Yunzii Z98 Pro Keyboard (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://www.yunzii.com/en-ca/products/kzzi-z98-pro
When you're tired of the regular samey keyboards on the market, sometimes you just want something different. Something that spices things up in the most "out there" way possible. That's what the Yunzii Z98 offers--an all-shiny, all-plastic case, with a retro keycap style, in a curious gradient of colors. How does such an oddity stack up once the initial fun factor wears off?
Upon taking the Yunzii Z98 out of the box, I was at a loss for words, initially. The case is the absolutely shiniest plastic I've ever come across in my life, with chrome accents on the sides, which stand out weirdly. The whole keyboard is very rounded, from the soft-edged keycaps, to the round OLED screen in the top right corner. Instead of a traditional volume knob, you get a little lever you can click up and down to set as a hotkey. The color scheme of the keyboard is in a league of its own; the case switches between cream and purple multiple times, while the keycaps are a mix of cream with brown font, purple with yellow lettering, and a darker shade of purple. It's such a mishmash of styles, and I'm not even sure if it works, in terms of design.
At the very least, the Z98 is incredibly unique, and it absolutely becomes the eye-catching centerpiece of your desk. If you're looking for something quirky, this is most certainly it. While I felt its looks were bizarre at first, the design has come to grow on me after having it on my desk for a while--something about it harkens back to the early 2000s, where everything had gradients and was overdesigned. I kind of love it. It even has an extra USB port on the front, so you can hook your mouse/extra peripheral up to it--retro indeed.
The Z98 adds to the retro aesthetic by rocking KSA style keycaps--most commonly seen on oldschool keyboards from back in the day. It's a fun, uncommon style to see, though the typing experience is a little marred by just how slippery and glossy the keycaps are. The board itself is hotswappable, coming in prebuilt with either Yunzii's unnamed linear or tactile switches. It's odd that the switches go unspecified on the product page, since they're a highlight of the keyboard, offering a surprisingly smooth, pre-lubed typing experience.
With an appearance so weird, I wasn't prepared for the Z98 to be so well-made internally. There's lots of case foam, and the board is gasket-mounted. Yunzii did an outstanding job with the build quality, giving a bouncy typing feel that works well in tandem with the switches. There's no modding you need to do to get the Z98 to sound good--it comes near-perfect out of the box, a rarity for a lot of pre-builts.
You can connect the keyboard in a variety of ways, wired, dongle wireless, or Bluetooth, with compatibility for macOS as well. It's very versatile, up to the task for just about any use case. It is a bit of a shame that the battery doesn't last as long as one would hope--you get about less than a week per full charge, possibly because it has RGBs and an OLED screen that it needs to power. The customizable screen is cute and yet another novelty, but the RGB lighting is unimpressive to say the least; the keycaps are so thick and wide that you can barely see any RGB effects at all.
As ridiculous as it is, the Yunzii Z98 has a lot of charm. Underneath the quirky appearance it has, is an incredibly nice build for both gaming and typing. Priced at just over $100, Yunzii offers a pre-built with such quality that it outclasses most other keyboards in that budget range, on top of being full of weird personality. It's a fun, unique design that I could see a lot of keyboard enthusiasts enjoying.
Verdict
- Shockingly good value for your money
- The OLED screen is fun
- Impressive sound profile and gasket mounted experience
- Lots of connectivity options
- Its looks are divisive
- Weak battery
Reviews
RayNeo Air 2 AR glasses and JoyDock Gaming Bundle
Augmented reality (AR) glasses have become popular gaming companions recently. TCL’s AR branch, RayNeo even has a dedicated bundle, featuring the RayNeo Air 2 and JoyDock, aimed at the Nintendo Switch. Is this the AR gaming upgrade you’ve been looking for?
Outcast 2: A New Beginning
Outcast 2: A New Beginning is an Action-Adventure game available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Read Only Memories: Neurodriver
Collect clues in your subject's memories, fix distorted fragments inside them, and push the Golden Butterfly out!
FiiO CP13
The CP13 cassette player is the first in FiiO’s Retro line of products. Does the audio specialist do a good job at bringing back analogue music players?
NuPhy Gem80 Mechanical Keyboard
An exclusively-barebones keyboard, we check out NuPhy’s latest release in the Gem80!
Site & Scene News
New Hot Discussed
Editorial XREAL Hub Impressions
AYANEO reveals new retro-themed handhelds and accessories in its new REMAKE line of products
'Seablip', an indie open world pirate RPG, launches into Early Access
Review RayNeo Air 2 AR glasses and JoyDock Gaming Bundle
Dan Houser's Absurd Ventures to launch an audio fiction series set in their upcoming game's universe
Pimax introduces new 'Trial Payment, Final Payment' model for its VR headsets
Co-op horror FPS 'Ripout' to exit Early Access this month
Review Read Only Memories: Neurodriver
Ubisoft reveals 'Assassin's Creed Shadows' which is set to launch later this year
RetroArch is now available in the Apple Store for iOS devices
Nintendo Switch firmware update 18.0.1 has been released
Nintendo officially confirms Switch successor console, announces Nintendo Direct for next month
New static recompiler tool N64Recomp aims to seamlessly modernize N64 games
TheFloW releases new PPPwn kernel exploit for PS4, works on firmware 11.00
Nintendo takes down Gmod content from Steam's Workshop
Name the Switch successor: what should Nintendo call its new console?
A prototype of the original "The Legend of Zelda" for NES has been found and preserved
Anbernic reveals specs details of pocket-sized RG28XX retro handheld
DOOM has been ported to the retro game console in Persona 5 Royal
Nintendo Switch Online adds two more Nintendo 64 titles to its classic library
Name the Switch successor: what should Nintendo call its new console?
Nintendo officially confirms Switch successor console, announces Nintendo Direct for next month
Nintendo takes down Gmod content from Steam's Workshop
New static recompiler tool N64Recomp aims to seamlessly modernize N64 games
Nintendo Switch firmware update 18.0.1 has been released
TheFloW releases new PPPwn kernel exploit for PS4, works on firmware 11.00
Ubisoft reveals 'Assassin's Creed Shadows' which is set to launch later this year
"Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition", a new NES Remix-like game, launching July 18th
DOOM has been ported to the retro game console in Persona 5 Royal
Microsoft is closing down several gaming studios, including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin