Among Cherry's widely known products are its line of MX and ML key switches, including red, blue, and brown switches, that have been used in industrial electronics and
point of sale environments since their inception in the 1980s, and more recently (~2008) by numerous manufacturers of consumer PC keyboards. At
CES 2017, the company announced an update of its "classic" G80-3000 keyboard, with a noise reduction.
The Verge said that the new version "fixed a fatal flaw" with the company's mechanical keyboards – their clicking keyboard noises. According to
TechCrunch, Cherry "has long been the de facto standard for mechanical keyboard switches." Three years later, the company launched its first "fully mechanical switch" intended for the "value market," or lower cost keyboards called Cherry Viola. Currently, Cherry makes the following products: •
Keyboards •
Mice •
Card reader •
Peripheral • MIX Technology
Cherry MX Cherry “Mechanical X-Point” ("MX") switches were developed and patented in the early 1980s and first marketed around 1985. In the consumer keyboard market, Cherry MX switches are often referenced by the color of the key stem—the part of the switch below the keycap which moves downwards when pressed.
reed switch next to two Cherry MX Keyboard makers such as
Cooler Master,
Corsair, and
G.Skill use Cherry's Cherry MX switches in their designs or "imitate them," such as
Razer's Kailh Green switches in the first Generation Razer Black widow Chroma. Cherry sells its own keyboards in "modest volumes." Its MX 10.0 TKL keyboard lacks the tenkey section of the keyboard. In 2018, the company introduced mechanical keyboard switches for thinner keyboards. It makes its Cherry MX Silent switches, or Pink switches, as a range on keyboards like the Corsair K70. The most common Cherry MX switches are: •
Linear • Red • Silent Red • Speed Silver • Nature White • Orange • Black • Silent Black • Black Clear-Top • Linear Grey •
Tactile, non-clicky • Purple • Ergo Clear • Brown • Clear • Tactile Grey • Tactile,
Clicky • Blue • White • Green Cherry MX Grey switches can be found in linear (which provides a smooth, consistent feel
sans feedback), tactile, and clicky variants. They are distinguished by stem color, with linear being darker than tactile. The clicky version is no longer made. It is debated as to whether it even clicks, since it is not listed as a "click" switch by Cherry in their 1994 "
Keymodule MX brochure", along with MX Whites, which are greased to reduce the click. Given their use primarily in large keys like , the feel is selected to match that of the other keys on the board. Other types of Cherry MX switches, such as Green and Grey, are used for larger keys (, , , etc.). The feel of Cherry MX Green switches are often compared to that of the "buckling spring" switches on original IBM
Model M keyboards. Cherry switches have an advertised lifespan of up to 100 million actuations, depending on switch type. The auditory and tactile nature of each switch, and the amount of force needed to actuate it, vary depending on the switch type:
Cherry ML Cherry Mechanical Low-profile (ML) switches are available in a tactile variant, with force and operating characteristics similar to that of Cherry MX Brown switches, but with shortened travel. The rated service life of ML switches is 20 million keystrokes, approximately that of the rated MX life. The ML switch was developed to reduce the overall height above the board; while the MX switch stands above the board, the ML switch shortens that to ; in addition, the total travel is reduced to . The nominal actuation point is approximately halfway through the total travel, at , with 0.45 N and 0.50 N actuation and tactile point forces, respectively. In 2018, Cherry introduced the MX Low Profile switch to supplement the ML switch. ==Awards==