Dell-owned Alienware has upped the ante in the keyboard department by teaming up with renowned German keyboard maker Cherry. The deal brings a Cherry mechanical keyboard to the latest version of the Alienware m15 R4 which has been given a refresh.
The new Alienware m15 features 10th generation Intel Core processors and up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics (the lineupgot the RTX 3000 series in January) and a huge 4TB of storage. There is a premium for the Cherry MX keyboard, however, of $150/£100 and it’s also available as an option on the m17 R4, too.
Dell says its partnership with Cherry began over three years ago and has been known as the somewhat bold Project X. Both wanted to create a binary mechanical switch in a laptop form factor – something that’s never been done before. However, it’s not the first time that Cherry’s tech has been used in a gaming laptop, while other devices have experimented with mechanical keyboards.
The two companies worked on over 160 prototypes, the result of which is the Cherry MX; a 3.5mm ultra-low-profile design incorporating stainless-steel mechanical components and with the mechanism inspired by the upward-opening gull-wing doors of a DeLorean. It’s an all-new design, but the dimensions of the notebook itself haven’t changed.
The result should be fantastic to type with and game with – Dell says the keyboard has a full 12.8mm of travel, while the mechanism is designed to be self-cleaning and, crucially, wobble-free.
Coincidentally, Dell has also refreshed the Alienware Aurora R12 and Dell XPS Desktop with Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics and Intel 11th generation Core processors.
