Logitech Ergo K860 has sufficient distance from the screen, a comfortable office chair, fast internet, bright daylight, the fully automatic coffee machine and so on, there are many factors that make up an optimally equipped stationary office. In current times, the conditions in the home office are particularly relevant for many. In addition to notebook, monitor and mouse, the keyboard probably plays the greatest hardware role.
Logitech Ergo K860 Review
If an ergonomic design is important to you, there is currently no way around the Logitech Ergo K860, which was presented at last year. I was allowed to test the wireless keyboard, which currently costs around 120 euros, for about three weeks in the home office on a Windows 10 notebook. In this review, I’ll tell you whether I would ignore my beloved Thinkpad keyboard for the Logitech Ergo K860.
Logitech Ergo K860: 2X AAA Batteries & Bluetooth
The black box contains the keyboard, two AAA batteries, the 2.4 gigahertz radio receiver and a few safety and guarantee information. This scope of delivery is completely sufficient, because the outer packaging is printed with all important information. The Logitech keyboard is powered by the pair of batteries. The battery life depends heavily on your use and discipline to regularly switch off unnecessary technology, but according to the manufacturer it should be 24 months.
The on / off switch is on the back. I turn on the keyboard and the Ergo K860 promptly appears in the Bluetooth connections window of my Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. To pair, I enter the displayed code using the Logitech keyboard, the notebook and keyboard are already connected. Sometimes it goes that fast!
If you have a free USB-A port on your notebook or PC, you can also use the wireless receiver supplied. There’s a plus point here that the manufacturer gives me the choice between the two connection options.
A little tip on the side: If your Logitech Ergo K860 cannot be seen via Bluetooth at all, press the Easy-Switch button 1 for three seconds. Then the keyboard should reappear in the list of current Bluetooth devices.
Logitech Ergo K860 Ergonomic Split Design to Protect Joints
The Logitech K860 Ergo occurs first glance, much wider than conventional keyboards. This is mainly due to the permanently installed foam, “memory foam” and synthetic leather pad on which the ball of the hand and joints are placed while typing. The top material feels very comfortable and can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth.
As is typical for Logitech, the keyboard is superbly processed. No key rattles, sits crooked, or makes noises that it shouldn’t. I am enthusiastic about the high-quality workmanship, but this was to be expected for the current price of 120 euros.
Now, let’s get to what Logitech calls “ergonomic split design”. The keys have been divided into two areas, creating a triangular recess in the middle, the space bar has been split and some keys enlarged so that all keys can be placed in a line along the gap. The free area is raised and forms the highest point of the curved keyboard.
The rest of the keyboard looks pretty normal: function keys with a second assignment, a number pad, above which there are extra keys for calculator, keyboard battery indicator, right click and to lock the computer. To the left of the numpad I can find three buttons with which I can switch between the three devices coupled to the Ergo K860. Logitech calls this feature “Easy-Switch”.
As with a typical notebook keyboard, the buttons themselves are kept quite flat and curved inward in the middle. So I can easily find the middle of a key without looking.
I have to admit, I didn’t see a keyboard as a design object before the Logitech Ergo K860. But this chic piece of technology looks very appealing on my home office desk. With the curved lines, the heather gray wrist support and the restrained anthracite as the main color, this keyboard is definitely an eye-catcher. Well done Logitech!
Logitech Ergo K860 Relief The Joints & Muscles
So far so good, but what advantage does this unusual exterior of the Logitech Ergo K860 give me? The combination of a split key arrangement, a curved design and a large palm rest helps to position the fingers, hands, wrists and forearms more naturally and thus more comfortably. The hands with the balls of the feet are no longer on the keyboard or table, but are positioned at a slight angle. This relieves the strain on muscles and joints.
Typical tension in the neck, arms, back and shoulders, which you otherwise feel after a long day at the office, do not occur at all or only to a lesser extent. In short: I can type longer without pain, ideally I am more productive and prevent long-term damage to joints, tendons and muscles.
This relief does not only work when sitting, the Ergo K860 also provides more comfort at a standing workstation. To do this, I simply fold out the little feet on the back of the keyboard to adjust the angle. Practical: I have two levels available here, -4 and -7 degrees.
Logitech Ergo K860: First Uncomfortable, the Comfortable
The hardware manufacturer, founded in Switzerland, announced in its press release that the Logitech Ergo K860 was specially developed for office workers and together with scientific ergonomics experts. In my opinion, they did a really good, target-group-oriented job with this model.
At the beginning of my test, I found typing very unfamiliar and also a bit uncomfortable, which again shows that people are creatures of habit. Accordingly, I often made mistakes or it took longer to type a text because I had to concentrate harder. To be honest, 10-finger tapping is not yet activated in my skill tree (ash on my head!). That made it difficult for me to keep my fingers on the right side of the Ergo K860, especially at the beginning.
