Review: Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID – Keyboards & Mice

Sitting aloof upon its executive pedestal amid the rainbow deluge of RGB mechanical keyboards sits this. Despite its probably plain appearance on the page photo, in the metallic flesh this is a real stunner to behold. The sharp-edged base is just 4mm high, and the base slab is sufficiently – and no more – large enough for the keys. This austere look is class all over, and with the grey keys with white markings it really is a slick piece of kit. 

Running along the base underneath is the battery pack, which does double duty as a stand that gives it a comfortable typing angle. It is not adjustable, and its presence means you can’t lie this flat on your desk, not that you would want to. Microsoft claims four months of battery life in normal use.

And, that battery is being consumed by the Bluetooth transmitter, for this is wireless. Pairing is simplicity itself. When you first connect it to your PC with the removable cable it pairs, and that’s that. Good to go. There’s no perceptible delay when it needs to come to life. Waking a PC from sleep it takes a tiny moment, perhaps a second or less, for it to activate.

The keys are chiclet and that’s always make or break for us, but the execution here is top notch, dare I say even the new gold standard. Key depression is lengthy, the pressure is springy and the keys rebound instantly. There’s no slop in the movement at all and you could write a book on this thing, no worries.

Its party trick is the fingerprint scanner, which can be used for Windows log in. In my two weeks testing it never failed to detect, making this keyboard a winner on every front.

Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID

5
5