A good keyboard is one of the keys to productivity. From good tactile feedback to near-instant response time, different people has different priorities on the most important factor they are looking for from a keyboard. For me, I love low key keyboards with slim form factor. I use keyboard with numeric keypad for work, but generally would prefer keyboard without numeric keypad for personal use to allow a bit of more space on my working desk at home.

I have used Apple Wireless Keyboard (4th generation) since 2011, this is the last generation before Apple released Magic Keyboard. Loved my Apple keyboard and did not see any need to even consider a change, until the pandemic. With working from home becomes the new normal, my new routine requires me to switch between using my work laptop and my personal Mac mini sharing one monitor. As result, I made a few mistakes of using the wrong keyboard and mouse. I managed to survive with 2 sets of keyboards and mice for several weeks before finally decide to use the multi-device mode in my Logitech MX Anywhere 2S. I love the new experience and decided that my keyboard needs to be unified, too.

So I was in the market for a keyboard that can connect to 2 devices with easy switching. This keyboard needs to support both Windows and Mac keys because I need to switch between these two operating systems on a daily basis. Logitech K580 becomes my choice after a few days of reading and a weekend visit to a shop to see the actual unit.

Logitech K580 is a wireless keyboard with slim form factor and two devices connection ability. The wireless connection supports Bluetooth and/or Logitech Unifying Receiver. The connection to the two devices could be achieved by any combination of Bluetooth and Unifying Receiver. Note that only one Unifying Receiver is included, so you need to purchase the second Unifying Receiver separately.

The process of initial setup and connection is quite easy. If you want greater control, you might want to download and install Logi Options software. There are 2 quick-connect buttons on the keyboard itself and they are equipped with tiny white LEDs to indicate which connection is active. The LED does not stay on all the time. It turns on briefly when we press the first button after idle time, or when we press the button to change active device. After initial pairing, we need to tell the keyboard which operating system

Typing experience is nice. I get used to it almost immediately. Tactile feedback feels good. I can head some audible clicking sound, but it is not to the point of noisy. This keyboard will behave slightly different based on Windows or Mac layouts. We need to actually tell the keyboard which layout to use when pairing, but that is a one-off thing because the keyboard will remember the choice for subsequent uses. There is an on/off switch at the top, but that should be used only when the keyboard is not going to be used for a long time. For everyday use, K580 is smart enough to conserve energy when not in use.

By default, function buttons at the top is used for some quick commands (play/pause, next track, prev track, mute, volume up, volume down, search, etc). To actually use the F functions, we need to press the Fn button, making it two buttons command instead of one. We can flip this behaviour using Logi Options software, but that makes switching devices more tedious because switching device buttons are shared with F11 and F12 buttons. If I have to nitpick, this is the biggest issue I have with K580.

Logitech K580 comes in 2 choices of colour: black and white. The grey area at the top is actually battery door. It can be opened by sliding up, allowing access to batteries and the included USB Unifying Receiver. Phone stand is designed as part of the battery door, which is a nice idea, but I think it is too narrow for most modern phones with case. I can fit in my phone, but the angle becomes uncomfortable to use. That phone stand becomes an idle feature collecting dust now.

Overall, this is a nice keyboard that does the job well. It connects to my Mac and Windows machines without any problem, allowing me to quickly switch between the two throughout the day. Happy with this purchase.