The Nuphy Halo96 provides top-tier typing for Windows or Mac

Whether you’re gaming or working, this is a seriously good keyboard.

About the Nuphy Halo96 Mechanical Keyboard

• Connectivity: USB Type-C to Type-A cable (included), Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4GHz wireless
• Dimensions: 14.8 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Weight: 3.28 pounds
• Material: Aluminum frame, doubleshot PBT keycaps
• Battery Life: Up to 240 hours
• Special Features:Full RGB backlighting, wraparound Halolight RGB ring, sound-dampened GhostBar, hot-swappable switches, doubleshot PBT keycaps, native Windows and macOS compatibility
• Compatiable switches: Gateron or Nuphy
• Warranty: 1-year

The Halo96 is the third keyboard in Nuphy’s Halo series and follows the Halo65 and Halo75 which were released last year ($120 and $130 respectively). It shares a lot of the same design but manages to be the best fit for productivity thanks to its full-size, yet still compact, layout. There are some missing keys (like Scroll Lock and Pause), but it includes a full number pad, function row, arrow keys, and navigation and editing buttons for crunching spreadsheets and topping leaderboards.

Like its predecessors, the Halo96 takes many cues from the custom keyboard community. It features hot-swappable switches that are pre-lubed for extra smoothness. I was sent both the Halo96 and Halo75 to test, one with tactile Gateron Baby Kangaroo switches and the other with Linear Night Breeze switches. Beneath those keys are two thick layers of silicone, one under the keys to soften keystrokes and improve typing sounds and another to fill the empty space in the case.

Around the edge is a customizable RGB ring Nuphy calls its Halolight, which accompanies the per-key RGB backlighting. It also includes Nuphy’s patented GhostBar spacebar, which adds a silicone dampener under the key, transforming it from one of the loudest on the keyboard to the quietest.

What We Like

High-quality keys for typing and gaming

The most important parts of any mechanical keyboard are not just how it feels to type on it, but also how responsive it is. The Halo96 is an absolute winner and offers one of the best typing experiences you can find at this price. The switches are top-notch, the bottom outs are cushioned but still feel crisp, and the keycaps are thick. The keys make a deep sound and have a satisfying tactility when bottoming out.

The typing experience is the culmination of an array of design choices that elevate the whole. The switches come pre-lubricated from the factory, so whether you’re opting for a bump-free linear or something with a little more feedback, they’re exceptionally smooth and lack the sharp acoustics of traditional key switches. My sample was sent with the linear Nuphy Night Breeze switches, but I was also able to try the Halo75 with Gateron Baby Kangaroos.

Both of these switches put their Cherry MX counterparts to shame with their smoother actuation, deeper sound, and in the case of the Kangaroos, bold tactile bump. The stabilized keys also come pre-lubricated, so there’s no distracting rattle to break your concentration.

If you don’t like the switches, you can pull them out and replace them with a switch that’s more to your taste. Unlike older mechanical keyboards which required soldering when adding or removing switches (or just buy a new keyboard), the Halo96 comes with a keycap and switch puller and allows you to literally unplug a switch even while the keyboard is plugged into your PC. This opens the door for you to repair the keyboard should it ever succumb to an untimely spill or just have fun with trying a variety of switches.

The other key feature that helps create its stellar typing experience are the silicone layers throughout its construction. The top layer, sandwiched beneath the switch plate and circuit board, has a thick section that wraps around the switches to smooth out their sound and isolate the sound of the switches from the rest of the case. Thinner sections run beneath each switch and alter their sound, adding more liveliness and pop. The bottom silicone layer fills out the bottom of the case and keeps it from sounding hallow, which lends the keyboard a hefty, solid feel. The result is a keyboard that feels better to use and sounds nicer than just about anything else at this price point short of building a keyboard yourself.

