Threads
Worth It?
Review Summary
The Epomaker Galaxy70 is a good keyboard that excels in many departments. Its construction is clearly the highlight with an unconventional design that really suits the package. The sound, feel, and value are all there but instability in the wireless performance makes this a hard sell. If you can live with that compromise, the Galaxy70 is a worthy purchase.
Hours Tested: 4 Days
Overall
-
Build Quality - 9.5/10
9.5/10
-
Features - 9.5/10
9.5/10
-
Design - 8.5/10
8.5/10
-
Typing Experience - 9/10
9/10
-
Performance - 7/10
7/10
-
Value - 8/10
8/10
Pros
- Incredible build quality
- Unique design with soft corners and circular edges
- Well-diffused LED bar
- On-board magnetic storage for USB dongle
- Superb stock typing experience
- Switches and stabs are perfectly factory-lubed
- High-quality doubleshot keycaps
- Great battery life and endurance
- Software has a lot of features
Cons
- Very inconsistent wireless performance
- Powder-coating may throw some off
- Back “weight” looks tacky
- Volume knob is 4-stepped instead of 2
- Wireless antenna is awkwardly placed inside
- Software is not the most intuitive
After the massively successful Galaxy80, Epomaker is back with a new entry in the series trying to spin back the same formula with the Galaxy70. It’s a new layout with a refined design and almost identical pricing but unlike its bigger brother which you can buy as a barebones kit, this only comes as a fully preassembled board.
The Galaxy70 is also part of the few budget aluminum keyboards that rival DIY kits like the Lucky65 in terms of component quality. Not only that, but it also comes in direct competition with the Epomaker’s own P75 both features and price wise, so let’s see who comes out on top.
Key Takeaways
- The Epomaker Galaxy70 is a robust keyboard with solid sound, feel, build quality and aesthetics.
- Buy the Galaxy70 if you’re in search for a creamy-sounding keyboard that doesn’t break the bank.
- Avoid the Galaxy70 if you’re a gamer looking to get the best performance out of your peripherals.
| Technical Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Model | Epomaker Galaxy70 |
| Layout | 75% (82 Keys) |
| Front Height | 23mm |
| Typing Angle | 7 degrees |
| Case Material | Aluminum |
| Finishing | Powder Coating |
| Plate Material | PP (Polypropylene) |
| Flex Cut | Yes |
| Mounting Style | Gasket mount |
| Stabilizers | Pre-lubed Plate-mount stabilizers |
| Connectivity | Wired, 2.4GHz Wireless, Bluetooth |
| Battery | 4000mAh |
| RGB | South-facing RGB |
| Anti-Ghosting | NKRO |
| Latency | 2.8ms (Wired), 5ms (2.4GHz Wireless), 22ms (Bluetooth) |
| Polling Rate | 1000Hz (Wired/2.4GHz), 125Hz (Bluetooth) |
| Keycaps Profile | Cherry (Blue/Gray) / MDA (Black Pink) |
| Keycaps Material | Double-shot PBT (Blue/Black Pink) / Dye-sub (Gray) |
| Dimensions | 350.6 x 140.9 x 32.5mm |
| Weight | 1.79kg |
What Makes The Galaxy70 Different?
Epomaker has set apart the Galaxy70 in the sea of budget aluminum keyboards with its incredible build. The board feels like a tank; it’s heavy, very well-built, and features a unique design. The rounded corners and soft angles are suited to those looking for a less aggressive aesthetic without compromising on any fundamentals.
Unboxing Experience
The Epomaker Galaxy70 comes in an unassuming box that has the name of the board plastered across the front with no picture. You slide out the top paper sleeve to get to the black box that’s underneath. There’s a single tab in the center to get inside.
The board is wrapped in plastic with the manual at the bottom and the accessories toward the side. You don’t get as much with the Galaxy70 as you do with the Epomaker P75 despite both of them costing identical. Even the included USB cable is a generic one instead of the braided kind you get with the P75.
Here’s everything you get in the box:
- 1x Galaxy70 (with dongle)
- 1x Keycap/Switch Puller
- 1x USB Cable
- 2x Extra Switches
- 1x Manual
Build & Design
Epomaker has constructed the Galaxy70 out of aluminum but it’s not CNC’d as far as I can tell and features a unique design. Instead of sharp edges and with squared lines, the board is rounded off at every possible angle. The corners, especially, are even softer than they were on the Galaxy80, but the bezels are still symmetrical across the perimeter.
Galaxy70 also has a unique powder-coated finish. You can tell it doesn’t look like the clean anodization seen in, say, a Lucky65 or most other aluminum boards. The surface treatment is similar to that of a cast iron pan. Very gritty but the texture itself isn’t obtrusive, instead if you run your fingers across it feels quite comfortable.
There’s a knob in the corner right above the navigation cluster. Below that, there’s a very well-diffused LED bar that adds some flair. Moving further down, there’s a magnetic badge next to the arrow keys that houses the 2.4Ghz wireless receiver. Always appreciate it when companies find a clever way to include on-board storage for the dongle.
