You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/nuphy-field75-mechanical-gaming-keyboard.2353/

Out of the box the Field75 is certainly unique. Giving off a steampunk kind of vibe, you have a metal handle on the left, a volume wheel in the top left, a further twistable cog, a dial to switch between connectivity modes, and eight macro buttons. This is, naturally, on top of the standard 75% keyboard layout you might have guessed from the name. For those that don’t know, 75% keyboards are ones that retain function keys and arrow keys, as well as Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn. It’s one of the more compact layouts and maintains pretty much all of the functionality of a full keyboard if you don’t find yourself using the numpad.

Despite its plastic exterior, the keyboard feels incredibly sturdy, and the extra bells and whistles reflect that well. The handle on the left of the board is something I really didn’t have much faith in, but after swinging the keyboard around by it for a solid few minutes, it stands up about as well as the GameCube’s handle. And that’s no small feat. The volume wheel features defined clicks as you move it backwards and forwards that I could best compare to the sensation of popping bubble wrap. It feels a bit like a functional fidget toy at times, with the cog giving an entirely different type of feedback as it cycles through lighting effects on the board.

While the plastic used for the keyboard is really quite visually impactful, especially with the ‘Ethereal’ orange option I have on hand, it’s definitely not without flaws. The biggest of these for me is how it manages to catch dust. Obviously anything sat on your desk for an extended period of time will get some level of dust, but I find myself noticing it far more often here. On top of this, I’ve noticed grooves in the plastic that I assume have been caused by the keyboard being in my bag. Both of these nothing major in the grand scheme of things, but both likely stem from the type of plastic that was chosen for the board.

My last concern with the larger design of the board is that there’s just nowhere to keep the USB dongle for the 2.4G wireless mode. I may be spoiled but pretty much every modern wireless keyboard I’ve used has had somewhere to stow it away to avoid it getting lost to the ether. While the Field75 does have a passthrough USB port you can keep it in, it sticks out, leading the the potential for damage. Not to mention that a passthrough USB port almost certainly has better uses than this.

The keyboard comes in four different colours, each with four options for switches. The board itself is hot-swappable though, so you can always change later on if you decide the switches you picked aren’t for you. The board I have comes with the linear Polaris switches, and I’ve really enjoyed typing on them so far. They come factory-lubed, and are some of the better factory lubed switches I’ve used. Combined with multiple layers of foam you have a muted and smooth typing experience. Having followed their Discord server, I have noticed there be some instances where switches were overlubed, causing a mushy typing experience for some users. It seems like these cases were more common when the keyboard first launched though, and the NuPhy staff appeared eager to assist. Having not run into this issue I can’t really comment any further.

The GhostBar returns and is still just as nice to use as it was with the Halo96. The entire spacebar feels even and has the same sound no matter where it’s hit. The same can be said for the backspace and return key, with there being no noticeable stabiliser rattling. It all comes together really quite well for a great experience even for those not wanting to swap things out or tinker further. It’s ultimately what you’re paying for with a pre-built keyboard, so it’s good to see the basics nailed down like this.

With eight macro keys though, this is a keyboard you’re expected to customise, if only a little. This is where the new Field Console comes into play, and to say it’s had a rocky launch would be an understatement. The software behind these keyboards isn’t designed or developed by NuPhy themselves, with it all being handled by an external company. When the keyboard originally released, this software was was ringing alarm bells on all manner of antivirus software, forcing NuPhy to pull it and leaving users with a stock configuration for around three weeks after people started receiving their keyboards. On top of this, the version that released after that was still flagged for viruses.

To be fair to NuPhy, these were likely false positives, with things like keylogging and audio recording being the specific issues. Keylogging should be self-explanatory for remapping inputs, and audio recording was for the lighting to respond to audio should you want that setting. Regardless, it’s really not what you want to see, especially when configuring a device that you’ll be plugging into any number of your personal or work PCs.

This all does seem to be fixed now, with there being no warnings on installing Field Console. All the same, it’s something you should be aware of, especially if you’re an early adopter of a future product. It seems like things are generally worked out, but how long it takes for that to happen is entirely up in the air.

With that out of the way, the software itself is functional; it’s nothing special, but it covers the basics well. Here you’re able to remap all your basic key functionality, including your macro keys, to be one of their default function, another standard key, a multimedia key, a system function, a mouse function, an ‘office key’, or a macro. It should be noted that despite this keyboard having a function layer, you are completely unable to remap it. On top of that, you’re stuck with the default behaviour for the volume wheel and the lighting cog. It’s a shame really. With this keyboard I much prefer using it with no lighting, so the cog is just sat doing nothing. Even having it be next and previous song for right and left turns respectively would’ve been great.

The macros work fine, with you being able to record your inputs with set delays between them, or keeping your original typing cadence. I’ve never been the biggest user of macro keys, but with these keyboards being exclusively ANSI layout, I’ve appreciated the ability to map the four keys on the left to being backslash tremendously. For those unaware, this is pretty much the only key you lose if you happen to use an ANSI layout keyboard with a UK layout via software, which is annoying with how frequently I need it for programming. The other four buttons I’ve also put to work, albeit fairly light, with mappings like Shift+F6 (for refactoring code in CLion if you’re curious) being accessible with my thumb instead of having to stretch my hand across the keyboard. If there’s one major positive point of this software, it’s the you don’t need to keep it around. Once you’ve saved your settings they’ll persist without issue, even in Bluetooth mode.

Alongside the keyboard, NuPhy sent along a set of their recent Carmine Cloud keycaps. With there not really being enough to talk about to warrant an individual review, I wanted to mention them here as an option to further customise the keyboard. The Carmine Cloud set in particular have a really pleasant sunset colour scheme with white keycaps, purple text, and a purple to orange gradient of accent keys. I really love the overall aesthetic and they keycaps themselves feel great to type on. Despite that, I really wouldn’t recommend them for this keyboard in particular. I don’t think this sunset theme really suits the sandy body of the Ethereal model at the best of times, but beyond that I’m not all too fond of how the high the cherry profile keycaps sit here. While the typing experience is fine despite the north-facing lighting, I’m just not a fan of it. You’re also stuck with a lumpy right side of the keyboard as the Home/End/PgUp/PgDn keys are clearly made for tenkeyless models in oppose to this 75%. I’d definitely recommend them if you have a white or pastel keyboard in the works and are hunting for some aesthetic cherry profile keycaps, but they’re not the caps for the Field75 in my mind.

Is the Field75 a keyboard worth your time? If you’re in the market for a decently compact pre-built keyboard but don’t want to give up your macro keys, this might just be the one for you. At $160 (~£130) it’s sat at a relatively competitive price point, and if you’re unphased by the lack of configurable function layer and potentially-slow software updates, I can definitely recommend it. NuPhy still only have a few keyboards out of the gate at this point, but I’m excited to see whatever’s coming next.