Angry Miao’s new $559 keyboard has a huge dot-matrix display and retro details

Between the Analogue Pocket and the proliferation of game emulators on Apple’s App Store, retro gaming is more than chic in 2024. So, it’s not terribly surprising that boutique keyboard maker Angry Miao is getting in on some of that sweet nostalgia with its latest mechanical board, the Game Boy-inspired AM RGB 65.

But the real surprise is that what at first blush looks like a near-$600 parts bin rehash of an existing board is actually Angry Miao’s best mech to date.

The RGB 65 is a 65 percent layout keyboard, but its large dot matrix LED forehead means it takes up almost as much space as most 75 percent keyboards. It looks a whole lot like a flattened Cyberboard (which runs over $800 for some variants), making me wonder if Angry Miao had extra stock of those LED displays and wanted to off-load a batch. But thankfully, the RGB 65 takes more of its design cues from one of the most beloved handheld devices in human history than from a frequently mocked rolling dumpster.

The retro vibes are most pronounced on the white and purple versions, but all colors of the RGB 65 have small details that pay homage to Nintendo’s industrial design from the original “DMG-01” Game Boy. This includes a curved bottom-right corner with six slats mimicking the speaker grill, a negative relief D-pad cutout surrounding the USB-C port, and mock B and A buttons on the underside, which replace the wireless charging pad found on other AM models. Another aesthetic flourish is a Galaga pixel art graphic adorning the plastic antenna window that lets the Bluetooth 5.1 and 2.4GHz wireless connections through the all-metal chassis.

Typing on the RGB 65 is a breath of fresh air compared to previous Angry Miao boards. The marbly sound signature is still present, but the new Icy Silver V2 linear switches with their nylon housings and revised internal design give the RGB 65 a deeper, much more “thocky” sound than any other AM keyboard I’ve tried.

I’m relieved to see Angry Miao making strides in the sound and typing feel departments. While I’ve personally enjoyed the sound of most prior AM keyboards, it’s all very subjective. And the “meta” around what’s popular in the custom mechanical keyboard scene continues to evolve. I think Angry Miao is doing a fine job keeping up with trends here, and it needs to. This is a very expensive keyboard that should feel good and sound great out of the box, especially when you consider it rehashes a big design element from the Cyberboard.

The 200-LED dot matrix panel on the Cyberboard always looked charming, but while it’s recycled on the RGB 65, it’s better implemented and slightly more practical. Instead of being angled away from you and upside-down like on the Cyberboard, it’s flat on the main deck and easy to see. It’s still mostly a flashy novelty to go along with the RGB light show under the keys, but you can use Angry Miao’s site to do some deep customization or download fully baked presets from the community. It’s fun to tinker with, even if I end up using it as a big desk clock most of the time.

But the most underwhelming bit of the RGB 65 is this “cyber gray” color combo, at least in comparison to the white and “violet fury” options. It looks slick in its own right, sure, but the other two feel like where it’s at for the maximum Game Boy vibes. Perhaps if the gray model used opaque light gray or charcoal black keycaps, it could channel a tiny bit of the Game Boy Advance SP or Game Boy Pocket.

Either way, the RGB 65 desperately needs some see-through atomic purple or jungle green action (which is another ongoing trend), so I hope Angry Miao considers a cheaper all-plastic version in the future. I’d even be willing to sacrifice a bit of that thock if Angry Miao can allow itself to not overengineer every little thing from aluminum.

The AM RGB 65’s Kickstarter campaign launches today, starting at $449 for a bare-bones kit (no keycaps or switches) and tops out at $598 for a full prebuilt bundle in violet. Angry Miao is running an early-bird 8 percent discount for the first 48 hours of the campaign.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge