The Lofree Flow 2 ends up being a stunning low-profile mechanical keyboard, asymmetry and larger-than-expected bezel aside. The touchbar may be an acquired taste and deactivated by some users, it’s a joy to use and sounds just as smooth as it feels. With its upgraded features, it’s one of Lofree’s best keyboards yet. Check out the Flow 2’s Kickstarter before its campaign ends!
The first time I used the Lofree Flow keyboard, I was blown away by its minimalistic form factor and satisfying typing experience. Since initially reviewing it, it’s been in my personal rotation of daily driver keyboards because of how great it feels to use. I’ve reviewed other Lofree products since then, such as the Lofree Flow Lite and the Lofree HYPACE Mouse. My experience with these products has been relatively the same: When Lofree constructs a computer peripheral, they hit the mark in so many ways.
One year later, Lofree has released the spiritual successor to the Lofree Flow – the Lofree Flow 2. One year, I sit here before you blown away by Lofree’s design philosophy and build quality with their newest keyboard in front of me. After using it for the past few weeks, I’m confident that it will be the perfect fit for a home office or gaming setup, especially for someone who loves Apple’s design language. I’ll touch on the design language momentarily, as this is going to be a contentious topic.
The Lofree Flow 2 is currently unreleased, but it has a thriving Kickstarter campaign where it has exceeded its funding goal by several magnitudes. At time of writing, it has raised just under $1 million and has several days left before the pre-launch campaign ends. For ~$100, you can obtain the Flow 2 (68-, 84-, or 100-key) at a steep discount before its official launch later this year.
Check out the Lofree Flow 2 Kickstarter Campaign for more details!
If you haven’t used the Lofree Flow or heard of Lofree prior to today, don’t worry. The mechanical keyboard category is quite competitive with several big-name brands. Lofree has made a name for itself in accentuating minimalism and offering a refined aesthetic to one’s office space. Their low-profile keyboards have an Apple-esque look thanks to their uniform designs and premium builds, all the while being offered for less than a traditional Apple Magic Keyboard. Sure, Lofree’s keyboards lack Touch ID, but not everyone has a Mac!
Lofree has pushed the envelope with evolving the Lofree Flow into the Lofree Flow 2 by fully leaning into what I and many others praised the original keyboard for – its smoothness. Lofree listened so some of our criticisms by improving the Flow 2’s build quality, utilizing a CNC aluminum chassis, along with adding adjustable feet for increased ergonomics. Lofree has also gone all-in on their “Type on Cloud” concept that has built a foundation for three different low-profile switches (one of them being Silent!): Surfer (linear), Pulse (tactile), and Void (linear – silent). This keyboard also features a gasket mount, which is one of my preferred mounting styles on mechanical keyboards thanks to their cushion and slight flexibility.
Oh, and the Flow 2 has VIA support, too. You don’t need to install another driver on your computer to control your keyboard!
The standout features of the Flow 2 are its asymmetrical design and its touch bar (located on the right-hand side of the keyboard). Now you’re probably thinking, “Hold on, Apple doesn’t typically release devices with asymmetrical designs…right?” They don’t anymore, but think back to the older iPhones and/or iMacs with the gigantic bottom bezels. The gigantic bezel on the Flow 2 has been criticized by some folks online (especially those preferring symmetry/uniformity), but I don’t see it as that much of a problem. When using my Flow 2’s number pad, my right hand found its natural placement without feeling like I was overreaching. This bezel seems to be hiding the tech behind the Flow 2’s touchbar.
Yes, I said touchbar. You know, that bar that was at the top of the pre-2021 MacBook Pro? It’s a similar but simpler implementation, this time being able to control your computer’s volume or brightness. Simply sliding your finger up or down the side of the right-hand side of the keyboard, along the bar, adjusts the volume as though you were using a side-mounted wheel. On my Windows-machine, the volume would adjust in increments of 6 when dragging slowly, but could be adjusted quicker.
Touchbars are an acquired taste, I know. Apple removed the touchbars from the newer MacBook Pro units because of some consumers’ accidental inputs, but you can find touchbar advocates who miss their little keyboard touchscreens in several subreddits. I digress, if the touchbar proves to be a burden or unnecessary, it can be disabled. No biggie.
