Akko MOD007B for Gamers: Hall Effect Keyboard Discovered

Key Takeaways

Akko MOD007B HE keyboard uses Hall Effect switches for customizable actuation distance, giving gamers an advantage.
The keyboard offers beautiful Tokyo or Santorini themes with matching accessories included.
Its gasket mount provides a soft typing experience, but the inconveniently located power switch and confusing multi-mode wireless pairing are drawbacks.

Mechanical keyboards have always been the go-to keyboard for gamers and professionals. However, if you’re into competitive gaming or esports, you will soon hit the limitations of mechanical keyboards.

So, Akko is bringing the MOD007B Hall Effect Keyboard to help overcome the weaknesses of mechanical keyboards and give you an advantage over your opponents.

AKKO MOD007B PC

7/ 10

The Akko MOD007B HE PC uses Hall Effect switches to give you a gaming advantage. You can also heavily customize the keyboard with the Akko Cloud Driver, allowing you to change its actuation distance and assign separate actions for each keypress action.

Form factor

75%

Switch options

Akko Cream Yellow / Kailh Sakura Pink Magnetic Switch

Colorways

Tokyo (Pink and White) / Santorini (Blue and White)

Backlight

RGB

Dampening

Gasket Mount

Keycaps

PBT

Supported operating systems

macOS / Windows

Hot-swappable

Yes

Battery capacity

3600mAh

Connectivity

Wired / 2.4GHz / Bluetooth

Software customizability

Akko Cloud Driver

Dimensions

33.5 x 14.9 x 4.3 cm

Weight

1.12 kg

Number of Keys

Brand

Akko

Num Pad

Pros

Hall Effect switches allow you to customize actuation distance
Comes in either beautiful Tokyo or Santorini themes
Gasket mount offers a soft and relaxed typing experience

Cons

Inconveniently-located mode and power switch
No slot for the 2.4GHz dongle on the keyboard

See at Akko

A Great-Looking Keyboard on the Surface

Jowi Morales / MakeUseOf

The Akko MOD007B Hall Effect keyboard is a 75% keyboard, which has ditched the numeric keypad and smushed the control keys together for a more compact form factor. It also comes in two keycap themes: Blue Santorini and Pink Tokyo.

Akko sent us the MOD007B PC Tokyo for this review, which features pink and white keys with printed English and Japanese characters. The spacebar also features Mount Fuji with a torii and some cherry blossoms in the foreground to complete the theme.

All of these sit on a plain white plastic case with two-level adjustable feet. You also get a plain white knob for adjusting volume and RGB brightness. This keyboard would look great on any desk. Even if you aim for a minimalist gaming station, its design could be your PC’s focal point.

Tokyo-Themed Keys and Accessories Included

Jowi Morales / MakeUseOf

Beyond the keyboard, you also get several accessories matching the theme. You’ll find a coiled white USB-C cable with a thick matte rubber coating, a lavender keycap puller, a lavender switch remover, and 19 extra Tokyo-themed keycaps.

The extra keycaps contain Japanese icons, but installing them could potentially mix up the perfect pink-and-white combination on the stock keys already. But they’re still a great option if you want to customize your keyboard further and have memorized the placement of non-alphanumeric keys.

Jowi Morales / MakeUseOf

The Akko MOD007B Means Serious Business Underneath

What makes the Akko MOD007B different from most gaming keyboards is that it uses Hall Effect switches instead of mechanical keys.Mechanical keyboards work by using springs to control how much pressure you need to apply before it closes the switch.

On the other hand, Hall Effect switches have no moving parts. Instead, it uses the changing position of two magnets to determine a key’s position. Because of this, Hall Effect keyboards have a longer lifespan than traditional mechanical switches, just like Hall Effect joysticks .

Jowi Morales / MakeUseOf

However, the most significant advantage of Hall Effect keyboards is that you can customize their actuation pressure. Unlike mechanical keyboards, where you have to replace the switches or brands to change how much pressure you need to apply before a key activates, you can set this to your desired distance on Hall Effect switches.

keychron q5 keyboard different switches ](/hall-effect-vs-optical-switches/)

Hall Effect vs. Optical: What Mechanical Keyboard Switches Should You Choose?

Mechanical switches come in all shapes and sizes, but some are much better than others.

On the Akko MOD007B, you can pick between 0.2 and 3.8mm actuation distance, making your keyboard as light or heavy as you need. Furthermore, since you can accurately determine a Hall Effect key’s movement, you could assign multiple actions to a single keystroke. This means you can set various actions to each key that will only activate depending on its position.

The MOD007B is also compatible with three-pin mechanical switches. So, if you prefer using mechanical keys (or if you’re playing in a competition that requires mechanical switches), you can easily switch them out on your keyboard.