The back only continues the same design philosophy. The borders are bent inwards, so it feels like the top case is almost draping over the bottom like a fabric. There are a few rounded rubber feet and a “weight” in the center. It’s technically just a plastic plate with a transparent layer on top of it.
I personally don’t like the sci-fi design Epomaker has put here, and this area of the board is a scratch magnet. You cannot keep it clean. At first, I thought this was a protector of some sorts but trying to pry at the corners quickly busted that myth. I much prefer the simple logo of the Epomaker P75 or a proper weight like the one on the Record Alice instead.
The sides of the Galaxy70 are pretty bland. Despite the rounded shapes, you get a standard box-on-wedge side profile. The top of the case has a centered USB port next to the power switch. There’s also a weird cutout on the right side that puzzled me, but I quickly figured it out after opening the board. More on this in the Connectivity section.
Last but certainly not the least, the build quality is incredible. The board weighs almost 1.7KG and feels like a robust product in every way. Its heft reminds me once again of the Epomaker P75 but for some reason, this board feels heavier. The typing angle is 6-degrees with a front height of 18mm so it’s easy on your hands, too.
Layout & Features
As the name suggests, the Galaxy70 is a 75% keyboard, but it’s got an unusual layout that takes up a lot more space. Instead of 3 or 4 nav keys laid out vertically, they’re in a square cluster and, of course, there’s a volume knob atop. All it’s missing is 2 extra nav keys and 1 function key, and it’ll turn into a TKL both layout and size-wise.
The knob is also different from most others. While it’s still really satisfying, the ratcheting mechanism raises volume by increments of 4 instead of 2. If you want the two-step control, you have to kind of stop mid-rotation before it clicks into the next ratchet. Sometimes, it doesn’t do any of this so it’s like a guessing game with limited consistency.
The other interesting feature of this board is the LED bar under the nav cluster, but Epomaker doesn’t do a lot with it. You can switch between a few different colors and 3 animated effects but that’s it. No software customization. The LED bar does act as an indicator for the connection modes.
That brings us nicely into the fact that this is a wireless keyboard. The LED bar glows red for a few seconds when plugged in, green on the 2.4GHz mode and blue for when connected via Bluetooth. It doesn’t do anything to show charging levels or things like Caps Lock but, to Epomaker’s credit, the LEDs are diffused incredibly well, and it looks nice.
Lastly, the Galaxy70 is gasket-mounted with silicone beans that go all around the plate. It has a thin 1.2mm PCB and a PP plate, both have flex cuts. There’s plenty of layers inside for sound dampening like the plate foam, IXPE sheet, multiple PET sheets and some PCB foam as well.
The Fundamentals
I’m not super impressed by the Galaxy70 so far beyond its build quality, but there’s a lot more praise to follow when going over its components.
Keycaps
Epomaker is using MDA profile keycaps on the Galaxy70 that feel almost low-profile. They are made out of PBT with a doubleshot process, so the quality is very high. They’re thick, have no molding marks and the texture is delightful. It’s a little rougher than most PBT caps but not as gritty as something like GMK.
The MDA profile is interesting. Think of it as XDA but sculpted. I found it very comfortable to type on and it produced some very deep thocks as you’ll hear in the sound test. All of the legends were super crisp as well. If you choose the retro colorway of the Galaxy70, you’ll get dye-sub Cherry profile keycaps instead and doubleshot with the blue one.
Switches
There are two switch options to choose from: Epomaker Zebra and Huano Blossom Oddyssey and a third Epomaker Wisteria (linear) if you buy the blue variant. We already tried the Zebras and loved them in the P75, so we have the Huano Blossoms in our unit. Long story short, these are just as good.
The Huanos have a standard 45g weight with a 22mm spring, so they feel snappy to type on. They’re factory lubed to perfection. The stem and top housing are made from POK (plastic) while the bottom is PA66 (nylon). I found there to be pretty much no stem wobble, and all the switches are consistent across the board.
Stabilizers
The Galaxy70 has plate-mount stabs that come prelubed from the factory and they’re virtually perfect. I noticed no ticking or weird rattle at all. They sound and feel great. There is no support for screw-in stabs, but you won’t need to replace these anyways.
Internal Structure
I usually don’t talk about the internal structure of a board separately, but the Galaxy70 fascinated me. Like many, it has a pretty normal top and bottom case that can be undone with screws hidden behind some keycaps. Before lifting up the top, the volume knob was a chore to get out as it’s really jammed in there.
Once inside, I saw gaskets around the entire perimeter of the plate, including the sides. But strangely enough two of the gaskets at the top were fitted in the wrong way. I don’t know if this was on purpose or a mistake at the factory during assembly but either way it was a funny mishap.
Moving on, beneath the PCB-plate assembly were a lot of wires and no case foam. I spotted some questionable cable routing stemming from a small PCB labeled “Galaxy100,” which leads me to assume that they’re using this same chip for all the Galaxy boards. But what are all these wires doing exactly?
There was a JST cable connecting the daughterboard to the PCB and another connecting the battery. However, there was a third cable stretching across the PCB toward the USB port. Turns out, this was enabling the wireless connectivity. The cutout next to the USB port I mentioned earlier is a wireless antenna—something I’ve never seen in a keyboard before.
