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At first glance it may look like NuPhy simply started a new line to offer a TKL layout, but the Gem80 is vastly different than the Halo series. It takes a step into “custom” keyboard territory, with the base price being a barebones partially-assembled kit that doesn’t include keycaps or switches.

The Gem80 is competing with barebones kits and fully-custom kits that com unassembled, but it certainly makes a case for itself through the numerous assembly options that it offers. Not only do you select your switches and keycaps, but you can also opt for additional plates (for an extra charge), and your mounting style (four mounting options are included). Not to mention choosing which foams you want to keep or remove. Could it be too many choices?

The Good

There are a lot of good things to say about the Gem80. The quality of the components is excellent, and the case feels more premium than NuPhy’s Halo line. The default configuration includes an FR4 plate and the silicone sock mount. Combined with all the included case foam that comes pre-installed, this combination yields a “middle ground” amount of flex and a marbly, poppy sound profile. There are two other silicone mount styles (sleeves and buttons) and a set of screws for a firmer top mount. The optional plates include polycarbonate, POM, and aluminum. PC and POM plates will be more flexible and offer a slightly softer sound than FR4, while aluminum will be firmer.

Removing the under-PCB foam gives more room for flex while typing, while not significantly changing the sound profile because there is also a silicone pad in the case bottom.

NuPhy’s optional keycaps are a new profile, mSA, which is similar to MDA. It’s more rounded and sculpted than cherry, but not nearly as tall as SA. It may take some time for cherry typists to get used to the larger surface area, but I find them quite comfortable and the quality is very nice. They are nice and thick with a full double-shot layer and crisp legends. The add-on price of $15 for a set of keycaps of this quality is an absurdly good value, however you don’t get the choose the color. They will be color-themed with the case color that you’ve chosen (there are five case color choices).

Switch options include three new Gateron-made NuPhy branded switches: mint and raspberry linear and lemon tactile, as well as a new silent switch made by Cherry which has a higher cost. The three NuPhy options can be added on for $15, another excellent value, and the silent Cherry switches can be added for $25. NuPhy sent me the mint linear switches which have a lighter actuation force than typical red linear switches (37g), and they were smooth and had no unwanted pingy sounds. The raspberry is a more “middle road” linear switch with 46g force, and the lemon option is a tactile switch with a sharper bump than brown switches, but not quite as substantial as NuPhy’s Rose Glacier switches.

The wireless connectivity options are great, with 3 bluetooth connections and 1,000Hz polling rate for the 2.4GHz connection. All worked well for me, and NuPhy states that the polycarbonate case bottom provides for better wireless transmission. The wired connection is also 1,000Hz polling, so both the 2.4GHz and wired connections are suitable for gaming.

Battery life with the lighting all turned off is a very nice 330 hours according to NuPhy and I have no reason to doubt that it is in the 300 hour-range based on my use. That’s a little bit above-average for QMK keyboards with this battery capacity (4,000mAh) and exceeding a month of use between charges, which is great. See below for my comments about battery life with the lighting on.

The Gem80 also features QMK firmware with VIA compatibility for easy customization on windows, mac, and linux. It also comes with pre-programmed layers for windows and mac modifier key layouts that you can swap between with a physical switch. I had no issues remapping the Gem80 with VIA and far prefer the consistency of customizing QMK over proprietary software.

Overall, the quality, typing feel and sound, connectivity, and customization (both physical and firmware) is a winning combination.

Room for Improvement

With all that said, there are a couple of minor things that could be improved with the Gem80. My main gripe here is that NuPhy did not provide support for PCB-mounted stabilizers on the PCB. The included stabilizers are plate-mounted and appear to be the same stabilizers that come in the Halo series. They’re not terrible, but plate-mounted stabs tend to be more prone to rattle than PCB-mounted, so it would have been nice to either have them upgraded out of the gate, or at least have the mounting holes on the PCB so you can upgrade them yourself. You can still replace the stabilizers if you would like to, but you’re limited to plate-mount.

The battery life with lighting on is also nothing special, it decreases from the very nice use time with lights off down to 24-45 hours with all the backlighting on or 34-70 hours with only the home key lights on.

Additional downsides get nit-picky very quickly. I personally found the switches for the connection type and OS layout a little finicky because they are under the lip of the case on the back, so you have to reach under to move them. I found that a little annoying but NuPhy was likely aiming to keep the look of the case clean. In terms of the configurations, you might also be slightly annoyed that you cannot opt out of the FR4 plate if you know you don’t want it – you’ll have to pay extra to get your desired plate but you’re getting the FR4 plate no matter what.

The last thing I’ll mention is very conditional – if you like the styling and overall look of the Gem80 and you’re looking for a TKL but you don’t really have a need for (or care about) lots of customization options, then the price may be a bit high. I believe it’s still valid for the price to be higher than the Halo series, but if you don’t really value all the customization, then the price may seem a little much.

Aside from that, there’s not much to complain about here!

In the end, I highly recommend the Gem80 if you’re in the market for a customizable TKL layout. It combines excellent quality, interesting styling, a satisfying typing experience, and tons of customization options. I’m hoping NuPhy adds more layouts to the Gem line!

Check out the Gem80

Use code SEMIPRO for 10% off at NuPhy!

Keyboard Specs: