CIDOO V68 – Review

CIDOO V68
CIDOO V68

CIDOO V68

| Mechanical Keyboard | Alice | Hot-Swappable | Wireless/Wired | South-facing | QMK/VIA |

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CIDOO V68, the newest Alice keyboard from CIDOO.

All the CIDOO V keyboard series that we have reviewed so far (CIDOO V75 PRO, CIDOO V21 PRO, CIDOO V65) have earned a solid place as part of our favorite mechanical keyboards.

This time, the CIDOO V68 joins the series with all the exceptional features that make the V series stand out from the competition but with a special ergo-friendly shape.

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CIDOO V68 Review

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A

ACCESSORIES & PACKAGING
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The CIDOO V68 comes inside a way better packaging than most modern keyboards, with a sturdy and very well-protected external and internal box.

With the keyboard you will get:

• USB-C cable
• Hex key
• Keycap puller/switch puller

Unfortunately no extra keycaps nor switches come bundled with the keyboard – this seems to be a common thing with CIDOO.

D

DESIGN
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The CIDOO V68 is a mechanical keyboard with an Alice layout. If you are new to this type of keyboards, the Alice layout has a special keys orientation and design that is fine-tailored to offer optimized ergonomics and a natural placement of the hands and fingers.

As expected from a well-designed Alice keyboard, the CIDOO V68 has a split/dual spacebar and a duplicated B key.

This new Alice keyboard inherits the aesthetic design of all CIDOO V keyboards with a retro flavor; a difference from the CIDOO V68 (and all CIDOO V keyboards) is that the retro design is accomplished beautifully well with no details nor design flaws that could feel out of place or disrupt the intended retro looks.

On top of the typical features of a keyboard with an Alice layout, the CIDOO V68 also sports a knob and a display screen on the right side of the case, arrow keys and 2 additional navigation keys below the ESC key (Pg up and Pg down)

On the bottom left section you will see a rounder metal dot that might seem to be a button but this is simply an embellishing detail and not a key/button – the dot is highlighted by an RGB ring light.

It could be said that the CIDOO V68 is a premium, upgraded version of the CIDOO ABM066 (that we reviewed long time ago)

The CIDOO V68 comes only in the retro-color design but if you prefer other colors, you can buy it in its barebone kit version.

DC

DISPLAY SCREEN
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The right section of the keyboard has a rectangular, vertically designed display. This screen has a TFT-LCD color panel that gives basic information such as time, date, battery status, connection status, Caps Lock but can also be used to show animated GIF (or static pictures)

On the other hand, the display has a placement characteristic that we do not necessarily love and have seen on many other recent keyboards.

The display is not positioned “flush” at the same level of the upper case, instead it is positioned a couple of layers below giving an effect like looking at the bottom floor of an aquarium and also partially blocking the visibility of the lower edge of the screen – other keyboards with this style of display are the CIDOO ABM066, EPOMAKER TH80 PRO V2.

CB

CONSTRUCTION & BUILD
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Without doubt, the CIDOO V68 is a rugged keyboard thanks to a tank-alike case made entirely from 6063 Aluminum and a powder coating finish.

The bottom case also holds an additional aluminum backweight while the same copper color of the backweight can be found on the metal knob.

This CIDOO keyboard does not only look and feels premium but it is also “premiumly” constructed from its inside guts by having a hot-swappable board (no soldering needed), gasket mounted design, pre-lubed plate-mounted stabilizers, PC plate and quad-layers of sound dampening with a case foam, IXPE switch pads, PET sheets, Poron gaskets.

KC

KEYCAPS
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The keycaps of the CIDOO V68 have a classic Cherry profile and a premium build quality made of very thick PBT material.

The PBT construction plus a dye-sub processing makes the keycaps oil-resistant and ensure that their fonts will not fade away after long time of use.

The keycap set included with the V68 has the same identical design and style as seen on every other CIDOO V and CIDOO V PRO keyboard reviewed so far; which is a retro-flavored beige keycap’s body with dark fonts and some added color-accentuated keycaps like the ESC, Shift and spacebar.

The metal knob is well-balanced as to offer a smooth rotational movement but not overly loose as to induce undesired inputs; at the same time, the rotational movement responded with a per-notch tactile but silent feedback that served to have a better fine control of it – the knob is also a pressable button.

If we had to point out some details that we would had preferred to find would be a dedicated DEL key (but you can reprogram one of the Pg Up/Pg Down keys for this or access DEL by pressing Fn+PgDn) and we do not find the display screen of the V68 to be the mighty best of all the keyboards that we have tested.


SW

SWITCHES
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In all CIDOO V series that we have reviewed, the switches chosen by the brand have been the CIDOO Quark Matte; the CIDOO V68, in fact, has the exact same switches.