For gaming, responsiveness is king and the Halo96 lacks little in that regard. Both USB and the 2.4GHz wireless connection have a gaming-grade 1ms response time. It’s doesn’t quite match the ridiculously fast 8,000 Hz polling rates of the Corsair K70 RGB Pro, but it’s fast enough that I wasn’t able to tell a difference between wired and wireless play in Battlefield 2042.

A work-friendly layout that also looks good

The mechanical keyboard industry has been shrinking—not in popularity, but in size! Compact keyboards are more popular than ever, which makes the Halo96’s near-full-size layout all the more refreshing. If you spend a lot of time in spreadsheets or play games that require lots of macros, a numpad is a must-have feature. Even with these extra keys it manages to be only slightly larger than a normal tenkeyless keyboard thanks to the lack of spaces between each section of keys. It’s the best of both worlds.

Work keyboards tend to look bland, but that’s not the case with the Halo series. Available in white or black, Nuphy includes teal, yellow, and orange accent keys to give the keyboard a bit of extra personality (monochrome keycaps are also included in the box if you prefer less color). The RGB lighting beneath the keys can be customized to match your taste or turned off entirely. Anything from a professional static white to a flowing rainbow wheel is at your fingertips. The keycaps aren’t backlit, but the lighting is bright enough to create a colorful bed beneath the keys, even if it won’t help you type in the dark.

The Halolight RGB ring from which the keyboard gets its name is a nice touch that adds a bit of flair when viewed from the sides. Like the LEDs under the switches, it can be customized or turned off entirely. The diffuser is thin and avoids looking garish because of it, so it’s a tasteful bit of extra pizazz that is entirely optional, but worth turning on to spice up your workspace.

The GhostBar is spookily effective

The spacebar is one of the trickiest keys on any keyboard. It’s one of the most frequently tapped but is also the loudest and can stand out from the rest of the keys in an unpleasant way. While most of us have grown used to its pronounced clack, Nuphy had another idea: the GhostBar.

From the outside, it looks like any other spacebar, but when you flip it over, you’ll find that another keycap has been glued to its center, right where it attaches to the switch. If you touch that keycap, you’ll discover it’s made of soft silicone and is bonded to the rest of the keycap. This small insert completely changes the sound of the spacebar. (Most spacebars use hard plastic throughout their design.)

This small piece of silicone is to keyboards what a mute is to a trumpet. Instead of a sharp plasticky clack that reverberates under its extended length, you now get a quiet, low-pitched thud. It’s not silent, but it’s closer to the other keys than any other keyboard I’ve tested.

As a mechanical keyboard enthusiast, I admit that I didn’t like this deadened sound at first. A well-tuned, poppy spacebar is one of my favorite things about custom mechanical keyboards. But the more I used it, the more it grew on me. Now, I prefer its quieter, cushioned spaces versus the rattly clacks of gaming keyboards around this price. Nuphy also includes a normal spacebar in the box if you’d rather use a traditional, albeit non-colored, design.

There’s a smaller version if you don’t need a Numpad

The Halo96 is the only keyboard in the Halo series to feature a number pad. If you like the design but don’t need its extended length, the Halo65 and Halo75 are effective alternatives that can save on desk space. Nuphy has done an admirable job of updating these earlier models with the same switch options and features (like the GhostBar), so no matter which you choose, you can count on the same great typing experience just with more or fewer keys.

For this review, Nuphy also sent me the Halo75 to try and compare. Side by side with the Halo96, the only difference is the layout. With the same switches, they felt identical under my fingers and were just as responsive when connected wirelessly to my PC and smartphone. You’re free to choose the layout that works best for you, without fear of leaving performance on the table.

What We Don’t Like

The software needs work

While the Halo96 is great, its Nuphy Console software is still in a beta state and is rough around the edges. At the time of this writing, it installs separate executables for each of the different models, and trying to launch the software through its shortcut brings up an error message. It was only through browsing Nuphy’s Discord server that I discovered I had to navigate to the software’s directory on my PC and try several identical executables, each in obscurely named folders until the software launched successfully. As of this writing, if you don’t know to check Nuphy’s Discord server, the software just seems broken. When it did launch, it came up in a mix of English and Chinese.

