Ducky Reveals the Shine 7 and Year of the Dog Keyboards (2024)

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Ducky shared a large booth with VARMILO at Computex this year, and they made good use of it showing off a lot of new products that require multiple posts to cover in good detail. We begin with the flagship Shine 7, the hotly-anticipated successor to their Shine 6 RGB keyboard (a review of which is incoming here very soon). Ducky had received some flak from their loyal customer base for using a plastic case for the Shine series recently, and they were quick to acknowledge this was an error on their parts and that the Shine series should always showcase the best of their technology inside and out. As such, the upcoming Shine 7 uses a thick zinc alloy case, and the case itself comprises of two pieces such that the available color options for the keyboard will always use dual color-anodized exteriors. Seen below are the various color combinations showcased at the event, and Ducky is eager in collecting feedback on what the customer wants them to adopt for the final retail versions as it would not be feasible to produce every single option. Be sure to comment on the story if you have a preference, and read past the break for more.

As with all Ducky keyboards, the Shine 7 uses genuine Cherry MX switches of the RGB variant and there will also be plenty of options for switches to choose from regardless of which case colors they go with. Retained from the Shine 6 are their excellent PBT doubleshot keycaps with seamless injection of the legends, which are also translucent to allow for backlighting. This comes along with their handy three-stage height adjustment keyboard feet, rich onboard functionality controls, and a detachable USB Type-C cable/connector to complete the package.

Ducky is also planning to release a unified software driver to control lighting on all their new RGB keyboards, including the Shine 7. Shown below is an example of the driver as it is today, and note that functionality controls will continue to be done on-board as Ducky believes that is the best approach to allow for quick, driver-less, OS-free changes that are saved to the device. The Shine 7 series of keyboards are due for retail availability later this quarter.

Each year, Ducky also releases a limited edition keyboard based off the equivalent Shine series at the time and also the year of the Chinese Zodiac. This year happens to be that of the Dog, and thus we also see the new Year of the Dog limited edition keyboard from Ducky. The keyboard had a special section to itself with a lot of information about the design process, the designer as well as the product itself. Seen below are some pictures that barely do it justice, as the Year of the Dog keyboard from Ducky takes the already good base of the Shine 7 and takes it up a notch. Designed by a famous Chinese tattoo artist, Ducky is using dye sublimation on the keycaps to mimic a tattoo. On the keyboard is represented Erlang Shen's dog, a mythical creature that is said to have helped the deity fight Sun Wukong. It is a symbol of positivity, and a fight against evil, and Ducky wants to share this with their customers around the world via the special design throughout the keyboard. No word on retail availability or pricing at this point, but presumably it will be soon after the Shine 7 releases later this year.