I tried Asus' new Hall Effect keyboard that's the first of its kind

Asus has something very interesting for Computex 2025. The ROG Falcata is a new keyboard targeting competitive PC gamers, and it uses Hall Effect — or magnetic — switches. But the interesting twist Asus has is the split design of the ROG Falcata, which typically only shows up on keyboards angled toward typists with a keen eye for ergonomics. The Falcata not only provides better ergonomics when typing, it also allows you to move or disconnect half of the keyboard to give you more mouse room when you're flicking around in Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant.

The ROG Falcata is the first of its kind

And it feels incredible

Now, talking about a keyboard that's the "first of its kind" is a little tricky because the well of DIY keyboard designs knows no bounds. I'm sure that someone — and probably several people — has built a split keyboard with magnetic switches. However, the ROG Falcata, to my knowledge, is the first pre-built keyboard that comes with a split design and magnetic switches, plus a clear angle towards highly competitive PC gamers.

The keyboard has a traditional 75% layout when it's clicked together, but you can separate it down the middle to clear up desk space. A small USB-C cable connects the two sides together, and you can either move the half you aren't using out of the way or disconnect it completely. There are several balls on the bottom of the keyboard that elevate it at different ergonomic angles, which you can use for a traditional split typing setup, as well as a more comfortable resting position on WASD while you're playing games.

Gaming is the star of the show, and to that end, Asus packed in its ROG HFX V2 switches. In addition to 0.01mm accuracy thanks to a new Hall Effect sensor, Asus tweaked the design of its HFX V1 switches just a bit. A new block stem design helps stabilize your keycaps, and Asus says it increased the size of the magnet inside for better accuracy. Although I wasn't able to try out the Falcata in a game, typing on the keyboard was great. A traditional mechanical switch still wins the day for typing, but the ROG HFX V2 still feels great considering it's angled at PC gamers.

A big part of the typing feel comes down to the internal design. Asus has proven that it knows how to make a great keyboard with releases like the ROG Azoth, and the Falcata takes that design mentality forward. You get four layers of sound absorption inside the keyboard. There's silicon foam under the top plate, two layers of Poron between the PCB, and a silicon pad before the bottom housing.

For gamers, Asus packed in its ROG SpeedNova wireless tech; a 2.4GHz connection with a polling rate of up to 8K. That should vastly limit battery life, but Asus says that it was able to maintain 102 hours of battery life with the normal configuration and default lighting, and up to 122 hours without lighting when using the new Zone mode feature. This feature automatically adjusts your keyboard settings, such as polling rate and lighting, when you disconnect the second half of the keyboard.

Asus hasn't put a price or release date on the Falcata yet, but given its unique design and fairly robust build quality, you can expect it to come in north of $200.