Review of the Satechi SM1 Slim Mechanical Keyboard: The Ultimate Compatible Device for Windows & Mac Enthusiasts

Key Takeaways

• Satechi SM1 is an affordable mechanical keyboard at $100 and offers a quality, feature-packed experience.
• Multi-device pairing allows switching between devices but doesn’t sync OS profiles.
• The keyboard has fine battery life, elegant white backlighting, and seamless functionality between macOS and Windows profiles.

The Satechi SM1 Slim Mechanical Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard delivers a mechanical experience in a compact and wire-free form factor for just $100. With the ability to pair multiple devices, easily switch between Windows and macOS keyboard layouts, and a solid mechanical feel, this keyboard is a great option for minimal desk setups.

Satechi SM1 Slim Mechanical Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard

8/ 10

Satechi’s SM1 Slim Mechanical Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard delivers up to two months of battery life, white backlighting, and multi-device pairing to your desk. With two Bluetooth profiles, a 2.4GHz dongle, and wired functionality, you can use it with up to four devices at one time. Plus, it can switch between Windows and macOS function with the press of two quick buttons, making it great for multi-platform setups.

Form factor

75%

Switch options

Tactile low-profile brown

Colorways

Light, Dark

Backlight

Yes, white

Construction

Metal

Supported operating systems

macOS, Windows

Hot-swappable

No

Connectivity

Bluetooth, 2.4GHz dongle, wired USB-C

Battery life

Two months

Pros

• Connects to up to four devices at a time
• Works with both Windows and macOS out of the box
• Includes macOS-specific keycaps
• Up to two months battery life
• Solid build quality

Cons

• Does not save OS preference to pairing profile

Expand

$100 at Amazon $99.99 at Satechi

The Satechi SM1 Is Feature-Packed

Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek

When it comes to wireless mechanical keyboards, Satechi is up against some stiff competition from the likes of Keychron, ASUS, and even Logitech. Coming in at $100, the Satechi SM1 is one of the more affordable wireless mechanical keyboard options out there. While it doesn’t have things like an OLED display or hot-swappable switches, the SM1 still packs a punch, especially for its pricing class.

Leading the way is the fact that this mechanical keyboard is in a full metal housing. The switches here aren’t mecha-membrane, but instead low-profile mechanical switches. The browns that my review unit had were still nice and tactile, quiet, and felt great. You’ll find that the Satechi SM1 also features multi-device pairing, so you can use the 2.4GHz dongle for your home desktop and then have two separate Bluetooth profiles. One for your laptop and the other for a tablet or smartphone, switching between devices with the click of two buttons and a few seconds for pairing to take place.

Add to that the ability to use it wired if you’d rather not rely on wireless communication at home when you’re at a desk and this keyboard has a lot to offer. One nice thing with the SM1 is that the print screen key has been “rebranded” of sorts. While the old print screen function of Windows simply copied a picture of the entire display to the clipboard, in one of the more recent Windows 11 updates, that changed.

Now, when you click the print screen button, you’ll find that the Snipping Tool comes up which lets you choose whether to capture a whole screen image, window, or more precise capture. So, instead of having the old print screen button, there’s now an icon that matches the Snipping Tool logo. It also works the same way on macOS, meaning you can just clip a smaller portion of your screen instead of copying the entire thing to the clipboard.

Multi-Device Pairing Could Use Some Work Though

Switching device profiles is super fast and easy. It worked flawlessly every time. Hold the “function” key and click the profile you want to use. The catch here is that the keyboard doesn’t associate an operating system profile with a pairing profile.

For my testing, I had Bluetooth 1 paired to my Windows desktop, while Bluetooth 2 was paired to my MacBook Pro. Whenever I would switch between the two, I would also have to switch what mode the keyboard was in. This takes just an extra click, but honestly, I don’t think that it would have been that hard to store the last chosen OS profile within the pairing profile on the keyboard. It’s possible that Satechi could push out a firmware update that allowed this, but I don’t really see that happening for a keyboard.