Once you’re in, the Nuphy Console suite allows you to choose from a wider range of preset lighting effects than what can be selected on the board, including a Gaming Mode which highlights the WASD and arrow keys. The software also allows you to easily customize the color and speed of most of the lighting presets, such as the breathing effect or reactive typing, as well as to create your own static layouts. Keys can be remapped and macros can be recorded. All of these changes can be stored across three profiles, so you can recall them for individual games or applications.

The basic functionality is there, it’s just presented in a barebones way. It’s still in development, clearly, and the company has been good about releasing updates, but don’t go in expecting Razer Synapse or Corsair iCUE levels of flair here.

It can be loud

With the Halo96, everyone is going to know you’re using a mechanical keyboard. Layers of silicone usually do a good job of masking the loud clicks and clacks of mechanical keys, but both the Halo96 and Halo75 were louder than my Keychron Q5 or Q1 keyboards which have the same layouts. The keyboard sounds better with all of that silicone but it doesn’t sound quieter, so you may want to invest in silent switches (Gateron Silent Yellow switches are great), which are not currently an option at checkout.

With that in mind, it’s worth highlighting that Nuphy’s custom Night Breeze switch was noticeably quieter than the Baby Kangaroos, putting it closer or even a touch quieter than most mechanical gaming keyboards. Apart from being overall excellent in sound and feel (they’re seriously smooth), the Night Breeze switches are a better choice for the office. Still, this isn’t the keyboard to choose if silence is your priority.

Shipping is expensive and can take a long time

Right now, only the Halo65 and Halo75 are available on Amazon, though we expect the Halo96 to become available in the future. Shipping anything directly from Nuphy’s website is expensive and involves significant wait time before it arrives at your doorstep. I walked through the checkout process and was given the option of $20 Direct Line shipping or $35 transport with DHL. There is no shipping time listed anywhere in the checkout process, but Nuphy’s shipping policy states that packages can take 8-22 working days to be delivered, but even this can be impacted by the Customs clearing process. If your country charges import or VAT taxes, you will also be responsible for those fees.

Nuphy does try to balance things out, however. Buying its keyboards directly from the website is usually $20-30 cheaper, which evens out the cost. It doesn’t help with shipping times, though, and you lose out on Amazon’s easy return policy.

Should You Buy the Nuphy Halo96 Mechanical Keyboard?

Yes, it’s is seriously good

The Nuphy Halo96 is one of the best mechanical keyboards you can buy at its price point. The company paid special attention to small touches that many other manufacturers miss, like including pre-lubed switches and stabilizers, and implementing layers of silicone to improve its sound and feel. The result is a keyboard that’s a joy to use for work and play alike, and it has a beautiful design, too.

It is on the loud side, so you’ll want to take care with the switches you choose if you plan to use it in an office. The Cherry MX Board 3.0 S is a strong alternative if you need a mechanical keyboard that won’t bother your cube-mates, but its software and availability also leave something to be desired. The best gaming keyboards like the Steelseries Apex Pro will deliver far more options and can be easily found on Amazon. But neither top the Halo96 in the sound, feel, and user experience.

Choosing a mechanical keyboard is a surprisingly subjective decision. There is rarely one best choice for every user, but the Nuphy Halo96 does far more right than it does wrong. For only $140, even with a hefty shipping fee, it’s a solid choice for professionals and gamers who care about the look and feel of their keys.

Buy now at NuPhy

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

Meet the tester

Christopher Coke

Contributor

@gamebynight

Chris has been specializing in PC and audio-related tech since 2015. Find him at IGN, Tom’s Hardware, PC Perspective, MMORPG.com, and more.

See all of Christopher Coke’s reviews