Wing45

Bricks Assembled says Wing45 grew out of an earlier, unsuccessful attempt at a LEGO-style keyboard. Since then, the team reports experimenting with a range of designs, layouts and switches before settling on this 40% split board.

An ergonomic layout

According to the maker, three elements carry the ergonomic case: the split design, the column-staggered layout and tenting pads. Splitting the board is meant to keep forearms and hands in a straight line, and the halves can be spaced at shoulder width or wider. Column stagger aligns keys with the natural travel of each finger to reduce sideways reaching, while the tenting pads tilt each half so the palms turn slightly inward in a handshake-like posture, which the maker says eases forearm strain.

Controls and configuration

Each half offers two mounting positions for a rotary encoder that can be moved between sides and assigned to volume, backlight brightness, scroll speed or custom macros; the maker describes haptic feedback on each turn. Eight thumb keys can take shortcuts such as app switching or media control, and combined with ZMK's layer system they open up extensive macro options. Keymaps and encoder behavior are edited by drag and drop in a web browser, and firmware can be updated wirelessly without a command-line toolchain.

Plugging in the detachable USB-C cable automatically switches the keyboard to a wired Game Mode, which the maker describes as zero-latency. With only 45 keys, numbers, symbols and navigation sit on three onboard layers.

Key specifications, per the maker

• 45 keys in a 40% column-staggered split layout
• Kailh box switches (Red, White or Brown) and PBT keycaps included; hot-swappable with MX-compatible switches and keycaps
• Adjustable backlight with pure white or full RGB, presets and reactive modes
• Translucent chassis in Natural or Black
• Replaceable LIR2450 battery rated for up to 7 days of typical use; USB-C charging to full in under 30 minutes
• 222g per half
• Connects to MacBook, iPad and PC; a dedicated modifier layer mirrors desktop shortcuts on iPad