In context: The humble keyboard has seen many innovations over the years including but not limited to mechanical switches, water resistance, flexible designs, wireless connectivity and more recently, RGB lighting. The latest creation from Finalmouse is among the most dramatic yet.
The Finalmouse Centerpiece keyboard features a technology called Laminated DisplayCircuit Glass Stack (LDGS) that’s covered by multiple patents and backed by years of R&D. As best we can tell from the video that is reveal what you are evaluating is just a keyboard featuring obvious tips and switches through a high-resolution display beneath that is powered by Unreal Engine 5. It’s virtually insulting to label it because of this as it appears definitely spectacular.
The board will send with customized linear that is auto-lubed switches co-developed with Gateron and inspired by their Black Ink switch, albeit tuned for faster actuation and with slightly different travel parameters. The keycaps are clear but have labels printed on the front sidewall. The typing sound has been described as “soft marble raindrops.”
Finalmouse said the board will have its own CPU and GPU to power the light show, and will connect using a single USB-C cable. Everything sits in a CNC engraved and anodized aluminum chassis that looks beautiful even without the lights on. All those nooks and crannies could be tricky to keep clean, but I suspect most wouldn’t mind the chore.
Finalmouse is also planning a skin marketplace where artists can submit their designs, either for free or to make money from. The board will have three skin slots with dedicated selection buttons on the side, presumably to swap backgrounds on the fly.
The skins are what could make or break the concept. Pure visual skins are a parlor that is neat however the genuine miracle are going to be interactive skins that react to typing or any other inputs, or those who prove really ideal for output. And along with its very own Central Processing Unit and GPU, certainly some body can come up through a epidermis effective at playing Doom.
The Finalmouse Centerpiece keyboard is planned to reach during the early 2023 costing $349.
