I’ve been trying a physical keyboard again.

For years, I’ve had this strange relationship with clicky keyboards. I love the idea of them. The satisfying sound, the mechanical precision, the cool factor. But when I try to use one long-term, it never quite clicks. (See what I did there?) I inevitably fall back into the arms of Apple’s slim, quiet keyboard with Touch ID and that dedicated dictation button. It’s just so damn convenient.

That said, I’ve held on to one mechanical keyboard through all the purging: the Keychron Q1 Pro. This thing is a tank. It’s made of aluminum and weighs enough that I’ve occasionally considered it might double as a home defense device. It looks fantastic on my desk. And unlike most of the mechanical keyboards I’ve tried in the past, this one has Bluetooth, so I don’t have to run a cable across my desk like it’s 1987.

I’ve had it out for the past three days, and it’s been…pretty great?

I used the Keychron Launcher web app to rewire a bunch of key settings—something that used to be a pain but is now surprisingly simple. I even swapped the switches and keycaps ages ago based on a recommendation from Myke Hurley. I couldn’t tell you what I installed; only that it feels nice and sounds satisfyingly clicky.

Still, not having Touch ID is a friction point. Right now, I’m handling authentication by typing my password or letting my Apple Watch unlock things for me. It works, but it’s not as seamless as a fingerprint authentication. On the flip side, however, I’ve got some pretty great remapping on this keyboard that is not possible with Apple’s Magic Keyboard.

Mechanical keyboards, in my experience, are an all-or-nothing kind of thing. Either you fall in love instantly, or you start bargaining with yourself about what you’re gaining versus what you’re losing. For me, it’s always been the latter.

So, we’ll see. The Keychron Q1 Pro has earned a spot on my desk — for now. But I’m not holding my breath that it’ll still be here in a week. Like I said, this kind of keyboard has always been a slow burn for me. And I’m just not sure clicky love works that way.

For years now, my primary keyboard has been an Apple Extended Keyboard. I fell into it, to be honest. I bought a Mac with an extended keyboard and found myself using those extra keys not so much as a keypad, but as a mechanism to launch automation. Those extra keys came in handy with seven additional function keys, proper arrow keys, and all those number keys. The addition of a Touch ID button sealed the deal.

On the downside, it sometimes looks like you have a battleship parked on your desk. My right hand has to move 10 inches from the keyboard to the mouse. Lately, I’ve put so much of my macro triggers into my various Stream Decks I’ve been thinking about downscaling.

So I purchased an Apple Magic Keyboard with TouchID sans Numeric Keypad last week to see if I could turn the battleship into something smaller. This is an excellent comparison because it is so close (but not identical) to the same keyboard I’ve been using with the right 5 inches chopped off.

When the keyboard arrived, I thought it would be a no-brainer. But it turns out that adjusting was more challenging than you’d think. I’ve given it the better part of a week, and I’ve discovered that I like the layout of the battleship. The smaller keyboard has the Function key where the left control key is on the bigger keyboard. I also use the arrow keys and additional function keys more than you’d think. While I could adjust to the smaller keyboard, I feel the inconvenience of it way more than I enjoy the shorter trip to my mouse.

In the end, this is a clear choice for me. You can get a keyboard that takes less space and makes the trip to the mouse shorter, or you can get the bigger one with more buttons. There isn’t a right answer, but in my case, the battleship won.