutes in the aisle. Done.
> Me, or anybody who needs a no-fuss, one-shot, buy-and-use-it-till-it-dies type of consumer.
You can get a cheaper no-fuss mechanical keyboard from reputable brands with respectable components for far less than this logitech keyboard is being sold.
From the top of my mind, Akko keyboards are quite nice, and most of their products sell for $50 less.
You'd need to be completely, utterly clueless to go to Logitech for a mechanical keyboard. The faintest of Google searches would lead you to established products which are both cheaper and better.
> someone who has heard mechanical keyboards are cool but is daunted by doing any research into what mechanical keyboard options exist out there.
honestly I was into mechanical keyboards for a while, I put together a few kits, I bought into group buys on individual hand-crafted keys, group buys on keysets, and bought a HHKB to try topre switches. After a while I just stopped, because the scene is incredibly disorganized and constantly shifting (e.g., I was into mechanical keyboards for a year or two and /r/budgetkeebs didn't even exist, but lots of my friends still know me as the keyboard enthusiast guy so they always ask me where to get a keyboard). The barrier to entry is very substantial. There are a lot of people who would like a nicer keyboard who don't want to have to deal with that nonsense.
Take that whole concept, and now think about webcams. People have money to burn and spent a lot of time on video chat because of Covid. How many people sat around and did hours and hours of research to buy the perfect webcam? How many people heard the Logitech 1080p webcam (the C920x I think?) was pretty good, bought it, plugged it in, had a good product and literally never thought about it again? I'm willing to bet that second group is easily ten times as large as the first group. And alllllllll those people see "Logitech" and all they think is "it's a peripheral that will probably work well that I don't have to think about". That's an enormous market.
anyway I can't figure out if the MX means the switches have Cherry MX stems or not, which is annoying. Not something I would buy, but definitely a frustratingly underserved market segment.
So I can point my 60yo father to a reddit thread to try to figure out the differences between switches and manufacturers when all he really wants is a keyboard that sounds/feels better than the gummy crap that came with his Dell. Then maybe he'll create an account and ask a question and get some snarky ass hole reply from someone barking "IF You'd HAd GooOgled It!".
Or, I can say "dad, check out this logitech kb. It's affordable and you can pick how loud you want it to be".
Literally that simple. Start looking at things through the eyes of your parents or grandparents and you start to see how fucking complicated and confusing a lot of this shit is. It's no wonder at all that Logitech is coming out with something simple with streamlined options.
Sorry I wasn't clear, I meant that keyboards are a commodity. They're mass produced low margin items and there's little differentiation for the most part. There's rarely a compelling event that causes someone to replace their existing keyboard. The industry always wants more profits and better margins so creating the perception of mechanical being better and therefore more expensive allows them to extract more money from an already mature market through the illusion of superiority. I do find the whole thing annoying but I suppose it's good for the economy, so more power to anyone that cares for them.
> I think peoples tastes have shifted to quality in more areas, because they can quickly google and see what the best looks like.
I've noticed that I do a lot more min/maxing. I'm always optimizing my purchases for the best available at the lowest cost. Which means hundreds of hours of research. Research which often makes no real difference in the end.
A hobby as in building and customising keyboards. If I want a mechanical keyboards I'll spend weeks researching various pcbs and kits, looking at keyswitch datasheets and listening to recording of sounds they make, choosing keycaps with perfect font, color and manufacturing process. Don't get me started on keyboard cases...
> Even considering inflation, $150 for a Logitech keyboard is insane, even if it is mechanical.
I don't think you have been looking at Logitech keyboards for a while. Logitech Craft, which is a few years old retails at $169. MX Keys (which this is presumably the mechanical version of) costs $119
I don't think the MX or the Craft series are aimed at gamers, but at office workers / typists.
Logitech Gaming Keyboards, such as G413 TKL is $69 and the Pro K/DA, which is a collaboration with the League of Legends Band/mascots is $129
$150 for a logitech keyboard is in no way high for the brand, or an attempt at taking advantage of gamers.
> I don't get who this product is for, other than maybe someone who has heard mechanical keyboards are cool but is daunted by doing any research into what mechanical keyboard options exist out there.
I like mechanical keyboards but I just don't care. What research do I possibly need to do?
Because the Logitech brand is fugly, that ship is sinking and can be scooped up for less if they care to. This wasn't about technology, brand and customers.
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