Keychron K3 Max vs Keychron K8 Max

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K3 Max compared with K8 Max

	KeychronK3 Max	KeychronK8 Max
Overview
Released
Released	November 2023	August 2024
Typing
Layout
Layout	Compact	Tenkeyless
Switches
Switches	Low-profile mechanical	Mechanical
Backlight
Backlight	RGB	RGB
Keys labelled for
Keys labelled for	Mac, Windows and more	Mac, Windows and more
Touch ID
Touch ID	No	No
Switches
Switches	Gateron low-profile mechanical (Red, Blue or Brown; Banana on the white version) or Keychron low-profile mechanical (Red); north-facing; hot-swappable version accepts Gateron and Keychron low-profile mechanical switches only	Keychron Super mechanical switches (Red, Brown or Banana); south-facing; hot-swappable version accepts almost all 3-pin and 5-pin MX-style switches
Keycaps
Keycaps	Low-profile double-shot PBT, LSA profile; keycaps for Windows and macOS plus extra Esc and Enter keys	Double-shot PBT, OSA profile; keycaps for Windows and macOS plus extra Esc and Enter keys
Layouts
Layouts	84 keys (75%); ANSI (keychron.com); UK ISO (keychron.uk)	87 keys (80% TKL); ANSI (keychron.com); UK ISO (keychron.uk)
Backlight
Backlight	22 RGB backlight effects, per-key RGB and two-zone Mix RGB; a white-backlight version is also sold	22 RGB backlight effects; a white-backlight version is also sold
Special keys
Special keys	12 multimedia keys; separate keymaps for Mac and Windows; N-key rollover wireless and wired	12 multimedia keys; separate keymaps for Mac and Windows; N-key rollover wireless and wired
Connections and battery
Connects by
Connects by	Bluetooth, USB receiver and Cable	Bluetooth, USB receiver and Cable
Devices it switches between
Devices it switches between	3	3
Power
Power	Rechargeable	Rechargeable
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 73 hours	Up to 190 hours
Receiver
Receiver	2.4 GHz USB receiver at 1,000 Hz polling; Bluetooth 5.1 at 90 Hz to up to three devices; USB-C wired at 1,000 Hz	2.4 GHz USB receiver at 1,000 Hz polling; Bluetooth 5.1 at 90 Hz to up to three devices; USB-C wired at 1,000 Hz
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	1,550 mAh lithium-polymer battery; around 73 hours with the backlight off and around 42 hours with RGB at its lowest brightness (Keychron's lab tests)	4,000 mAh lithium-polymer battery; around 190 hours with the backlight off and around 100 hours with RGB at its lowest brightness (Keychron's lab tests)
Works with
Works with	macOS, Windows and Linux	macOS, Windows and Linux
Software
Software	QMK firmware; Keychron Launcher web app for key remapping, macros and lighting	QMK firmware; Keychron Launcher web app for key remapping and macros
Design
Weight
Weight	525 g (better)	1158 g
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	306 × 116 × 22 mm	354.21 × 124.18 × 43.09 mm
Size
Size	306 × 116 mm, 525 g; 11 mm (front) and 15 mm (rear) high without keycaps, 17 mm and 22 mm with them; typing angles of 2.5°, 4.2° and 6.5°	354.21 × 124.18 mm (plastic frame), 1,158 g; 359.20 × 129.20 mm (aluminium frame), 1,308 g; height with keycaps 35.32 mm at the front and 43.09 mm at the rear; typing angles of 3.4°, 7.7° and 10.7°
Materials
Materials	ABS and aluminium frame; IXPE acoustic foam and latex foam	ABS or ABS and aluminium frame; steel plate; IXPE, PET and EPDM foams; screw-in PCB stabilisers
Colours
Colours	Black, White, White Gray (keychron.com)	Black, White (keychron.com)