Satechi’s SM1 Wireless Keyboard Has Pretty Great Battery Life

Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek

One way that Satechi delivers great battery life is that they don’t have a ton of flashy RGB lights all over the place. Instead, to keep with the minimal aesthetic, Satechi opted for a simple white backlighting profile here. This is not only more elegant than flashing colors all over the place but also doesn’t take up nearly as much battery.

With the lighting turned off, you can get up to two months of use according to Satechi. However, once you turn the lights on (assuming full brightness), you’ll be looking at about 16 or so hours of usage before it’s time to plug in. With how fast the keyboard puts itself to sleep, those 16 hours could easily last you all week without having to plug it in since it shuts down between typing sessions relatively quickly. And, while I typically hate keyboards going to sleep because they always take forever to wake back up and pair to start typing again, the lag between the Satechi SM1 being asleep to typing was very minimal. So minimal that I hardly noticed it at all.

The Built-In Profiles for macOS and Windows Work Fantastic

A lot of wireless mechanical keyboards on the market are geared toward gamers, which means that, while they’ll function with macOS, certain keys don’t line up or work quite right. Satechi addresses this by remapping the keyboard (and including extra keycaps) that are tailored to macOS for those Apple users out there. Switching the OS profile is as fast as switching the pairing profile and shouldn’t take any time at all.

Once you’re into either the Windows or macOS profile, the keyboard will work just like you’d expect any native keyboard to work on that operating system, making it a seamless transition all around. Even the screenshot key works perfectly on both operating systems, which is something that’s not always the case with wireless keyboards on the market.

The Low-Profile Brown Switches Feel Nice

When it comes to keyboards, many people focus on the feel and customizability. The SM1 doesn’t bring a lot of customization to the table, outside of the operating system profiles and a few lighting patterns. So, if you’re looking for something you can personalize, this isn’t it. The keys have to be remapped through third-party software or your native operating system and there’s no software programming of the keyboard at all. While some might see this as a drawback, I’ve had lots of issues with different keyboard software over the years, and having something that just works every time and can’t break because the software stops working is nice.

The feel of the Satechi SM1 to type on is solid. While I’m not typically a fan of brown-style switches, as I prefer the louder click of a blue switch, the SM1 was still very satisfying to use. The brown switches provide a tactile, clicky experience (that’s not too loud) and even with the lower profile, they still felt great. The keyboard on the whole does sound a tad bit hollow, but that’s the only “downside” here. The key caps feel nice, the spacing is good, and you’ll find that the overall design is well thought out. The casing is made from milled aluminum, there are three levels of height and tilt adjustment, and the 75% key layout is easy to type on as well.

Should You Buy the Satechi SM1 Slim Mechanical Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard?

Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek

The Satechi SM1 Slim Mechanical Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard has two main markets: macOS users and multi-OS users. Those with Windows computers already have a slew of keyboards to choose from, but if you’re like me and use both macOS and Windows, it’s harder to find a keyboard that properly works with both operating systems. That’s exactly what the SM1 does. The switches feel great, there’s ample battery life, switching profiles is extremely easy, and you’ll love how portable the keyboard is.

Whether you’re exclusively a macOS user or you want to utilize the multi-device function to use this keyboard with both PC and Windows machines, I highly recommend trying it out. The only real gripe I have with it is that the OS profiles don’t sync with the pairing profiles, but, that’s a simple enough remedy that it wouldn’t hinder me from recommending the keyboard to anyone who’s in the market for an affordable yet premium wireless mechanical keyboard.

Satechi SM1 Slim Mechanical Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard

8/ 10

Satechi’s SM1 Slim Mechanical Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard delivers up to two months of battery life, white backlighting, and multi-device pairing to your desk. With two Bluetooth profiles, a 2.4GHz dongle, and wired functionality, you can use it with up to four devices at one time. Plus, it can switch between Windows and macOS function with the press of two quick buttons, making it great for multi-platform setups.

$100 at Amazon $99.99 at Satechi

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