Keychron M6 8K review: Cheap, cheerful and oh-so-powerful
If you’re on the market for one of the best mice, there’s no dearth of options, and Keychron’s M6 8K has just proven that you don’t need to spend a lot to get the premium features of the Logitech MX Master 4. I’m positive that this rodent will be on my desk for a long, long time.
The M6 8K is a beast of a mouse. It’s ergonomic and features a thumb rest for maximum comfort, and it comes with two scroll wheels to maximize your productivity.
Designed for sedentary workers as well as gamers, the M6 8K packs 8,000Hz polling as well as 26,000 DPI to give you a competitive advantage in FPS titles and RPGs. Though its battery life is slightly underwhelming and there’s no left-handed variant, it’s still a very easy mouse to recommend.
Should you buy this mouse? I really can’t see why not. For the complete breakdown, read my full Keychron M6 8K review.
Keychron M6 8K review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? An ergonomic mouse with a thumb rest, tilt wheel and thumb wheel
- Who is it for? For people with sedentary jobs and gamers, too
- How much does it cost? The Keychron M6 8K is available for $69 / £59
- What do we like? The ergonomic design, two scroll wheels, 8K polling and 26,000 DPI for gaming, and competitive price tag
- What don’t we like? The underwhelming battery life and lack of a left-handed version
Keychron M6 8K review: Specs
|
Specs |
Keychron M6 8K |
|---|---|
|
Price |
|
|
Max DPI |
26,000 |
|
Max polling rate |
8,000Hz |
|
Buttons |
Six |
|
Size |
4.82 x 2.96 x 1.96 inches |
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Weight |
2.75oz |
|
Colors |
Black, White |
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Body material |
ABS plastic |
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Design |
Right-handed ergonomic |
|
Operating system |
macOS, Windows |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 5.1, 2.4GHz, wired |
|
Battery |
600mAh rechargeable |
|
Battery life (rated) |
80 hours |
|
Lighting |
None |
Keychron M6 8K review: The ups
From its highly ergonomic design for right-handed people and dual scrolling wheels to its powerful gaming performance, the Keychron M6 8K is an all-rounder — and it doesn’t break the bank, either.
Ergonomic design for all-day use
Story time. The other day, Tom’s Guide’s reviews editor picked up the Logitech MX Master 4 for review. Needless to say, I was envious. The MX Master 4 is highly ergonomic and few mice come close to its productivity prowess.
That’s when I spotted the Keychron M6 8K on our testing shelf, and I immediately picked it up. Unboxing it quickly revealed that it looks and feels like an MX Master 4 — and shortly after using it for a couple of hours, I knew this was going to be my daily driver.
First things first, the M6 8K sports a right-handed ergonomic design, with a thumb rest located on the right-hand side. It measures 4.8 x 3 x 2 inches, which is perfect for me and my medium-sized hands, as well as palm and claw grips. The thumb rest provides some relief when using the M6 8K for long periods of time.
I also like that there’s a bit of height to the mouse, unlike the Keychron M7 ($49). It feels like the M6 8K was sculpted for my hands — fitting like a glove to my grip. The ABS plastic and matte finish are soft to touch too, adding to the mouse’s comfort factor.
Though the M6 8K is lightweight at just 2.8 ounces, it doesn’t feel poorly built or like it would fall apart after years of use. Teflon/PTFE skates located on the mouse’s underside give it a good grip on most surfaces, such as plastic, wood, and glass — enabling the M6 8K to move without any friction or resistance. Overall, this is a superbly built and designed mouse, and you wouldn’t think it costs just $69 / £59 at Amazon.
One of the reasons why mice like the Logitech MX Master 4 and the Logitech MX Master 3S are considered beasts for productivity is because they feature dual scrolling wheels. For the first time on a Keychron mouse, so does the Keychron M6 8K. You get your standard wheel located between the left- and right-click buttons, and it doubles as a tilt wheel.
The tilt wheel can be clicked left or right for horizontal scrolling. As someone who deals with lots of massive spreadsheets, the tilt wheel feels like a boon. Horizontally scrolling to get from column A to column J has never felt easier, and it has increased my productivity.
The scroll wheel’s feel can also be swapped between tactile and infinite. I found the tactile setting best for reading through articles and zooming in and out of an in-game map, or sorting out my very cluttered inventory in games like Baldur’s Gate 3. On the other hand, the infinite scrolling wheel works exceptionally well when browsing lengthy pages or when you need to get from row 1 to row 800 on a spreadsheet.
Then you’ve got a metallic thumb wheel located above the thumb rest. With a pleasant weighting to it, it acts as a horizontal scroller, enabling you to make quick work of breezing through wide spreadsheets or scrolling through in-game inventories and weapon radial dials.
A gaming powerhouse
If you need a mouse that’s great for productivity and even better for gaming, look no further than the Keychron M6 8K. Featuring 8,000Hz polling over a wired connection and 1,000Hz over 2.4GHz wireless, the M6 8K is a force to be reckoned with in FPS titles and RPGs. I tested the mouse both ways and never once experienced latency issues or missed inputs. Every button press and scroll of the wheel was registered instantaneously.