This is a welcomed decision, as the Quark Matte switches have proven to be a perfect match with the CIDOO V keyboards and if things work flawlessly there is no reason to change it.

Also, this makes the CIDOO V68 to seamlessly match the typing qualities, feel and even sound personality of the CIDOO V75 PRO, CIDOO V65 and to some extent with the CIDOO V21 PRO – therefore, allowing users that own any of the others to match and mix them in an ecosystem that looks and feels coherent.

CON

CONNECTIVITY
gramophone-256604.75/5

Fortunately, and unlike the CIDOO V65 variant that we recently reviewed, the CIDOO V68 is not a dual-mode keyboard but, instead, a triple-mode one that can be used connected with a detachable USB-C cable but can also work wirelessly through either Bluetooth or a high-performing 2.4G wireless connection (with the included dongle)

As seen on other CIDOO keyboards, the wireless connections are always stable and lag-free with no stutters nor unexpected disconnections.

P&E

PERFORMANCE & USE

TYPING
5/5

As usual, if this will be your first Alice keyboard, you will have to get used to the new layout but from our experience we noticed that the “muscle memory reprogramming” usually does not take too much time.

As a personal preference, 9 out of 10 of our editors that tested Alice keyboards, preferred the Alice design over “normal” keyboards.

On top of that, the CIDOO V68 is a phenomenal option if you want to have a superb typing experience with the excellent build, switches and performance offered by this CIDOO keyboard.

GAMING
4.75/5

When looking for compact keyboards for gaming purposes, many users will aim for a 60% to TKL style but this Alice keyboard gives an ergo-design with added gaming-attracting features such as:

• Split spacebar
• Knob
• Display
• Superb keycaps
• Hot swappable
• Rugged build

CIDOO does not specify the polling rate of the CIDOO V68 but it does list that the keyboard is equipped with anti-ghosting NKRO.

PRODUCTIVITY
4/5

With a compact 68% design, the CIDOO V68 might lack the F number row, extra keys of a TKL keyboard and a numpad but the dedicated arrow keys, knob, display and special Alice layout make it a much better compact sub-75% keyboard than others.

Mostly, for long hours of office work and productivity tasks, the ergonomic Alice form factor will provide lower fatigue and less strain over your wrists, hands and fingers.

TABLET/MOBILE
3.75/5

With Bluetooth wireless connection, a knob, display, web programming platform and a compact ergonomic design, the CIDOO V68 can be a great companion for mobile setups but being that this is a nearly 2kg, heavy keyboard you might be better if you have more of a fixed mobile setup than on-the-go system.

L

LIGHTING
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The light-colored overall design of the V68 and bright, south-facing RGB LEDs, provide a nice popping backlighting effect.

Also, the display screen and the silver-colored, metal dot and its ring light gives it a further embellishing detail.

S

SOUND
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So far every keyboard from the CIDOO V series has exhibited premium sound quality and, fortunately, the CIDOO V68 offers the same superior sound nature.

As a matter of fact, the CIDOO V68 sounds extremely similar to the CIDOO V75 PRO and CIDOO V65, keeping the thocky profile seen on the 2 other siblings.

Furthermore, the pre-lubed switches and stabilizers operated flawlessly while the stabs never showed signs of being neither over nor under lubed, responding snappily (never mushy) and completely rattle free – thus, not needing any manual lubing by the user.

SW

SOFTWARE
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As the CIDOO V68 is a VIA keyboard, the programming, macros, layers, profiles, reprogramming, etc. is done through the versatile VIA platform and is saved on the on-board memory of the keyboard itself, thus not needing any background/auto-booting software on your PC to preserve the customization of the keyboard.

On the other hand, as VIA does not have a display controlling section, the screen is configured through a 2nd additional software that is exclusive to the display control, GIF uploading, etc.

B

BATTERY
gramophone-256604.25/5

In spite of being a smaller keyboard with less keys and LEDs than a full-sized keyboard, the CIDOO V68 has a larger battery of 4000mAh, allowing longer runtimes before needing to recharge it.

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Specifications

CIDOO V68 Technical Specifications

MODEL
CIDOO V68 VIA
Connectivity
Triple mode connection
Case Material
6063 Aluminum
Hot-swappable
Yes
Finish
Podwer-coating (pre-build), Electrophroetic (Barebones kit)
Plate Material
PC
Stabilizers
Pre-lubed Plate-mount
Keycaps
Cherry Profile Dye-sub PBT (non-shine-through)
Backlight
South-facing RGB LED
NKRO
Yes
Weight
1.82kg (Pre-build)/1.6kg(Barebone kit)
Battery Capacity
4000mAh
Inside the Box
• CIDOO V68 VIA Keyboard
• USB Cable
• Keycap/switch Puller
• Instruction Manual
Hex Screwdriver

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CIDOO V68

CIDOO V68
9.1

SCORE

 9.1/10
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