Another one of my daily driver keyboards has a rotary knob in the upper right hand corner, taking up the space of what could have been several keys. I’ve often wished that I could replace the knob with keys, but I can’t. The Flow 2’s touchbar is a novel solution for allowing users to control their computers in a natural way. When I first got the keyboard, I kept accidentally triggering the touchbar when I was picking up the keyboard, but I was never able to accidentally trigger the keyboard when using it. This may be a larger issue on the smaller keyboards (like the 68-key version), but the fact remains that I never accidentally triggered the touchbar when in normal keyboard use.
If there’s one thing worth critiquing about the Flow 2’s right-heavy design, it would be its USB-C placement. The USB-C port is located on the right side of the keyboard, above the touchbar. The Flow 2 comes with a right-angled USB-C cord to minimize potential desk-space real estate issues and mouse movements, but it would have felt more natural for the USB-C port to be at the top of the keyboard just for the sake of easier charging. This is especially true if you opt to use the keyboard in one of its wireless modes (Bluetooth or 2.4GHz dongle) and need to charge the keyboard after using it for a spell.
Again, I don’t find it too problematic that the Flow 2 adopts asymmetry for the sake of innovation. The touchbar might not be some users’ preferred means of controlling their computers’ brightness and volume, but it’s one of those features that is nice to have and feels relatively natural without removing keys from a keyboard (assuming you were to add in a volume knob). Best of all, the touchbar works well should you wish to have it enabled!
The Flow 2 feels divine in-hand. It uses almost exactly the same aluminum texture as a MacBook Pro. I tested my Flow 2 alongside my MacBook Pro, and it looked and felt like a natural extension of the laptop. With the indicator LED and white shinethrough keycaps, the Flow 2 looks like the Magic Keyboard I never had, albeit one that is mechanical rather than a chiclet-style keyboard.
Whatever Lofree has done to manufacture the Flow 2 to look and feel like the minimalist and lightweight MacBook Pro lineup should be praised. Most aluminum keyboards I have used as of late are gigantic hunks of heavy metal. The 100-key variant of the Flow 2 manages to remain lightweight, easily being the lightest yet quite sturdy aluminum keyboard I’ve used thus far.
I mentioned earlier in this review that there are three switch options for the Flow 2. The White model (which is the model I reviewed) comes with the Surfer or the Void (Silent) linear switches, while the Black model comes with the Pulse tactile switches. These switches have generally the same specs, like a 2.8mm total travel and requiring ~40gf of force to activate the switches. The key differences lie in their volume (if you want a silent switch, you have to get the linear Void switch) and tactility. The Pulse tactile switch is the only tactile switch available and has a slightly deeper actuation point of 1.6mm (rather than the 1.3mm actuation point of the linear switches).
I was only able to test the Surfer switches during my review period, as I was sent the 100-key White model to review. Lofree has nailed the acoustics of their switches (once again!), ensuring that every single keystroke feels just as smooth as it sounds. The Surfer switches have a light acoustic profile, slightly more delicate than their Shadow counterparts on the earlier Flow models all the while feeling smooth. I tend to struggle with actuation points under 1.5mm, but your mileage may vary.
Should you not enjoy the default switches, be them too sensitive or not to your acoustic preference, you can easily swap them out with your keycap/switch remover of choice. I was able to play most medium-intensity games (such as League of Legends, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, and BlazBlue Entropy Effect, but I struggled with some of the higher-intensity games such as FPS games (VALORANT and Counter-Strike). I was able to make rapid inputs thanks to the smoothness of the Surfer switches, but their sensitivity meant that I was making several mistaken inputs resulting in terrible plays.
I digress, the Flow 2 was great to use in gaming. Perhaps I could have played better with the Void tactile switches, perhaps not. The fact remains that I had a great time when using the keyboard and it looked absolutely stunning on my desk.
Before wrapping this review, I want to reiterate that the right-handed asymmetrical bezel isn’t too much of an issue that some users are discussing it to be online. Perhaps using the keyboard is believing in Lofree’s vision, but the end result of their design choices is one that’s relatively natural, albeit one that will shift your perspective of what keyboard ergonomics are and should be. I’ve seen folks criticizing the standard layout of keyboards, claiming that the split-layout of keyboard design is the best for ergonomics; anything else is apparently terrible.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is this…
The Lofree Flow 2 ends up being a stunning low-profile mechanical keyboard, asymmetry and larger-than-expected bezel aside. The touchbar may be an acquired taste and deactivated by some users, it’s a joy to use and sounds just as smooth as it feels. With its upgraded features, it’s one of Lofree’s best keyboards yet. Check out the Flow 2’s Kickstarter before its campaign ends!
