There are two main types of keyboards you should look for if typing comfort is paramount. Keyboards with mechanical switches offer superior key stability and a satisfying clicking sensation, while ergonomically designed boards like the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard ($59.99) force your arms, wrists, and hands into a position that could help eliminate strain and injury. This keyboard has been around in various iterations for years, and the current version (released in 2019) deserves a close look from productivity hounds. It manages to offer a superior typing sensation—almost as good as typing on mechanical key switches—while still maintaining an ergonomically correct position.
A Layout Split in Half
Many keyboards offer wrist rests, tilt adjustments, and other accoutrements to improve ergonomics, but few go as far as Microsoft’s Ergonomic Keyboard. This board is split in half like a parting Red Sea. There’s a giant gap in the middle that bulges upward (roughly the opposite of the downward waterfalls seen in most depictions of Moses's feat).
The upward bulge means the Ergonomic Keyboard strictly forces your hands apart so they aren’t tempted to roam freely above the keys. They’re coerced into taking up positions once taught in middle-school typing classes, with your pointer fingers resting above the F and J keys and all of the other fingers assigned to strike specific keys. Meanwhile, your wrists remain on the luxuriously soft, oversized fabric wrist wrest, which also has a bulge in the middle to further enforce hand separation.
The result is a “neutral wrist posture,” which Microsoft claims has been approved by ergonomists. As with most peripherals we review, we’re not evaluating the ergonomic efficacy of this keyboard, but rather the build quality, the features, and the overall comfort it offers.
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The Ergonomic Keyboard feels supremely sturdy, unlike the flimsier boards that are often bundled with a new desktop or all-in-one PC. The black plastic finish is understated and classy, if not particularly sleek. If you’re upgrading from an Ergonomic Keyboard that you’ve had for many years, you’ll appreciate the lack of the late-'90s silver accents that swoop up and down the wrist rests of previous Ergonomic Keyboard designs. The current Ergonomic Keyboard is also much more substantial and solid-feeling than some previous ergonomic offerings from Microsoft, including the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, which is shallower and features a cutout where the keys split instead of a solid plastic bulge.
The heft is noticeable as soon as you take the Ergonomic Keyboard out of the box, and dimensions confirm it. With the removable front tilt leg installed, the board stands a commanding 2.39 inches high and has a depth of 10.33 inches. Compare that with a height of just 1.6 inches for the Logitech Ergo K860, another split ergonomic keyboard. The tilt leg angles the keys further away from you to ensure a neutral angle in case your chair positions your elbows higher than your wrists. If not, the tilt leg is easily removable—it snaps into and out of place.
Unlike those of some gaming keyboards, the Microsoft keyboard’s wrist rest cannot be detached. It’s integral to the design, and you really wouldn’t be able to type effectively without it. Luckily, I found the soft fabric supremely comfortable, if a bit prone to specks of dirt. Microsoft offers no cleaning instructions for the Ergonomic Keyboard, so I just brushed it off with my fingers at the end of each workday. Vacuuming it with a soft brush attachment would likely work just fine.
Comfortable Typing
Although the Ergonomic Keyboard’s raison d’etre is making your hands and wrists more comfortable, it also offers excellent typing comfort, among the most satisfying of any non-mechanical keyboard I’ve used. The keys depress with a satisfying, muted thud that won’t annoy your co-workers. While there is a bit of wobble when you strike the keys off center, I quickly forgot about it during a long day of typing.
Alas, typing on an ergonomic board requires a significant amount of adjustment if you’ve never used one before. I’m an above-average typist, usually achieving around 60 words per minute. On the Ergonomic Keyboard, I managed 53, and that was after several hours' practice. I normally touch type without looking at the keys, but I had to steal significant downward glances and resist the urge for my left hand to cross the bulge into the exclusive right-hand zone.
I anticipate this experience will dissipate over time as I continue to acclimate to the ergonomic layout, but it’s still not an ideal first experience. If you’ve got mission-critical typing to do, it’s probably best to delay your purchase of the Ergonomic Keyboard until you finish it.
Shortcuts Galore
The Ergonomic Keyboard connects via a built-in cord with a USB Type-A plug. If your laptop only has USB-C ports, you'll need an adapter. The keyboard automatically completed setup as soon as I connected it to a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop running Windows 10. All of the shortcut keys—and there are a ton of them—worked without any adjustments. That includes some unique modern additions, such as a dedicated Emoji key next to the right Control key. It brings up the new emoji and memoji keyboard that’s now integrated into Windows 10. There are also dedicated keys to lock your PC, activate the Windows timeline view, and even start a screen grab using the relatively new Snip & Sketch app, which will eventually replace the older Snipping Tool as the default method for screen captures.
Other shortcut keys include one for the Windows search field in the Taskbar, one to open the calculator, and a set of media keys that adjust volume; play, pause, and skip tracks; and launch your default multimedia player. There’s also a dedicated Office key next to the Emoji key, which launches the Office 365 splash screen. I have a local version of Office installed, so I don’t find this particularly useful. Finally, you get three unlabeled keys that can perform custom actions. By default, they were assigned to open a File Explorer window and launch Excel and Word on my review unit.
Eyes (and Fingers) on Microsoft's App
To customize the Ergonomic Keyboard’s features, you can download and install the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center app—a notification with a link to the app thoughtfully appears as soon as you plug in the keyboard for the first time.
The installation process isn’t 100 percent seamless. You’ll need to choose the appropriate version of the app for your PC (32-bit, 64-bit, or ARM64), and if you’re in Windows 10 S Mode, you’ll need to switch out of it to regular Win 10. It’s especially odd that a Microsoft app doesn’t work in the more secure S Mode, which Microsoft designed to allow only verified apps to run.
Once you do get the app installed, it's simple to use. The default view presents all the customizable keys in a list. Clicking on one lets you change its function from the default. Options include launching a program, web page, or file; assigning a macro; assigning a task such as Copy or Paste; and disabling the key completely. Mouse and Keyboard Center also lets you assign specific keys to perform different commands in different programs, so a single key could copy text in Word, run a macro in a game, and go back to the previous page in a web browser.
Ergonomic Style
If your work depends on typing, you might lament having to choose between the satisfying feel of a mechanical keyboard and the superior comfort of an ergonomic one. With the Ergonomic Keyboard, this choice is less of a tradeoff. In addition to keeping your wrists comfortable, the keyboard offers plenty of typing comfort in a stylish package, as well as a comprehensive array of shortcut keys.
The board’s only major downside is the steep learning curve, which could give first-time ergonomic keyboard users pause. If you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of productivity for a lot of comfort, however, the Ergonomic Keyboard will be an excellent addition to your desk.
In addition to saving your wrists from stress, the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard offers plenty of typing comfort in a stylish package plus a comprehensive array of shortcut keys.
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