Show HN: I spent 2 years designing a mechanical Magic Keyboard

# Altar II | Electronic Materials Office Source: [https://electronicmaterialsoffice.com/](https://electronicmaterialsoffice.com/)  $349$249 Reserve for $100 off [Reserve](https://electronicmaterialsoffice.com/#) Magic Shockingly thin, fully mechanical\.Altar II combines a superlative typing experience with an unbelievable design\. [Watch the reveal trailer](https://electronicmaterialsoffice.com/#)   Amazing feel\.Thanks to breakthrough engineering, Altar II houses a fully mechanical switch inside a tiny chassis\.  Durable design\.Steel construction means an incredibly durable mechanism with long operating life\.  Vertical challenge\.A preloaded tension spring arranged laterally rather than vertically enables a vertical travel depth of just 1\.8mm\. Comparison ## Four point seven five millimetres\.Impossibly thin and sleek, Altar II redefines the low profile keyboard category\. Altar II 4\.75mm Fully Mechanical  Apple Magic Keyboard 10\.09mm Non\-Mechanical  Logitech MX Keys 20\.50mm Non\-Mechanical  NuPhy Air75 21\.00mm Fully Mechanical  Keychron K2 30\.00mm Fully Mechanical  IBM Model M 50\.00mm Fully Mechanical  M\-Dial ## Introducing M\-Dial™\.A magnetically detachable, clickable, swappable dial\. Intuitive\.Twist for volume adjustment, single click for play/pause, double click for skip, triple for back\. Press and hold for Siri\. Detachable\.M\-Dial™snaps off quickly and easily for travelling or stowing Altar II away\.  Swappable\.Swap to the included low\-profile variant of M\-Dial™, or choose from additional shapes and sizes\.  BYO\(M\)D\.Design and 3D print your own M\-Dial™\. 3D files, drawings and specifications will be published publicly online\.  Customisable\.All M\-Dial™functionality is completely customisable using the Altar II companion app\. Haptic Feedback ## Feels like an epiphany\.Harmonic Synthesiser™enables crisp, subtle, expressive haptic feedback\.  Harmonic Synthesiser™enables new ways to interact with your computer through gentle, delightful haptic feedback\. It enhances the typing experience and is engineered alongside M\-Dial™for real\-time simulated ticks\. It also gives tactile feedback about the state of Altar II, like when it wakes and connects to your computer\.  Novel interactions\.Holding a modifier key gives a smooth, oscillating hum, and a gentle pop lets you know when a shortcut has been completed\.  Subtle real\-time feedback\.Altar II taps you when you receive notifications, reminders, or alerts from your Mac\.  Fully configurable\.Tune intensity and behaviour of haptic feedback in the EMO app\.  Audio A high fidelity speakerbuilt into Altar II enables subtle audio feedback — like wake sounds, and charging chimes\.  Native macOS App ## Made for Mac\.  Fully native\.A lightweight, delightfully designed app, written in Swift and crafted specifically for macOS\.  You're in control\.Customise Altar II by changing key bindings, M\-Dial™behaviours, backlight, haptic and audio levels\.  App\-specific shortcuts\.Create your own shortcuts for Figma, DaVinci Resolve, Visual Studio Code, or whatever app you like\.  A deeper feeling\.Haptic feedback for system events like notifications, alerts, and reminders thanks to deep integration with macOS\.  Grab'n'go\.All your settings live on Altar II\. Take them with you anywhere, on any computer or OS — no app needed\. Backlight ## Follow the light\.NiteLite™preserves night vision, reduces eye strain and helps you sleep better\.  Here when you need it\.NiteLite™only activates in low ambient lighting conditions, such as at night\.  Sleep better\.NiteLite uses a long\-wavelength amber\-red light that won't affect your body's circadian rhythm, meaning you can sleep better at night\.  See clearly\.NiteLite™reduces eye strain and preserves your eyes' natural night vision\. Floating foundation\.The Inertial Damper™system is composed of dual layers: A silicone membrane between the logic board and monobody, and an oversize elastomer footpad below\. This system suspends the typing platform for total acoustic and vibration isolation\.  ### Typing test Recorded on pre\-production hardware with Zoom H5, 24\-bit/48kHz, XY stereo, 40cm above device, 80Hz high\-pass\. Design ## The devil’s in the details\.  ESPtype™\.The breakthrough EMO typing system denotes different regions of the keyboard by key shape, making touch typing effortless\.  Battery casket\.A purpose\-designed chamber housing a high\-density battery, speaker, and precision electronics\.  