Akko MOD007B PC Review

About the Akko MOD007B PC

Akko is a well-known switch manufacturer in the mechanical keyboard enthusiast community thanks to its switches’ creamy, thocky sounds and smooth feeling. So it should come as no surprise that the magnetic Hall effect switches available in both models of the Akko MOD007B PC—a 75% keyboard with Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, and a volume knob—are uniformly excellent.

The MOD007B PC is available with either Akko Cream Yellow magnetic switches or Kailh Sakura Pink magnetic switches; both use a standard cross-shaped stem and box stems for greater stability when depressed. The MOD007B PC is available in two color schemes, a blue-and-white, ocean town-inspired Santorini, and the pink-and-white World Tour Tokyo version, which comes with a Mount Fuji spacebar. We reviewed the World Tour Tokyo colorway with Kailh Sakura Pink switches.

Both types of switches allow for the range of customization standard to magnetic switches, including adjustable actuation (from 0.1 mm to 4.0 mm), customizable deadzones, rapid trigger functionality, and dynamic keystrokes, which binds up to four different actions to a single key, with each triggering at a specific point when depressed. This is accomplished through Akko’s Cloud Software program.

Akko MOD007B PC Tokyo specs

• Price: $135
• Connectivity: Detachable USB-C to USB-A (included), 2.4GHz via USB-A dongle (included), Bluetooth 5.0
• Dimensions: 13.11 x 5.78 x 1.25 inches (at tallest point)
• Weight: 39.57 ounces (1,112 grams)
• Compatibility: PC, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
• Material: White plastic, aluminum top shell
• Battery: 3600 mAh
• Colors: World Tour Tokyo (pink and white), Santorini (blue and white)
• Switches: Akko Cream Yellow magnetic, Kailh Sakura Pink magnetic (box stem)
• Polling rate: 1,000Hz
• Special features: Full n-key rollover, hot-swappable PCB, included keycap puller, included switch puller, rapid trigger functionality (0.1 mm to 2.5 mm), adjustable actuation (0.1 mm to 4.0 mm), customizable deadzone settings, dynamic keystroke
• Warranty: 1-year all parts warranty

Akko’s MOD007B PC is far from the first gaming keyboard to hit the market with Hall effect switches (that use a magnetic field to determine position), allowing for features like the customizable per-key actuation mentioned above. Big-game gaming peripheral companies have filled the niche out with keyboards like the beloved SteelSeries Apex Pro, excellent Corsair K70 Max, or the optical Razer Huntsman V3 Pro. But Akko has them all beat on price.

For only $135 (and as low as $108 on sale at the time of writing), the MOD007B PC delivers a rock-solid typing and gaming experience for just about everyone, assuming you don’t need a numpad. The 75% board has all of the features that a good gaming board should: adjustable feet, programmable per-key RGB lighting (although the keycaps don’t let light through), a dedicated volume knob, an aluminum top plate, and some real heft. Seriously, this keyboard is built like a tank and has absolutely zero flex when pressed on or the chassis is twisted.

The three connection modes add great value and work seamlessly across different devices like my PC and MacBook Pro (although switching between them is a hassle), and Akko even includes a soft, coiled rubber USB-C to USB-A that could easily sell for $15 on its own. There are some unfortunate design choices that mar the overall experience, but you’d be hard-pressed to find similarly high construction quality in competitors around the same price point. The 8Bitdo Retro Mechanical Keyboard is our current top budget pick for gaming keyboards at $100, but it makes concessions like a hollow, all-plastic chassis with a single fixed height.

Typing on the MOD007B PC feels wonderful, although there is a stiffness when depressing the outer edge of each key thanks to the box stem switches beneath. This can be somewhat ameliorated by tweaking the actuation point; when I found the typing experience a bit too stiff out of the box, I tweaked the actuation of the entire board down to 1 mm from the stock 2 mm. This led to a result of 87 words per minute and a 99% accuracy on the Monkeytype typing test, a respectable average but far from my normal average of 91 words per minute. The board sounds solid, smooth, and “creamy” to type on, with a satisfying thock when a key bottoms out. There’s no need to disassemble the MOD007B PC and lube the switches or tape the back of the PCB to mute loud chatter.

This consistency and customizability extends to games. It’s easy enough to, say, drop the actuation point of the WASD keys and spacebar for faster-paced games like Overwatch 2, Fortnite, or The Finals, and switch to a different, more uniform profile for games like Alan Wake 2 or Baldur’s Gate 3 where you need to hit more keys across the entire board. The 1,000Hz polling rate (how often your computer checks the keyboard for input) across the wired and 2.4GHz connection is fast enough for most people, but nothing special considering pricier Hall effect keyboards like the K70 Max can go up to 8,000Hz.

Unfortunately, there are a few minor design decisions that detract from the MOD007B PC’s otherwise overall excellent presentation. First and foremost, the physical button to toggle between Bluetooth, off (or wired-only), and 2.4GHz wireless is underneath the caps lock key. Users need to physically pry the keycap off (Akko includes a keycap and switch puller in the box) to change modes. This is a major hassle that I haven’t seen any other keyboard manufacturer bother with, and worse, if you unplug the keyboard without switching the mode to off, the preset RGB pattern will continue to illuminate. Throw it in a drawer without turning it off first, and expect to return to a keyboard with a drained battery.

Speaking of battery life, it’s just okay. With RGB lighting enabled, we got about two days of use out of the keyboard and close to a week with them disabled. That’s not fantastic, but you’re better off with the RGB lighting turned off as the included keycaps for both colorways are completely opaque, making it hard to see the effects anyway. I suspect the included keycaps will be polarizing regardless; the actual physical shape is nice (tall and sharply edged), but the ledgers can be annoying. On the World Tour Tokyo version, the F row lists Tokyo neighborhoods instead of numbers (apart from the F5, F6, F7, and F8 keys), and the Santorini version appears to use the Papyrus font for every key.

Should you buy the Akko MOD007B PC?

Yes, it packs an unprecedented amount of value

Apart from the aforementioned stumbles, the Akko MOD007B PC is an all-around great gaming keyboard that delivers an impressive amount of customizability for close to $100, if you can find it on sale. The combination of switch quality, wireless support, and adjustable actuation is a winning one that big brands like Razer or SteelSeries haven’t presented at this price point yet.

Of course, there are some obvious competitors in the field, like the Wooting 60HE for $175, or the full-sized SteelSeries Apex Pro, still one of the best gaming keyboards you can buy, but even that board is $40 to $100 more expensive and wired-only.

The bottom line is, if you want to dip your toes into the world of Hall effect mechanical keyboards and see what all the fuss is about, the MOD007B PC is an excellent entry point. Just feel free to swap out the keycaps if they’re too gaudy.

Akko MOD007B PC

The MOD007B PC is both an excellent gaming and productivity keyboard that can be found for close to $100 on sale.

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Meet the tester

Jonathan Hilburg

Electronics Editor

@jhilburg

Jonathan is an Electronics Editor for Reviewed specializing in gaming gear and has experience with everything from controllers to benchmarking the latest GPUs. He was previously the Web Editor at The Architect's Newspaper.

See all of Jonathan Hilburg's reviews