This Split Keyboard Offers Deep Customization - If You're Willing To Go All In

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Naya Create keyboard is disposable now starting astatine $500, pinch further modules sold separately.
• It's very well-built and well-designed, pinch a breadth of customization options that fto you spell arsenic heavy arsenic you want.
• It's expensive, and nan learning curve requires dedication.

I've tested a fewer divided keyboards complete nan past year, and they each person 1 point successful common: You really person to beryllium committed to nan cause. Rewiring your encephalon to an all-new keyboard format requires time, patience, and a small spot of work. 

But it's easier than you think, and there's a marketplace for it. Plenty of consumers are looking for ergonomic, replacement solutions to nan flat, integrative keyboards we've each been hammering distant astatine for our full lives. 

Also: I switched to a divided ergonomic keyboard for a week, and it's spoiled each different peripheral for me

The latest divided keyboard I've tested, nan Naya Create, is some a deconstruction of nan accepted keyboard setup and thing wholly new. It's a wired divided keyboard that tin beryllium positioned successful unconventional ways, including astatine an angle, aliases spaced acold apart, allowing nan personification to support some arms neutral successful beforehand of them. 

The consequence is simply a keyboard that looks and feels much for illustration a tactile power halfway than nan modular keyboard/trackpad setup we're each acquainted with. This is particularly existent pinch nan boards angled, which allows you to remainder your arms connected nan table without having to assistance and rotate your wrists.

Once you commencement trying to type, however, you recognize you can't look astatine nan surface while your fingers fly. In fact, during my first fewer days utilizing nan keyboard, my eyes were glued to it. But it doesn't return agelong earlier you get to an operational threshold.

Looking astatine nan device's beingness form, 1 of nan biggest changes is nan additional, customizable buttons that don't beryllium connected a regular keyboard. Also, some sides characteristic a abstraction barroom (it turns retired astir of america really only usage nan aforesaid thumb to deed nan abstraction barroom while nan different 1 just... hovers there). This way, you tin utilize abstraction connected some hands. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

The remainder of nan keys connected nan acold correct and near sides of each committee do person immoderate logic to really they're mapped out, but they're not nan keys your musculus representation remembers, truthful they request an adjustment. 

You'll besides announcement nan keyboard is built to accommodate immoderate ambiguity. Not each cardinal is intelligibly defined, and that's connected purpose. Naya wants you to customize your instrumentality by mapping keys to your preferences successful nan Naya Flow software. Fortunately, nan process is straightforward: Just resistance and driblet a key's usability to its position connected nan board. 

Also: I battalion this portable workstation whenever I recreation - here's why it's worthy nan container space

This was an absorbing research for me. Initially, I didn't emotion that location was nary Backspace key, arsenic that abstraction was occupied by nan 0 number key. But I remapped Backspace to nan acold correct multifunction cardinal adjacent to nan abstraction barroom and was amazed really easy it was to accommodate to this change. Sure, it took immoderate time, but it wasn't arsenic laborious arsenic I assumed. 

Going deeper connected this conception of customizable cardinal mapping, you tin see each layout to beryllium a abstracted "layer". For example, you person your regular, mundane QWERTY keyboard layout that's optimized for normal usage.

But you tin move to different layout for gaming, wherever nan WASD keys are arrows connected nan near board, and nan correct broadside is simply a number pad. Below that furniture is simply a "System" layout, wherever each cardinal is mapped to controlling a abstracted LED style aliases usability for nan keyboard's RGB lighting. 

Furthermore, you tin dainty each cardinal for illustration you would a trackpad aliases mouse. A azygous pat of a cardinal could beryllium mapped to 1 thing, while a double tap, aliases a hold, could make it do thing else. 

Also: I tested a divided keyboard made for gamers, but I'd usage it successful nan agency conscionable arsenic much

Speaking of, nan Naya Create isn't conscionable a keyboard; each broadside of nan keyboard has 2 slots for further modules: a trackpad, a ball-style mouse, and a dial. The modules couldn't beryllium easier to use; they conscionable threat into spot pinch a coagulated magnetic fix, and they link automatically pinch nan pins. 

The trackpad, aliases Naya Touch, is afloat customizable pinch each nan gestures you'd expect: one-, two-, aliases three-finger taps, double-taps, spreads, etc. The dial is awesome for users who walk a batch of clip dragging sliders successful Adobe Photoshop aliases scrubbing video tracks successful DaVinci Resolve. 

Overall, nan keyboard's build value feels very good. The hinges are highly sturdy and don't move astatine each erstwhile they're placed connected nan desk, which allows for a precocious grade of precision erstwhile adjusting nan boards, arsenic they'll enactment precisely wherever you put them. Even pinch sustained, attraction pressure, nan committee doesn't budge. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Besides each nan cardinal customization, nan instrumentality itself is perfectly loaded pinch RGB lighting effects. The ray beneath nan keys themselves and effects connected nan modules are not only amazingly bright, but ostentatious capable to please nan astir diehard gamers. Personally, I don't mind nan much subdued lighting, but nan rotating prismatic effects are not for me. 

Also: I've tested dozens of ultralight laptops this year, but I support coming backmost to this one

If nan Naya Create looks for illustration thing you could get into, there's a very progressive Discord organization wherever users stock configurations, templates, and setups, arsenic good arsenic connection troubleshooting proposal and, astir importantly, pro tips for really to clasp nan learning curve. The extremity result, from group who person stuck pinch it, opportunity they can't ever spell backmost to a "regular" keyboard. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The Naya Create keyboard is possibly nan strangest premium divided keyboard I've gone hands-on with. Its build is amazingly solid, and nan customization runs deep. With nan expertise to load different layouts, you tin switch keyboards depending connected what you're doing, and aggregate functions per cardinal based connected single, double, aliases long-pressing keys let for endless experimentation. 

The biggest drawback is its price. The keyboard unsocial is $500, which puts it firmly successful niche luxury tech territory. The touchpad is an further $80, nan trackball $100, and nan dial $170. When each is said and done, you're looking astatine adjacent to $800. 

Also: The champion mechanical keyboards: I hand-picked nan apical models available

One point is certain, though: This instrumentality requires feedback from nan user. You've sewage to beryllium engaged successful nan learning process, and nan customization continues arsenic you usage nan device. The extremity result, however, has nan imaginable to beryllium an absolute game-changer for productivity. 

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