Glorious’ first venture into the keyboard space with the GMMK line was seen as a turning point for pre-built keyboards available off the shelf, available in 60%, TKL, and full-size formats sporting what, at the time, was revolutionary by adding hotswap sockets allowing switches to be easily removed and replaced without the need to desolder. On top, it was very cheap even when factoring the need for aftermarket keycaps and switches.

Design/Aesthetics

The GMMK line is very simple in its design. In my opinion biggest detriment is the floating-switch design where the switch housing is visible when the board is fully assembled, which compromises on looks and sound. Otherwise, it’s simply a thin board with the top half in a very thin sheet of aluminum that doubles as the plate, and the bottom half plastic with a decent chamfer to keep it from looking like just a wedge. Underneath the GMMK board lies a couple of features: First is flip-out feet, one of which actually broke pretty quick because of how cheap of plastic the board uses (they didn’t even offer to replace it when asked), and also a holder for the included keycap puller. The only design decision that I think speaks out is the polished, chamfered trim along the perimeter of the case which does help add feature to the case from above and break up the design.

Assembly

The GMMK line was hailed as a very repairable board solely because of the hotswap sockets included, however the full case assembly simply comes off in just a handful of screws, which unfortunately are very cheap as they do strip very easily, even when using an electronic screwdriver, so caution is very much warranted when disassembling the board. These same screws used to open up the case also happen to be the method with which the tray mount is assembled, so it takes care of both problems at once. Otherwise, the board is easy to take apart and clean as needed, thanks to the fact that it does not use a clip-on case and the integrated USB port on the PCB, as a tray mount shouldn’t need a daughterboard.

PCB and Firmware

The PCBs used in the GMMK line both appear and function eerily similar to the Tecware Phantom, and even read as a Tecware branded PCB in the devices firmware properties. But y’all will deny that Glorious is a white-label company. Either way, it does its job fine and the on-board configuration did its job, though oddly the LED indicators didn’t seem to notate Caps Lock and Scroll Lock, but Caps Lock and Win Lock. Glorious also has a totally-not-reskinned-Tecware-software available for the GMMK line of boards, dependant on which batch you bought as apparently different batches had different necessary software implementations; what this entails is not something I ever became familiar with. This software also had the misfortune to never really save presets, either RGB or macros, so it quickly became useless for me. The PCB is also keyed for 3-pin switches only, and in north-facing (which isn’t surprising). To my recollection, only ANSI and basic ISO options existed. It’s also probably worth noting it uses a micro-USB header rather than the now widely-used USB-C.