Epomaker Shadow X Review
A for Effort
Summary: Shadow X is a no-go for perfectionists and at the same time, quite a bargain for tech-savvy consumers who don’t mind tweaking their devices a bit to get the best results.
3.4
Epomaker is a relatively young brand in the computer peripherals market. This team of self-claimed “young gamers, software engineers and designers” aim to bring more reasonably priced but high-quality mice and keyboards to this highly competitive market but can their latest wireless mechanical keyboard Shadow-X achieve this goal?
Epomaker Shadow-X is a compact mechanical wireless keyboard equipped with a 3000mAh battery that lasts around 20 hours of continuous use. The keyboard is well-designed with a two-tone color scheme and built-in RGB lighting. The mechanical switches of Shadow-X are highly accurate and sensitive; registering any input as small as just a 3mm push of the keycaps.
Epomaker Shadow-X has three connectivity options: wired using a Type-C to USB cable, a 2.4 GHz wireless dongle, and built-in Bluetooth. In Bluetooth mode, Shadow-X can be paired with up to three devices including cellphones and switch input between them in a matter of seconds. This versatility is great for workstations and offices.
The Package Contents
The distinctive features of Epomaker Shadow-X are perhaps its metal knob and mini-LCD screen. The metal knob at the top right corner of the device is used to switch connectivity between Wireless and different Bluetooth channels or turn it on/off. This external connectivity switch not only gives the device a stylish look but also makes it super easy to switch input between multiple devices.
The LED screen on the other hand has more of a superficial nature rather than a practical one. The screen displays the date, time, current method of connectivity, the operating system of the device connected, and the remaining battery capacity. The LCD screen can also be customized to show any picture or wallpaper uploaded by the user instead of the practical data already mentioned. Unfortunately, I could not find a way to make it display the correct date and I am stuck in the year 2000 according to the keyboard but the time as well as LCD wallpaper can be set using Epomaker Driver app.
Epomaker Driver is used to update the device’s firmware, install drivers, customize RGB lighting, add or remove macros, upload pictures to the mini-LCD screen, and the other usual stuff a companion app is supposed to do but the most interesting thing about it is the Share function. This function allows users to share their RGB color schemes, macros and settings with the Epomaker community. You can download different color schemes and useful macros with just a click and share your favorite lighting patterns with other RGB enthusiasts. Unfortunately, most of the features in the app work only when the device is connected to the PC in wired mode.
While all the mentioned features are great, Epomaker Shadow X is not devoid of issues both in design and performance. The super minimalistic design of the keyboard lacks some useful buttons such as F1-12 and Print Screen keys. In the absence of a dedicated F row, a three-key macro should be used to switch the number row keys into F keys which is really unproductive when it comes to office applications of Shadow X.
RGB brightness comparison with Razer Cynosa V2
The other issue is charging. The device lacks a dedicated charger and charging it with a USB port on a PC takes around 24 hours to complete! With an 80W fast-charge cellphone charger, this charging period is reduced to 10 hours which is still too long. That means for every 3 days of average 6 hours of using Shadow X in wireless mode, you should spend around two days using it in wired mode to charge the battery.
The challenges regarding the battery life cycle of the device are not limited to charging times. Whenever the device’s battery capacity reaches below 30%, Epomaker Shadow X’s mini-LCD screen randomly freezes and the keyboard no longer registers input. To fix this issue, the device must be turned off for a couple of minutes. I asked for a second unit hoping the issue was just defective hardware but the second device also showed the same symptoms. That is a huge disadvantage for a gaming keyboard.
Final Thoughts?
Epomaker Shadow X is by no means a perfect product. On one hand, it lacks some very practical features such as F keys and faster charging options while suffering from performance issues such as random freezes when the battery is low. On the other hand, there are no wireless keyboards on the market under $90 that can provide the user with precise and hot-swappable mechanical switches, highly customizable RGB lighting, and multidevice easy-to-switch connectivity options. Shadow X is a no-go for perfectionists and at the same time, quite a bargain for tech-savvy consumers who don’t mind tweaking their devices a bit to get the best results.
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