Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware
The appearance of the Yeyian Akil Series 3500 is very standard with a slight iteration to the 65% layout. Rather than having the typical four navigation keys placed vertically beside the arrow cluster, Yeyian opts to place the navigation keys in a nice little square. Personally, I find this a little more physically appealing, but that comes down to preference. The exterior is completely made out of a black plastic, giving it a very standard appearance in terms of color. As with many other keyboards, Yeyian places their logo above the arrow cluster. It is the only feasible location to place the logo and have it been still visible with a compact layout such as this one. Another common location that is used is on the front bezel of the keyboard case, but this is typically used for any keyboard with a purely text logo. Generally speaking, the appearance is quite standard in terms of color and material.
The Yeyian Akil Series 3500 measures in at 301.8mm length, 142.2mm width, and 34.8mm height. Compared to other keyboards, this is quite standard for a 65% layout. In terms of mass, this weighs in at about 640g, excluding the cord. Going into build quality, the top deck shows no flex when pushing into the keyboard. No flex should be noticeable in standard use cases, as flex did not occur even while applying a significant amount of force to the deck. This keyboard uses a steel top plate, making it decently sturdy, but it also produces quite a bit of ping. I proceeded to try to twist the keyboard, finding little to no avail due to the steel plate and internal structure, which we will further investigate shortly. The plastic portion of the case was well constructed, also being quite sturdy. I had a bit of issue regarding the quality control though, as I noticed the plate was actually bent from the factory. The result created a clashing noise between the stabilizer bar and the plate.
The Yeyian Akil Series 3500 comes with an altered version of the 65% QWERTY ANSI layout. As previously mentioned, the navigation keys are placed in a square above the arrow cluster imitating the appearance of a TKL layout, but in the more compact 65% layout. A typical 65% layout would have the navigation keys placed vertically above the right arrow key and has a total of 68 keys, saving space on your desk by removing the number pad and F-row, while condensing the navigation keys. The QWERT ANSI layout is the standard American layout, which uses the single row enter key, as seen in some of the previous images. The keyboard does have a standard bottom row, meaning that all of the keys in this row are the same size, being 1.25U.
The Yeyian Akil Series 3500 supports full N-key rollover, meaning every single key pressed will register even if they are all pressed simultaneously. There will be no ghosting issues, where some keys may not be registered. Gamers and fast typists who have fast actions per minute or words per minute will benefit from this, as it will allow more keys to be recognized at the same time. In reality, people usually only need 6-key rollover, so the addition of N-key rollover is nice for extremely fast typists who can reach 250 words per minute.
Let us look at the secondary functions located across the keyboard that can be accessed using the Fn-key. Starting with some special functions, the Windows key, Backspace, A, and S will lock or unlock the Windows key, factory restore, set system to Windows, or set system to IOS, in that respective order. The Del and Ins keys will cycle through 18 different lighting effects, including off. The manual talks about some interesting gaming control keys, where the keyboard can be set to different profiles made for FPS games, League of Legends, and Office mode by using the Fn-key in unison with Z, X, and C, in that respective order.
Tab will allow you to record or store a lighting mode. PgUp and PgDn allow the user to adjust the brightness of the lights. The up and down arrow keys adjust speed. To change color, you can use the right arrow key. To change direction, you can use the left arrow key. The last of the interesting functions is the P key, which allows you to enter pairing mode for Bluetooth connectivity. Lastly, we have the whole top row starting from Esc to =, which allows you to access `, ~, or all of the F-keys. Interestingly enough, there are no media commands.
As for the keycaps, these are ABS plastic. I personally prefer PBT, or polybutylene terephthalate, because the material is harder and resists keycap shining better. The lettering is printed on with a double-shot injection process. The font used is quite standard to many other budget keyboards, feeling incomplete. I say this because some of the letters like Q or O are missing strokes to complete the circular figure. Yeyian opts to center the font horizontally, which I personally find to be a risky decision as ensuring the letters are perfectly centered may be difficult. My preference for font would be a classic and simple font that is slightly offset to the left of the keycap as seen on many classic vintage keyboards. Underneath the keycaps, you can see the typical MX-style stem. This means you can replace the keycaps with another set. In regard to thickness, they are about 0.7mm thick. This is painfully thin, but many manufacturers do tend to use thinner keycaps. To keep things simple, thicker keycaps have more depth and produce a deeper thock, while thinner keycaps produce a higher pitch sound. Of course, there is more variable included for this when you consider keycap profiles. Yeyian uses a profile reminiscent of OEM keycaps to prevent Cherry interference between the keycaps and switches.