Performance & Connectivity
Being a wireless keyboard, the Epomaker Galaxy70 comes with a 4000mAh battery that lasts a long time. I got through two days of comfortable heavy usage with RGB on and you’ll likely get more than a week with it off. Similar to the Epomaker P75, the endurance is great, but unlike the P75, it does miss some inputs when in its inactive state.
Speaking of which, I had a frustrating wireless experience with the Galaxy70. When I first set it up, the keyboard wouldn’t even connect using the 2.4GHz dongle, and none of the Fn key shortcuts worked. After some back and forth, I had to use the software to remap the Fn key to itself and that fixed the issue.
Unfortunately, the problems didn’t stop there. While I never noticed any delay or lag, there were frequent bursts of connection dropouts where the board would just spam a key I was typing. Often, I would press the backspace in these situations, only for the board to spam that and delete a good chunk of whatever I was writing.
I have faced this issue with some other boards before but never to this degree. What’s more telling is just last week I tested the Epomaker P75 on the same desk setup, using the same computer, plugged into the same USB port and that worked flawlessly. This is probably where the weird wireless antenna design of the P75 holds it back.
Therefore, I can’t recommend it for any wireless use, even if sometimes the experience was better. When plugged in, though, it’s perfectly fine. It has sub 5ms latency which is perfect for competitive gaming and due the excellent switches, keycaps and stabs, it was always a joy to type on.
Typing Experience
The Galaxy70 has a somewhat compromised typing experience. On one hand, it has perfectly tuned stabilizers that both sound and feel amazing. The switches work harmoniously with the keycaps to create a low-pitched, creamy sound that is very satisfying to hear.
All the sound dampening then only helps elevate the acoustics even more. This is truly a “thocky” keyboard in the purest form of the word. The gasket performance is also solid with a decent bit of flex. It’s not bouncy and every keypress has a firm impact but at the same time, you can certainly get a lot of softness if you try to.
On the other hand, the wireless performance is poor to the point where I can’t recommend it in good consciousness. It works great while plugged in but what’s the point of paying for a wireless keyboard when that entire part isn’t reliable to begin with? It’s a great typing experience, amazing even, but only if you’re using it wired.
The Software
There is no QMK/VIA support for the Galaxy70 as it uses the Epomaker Driver, a proprietary app for its software. But it’s not the same Epomaker Driver as the one used for Shadow-X or others. Instead, it’s a customized version with a different UI and feature-set. There’s a galaxy theme going on that looks worse in my opinion.
The text inside the software isn’t very sharp and you can’t resize the window either. Regardless, all of the necessary functionality is here. You get stuff like custom keymapping, profiles, macros, lighting controls and even animated music effects laid out in tabs toward the left. None of it is intuitive but it gets the job done.
Notably, there is no customization of any kind for the LED bar. You can’t change what the volume knob does either. Per-key RGB control is still present, and you can play around with that in its own tab. There are a total of 19 RGB effects and 11 music effects that react to whatever audio is playing on your computer. Most of them are pretty smooth.
There is one special option in the “System Settings” tab that caught my eye. A software-induced delay to combat key chatter. This lets you adjust the delay before a keypress is registered, with Level 1 offering the fastest response but a higher risk of chatter, and Level 5 adding delay to stabilize input and prevent unintended multiple presses.
For me this was set at Level 2 out of the box, but I did test Level 1 as well for latency and higher levels to stabilize the spam issues I was having. There was some improvement but nothing noteworthy and I shouldn’t have to sacrifice fast response times for more a more reliable typing experience in the first place.
Should You Buy It?
Buy It If:
✅ You want a well-built keyboard that doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to quality yet still retains a great price.
✅ You like a different design than what’s trending. The Galaxy70’s rounded shape mixed with premium build is unlike anything else on the market.
✅ You value sound above all else as the Galaxy70 has a supremely satisfying sound signature that is downright heavenly to any ear.
Don’t Buy It If:
❌ You want the best budget aluminum keyboard as for the same price you can get the Epomaker P75, which is a better overall package.
❌ You prioritize wireless connectivity. The Galaxy70 has subpar wireless performance that hinders its reliability.
❌ You want QMK/VIA support. There is custom software for the Galaxy70 but it’s far from perfect.
My Thoughts
The Epomaker Galaxy70 presents a tragic tale of the cost of ambition. In pursuit of high-end build quality, Epomaker lost sight of one of the main things that make or break your keyboard: performance. By no means is it a bad contender but the insane unreliability of its wireless mode can simply not be excused.
A couple years ago, this kind of build mixed with the stock typing experience and the price would compensate for any deficiencies in design. Today, however, the market is different and with the same company producing better keyboards for the same price, the Galaxy70 remains a great board only brought down by one fatal flaw.
What Are Others Using?
Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋
How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔
I was born and raised around computers only to become the family’s personal IT department. Fast forward a few years and now only two things spark my interest—filmmaking and keyboards. One day you might just see me at the Oscars, but till then stick to my sick custom builds.
Join Our Community
