Ajazz AKC087 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard Review: What In the World Is a Thousand-Layer Crisp?

POSITIVES

✓ Metal Build

Solid construction

✓ RGB Flow

South-facing LED gives full board illumination

✓ Typing Experience

Terrific keycaps and input feeling

NEGATIVES

✘ Battery Life

Needs to be plugged in frequently

✘ One Typing Angle

Typing angle cannot be adjusted

✘ Wake From Sleep

Slow to reconnect from sleep

Retail Price: $122

Use code “SYPNOTIX10” for 10% off your order

Disclaimer: Whatgeek sent us a unit of the Ajazz AKC087 free of charge to review, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are our own and were not discussed with the company prior to publishing.

I’ve reviewed a ton of keyboards here at the Sypnotix, but once in a while a new board will come in and just wow me away in appearance. That’s what happened when I pulled out the Ajazz AKC087 wireless mechanical keyboard sent to us from Whatgeek. This was easily the heaviest keyboard I have ever taken out of a box and for good reason as this board also might be the coolest looking one to come into the studio.

Epomaker, the makers of Ajazz boards are a brand I’m familiar with as they have an abundance of affordable keyboards that provide good value to buyers. However, I am extremely surprised at just how high quality their keyboards can be when they decide to approach that marketspace. Make no mistake about it, the AKC087 is an upper-middle tier mechanical keyboard, but it has the build quality that I would say is competitive with top-tier boards on the market. The board is about 4.5 pounds in weight. Think about that for a second. That’s literally about twice as heavy as many of the mechanical keyboards in my arsenal. 

Thousand-Layer Crisp

The Thousand-Layer Crisp design

Marketed as the “thousand-layer crisp” structure design, the easiest analogy to describe this that comes to mind is that it resembles a three-layered cake.

The main reason why the Ajazz is so hefty is due in part to the steel casing used for the design. Marketed as the “thousand-layer crisp” structure design, the easiest analogy to describe this that comes to mind is that it resembles a three-layered cake. Not only can you peer through to the insides of the board, you can technically see out to the other side. It’s a hypnotizing view if you are curious as to what it looks like inside of your board. The steel is coated with powder spray to give a matted shimmer to the appearance. It’s an attractive looking keyboard that can easily fit into a professional setting while also maintaining gaming cred.   

I was sent the Berries colorway and I would describe it as a really dark navy blue or gray color in person. On camera, it looks simply black. I think the combination of matte blue, black, and pink-ish red accent keys go tremendously well with the frame. Aesthetically, this is exactly the type of board I like to display on my desktop. Having no cables around it adds to that clean look as well.

Layer Structure

To get more technical about the build, this keyboard has steel-stacked layers that consist of a top plate, a bottom plate, the PCB layer, and the position plate that holds it. The board actually has an elevated compartment on the rear side that acts as a way to elevate the position to angle it towards the user. It looks like someone slapped a battery pack bar across the top of the back casing. This rear compartment serves as the influencer for the only typing position on the keyboard. There’s no adjustable heights or angles, but I did find the one angle to be the correct angle for my usage. 

Actually, this area is probably where the 2,000 mAh battery is located as this is a wireless keyboard that uses three modes. Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4 GhZ and a USB-C connection are all ways to connect this keyboard to a computing device. That rear bar also houses the AKC087’s toggles and plugs. There’s the USB-C port used for both charging and connection, the connection type toggle, a toggle for switching between Mac and Windows, and a slot to store the wireless receiver when not in use. I like having a magnetic slot to store the receiver within the body as it keeps this setup extremely clean looking and organized. This structural design should make it easier for owners to customize their boards in a variety of ways.       

The weak point of the AKC087 is certainly the battery life. I charge the keyboard every three days or so. This routine consists of having the RGB’s running while also having the keyboard go to sleep. It does take a second longer than I was expecting for the keyboard to wake from its slumber. These things are okay at best, but it would have been nice if battery life lasted a bit longer.       

Customization Options

Obviously the biggest component to mechanical keyboard customization is the hotswappable capabilities. You can buy this board as a barebones kit, or as a fully assembled keyboard. If you decide on the latter, it comes with Ajazz’s AS101 yellow switches. As with all mechanical keyboards, the typing sound and experience is a deeply personal preference. What I can tell you is that the board is pretty quiet to type on. It’s hollow sounding but there isn’t as much clanking from these switches as I was expecting. The cool thing about this board is that it supports both 3-pin and 5-pin switches. If what I just described about the default build configuration doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can easily mix and match or buy the barebones and configure the switches with a set you like. There’s plenty of versatility offered on the AKC087.

As a tenkeyless mechanical keyboard, the Ajazz has a pretty standard layout. There’s exactly 87 keys with the arrow keys and home clusters spaced properly from the main keys. That makes it an easily adaptable typing experience for basically anyone coming from any keyboard. I felt right at home and found myself typing quite accurately with this layout. It’s an extremely satisfying typing experience. 

RGB Experience

Finally, the RGB aspect of this keyboard is fantastic. There’s an alluring quality under the RGB lighting of the AKC087. I certainly think that the unique thousand-layer design attributes to how the lights attract attention. Having the RGB colors pulse off the sides makes it feel like energy radiating out of the board. I love how the colors move in and out of the board thanks to this open design. Another design attribute that probably helps accent the board is thanks to the south-facing LED switches. Having the LED on the bottom side of the switch noticeably fills up the gaps between the keys. Even though the light doesn’t pass through the letters on the keycaps, I didn’t have any trouble recognizing the letters in darker situations thanks to that contrasting white font. There’s the standard array of colors you can customize as well as 18 different RGB effect cycles to choose from. 

Final Thoughts

I really do like the Ajazz AKC087. Even with two heavily shedding dogs constantly planting their hair on my desk, I find myself keeping this open stacking design on top of my desk. Granted, I do blow air using my duster to clean out debris from inside the board everyday, but this is a tradeoff well worth the beautiful design. If you’re looking for a TKL that won’t break the bank, but will also provide a fantastic typing experience while looking like a top end player, I can’t see the AKC087 being a bad choice.    

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