The inductive switch provides analog functionality without hall effect high power draw. That's what Ducky claims at the Computex2024 booth.Anyway, we're showing off the Ducky OneX, the "world's first" inductive keyboard.

It's built with Cherry's new multi-point switch, but it'll be hard to see at Ducky's booth. Cherry also did not make a massive song and dance about multipoint in its own booth, although the switch is very new.

Ducky OneX comes in both full size and 60% layout. Personally, I prefer the full size, but I'm a sucker for the numeric keypad. Both models offer wired tri-mode connectivity through 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, and USB Type-C.The connection mode is switched on the back of the keyboard.

"These magnetic keyboards don't display wireless keyboards because they are inefficient in power," Erik Hsieh, Ducky's representative, tells me. "Our inductive analog switches don't consume that much energy, so they can be put on a wireless keyboard," he said."

The reported battery life with two new Ducky induction keyboards is reportedly "really great" too. Although it does not enter specifically.

Although I'm curious about what actually happens with induction switches and hall effect switches that measure pressing a key through a magnetic field. Kahwen Hsiao, Product Management Director at Ducky explains.

"We have a metal design on the inside of the switch and all these coils on the PCBA that detect movement," Hsiao says.

He also explains that hall effects require sensors on every switch, but induction switches are not.

"Whatever number of keys you have, you have that number of [hall effect] sensors to power. But for inductive switches, there are coils that are already built into the PCBA. So we can save a lot of power."

These switches can reportedly offer the same feature set as magnetic switches such as rapid triggers. This allows you to press the switch continuously for a fast-paced game. It is also the most in demand feature for analog keyboards right now, according to Ducky and another analog keyboard manufacturer, Wooting.

I caught up with Wooting at that booth, who I prodded for information on induction vs. Hall effects. If anyone knows the analog switch, it's begging.

"So what we're doing is like a little magnet and a switch. The magnet moves and has a sensor at the bottom. But they don't have magnets on the switch," says Jeroen Langelaan, co-founder and CTO of Wooting.

"They have coils on the PCB. And they have like a small piece of metal. Metal affects the coils, and that's how far you can measure how far they press a key.

and on how it stacks up to the Hall effect: "I think this [hall effect] is better for now."It is very difficult to measure the inductance of the coil," says Langelaan.

Langelaan, in his discussion with Cherry, wants to point out that the switch appears to be about half of its own power. It also points out that for the game, the hall effect should be able to reach a much higher polling rate because you don't have to worry about pulling more power by scanning keys more often.

The reason it is an inductive keyboard is that it essentially requires some ics to run a cluster of switches.

"We have these Ics, and we have to measure every call and it takes quite a while, so there are limitations, such as the speed at which keys can be scanned.

However, Wooting has switched to other key types in the past. It was replaced from a light-based switch to a magnet-based switch. So if it's built a wireless keyboard, I ask if maybe something like this is on the card.

To do radio with this, go to the TMR sensor instead of going to the hall sensor."

The TMR sensor is similar to a magnet switch, but it is a new technology and has been reported to have significantly reduced power consumption. Now, it's still early days for these sensors, but look at this space.

"It's also kind of cool, as there's more and more technology about this," Langelaan says.

"I don't want to say like 'Oh, this [induction] is terrible'. It's just something different.

Simon Whyte, lead software engineer at Wooting agrees. However, he points out that he disagrees with Cherry's claim to the "most accurate switch.""

When I asked what the position was, they said 0.3 mm. And I'm thinking, "Well, that's not the most accurate,"" Whyte says.

"I think maybe they were actually the most accurate sense. Precision and precision are very clear things."

The analog keyboard competition has been heating up for a while, but with cherries in the game, you might see an inductive keyboard, not just Ducky. For now, at least, the new Ducky One X and Wooting80HE look pretty good.