Page 2 - A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
We have seen our fair share of keyboards, but the YUNZII B87 is notably different when it comes to appearance. Our model of the B87 is their Purple Heart version, which means we have a nice shade of purple around the shell and complementary colors on the keycaps. Most keys are white with purple lettering, but there is a large heart on the right side formed by purple keycaps and white letters. Taking a closer look, they have replaced many of the ticks and marks on the keycaps with smaller hearts, including the quotations, percentage symbol, and arrow keys. This keeps a strong cohesion to the heart theme, and I am pleased to see this commitment. Aside from the colors, you can see curves in the corners and edges. This makes the whole board look very bubbly and comfortable to hold, even if it is still hard ABS plastic. The frame has a soft touch feel, which lends itself to the whole design. YUNZII does not have any branding on the top, which is another positive point.
In terms of dimensions, the YUNZII B87 is 373mm wide, 147mm deep, and 46mm tall. The height increases if you raise the kickstands underneath. This is a typical size for a tenkeyless format. In terms of weight, the YUNZII B87 weighs 1.128kg, which is surprisingly hefty for its size and construction. Under pressure, the B87 holds its shape well, but there is a bit of flex in the plastic frame when you twist the body. Deck flex is noticeable when pressing a key down hard, but it is not egregious. This is also understandable given the gasket-mounted polycarbonate plate inside. The front edge of the frame is approximately 20mm tall. YUNZII has provided a color-matching palm rest with the same soft-touch finish and feel.
The YUNZII B87 we are reviewing is in the standard North American QWERTY ANSI layout in a tenkeyless format. This translates to eighty-seven keys, which is reasonable given the name of the product. The bottom row is standard spacing with 1.25U keys on both sides of the space bar. One variation is the placement of the Windows key on the right side. For most of the keyboards I have tested, the right Alt is next to the space bar, but in this case, it is a Windows key. Of course, this layout can be changed by reprogramming the function of the key and swapping the keycap. On the right side, between the top three keys and the cluster of six underneath, there are three indicator lights. The first two lights up when Caps or Scroll Lock are active, respectively. The last one is a power indicator, which glows red when you are charging the YUNZII B87, and turns off when charging is complete.
There are several secondary functions on the YUNZII B87, but none of them are printed on the keycaps. Instead, you can look at the quick access material or the user manual. To access the functions, start by pressing the Fn key on the bottom right side before pressing the specified key. All the top function row keys have secondary functions. In Windows layout, F1 and F2 change screen brightness, while F3 activates Windows + Tab. F4 to F6 open your File Explorer, Email, and Homepage. F7 to F9 are media keys for Previous, Play/Pause, and Next. Finally, F10 to F12 change the volume with Mute, Volume Down, and Volume Up. In the Mac layout, these keys all match the standard function row for Mac keyboards, apart from F5 and F6. You can swap between layouts using Fn+S for Windows and Fn+A for Mac.
Other shortcuts include Fn and left Windows key to lock or unlock this key, which is handy for gaming. When locked, the backlight under the Windows key glows white. Finally, Fn + 1 to 3 are used for pairing up three different devices over Bluetooth. You can check your battery with Fn + right Ctrl, and the third indicator light will shine red if the battery life is 30% or less, yellow if it is between 31% and 70%, and green if it is 71% or more. Finally, if you make any changes you want to reset, you can press and hold Fn + space bar. There are secondary keys for lighting controls, but we will explore these later in the review.
The bottom of the YUNZII B87 is as you might expect. In the middle, there is a white label with some product information. The corners have rubber pads to keep the B87 in place. At the back, there are a pair of different height kick stands. As such, there are three different incline angles with the B87. The kickstands also have rubber padding on them to prevent movement when the keyboard is propped up. Under the right foot, there is a magnetic insert for you to keep your USB transmitter and receiver, which is nice to see. At the back of the YUNZII B87 on the left edge, there is a USB Type-C port for connecting the keyboard to your computer. Next, there is a three-position switch to let you choose the operating mode of using the wireless dongle, wired connection, or Bluetooth.
With the wireless capabilities, the YUNZII B87 has a single 4000mAh capacity battery to keep everything operational. In our testing, we had decent battery life results. YUNZII estimates 24 hours of total use with the RGB LED lighting on, and I was able to get around nine days of mixed use before the keyboard powered off. To be clear, I was not using it the full time during the testing period, so I would wager their estimate is about correct. Without lights, the manufacturer increases the estimates to 10 days, which is not too crazy to imagine. To keep this longevity, the B87 automatically sleeps when it has not been used for over three minutes. Once you press any key, it wakes back up from sleep. However, after thirty minutes of no use, the keyboard will go into a deeper sleep and takes a bit longer to wake up. The process was smooth, and it recognized my input almost immediately.
On my table, the YUNZII B87 stands out on top of my gray XTracGear Carbonic XXL and white tabletop. I used it with the palm rest, because I do like propping my hands up. I am quite used to the tenkeyless layout, but the only thing I missed is the volume knob, as I do like having a tactile knob to quickly change my volume. The secondary functions at the end of the function row are helpful, but I still like a dedicated input. Otherwise, I later ended up swapping around the right Alt and Windows keys so I would not accidentally press the wrong input.
Under each key, we have YUNZII's Milk V2 Linear switch, which we will inspect on the next page. In terms of typing, the YUNZII B87 is a bit more clacky than I would prefer. It lacks the low-end oomph, which contributes to a clacky and not marbly sound. This is a pure preference thing, so I would recommend listening to the recording above and possibly trying out the keyboard if possible. When you bottom out the switch, each press feels sturdy. Longer keys like the space bar and Shift keys feel smooth, but sound a bit hollower. Even if it is not to my preference, I can still appreciate having a tactile and audible feedback on every press.
The YUNZII B87's RGB LED backlighting is vibrant and bright, even if these PBT keycaps do not shine-through. As such, the lights glow around the keys rather than through them. The south-facing lights make the gaps and areas around the keys more visible. At maximum brightness, the lights are clear and visible in a bright room. Lighting controls can be adjusted via secondary functions. Once again, you need to press Fn first before the specific key. To change the effect, you can press '\'. Enter is used to change the color. The Up and Down arrows increase and decrease the backlighting brightness, while the Left and Right arrows decrease and increase the speed of the effects. Finally, you can turn off all the lights by pressing Fn + Backspace.
The YUNZII B87 does not come with any custom software, but it works with QMK and VIA. For a more user-friendly application, you can use VIA, which can either be installed or opened from VIA's website. You do need a Chromium-based web browser if you access it with the website. Otherwise, YUNZII provides the proper JSON design file, which can be downloaded and loaded into VIA to recognize the keyboard layout. This is something I have appreciated from many of these Chinese manufacturers, as it means users do not need to download proprietary software, and instead have something familiar to use across any of their devices. The B87 is also QMK compatible, and the two can work hand in hand, but I find VIA easier to use.
Personally, I appreciate VIA, but it shines more for its cross-compatibility than its polish. It has four basic screens where you can set up keys and their functionality, make macros, save and load profiles, and change the backlighting. All of these are self-explanatory. It does lack some other functionality, such as changing the automatic sleep period or changing the report rate, to name a few.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
4. Conclusion