Typography\.GT Flexa and Tobias form the typographic foundation of Altar II\.  Mac layout\.Command, Option, Control, Function — right where you expect them\.  Compact Footprint\.A 75% layout with complete function row and full\-size arrow keys\.  Colours\.Comes in any colour\. As long as it's black\.  ESPtype™\.The breakthrough EMO typing system denotes different regions of the keyboard by key shape, making touch typing effortless\.  Battery casket\.A purpose\-designed chamber housing a high\-density battery, speaker, and precision electronics\.  Typography\.GT Flexa and Tobias form the typographic foundation of Altar II\.  Mac layout\.Command, Option, Control, Function — right where you expect them\.  Compact Footprint\.A 75% layout with complete function row and full\-size arrow keys\.  Colours\.Comes in any colour\. As long as it's black\. Ergonomics ## Sacred geometry\.A super slim frame ensures a comfortable, ergonomic typing position\. Standard mechanical keyboard  Typical mechanical keyboards have a tall leading edge that requires wrist extension when in use\. Over long periods this can cause strain\. Altar II  With a sub 5mm thin chassis, wrist extension is minimal when using Altar II\. This reduces likelihood of carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injuries\. Technology ## Grand design\.An intense focus on miniaturisation, density and engineering was needed to fit so much in such an unbelievably small package\.  Spacebar\.Multiple technologies are housed under the spacebar, including the Harmonic Synthesiser™, proximity sensing system, LED matrix driver, wireless antenna, and central processing unit\.  M\-Dial™plinth\.The M\-Dial™plinth interior is exceptionally dense, containing integrated circuits for the ambient light sensor, fast charging, and Hall Effect sensor array that powers M\-Dial™\.  Battery casket\.Housing dense technology in tight spaces — combined with vertically expanding the battery casket — creates space for the largest, highest density battery possible\. Sustainability ## We moved Heaven for Earth\.  REGEN™polymer\.Plastic in Altar II is made from at least 50% recycled content\.  Recyclable aluminium\.A chassis machined from a single block of infinitely recyclable aluminium\.  Plastic\-free, compact packaging\.Packaging made entirely from paper and biodegradable sugarcane pulp\. Minimised packaging volume means more devices per pallet, and fewer shipping trips overall\.  Incredible power efficiency\.Best\-in\-class power management means less energy drawn, and less total charge\-time\. Power ## Power that compels\. Up to 2 days usage in 2 minutes of charging‡ ‡ when charged with standard USB\-C port\. Up to 30 days battery life with typical use† † Based on a typical 8 hour work day, including 30 minutes of backlight\-on time per day\. Up to 2 days usage in 2 minutes of charging‡ ‡ when charged with standard USB\-C port\. Up to 30 days battery life with typical use† † Based on a typical 8 hour work day, including 30 minutes of backlight\-on time per day\. Accessories ## A match made in Heaven\.  Mat, Desk, XLOversize desk mat made from completely recycled materials\.  M\-Dial™Pack, SupplementaryA collection of five swappable M\-Dials™in strange shapes and sizes\.  Cap, Field, Hot WeatherLow profile, unstructured cap embroidered with EMO branding\. Suitable for warm climates  Case, Field, SoftshellSlimline textile transportation case designed for Altar II\. Includes dedicated M\-Dial™pouch\. ## Technical specifications Height4\.75mm Width299mm Depth116\.5mm FirmwareZMK, Zephyr\-based Real\-Time Operating System \(RTOS\) SwitchesDual steel arm scissor switch w/ retention spring, 40gf actuation force MaterialsRegen polymer, 6061 aluminium, TPU footpad, silicone membrane, FR4 logic board Battery LifeUp to 30\-day battery life with normal use Connectivity2x Bluetooth 5\.0 Low Energy \(LE\) channels1x USB\-C OS SupportApple macOS 12 \(Monterey\) and up, Microsoft Windows 10 and up Companion App Compat\.macOS 26 Tahoe and up ## Technical staff ALTAR II M\-Dial™ Harmonic Synthesiser™ Inertial Damper™ ESPtype™ REGEN™Polymer Fast charging NiteLite™ Native Mac app Ultra thin Fully mechanical\. Altar II  RESERVE ## Reserve your Altar II\.Get $100 off by reserving now\. Complete your order when Altar II launches\. Not ready to reserve?[Subscribe to updates](https://electronicmaterialsoffice.com/#)to know when Altar II launches\. 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