The patent for the Cherry MX design finally expired in 2014. Since then, more and more Chinese companies have been producing switches that are also of comparable quality to Cherry’s.
Cherry is lagging behind its Far Eastern competitors in so-called Hall effect switches with magnetic fields.
Cherry benefited from high demand during the coronavirus pandemic, which has since subsided.
So it goes.
Let me guess, R&D wasn’t top priority.
Yup. I’ve had many mech boards since 2011 and have watched Chinese manufacturers go from producing okay alternatives to surpassing Cherry in quality.
And quality is a small piece of the puzzle: experimentation, choice and fun factor are the bread and butter of this hobby.
My main keyboard came with Cherry MX Brown switches. I found it okay enough to keep it. Then I replaced them with Gateron Baby Kangaroos and those are sooooo much better. I love that keyboard so much now, I don’t need to buy another one anytime, soon.
Cherry made something good but never tried to make it better in any meaningful way for the customer. It is a bit sad but now wonder to see them go this way.
NoooooooooOooooOOOooooo! Fuck