Jowi Morales / MakeUseOf

Typing on Cloud Nine

Aside from the advantages of Hall Effect keys, the Akko MOD007B also delivers an excellent typing feel. The keyboard itself uses a gasket mount for a soft and relaxed typing experience. And when you press on the keys hard, you’ll notice them sink into the case, especially for keys near the edges.

Even when you bottom out the keys, you’ll feel as if it’s cushioned, reducing the stress on your fingertips. And although it doesn’t have the bassy, thocky sound some keyboard enthusiasts look for, it still delivers excellent audible feedback for each keypress you make.

Extensive Customization With the Akko Cloud Driver

Of course, hardware is no good if you don’t pair it with great software. Thankfully, the Akko MOD007B comes with an easy-to-use and easy-to-understand driver. On thge Main tab you can remap your keyboard, change its Dynamic Keystroke settings, and set custom actuation distances for the entire keyboard or each key.

You can also create up to two function layers to map more than 100 keys and shortcuts in just two presses. Finally, there’s the Macro menu for recording macros and the Light menu to change the keyboard’s RGB lighting as you see fit.

But best of all, any changes you make to the keyboard are stored on it. So, even if you switch PCs or upgrade to a newer device, you don’t have to download the driver and recreate your saved keyboard settings.

Confusing Multi-Mode Pairing

Jowi Morales / MakeUseOf

However, the Akko MOD007B isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. The Hall Effect keyboard has a few drawbacks—particularly when using it wirelessly.

My biggest concern is the confusing Bluetooth and 2.4GHz pairing modes. Instead of the usual Fn+Q/W/E/R key combinations for pairing the keyboard wirelessly, it uses Fn+E/R/T/Y/U. And you wouldn’t even know what mode you’re using unless there’s no connected device (where the concerned key would start flashing). Furthermore, the included 2.4GHz dongle does not have a slot on the keyboard. So, you have to keep it in a separate plastic bag and hope you don’t lose it.

It gets a bit worse if you use both Mac and Windows. You need to toggle a slider to switch between these operating systems, which, unfortunately, sits under the caps lock key. So, if you’re like me and use both macOS and Windows, you constantly need the keycap puller (for pulling out the caps lock keycap) and switch puller (for gingerly moving the slider to the proper mode) with you.

It would’ve been better if Akko included at least a single color-changing LED bulb to indicate the mode the keyboard is currently on. And maybe they could put the OS mode switch on an easily reachable surface.

Questionable Battery Life

Jowi Morales / MakeUseOf

Another issue I faced with the Akko MOD007B is its battery life. I’ve never run out of power when reviewing other keyboards, but it’s the first time I did with this keyboard. Even with the RGB lights off, I need to charge more frequently. You also cannot check the power state while you’re charging—you have to unplug it to see how much power is left by pressing Fn+Spacebar.

Furthermore, the keyboard’s off switch sits on the OS mode slider (top for macOS and on battery power, center for Windows and power supply off, and bottom for Windows with the power turned on) under the caps lock keycap, making it inconvenient to turn off.

Granted that this keyboard will most likely sit on your desk in wired mode, it’s still better to allow the user to switch off the keyboard when not using it. This will help save power, especially if you transport the keyboard in your bag (like when going to a LAN party or an on-site competition) and want to use it wirelessly.

Your Keyboard for Gaming Victory

Although these couple of issues will negatively impact niche users like me, they won’t affect most users. You can’t ignore the benefits of a Hall Effect keyboard, especially if you take your matches seriously.

The level of customization you get with the Akko MOD007B is unprecedented, especially if you’re transitioning from a mechanical keyboard. And while some professional matches might ban the Dynamic Keyboard feature, just the ability to set a custom actuation pressure makes this keyboard worth it.

So, if you are or plan to be a serious gamer, the Akko MOD007B is an excellent choice for a primary keyboard. And, as long as you don’t frequently switch between Windows and Mac, it’s a great all-around keyboard, too.

AKKO MOD007B PC

7/ 10

Form factor

75%

Switch options

Akko Cream Yellow / Kailh Sakura Pink Magnetic Switch

Colorways

Tokyo (Pink and White) / Santorini (Blue and White)

Backlight

RGB

Dampening

Gasket Mount

Keycaps

PBT

Supported operating systems

macOS / Windows

Hot-swappable

Yes

Battery capacity

3600mAh

Connectivity

Wired / 2.4GHz / Bluetooth

Software customizability

Akko Cloud Driver

Dimensions

33.5 x 14.9 x 4.3 cm

Weight

1.12 kg

Number of Keys

Brand

Akko

Num Pad

See at Akko See at Amazon

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Akko MOD007B for Gamers: Hall Effect Keyboard Discovered