Arbiter Studio Polar 65 Review — A No-Nonsense Magnetic Keyboard

Even though magnetic switches have been around since 1965, if it weren't for Wooting bringing it to the mainstream, we may have been devoid of how good these switches can be. The Wooting 60HE managed to start a storm in the market of keyboards, and shortly after that, everyone was looking for new, hot technology. Several companies jumped and introduced their own renditions, and this resulted in magnetic keyboards becoming more and more common. Today, we have the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 for review- a compact magnetic keyboard using Fuji Magnetic Switches custom-tuned and crafted by Arbiter Studio. Is the keyboard enough to dethrone the likes of Wooting, Akko, and other players in the market? We are going to find out.

If you have not guessed it by the name already, the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 is a 65% keyboard with Hall Effect switches that are also capable of delivering the Rapid Trigger response. I won't be going into detail about how these switches operate because that deserves a topic of its own--however, I would like to mention that if you are a gamer who relies heavily on how fast they can press a key, then this keyboard might be something that is up your alley. If you are more focused on playing games that are not going to require an instantaneous response time, then you are more than good at using any other good mechanical keyboard.

Now, the Fuji Magnetic Switch used in the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 is a linear switch with 36 grams of initial force. It has an actuation range starting as low as 0.1mm and going all the way to 3.8m. The end force on the switch is 60 grams, with 4mm of total travel. The switch is rated at 100 million key-press cycles, although most keyboards live beyond their listed cycles.

The Arbiter Studio Polar 65 is available in two offerings- you can get the prebuilt one that I have here, which is available in nine striking colors. Or you can get the barebone kit, which has the switches installed but does not come with keycaps and is only available in silver or black colorways. Everything else is the same.

Unboxing the keyboard is a fairly standard affair. You get a black cardboard box with some attractive printing. There is no fancy imagery of the keyboard--as a matter of fact, you don't even get the usual features that some other keyboard manufacturers love to mention on the boxes. You can have a look at it below.

The unboxing experience is just as simple as the box. The moment you open the box, you are presented with the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 sitting nicely inside the box. The keyboard has a decent weight to it, so if you ever are in a position where you have to defend yourself, you can use this keyboard as a weapon, although I would highly advise against it.

Considering how the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 is a wired-only keyboard, you are not going to get a USB dongle, and unlike other keyboards I have reviewed, there are no extra switches, either. You do get a switch puller, a USB Type A to Type C cable, an extra set of themed keycaps, and the keyboard, of course. Some would be disappointed over the lack of accessories, but I don't see how the lack of extra goodies will take away from the overall user experience.

Flipping the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 over welcomes with a cross-pattern on the back and a weight plate in the middle that is used to add heft to the keyboard. There are also rubber feet spanning almost the entire length of the keyboard. Sadly, there is no height adjustment, which is a sad thing for me and can even be a deal breaker for a lot of people.

Powering the keyboard on is perhaps as simple as it can get. Thanks to the fact that the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 is a wired-only keyboard, all you need to do is plug the keyboard in, and you are off to the races. There is no complicated setup, no switches, and if you want, no software either--more on that later. This is what the keyboard looks like when it is powered on.

I have to hand it to Arbiter Studio; the Polar 65 is one of the better-looking keyboards in terms of lighting. Thanks to north-facing LEDs, this is one of the brightest and best implementations of RGB lighting I have seen on a keyboard in some time, and I am really pleased with how it looks. Keep in mind that the keycaps are not shine-through, but you can always go ahead and use something else; the option is there. The keycaps are double-shot PBT, so you can expect some decent time with them.

But none of that would matter if the keyboard does not deliver a good typing experience, right? How does the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 handle itself when it comes to the overall typing experience? Honestly, I think it handles itself really, really well. I have been using the keyboard for the better part of the week, and I have not run into any issues. Of course, the high polling rate made possible via the USB connection is one thing that you should surely give credit to, but you do have to keep in mind that other than that, you are getting a keyboard that delivers a stellar typing experience. I did feel the switches to be slightly heavier at the start, but it did not take me a long time to get accustomed to them, and from that point, typing was an absolute breeze. I did try Rapid Trigger, as well, and it worked as intended, so no complaints there. The keyboard does not sound hollow but also does not have the deeper sound profile of some of the other boards on the market. It has more of a "clacky" sound profile, but at no point does it sound overbearing and manages to work really, really well.

If the typing experience were the only metric to judge how good the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 is, I would have recommended the keyboard at the start of this and would have ended the review on the spot, but that is not the case. Arbiter Studio wanted the users to have a complete keyboard experience, and that is why the Polar 65 also comes with a web app. I really love the idea of web apps as it takes away from the tediousness of downloading and installing a companion app. You simply go to the website, launch the app, and you are good to go.

The web app for the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 is rather simple, and while I do prefer simplicity, I think its simplicity is what makes it a not-so-ideal solution for those who are looking for a comprehensive set of features. I have attached the screenshots below so you can have a better idea of what you are dealing with.

In the screenshots above, you can see just how limited the customization is when it comes to the Arbiter Studio Polar 65. You have the first page where you can adjust the actuation, the second page has all the lighting effects, and the third is where you can do some reprogramming should you wish to do that. Ideally, I would not mind these--as a matter of fact, I would love to have such a simplistic web app, but this is where things get tricky. After reviewing and using so many keyboards both in my personal and professional life, I have grown accustomed to full-fledged companion apps for keyboards where anything short of that makes me wonder what the need was in the first place. The Arbiter Studio has done a great job at simplifying the companion app, but if a keyboard enthusiast is looking at it, they might not feel the same way.

My week with the Arbiter Studio Polar 65 was really good. As mentioned before, if I were to just talk about how good this keyboard is in terms of typing and build quality, I would have stopped the review a while ago, but when you are charging $150 for a keyboard, you ought to deliver that experience, too. The lack of height adjustment and lackluster software are perhaps the only things holding this keyboard back. If you are, however, looking for a keyboard that provides you with a good typing experience right out of the box, then you will be happy as the keyboard manages to deliver on that promise.

The Arbiter Studio Polar 65 is only held back by the lack of features, but if you are looking for a solid gaming keyboard that checks most of the boxes,

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