Altar II
A 4.75mm-thin, fully mechanical 75% keyboard from Electronic Materials Office. The trick is the switch: a dual steel arm scissor mechanism with a preloaded tension spring arranged laterally instead of vertically, which fits a real mechanical action with 1.8mm of travel into a chassis less than half the thickness of an Apple Magic Keyboard. For comparison, EMO lists the Magic Keyboard at 10.09mm, the Logitech MX Keys at 20.50mm, the NuPhy Air75 at 21.00mm and the Keychron K2 at 30.00mm.
M-Dial
A magnetically detachable, clickable dial. Twist for volume, single click for play/pause, double click to skip, triple to go back, press and hold for Siri. It snaps off for travel, swaps for the included low-profile version or other shapes, and is fully remappable in the companion app. EMO says it will publish the 3D files, drawings and specifications so owners can print their own.
Haptics and audio
Harmonic Synthesiser is a haptic engine housed under the spacebar. It simulates real-time ticks for M-Dial, gives a smooth oscillating hum while a modifier key is held and a pop when a shortcut completes, and taps for macOS notifications, reminders and alerts. Intensity and behaviour are configurable. A built-in speaker handles wake sounds, charging chimes and low-battery warnings.
Backlight and acoustics
NiteLite only switches on in low ambient light and uses a long-wavelength amber-red that avoids disrupting circadian rhythm while preserving night vision. Underneath, a dual-layer Inertial Damper — a silicone membrane between logic board and monobody, plus an oversize elastomer footpad — suspends the typing platform for acoustic and vibration isolation.
Mac app
A native Swift app for macOS handles key bindings, M-Dial behaviours, backlight, haptic and audio levels, and app-specific shortcuts for things like Figma, DaVinci Resolve and VS Code. Settings are stored on the keyboard itself, so they travel with it to any computer or OS without the app.
Design details
ESPtype denotes different regions of the keyboard by key shape, so touch typing works by feel. A 75% layout with full function row and full-size arrow keys, Mac modifier order, and typography set in GT Flexa and Tobias. Black only.
Sustainability
REGEN polymer is at least 50% recycled content, the chassis is machined from a single block of recyclable aluminium, and packaging is paper and biodegradable sugarcane pulp with no plastic.
Specifications
- Height: 4.75mm
- Width: 299mm
- Depth: 116.5mm
- Switches: dual steel arm scissor with retention spring, 40gf actuation force, 1.8mm travel
- Materials: REGEN polymer, 6061 aluminium, TPU footpad, silicone membrane, FR4 logic board
- Firmware: ZMK on a Zephyr-based RTOS
- Connectivity: 2x Bluetooth 5.0 LE channels, 1x USB-C
- Battery: up to 30 days of typical use; up to 2 days of use from 2 minutes of charging
- OS support: macOS 12 Monterey and up, Windows 10 and up (companion app requires macOS 26 Tahoe and up)
- In the box: Altar II, coiled USB-C to USB-C cable, standard-issue M-Dial, low-profile M-Dial, field manual, 5 stickers
Accessories sold separately: an XL recycled desk mat, a five-piece supplementary M-Dial pack, a softshell field case with M-Dial pouch, and a hot-weather field cap.
Not yet shipping — Altar II launches on Kickstarter on 10 November 2026 at $349, with a $249 reservation-only price for anyone who places a refundable $1 reservation beforehand.