The Yeyian Akil Series 3500 features Outemu Red switches. This can be considered a Cherry MX Red clone, but there are some subtle differences. These linear switches have a key travel of 4mm and an actuation point of 2mm. The total force required to actuate is roughly 50g. Even with these specifications, it is quite hard to picture what these switches actually feel like, so I will try my best to explain. As this is a linear design, you will feel no bump, as the travel will be quite smooth. For a stock switch, the Outemu Reds are decent enough for the budget. With a sufficient amount of break in time, they should become a bit smoother. With that said, the Outemu Reds are based off Cherry MX Reds, but they are still their own unique switch with unique characteristics. Because preference is a large factor for deciding what is better, neither is objectively better than the other. Some notable differences would be the build quality and stem. Outemu uses a nicer box stem that allows it to have less wobble, but in my experience, I find Cherry to have better manufacturing tolerances.
Moving on to the stabilizers, we have a clone of Cherry clip-in stabilizers. If you are unfamiliar, there are two main designs of stabilizers, Cherry and Costar. The main purpose of both is to maintain balance in the longer keys and stabilize them as the name implies. Cherry stabilizers will have stems matching the bottom of most keycaps, while Costar will require the wire to be hooked into a hoop placed on the keycaps. The main issue with authentic Cherry stabilizers is the feet. Luckily, Yeyian uses a clone that has a flat base, reducing the mushy feeling from authentic Cherry stabilizers. Another common issue for stabilizers is the rattle noises it produces. Unlike Costar stabilizers, the enthusiast community has found several ways to reduce the sound of rattle in Cherry stabilizers, making it the superior choice. The clip-in design is something not commonly sought after, but has a decently tight fit on the steel plate.
Taking a peek at the bottom of the keyboard, we have four rubber feet and two more on the flip-out feet. The feet on the bottom side are quite large, doing an excellent job of keeping the keyboard in place. There should be no noticeable unintentional sliding. There is no cable raceway to manage the cable on the bottom. The addition would have been nice, but not necessary. The cable plugs in at the bottom using a USB Type-C interface. This is a good thing, as this has become the standard. It is nice to see a braided cable, even on a budget product. This helps with maintaining the product, as you can simply replace one part of the keyboard.
After doing my preliminary inspection, I put the Yeyian to use. As these Outemu Red switches are linear in nature, I made sure to account for this in my typing tests. My first observation was a decent bottoming out sound with a very minor ping. Something that was very noticeable was the aforementioned collision between the plate and stabilizer bar. The bent plate is a quality control issue that should not be found in many other keyboards, but it is important to preface the possibility. I should note I am typing on top of a desk mat, which does help alleviate higher pitched sounds. The smooth linear feel was consistent through all the keys. As someone who general enjoys linear switches, I had a satisfactory experience. I enjoyed 2mm actuation point as I never had any unintentional inputs like I did when I used Cherry MX Speed Silvers. The travel distance was good, and I had no issues whatsoever. Furthermore, the addition of Bluetooth connection was surprisingly good, as there was no noticeable delay. On battery, the Akil Series 3500 is rated to last for 8 to 12 hours depending on illumination. This is decent battery life, but I have seen longer.
Something Yeyian has executed well on the Akil Series 3500 is the backlighting and effects. This is where the function commands truly shine through, if you know what I mean. The light shines through the legends and the reflects against the side of the keycaps quite well. The lighting across the keyboard is very tasteful. I liked the lighting as I did not find it to be overkill. When it comes to changing effects, you can use the previously mentioned keyboard combinations. There is no software for the Akil Series 3500, which I personally find to be a blessing, but there are many people who love to use proprietary software.
You may have noticed I had merely completed my preliminary inspection. This is because I conducted a full inspection consisting of a complete disassembly of the Yeyian Akil Series 3500. To dissemble the Akil Series 3500, I simply removed 12 screws, unclip the top bezel, extracted the plate and PCB by unplugging the battery, and removed all the switches. The process was quite simple and did not require much know-how. In the image above, you can see how the PCB accepts 3-pin switches, unlike the typical 5-pin switch. As this is a budget keyboard, it makes sense to have budget switches, which commonly come in 3-pin. It is important to note that there are very few brands that can fit inside of these hot-swap sockets, as they are smaller than the typical socket made by Gateron or Kailh. In fact, the sockets used are closer to a Mill-Max socket in design. My personal recommendation for aftermarket switches would be from AKKO, as I have tested the fit to work well with the included hot-swap socket. Upon disassembly is when I noticed how bent the plate truly was. The steel plate was unable to sit flat and mainly bent around the space bar. Looking at the bottom case, you can see several standoffs. Having many standoffs may sound like a great idea, but in actual practice, it makes the typing experience feel quite uneven.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Conclusion
