They say hardware is hard, and they're absolutely right. But I'd add this: innovation is an ungrateful b****—until it’s not, and then it is again.
Building the Dream Keyboard
In 2021, we set out to create our vision of the ultimate ergonomic keyboard. We imagined a refined columnar layout paired with comfortable thumb keys, a foldable tenting system that could rise to sixty degrees without turning the board into a skyscraper, a premium aluminum body that felt solid on every touch, plush magnetic palm pads that snapped into place with a satisfying click, and—because we like pain—a three-way connection system: low-latency RF, multi-device Bluetooth, and trusty USB.
No split keyboard had done that before. It was ambitious. Maybe too ambitious. Because every single one of those decisions came back to bite us.
Part 1: The Hardware Challenges
We spent months prototyping thumb clusters that fit as many hand sizes as possible. We even shot a behind-the-scenes video of that journey because the rabbit hole was deeper than we expected.
The foldable tenting became its own saga. Typical solutions were bulky, awkward, and added too much height. We iterated through mechanism after mechanism until we found a design that felt elegant, stayed sturdy under pressure, and folded neatly into the board when you didn’t want it.
Then the materials fight began. Aluminum, magnets, plastics—all with different tolerances and finishing needs—had to coexist in a single premium surface. Getting that right took a toll.
Delays piled up. We announced the keyboard in 2022, hoping to ship before the year ended. Mass production reality had other plans, and more than a year slipped by while we refined the design.
By summer 2023, the first units shipped—and fresh problems surfaced. The travel case didn’t secure the keyboard tightly enough during transport. Certain cables didn’t click with the Neuron as they should. And those sleek, low-profile thumb keys? Too brittle; they snapped more easily than we’d ever accept.
We scrambled. Custom-cut foam stabilized the case. Cable specs and fits were adjusted. The Neuron enclosure was redesigned. Keycaps moved from ABS to polycarbonate for durability. Customers already had units, so we organized recalls and shipped parts where needed.
In hindsight, it doesn’t sound catastrophic. At that moment, every first bug report landed like a punch to the gut. We thought we’d learned the lesson. We were wrong—the most challenging part was still ahead.
Part 2: The Connectivity Challenge
Remember the three-way connectivity dream—RF, Bluetooth, and USB living harmoniously? There’s a reason no other split keyboard has it. Making it feel flawless is a titanic endeavor.
Five different chips have to coordinate just to register a single keypress. Sometimes, they behave like polite colleagues, and sometimes, they behave like strangers arguing across a noisy room.
We met the whole spectrum of gremlins: latency higher than our targets, duplicate or dropped presses, short battery life, wrong readings, random disconnections, and Bluetooth limitations that added friction where we least wanted it.
Over the following months, we dramatically reduced latency, extended battery life with a proper sleep strategy, added support for up to five Bluetooth devices, and eliminated lost or repeated keypresses.
Progress was real—but inconsistencies lingered. The keyboard might switch to Bluetooth while wired. It could disconnect and reconnect. On some boots, it worked, but only after a manual nudge. It just didn’t feel rock solid.
The fix took a full year and twenty-three betas. Yes, twenty-three. We had to rewrite the conversation protocol from scratch. Previously, chips shouted over each other like rude guests at a party. Now they ask politely before sending a message. The result? A keyboard that feels snappier, consistent, and reliable.
Part 3: The Work Continues
Today, we’re launching the Defy v2.1.1 and Raise 2 v1.3.2 firmware. This update fixes a rare issue where one side of the keyboard sometimes wouldn’t wake from true-sleep. You can grab it in Bazecor under the Firmware Update menu.
If you like living on the edge, there are fresh betas too: Defy v2.2 and Raise 2 v1.4. They introduce a more innovative battery-reading algorithm and a completely new low-battery behavior.
Previously, the underglow turned off at 20% and the backlight dimmed at 15%, which confused people and sometimes caused flicker. Now the lights stay on and a clear low-battery warning appears at 10%.
Part 4: Superkeys Evolve
Superkeys let a single key perform different actions depending on how you press it—tap, hold, tap-and-hold, double-tap, even double-tap-and-hold. It sounds magical, and most of the time it is. The catch is timing. How long should a press last before it becomes a hold? If you tap twice quickly, is that a double-tap or two singles?
We tackled the obvious parts first. You can fine-tune timings, and fast Superkeys skip waiting for a double-tap if you only care about tap and hold. The hardest bit remained: deciding precisely when a tap becomes a hold.
Typing isn’t discrete; we roll keys from one to the next, sometimes pressing the next key before fully releasing the previous one. Using “press another key” as the trigger for HOLD led to accidental activations—no one wants Ctrl+Q when they meant Q.
So we introduced a minimum hold time: no HOLD unless that minimum elapses, even if another key is pressed. That change made rolling comfortable again.
This is how it works on the new beta, using the minimum hold time of the "Add a key on tap."
But a single threshold can’t fit every scenario. Set it high and HOLD feels sluggish; set it low and HOLD triggers accidentally. The breakthrough came from observing how we type: when we’re composing normally, we release the Superkey faster than deliberately holding it.
We’re now building a system that measures release speed. Release quickly, and it registers as Tap. Hold longer, and it becomes Hold. Naturally, you’ll be able to tweak it to your style.
That’s the dark side of innovation. You start with a brilliant idea and share it with the world; the excitement is intoxicating. Then the hype fades and the hard work begins—bugs, recalls, reworks, and endless late nights.
But when it all clicks—when your keyboard feels solid, responsive, and dependable—it’s worth every test, every log, and every tear shed along the way.
If you want to help shape what comes next, install the latest firmware in Bazecor or join the betas for Defy and Raise 2.
Got questions? Reach us via email at support@dygma.com, or join the conversation on Discord or Reddit.
Update your firmware today and enjoy the Dygma experience!
