Electronic Materials Office
Altar I
AUTHOR:Onie T.
TESTED BY:James L.
Published:

The Electronic Materials Office (EMO) Altar I is a wireless compatible, mechanical keyboard with low profile switches. As of publication date, it is available for $349 USD directly from the Electronic Materials Office website, with both the US and European layout waitlisted.

Electronic Materials Office was founded by London-based designer Andrew Emerson. Emerson found that all available mechanical keyboards were either too big, too gaudy, or had too many RGB lights, so he decided to create his own.

While there are some physical issues, such as rattling switch stabilizers, and hollow sound, these will hopefully be addressed in future iterations. The varying heights of keycaps may take some getting used to. It is a one-of-a-kind endeavor, with its several "zones" created with touch-typing in mind.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

THE GOOD

  • Aesthetics

    It is a really nice looking, minimalist keyboard with unique keycap lettering. Design was heavily inspired by the original ThinkPad design.

  • Size

    It is a compact 77 / 78 key, low-profile keyboard, with Kailh low-profile mechanical switches.

THE BAD

  • Sound

    The typing experience is a bit loud, and the spacebar stabilizer rattles rather noisily. However, the stabilizer is a known-issue.

  • Keycap Spacing

    The spacing between keys is far. This may lead to clipping of sides of other keys when typing accurately.

THE REST

  • Overall

    For a first attempt at creating a mechanical keyboard from scratch from a small company, this is a marvelous outcome.

  • Typing

    Three "zones" of keycap heights differentiating the function row, number row, character keys, action keys, and navigation keys. This may require some time for users to get used to typing. Also there is a fair amount of rocking back and forth with the keys.

Hardware
HardwareNotes

In the Box, it includes a coiled, rubber USB-C to USB-C cable, user documentation printed on receipt paper from a defunct restaurant, and the keyboard. It is constructed with an aluminum frame, and features plate-mounted stabilizers. The keyboard comes with PBT double-shot, non-shine through keycaps.

The keyboard is made up of 50% recycled materials, the packaging has no plastic, and the clamshell shipping case is constructed of sugar cane pulp and is biodegradable.

In the Box

1 of 3

Front of the box.

Dimensions
The keyboard is placed on a 900 x 400 mm desk pad next to a Logitech MX Master 2S mouse.

The keyboard is placed on a 900 x 400 mm desk pad next to a Logitech MX Master 2S mouse.

Height
Width Max
Depth W/ Palm Rest
Depth
Weight
Construction
The right side of the keyboard containing the navigation keys.

The right side of the keyboard containing the navigation keys.

Chassis Material
Base Plate Material
Base Plate Color
Stabilizers
Keycaps
The left side of the keyboard.

The left side of the keyboard.

Keycap Material
Lettering
Shine Through Keycaps
Connectivity
The keyboard is connected by a USB Type-C to Type-C detachable cable.

The keyboard is connected by a USB Type-C to Type-C detachable cable.

Wireless
Wired
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
Multi-Device Pairing
Receiver
Receiver Storing
Battery Type
Computer Side Connector
Keyboard Side Connector
Cable Length
Detachable Cable
USB Passthrough
Features & Software
Features & SoftwareNotes

The Altar I is compatible with both Windows and MacOS, although it does not support QMK or VIA customization or require any additional software. The keyboard does not have any backlighting or illumination.

Software
Software
Mandatory Registration
Number Of Profiles
Onboard Memory
Cloud Sync
Macro Programming
QMK Firmware Compatible
VIA Key Configurator Compatible
Windows Compatible
MacOS Compatible
Backlighting
RGB Software
Backlighting
Backlighting Color
Per Key Illumination
Performance
PerformanceNotes

The Altar I is hot-swappable, featuring standard Choc switch stems on the included Kailh low-profile, linear mechanical switches. The Kailh switches have an operating force of 44.72 gf, 1.5 mm of pre-travel, and 3.15 mm of total travel. The Altar I has an average keyboard latency, averaging 14.6 ms when used in Bluetooth mode, and a better than average 10.4 ms when used in wired mode.

Keystroke
Latency
Sound Sample
Productivity & Efficiency
Productivity & EfficiencyNotes

The Altar I does not include a wrist rest and has a fixed incline angle of 0° for ergonomics.

Ergonomics
The keyboard ergonomics at a fixed angle of 0 degrees.

The keyboard ergonomics at a fixed angle of 0 degrees.

Board Size
Board Type
Palm Rest Included
Low Profile
Incline Angles
Key Alignment
Numpad
Dedicated Function Row
Dedicated Arrow Keys
Key Spacing
Ghosting & Rollover
KRO Wired
KRO Receiver
KRO Bluetooth
Ghosting
Test Configuration
Tested Settings
Firmware Version
Software Version
Polling Rate (Wired)
Polling Rate (Wireless)
Debounce Time

FREQUENTLY COMPARED KEYBOARDS