Razer Joro keyboard overview: A gamer’s different to Apple’s Magic Keyboard

Value When Reviewed

$139.99

Finest Costs At the moment: Razer Joro

$129.99

The gaming model Razer launched the Razer Joro at first of Could 2025, a compact gaming keyboard designed for cellular use. For Mac customers, there’s an attention-grabbing novelty: the Joro is the primary keyboard from Razer with Mac keys (or, strictly talking, with double print). The Razer Joro is sort of an ideal alternative for the Magic Keyboard.

Design & workmanship

Typical Razer: The Joro has a easy, fully black design. The physique consists of a plastic base and an aluminum cowl—the place you contact the keyboard most frequently. This ensures a high-quality typing expertise, but additionally reduces manufacturing prices and weight. Weighing solely 13.2oz (374g) and with compact dimensions of 11.7 x 4.4 x 0.65 inches (29.8 × 11.2 × 1.65cm), the Joro could be simply stowed away in a MacBook backpack or bag.

Michael Crider/Foundry

The Joro has 4 rubber toes on the underside, which usually stop it from slipping on clean surfaces, however aren’t adjustable. Like Apple’s Magic Keyboard, the Joro has a set angle—the identical angle, actually—which you can’t regulate with out jacking up the rear toes with different objects. Nevertheless, I personally discovered the angle very snug and didn’t really feel the necessity to change it.

Michael Crider/Foundry

The USB-C port for charging and wired operation is situated on the again of the Joro—subsequent to it’s a change for switching between wired operation and Bluetooth, or in different phrases: an on/off change.

The keys on the Razer Joro are barely smaller than these on a present MacBook, however nonetheless supply sufficient area for bigger palms. They’re made from plastic, are laser-engraved and subsequently higher protected towards put on and tear. The important thing journey is a snug 1mm—ideally suited for quick typing with out fatigue.

On the within, traditional scissor switches are used, as present in laptops—together with the MacBook. Accordingly, the keystroke is similar to that of a MacBook and feels exact and acquainted.

The large distinction lies within the sound: the Joro is noticeably quieter—way more restrained than Apple’s Magic Keyboard and in addition quieter than the MacBook keyboard itself.

The particular characteristic, as talked about above, is the double imprint, as a result of the Razer Joro not solely comes with Home windows keys, but additionally with Mac keys—very pleasing. There may be additionally optionally available RGB lighting, “Razer Chroma”, which you’ll configure within the Razer Synapse software program—now additionally accessible within the model for macOS.

However watch out: the lighting attracts a lot energy that the battery life suffers noticeably. I might subsequently suggest solely utilizing it with a cable and never utilizing it with a Bluetooth connection except you might be working or taking part in in full darkness.

Michael Crider/Foundry

The Joro has a 75% format, which means no numeric keypad and a row of navigation keys—begin, finish, web page up, web page down—and the lock key vertically on the correct edge. As is hardly stunning for a gaming keyboard, it additionally has arrow keys in full dimension as an alternative of half dimension.

The diminished dimension of the correct shift secret is noticeable, however this didn’t have a unfavourable influence in on a regular basis use. Additionally uncommon: the area bar is barely shorter than regular, as Razer has built-in a further Fn key on the right-hand facet. This proves to be a properly thought-out element in sensible use, because it permits features reminiscent of play/pause, quantity, mute or monitor change to be conveniently managed with only one hand utilizing the navigation buttons.

There may be principally nothing to complain in regards to the workmanship of the Joro, though the plastic base feels a little bit low-cost in distinction to the aluminum plate on high. The Razer is extremely steady and hardly provides manner even underneath excessive stress. The scope of supply features a very high-quality braided USB-C to USB-C cable, which is a little bit quick at 1 meter in size, however helps charging currents of as much as 60W—extreme for a keyboard, however very sensible as a “cable for all events” when travelling.

Software program & features

As befits a gaming keyboard, the Joro comes with many features that you simply don’t see in on a regular basis keyboards, together with N-key rollover and anti-ghosting. It’s also possible to activate the “Razer Snap Faucet” operate within the Razer Synapse software program.

When you make two inputs on the similar time, “Snap Faucet” prioritizes the second. That is significantly helpful in video games, as a personality would usually refuse to maneuver on this case. With “Snap Faucet”, nonetheless, it continues to maneuver as regular.

It’s also possible to activate the gaming mode in “Razer Synapse”, which deactivates sure Mac key combos, reminiscent of Command Q (shut programme), Command Tab (app switcher) and Command Spacebar (Highlight), create macros and assign each single key fully in another way than supposed.

It can save you each change you make to the keyboard features instantly on the keyboard in as much as 5 profiles and change forwards and backwards between them in future utilizing a key mixture, even when “Synapse” isn’t even put in.

Other than that, there are in fact the standard suspects: Media management with Fn key mixture, as talked about above, all conceivable operate keys within the F row, together with Mission Management, show and keyboard brightness, and so forth. Contact ID is in fact lacking, as is the case with all different keyboards that don’t come instantly from Apple.

Talking of software program: Total, it seems like Razer needs to take the Mac as a platform a little bit extra severely than earlier than, as a result of for the primary time the corporate has launched a Mac model of “Synapse”. Beforehand, if you happen to needed to make changes to Razer units with the intention to use them on a Mac, you had to do that on a Home windows system or in a digital machine beforehand.

Razer

Connection & battery life

You possibly can pair the Razer Joro with as much as three units concurrently through Bluetooth and seamlessly change between them utilizing the primary three buttons. Sooner or later, the Razer Joro may even be suitable with the Razer Hyperspeed USB receiver through a firmware replace, which establishes a quicker and extra steady wi-fi connection, though it’s not included within the scope of supply.

Alternatively, it’s also possible to join the Joro to your Mac utilizing a USB-C cable, though, as talked about above, the provided cable is a little bit quick at one metre in size. Nevertheless, except your Mac is in some far nook of your desk, this shouldn’t be an excessive amount of of an issue.

Razer is refreshingly clear with the battery lifetime of the Joro, though the corporate additionally initially advertises the best doable vitality financial savings and achieves a battery lifetime of a minimum of 1,849 hours (77 days) in energy-saving mode.

Nevertheless, there’s additionally a small slider on the product web page that lets you set the (theoretical) brightness of the RGB lighting and see how this impacts the battery life. To my optimistic shock, the figures are very near actuality.

In normal mode and with out lighting, for instance, the Joro nonetheless lasts round 1,195 hours (just below 50 days). When you transfer the slider in the direction of 100 per cent, you possibly can see how a lot energy such RGB lighting consumes: At 20 per cent, the Joro lasts 26 hours, at 50 per cent 11 hours and at 100 per cent solely 5 hours.

So in case you are travelling and don’t know precisely when you possibly can cost the Joro, you need to change off the lighting. You possibly can in fact proceed to make use of the Joro whereas charging. In any case, it’s not an Apple Magic Mouse.

Value & availability

At $139.99 / £129.99, the Razer Joro isn’t any discount, however we prefer it a lot we predict it’s price your cash, no less than in comparison with keyboards from another third-party suppliers. When you evaluate it with the Apple Magic Keyboard, it truly doesn’t look too dangerous: The Apple equal with out Contact ID is $50 cheaper however has fewer keys and even fewer features.

Do you have to purchase the Razer Joro keyboard?

The Razer Joro is among the best Mac keyboards I’ve ever examined. There’s no Contact ID and U.Ok. customers should get used to the U.S. format however as a cultured different to the Apple Magic Keyboard, it has so much going for it.