Due to the split design, some buttons that I normally operate with either my left or right hand depending on the distance are almost inaccessible to the “wrong hand”. I particularly noticed this with the very important shortcut “CTRL + Z”, which undoes my last action. I usually like to use this with one hand. My left hand, which unfortunately cannot grasp an entire octave on the piano, is simply too small for that. I can reach both buttons, but it’s not comfortable.
After about two days, I got used to the curved design and the unusual typing feel. In addition to a few errors in upper and lower case, my Slack messages and e-mails are again immediately and absolutely correct. The typing speed is also back to normal. In fact, I feel the said relaxation and relief especially in my wrists. Long texts can be typed comfortably and there are no signs of fatigue even after a very long working week.
The flat keys remind me of my notebook keyboard. They feel very good, run smoothly and react pleasantly and precisely. The pressure point and key drop are very good. I have absolutely nothing to complain about on these points. Furthermore, I type very quietly with the Logitech keyboard and fortunately the typing noise is not one of the annoying MacBook types.
The incompatibility of the Logitech Ergo K860 and the shortcut “CTRL + Z” with one hand remains, however. This is a serious shortcoming for me, especially when editing Adobe Photoshop and Premiere files, because I usually place my left hand on the left half of the keyboard and the right hand uses my Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse. Pressing the shortcut with one hand leads to unsightly contortions on this keyboard and, if I do this too often, pain in the hand. Pity! However, this may be an isolated problem that is likely to predominate in people with smaller hands.
Logitech Ergo K860 Function: FN Keys & Easy Switch
Function keys: useful, but incomplete
Above the letter and number keys are the function keys with double assignment for brightness control, multitasking, desktop display, search, music and volume control as well as the FN-Lock. The multimedia assignment is very different, especially with separate keyboards.
Here I notice that Logitech focuses on functions that are used frequently in everyday office life. The button with the magnifying glass opens Windows Search, so I can quickly search for programs and open them. I find the multitasking keys rather unnecessary, I like to use “CTRL + TAB” or “WIN + TAB” to switch between my open programs. I don’t need any extra buttons for this, especially since they are difficult to reach for me.
What I sorely miss is the button that I often use in the home office to mute my microphone to protect my colleagues from loud drilling noises in my apartment or typing noises. I am constantly looking for the hotkey for displaying the current screens on the Logitech keyboard, only to find out a little later that it can only be found on my notebook keyboard.
My keyboard, my key assignment: Logitech Options
If you don’t like the function assignment of the buttons, you can simply change them using the Logitech Options software. There are a number of shortcuts available here, for example, calling up a website, opening file explorer, starting Cortana and much more. Here I can also select my preferred shortcut for my current screens (“Toggle screen”). I look in vain for the micro-mute function.
Easy switching
The Ergo K860 is a real all-rounder. Thanks to the easy switch function, I can connect up to three PCs or notebooks with the keyboard and simply press a button to select the end device that I want to control with the Ergo K860. That works very well in practice. The change is quick and fluid. Alternatively, you can also switch devices with a mouse that supports Logitech Flow.
I’m not so sure how many people will actually need this function, because in the office you usually only work on a laptop. Or is it not?
Logitech Ergo K860: A keyboard for Mac & Windows
Logitech has optimized the Ergo K860 for the two most popular operating systems. For example, the key next to the space bar is labeled “cmd” and “alt”. In my opinion, it only speaks for the manufacturer that he thinks of both users.
Logitech Ergo K860: Great, Ergonomic & Useful
A clear conclusion is quite easy for me with the Logitech Ergo K860. We are dealing with a chic, extremely high-quality and wireless office keyboard for Mac and Windows, which offers more comfort when typing thanks to its ergonomic design including curvature, adjustable palm rest and split key arrangement.
There are small minus points for the not-so-optimal key assignment of the FN keys. The fact that I had difficulty gripping a combination of keys to the right and left of the gap is attributed to the unchangeable size of my hand. I don’t want to give that negative credit to the Logitech keyboard.
In terms of price, the Logitech keyboard can be classified in the somewhat more expensive area, which also includes mechanical gaming keyboards with RGB lighting. For my part, I wouldn’t spend this money privately because I just don’t type long texts too often. In order to equip my workplace in a high-quality and ergonomic way and to prevent physical damage in the long term, it would definitely be worth this investment to me.
Finally, to resolve my initial question: Would I ignore my ThinkPad keyboard for the Logitech Ergo K860? Yes, definitely in the office!
Logitech Ergo K860 Drivers & Software Download
Logitech Options for Mac:
Software Version: 8.10.64
Last Update: 2020-01-15
OS: macOS 10.15,macOS 10.14,macOS 10.13
Download – File Size: 83 MB
Logitech Options for Windows:
Software Version: 8.36.86
Last Update: 2020-12-03
OS: Windows 7,Windows 10
Download – File Size: 202 MB