The M6 8K’s high 26,000 DPI is a big selling point, and it works exceptionally well. A button located on the mouse’s underside lets you swap between different DPI levels, and these can be assigned via the Keychron Engine software (more on that soon). Being able to adjust the DPI on the fly meant that I could quickly adjust my play style depending on the situation at hand.
You also get Angle Snapping, which can be enabled via the companion software. Angle Snapping, in a nutshell, smooths out mouse movements to ensure a straight line — eliminating any jitters. If you want to keep your cursor at head-level at all times in, say, Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant, it’s worth enabling Angle Snapping as it ensures that your hand’s minute, natural movements don’t impact your cursor’s movement.
Easy-peasy customization
Unlike many other Keychron peripherals, which utilize the web-based Keychron Launcher for customization, you’ll need to download Keychron Engine on either Windows or macOS to customize the Keychron M6 8K.
The software is easy to use with a clean interface, and it’s your one-stop shop for adjusting the M6 8K’s many settings. Here, you can remap the buttons, adjust the sensitivity between 100 and 26,000, assign different DPI levels to the onboard DPI button, swap the polling rate between 125Hz to 8,000Hz, and record macros.
The lift-off distance (LOD) can also be customized. The LOD determines the vertical height at which the mouse’s sensor stops tracking movement after being lifted from a surface. Being able to adjust this is a big advantage, as gamers will want a short LOD to ensure the mouse doesn’t keep functioning past it, which would result in unintended movements.
Upstaging its rivals
When I first read the Keychron M6 8K’s specs, I thought this mouse cost upwards of $100. After all, you get 8,000Hz polling, 26,000 DPI, all packed into a highly ergonomic body. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The M6 8K is available for $69 / £59 at Amazon, making it one of the cheapest rodents offering 8K polling right now. If you don’t need 8K polling, the 1K polling model costs even less at $39!
This is why the M6 8K is a great alternative to the much pricier Logitech MX Master 4 ($119) and its predecessor, the Logitech MX Master 3S ($99). It’s also cheaper than other 8K mice, such as the Fnatic x Lamzu Maya 8K ($119) and the Glorious Model D2 Pro ($129). The M6 8K is priced similarly to the Keychron M3 Mini V2 8K ($69), but this mouse doesn’t feature a thumb rest, which limits its ergonomic capabilities.
Keychron M6 8K review: The downs
The Keychron M6 8K is great, but there are a couple of things to note before you purchase. Its battery life isn’t outstanding, and there’s no left-handed variant.
Runnin’ out of juice
I think it says a lot about a product when I can come up with just two flaws. The only front the Keychron M6 8K falls short on is battery life, which can be described as “underwhelming” at best. Keychron says the mouse should last 80 hours between charges when polling is set to 1,000Hz.
Sounds decent enough, but when you look at the M6 8K’s competition, you quickly realize that it isn’t particularly great. In fact, it’s outdone by its own stablemates. The Keychron M3 Mini V2 8K is rated at 140 hours, while the Keychron M3 Mini 4K Metal ($99) can last up to 135 hours.
The Fnatic x Lamzu Maya 8K, on the other hand, costs more than the M6 8K while having the same 80-hour rating, and a mouse like the Lofree Touch ($69) can last a whopping four weeks.
Though it looks and feels like a Logitech MX Master 3S or Logitech MX Master 4, Logitech advertises up to 70 days of battery life each — but again, they’re both pricier than the M6 8K. I, personally, don’t particularly mind the underwhelming battery life, but it’s worth taking into consideration before you buy it.
Sorry to my left-handed brethren
Another ergonomic dream of a mouse — another letdown for lefties. As a worthy, cheap alternative to the Logitech MX Master 4 which also doesn’t come in a left-handed design, I feel like Keychron missed a trick with the Keychron M6 8K. We’ve also seen this with other ergonomic mice, such as the Keychron M7.
If you’re left-handed, I’d recommend an ambidextrous or symmetrical mouse, such as the Razer Pro Click Mini ($79), the Cherry M68 ($99) and the Fnatic X Lamzu Maya 8K. If you want an ergonomic mouse for work and don’t mind the lack of 8K polling, the Logitech Lift ($69) is an excellent choice.
Keychron M6 8K review: Verdict
As ergonomic mice go, I can think of very few that are better than the Keychron M6 8K. In true Keychron fashion, the mouse is cheap and very cheerful, serving as a great alternative to the popular Logitech MX Master 4. It features two scroll wheels which are versatile and increase your productivity, and the inclusion of a thumb rest means you don’t feel fatigued after a long day of work.
…Or play. The M6 8K is a powerful mouse for gaming, featuring an 8,000Hz polling rate, which negates latency issues. You also get a maximum of 26,000 DPI, adjustable on the fly via a button located on the mouse’s underside. The addition of Angle Snapping as well as customizable lift-off distance help the M6 8K stand out in a crowded market.
If you don’t mind the short-ish battery life, the M6 8K could be your next mouse. Personally? It has replaced my old mouse, and I don’t see myself leaving the M6 8K for a long time. It’s my new favorite rodent.
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