This Razer Keyboard Wasn’t on My Work Productivity List — But It Quietly Ruled My Desk

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.

I’ll be honest: I really like hybrid devices. I appreciate a high-performance gaming laptop that can double for work, and I admire a keyboard that adapts to different tasks.

Razer’s new Pro Type Ergo keyboard fits that description perfectly: it is built for productivity (a first for the brand) but includes a few nods to its gaming roots—even if it is better suited for long work sessions than marathon gaming of your favorite RTS title.

Also: I saw the ‘MacBook Pro for Linux users’ for the first time, and it’s a serious Windows contender

The Pro Type Ergo is a fairly large keyboard with a split, ergonomic layout, attached wrist rest, and multiple height and angle adjustments. Compatible with both Windows and Mac, this unit occupies a significant amount of desk space and features a sturdy build that can be tilted to a seven-degree slope or elevated at all four corners.

It’s one of the most comfortable keyboards I’ve ever used, though there’s a learning curve as you train your muscle memory to adapt to the split design and its quirks.

Physical Build: Professional, but make it flashy

Measuring 18.3 inches long and 9.6 inches wide, the Pro Type Ergo features a wave design that arches upward in the center to encourage natural hand placement. The vegan leather wrist rest is soft and generous, and fixed to the keyboard without any way to detach it—a testament to its ergonomic focus, but worth noting if you prefer more flexibility.

The keys are concave and low-profile, and feel similar to other mainstream productivity keyboards, though more refined. They use a scissor-style key switch with much less travel than a mechanical board, but perfectly adequate for a productivity device. Naturally, they also support a full spectrum of RGB lighting with 19 effect zones through Razer’s Chroma RGB application.

Razer made a few unique layout decisions here, specifically duplicating both the space bar and the B key. That’s right, the keyboard has two B keys, one on each side of the split, since it is a key you tend to press with either hand.

My biggest practical issue with the split keyboard, though, is that the Y key is placed on the right side of the split. I learned to hit Y with my left index finger—not my right—so during the first week of using the keyboard (and still occasionally to this day), my left index finger would awkwardly strike the (keyless) gap in the board and demand a conscious correction.

Also: I tested a split keyboard made for gamers, but I could use it in the office just as effectively

I would have preferred if the Y key were duplicated like the B key, especially since there’s enough room available on the device. After retraining my muscle memory, however, this became far less frequent.

The keyboard also features two chrome dials in the upper right and left corners, along with three macro buttons on the right. The command dial can be assigned up to eight preset functions per application, with up to 100 custom functions in Razer Synapse. It’s a satisfying tactile element that adds significant value to the device as a productivity tool.

Also: This mechanical keyboard is just as good for work as it is for gaming

The M1-M5 keys along the far left side come pre-programmed with common actions in each app. In Google Chrome, for example, the M1 key moves one tab to the right, M2 moves to the left, M3 opens a new tab, M4 closes the current tab, and M5 reopens the last closed tab.

These are all so intuitive, I simply kept them as-is and continue to rely on them for quick navigation. It also comes pre-loaded with key bindings for popular creative and productivity apps like Microsoft Teams, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe’s suite of products, plus Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

A Few Creative Details

I know I called this a hybrid keyboard, but I should clarify—Razer might not agree with that label. It would be more accurate to describe it as an ergonomic office keyboard crafted with Razer’s signature design language. That said, yes, you could definitely game on this. In fact, the ergonomic tilt made the WASD keys particularly cozy.

However, Razer makes gaming keyboards, and this product doesn’t share the same kind of dedicated hardware features targeted at that audience. Split gaming keyboards do exist—I tested ROG’s Falcata last year—but where that emphasized precision and premium components, this is a much more comfortable package.

It is versatile,