Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard (2013)

By Xah Lee. Date: 2013-08-14. Last updated: 2024-09-24.

Microsoft has a new keyboard, a Batman Keyboard. Amazing. This came out in 2013.

Discontinued by Microsoft in 2023-04.

At night lying on bed in heat of political argument, i started to plug-in my mechanical switch keyboard, then wife woke: “what the fuck are you doing?” So, am reviving the wireless rubber dome sculpt. Avoiding the wrath of wife.

ms sculpt kbd 20210306 0777s — Microsoft sculpt keyboard Buy at amazon 1855×1391

Total Key Count: 88 keys on the main board and 20 keys on the separate number pad.

Main features:

USB wireless
Separate numerical keypad.
2 AAA batteries in the keyboard. 1 3V 270mAh battery in numberical keypad.
AES Encryption for wireless transmission. Safe from a well-known hack called KeySweeper. 〔see KeySweeper, Sniff Passwords from Wireless Keyboard〕
Each keyboard has a different encryption key. So, the USB dongle is not replaceable. Don't lose it.

IMG 20210306 132156267-s1200 — MS sculpt keyboard and Microsoft Surface Pro 4, 2015. 2016×1512

MS sculpt kbd numpad 20201129 — Number pad is a separate unit, included.

Ergonomic Design Features

Interesting points:

Keys split into 2 groups. Saves your wrists from bending.
Large Alt and Ctrl keys. Great for Emacs.
The Alt is positioned under the thumb (between x and c). So, simple thumb curl can easily press it.
The left Alt and right Alt are symmetrically positioned. That is, their distance to f and j are the same. This means, the right side of modifier are also easily usable without moving your hand.
Split space bar. This solves a major problem of the previous model the Microsoft Natural 4000, which got a stiff spacebar.
Thin profile.
The number pad is now separate. Excellent. This makes the keyboard smaller, yet number pad is still available.

Typing Experience

The ergonomic design is great, but the key feel is much inferior to mechanical switches. 〔see Keyboard Key Switch Mechanisms〕 It's too stiff for my liking, requiring about 70g force to press.

Also, the Esc key, and all the function key row F1 to F12, are super stiff. More stiff than the letter keys.

I do not recommend this keyboard if you need to type a lot. 〔see How Many Keystrokes Do You Type a Day?〕