What's the Best Keyboard for the Age of Voice Input?

Hey everyone, it’s Cody.

Today I want to talk about keyboards. I had a small realization recently while typing.

My Mechanical Keyboard Stopped Working for Me

I normally use a Mistel split mechanical keyboard - the kind that’s divided into left and right halves. Split keyboards let you type with your shoulders naturally open, which helps prevent rounded shoulders. That ergonomic benefit of maintaining proper posture is why I’d been using one for a long time.

But recently, something felt off. I was making more and more typos.

At first I thought, “Are my fingers - or maybe my brain - starting to decline? Is this aging?” But then I tried switching back to a pantograph-style keyboard - you know, the thin kind you find on MacBook laptops. That flat, low-profile feel.

And just like that, my typing became incredibly smooth again.

The Culprit Might Be Voice Input

I thought about why this might be, and one thing came to mind.

I’ve been using voice input more and more lately. In fact, this very post was originally dictated through voice input and then transcribed. Coding has also become more about conversations with AI, so I’m not hammering away at the keyboard like I used to.

In other words, I’m simply not using my fingers as much anymore.

My guess is that the range of motion in my fingers - or maybe the way I apply force - has changed. Mechanical keyboards have deep key travel, so you need to press each key down firmly. That “pressing down firmly” motion? My fingers just aren’t keeping up with it anymore.

The “Effortless” Feel of Pantograph Keyboards

Pantograph-style keyboards, on the other hand, have thin, shallow keys. They don’t require much force, and the stroke is minimal.

That actually suits me perfectly right now. I can type in a relaxed state, fingers gliding lightly across the keys.

I always loved the satisfying “click-clack” of mechanical switches, and that’s why I stuck with them for so long. But when I think about actual productivity, the pantograph keyboard is giving me fewer errors. I chose practicality over preference.

Is the Keyboard Becoming Less Important?

Have you been typing much lately?

Voice input has probably become pretty widespread, even among engineers. Conversations with AI, auto-transcribed meeting notes, quick memos - there are more and more situations where you don’t need to rely on a keyboard.

The importance of keyboards has shifted quite a bit in the past few years, I think. Of course, we still need them for writing code, but the priority of “obsessing over your keyboard” has honestly gone down.

We might be moving from an era of buying expensive mechanical keyboards and debating switch types to one where the question is simply: “Do you even use your keyboard that much anymore?”

In fact, lately I feel like I’m spending more time and money obsessing over microphones and other voice input devices than keyboards. What about you? For what it’s worth, I own several mics myself.

Thanks for reading today.