Razer Joro keyboard review: A gamer’s alternative to Apple’s Magic Keyboard

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating

Pros

Compact

Pleasant typing feel

Quiet keystroke

Bluetooth and cable connection

Many software functions of a gaming keyboard

Cons

No angle adjustment

No Touch ID

Expensive

No U.K. layout

Our Verdict
The Razer Joro comes surprisingly close to the Apple Magic Keyboard—and could be the perfect alternative. It is compact, has a high-quality finish, a Mac layout and offers a very similar keystroke to the original—albeit quieter.

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The gaming brand Razer introduced the Razer Joro at the beginning of May 2025, a compact gaming keyboard designed for mobile use. For Mac users, there is an interesting novelty: the Joro is the first keyboard from Razer with Mac keys (or, strictly speaking, with double print). The Razer Joro is almost a perfect replacement for the Magic Keyboard.

Design & workmanship

Typical Razer: The Joro has a simple, completely black design. The body consists of a plastic base and an aluminum cover—where you touch the keyboard most often. This ensures a high-quality typing experience, but also reduces production costs and weight. Weighing only 13.2oz (374g) and with compact dimensions of 11.7 x 4.4 x 0.65 inches (29.8 × 11.2 × 1.65cm), the Joro can be easily stowed away in a MacBook backpack or bag.




On the underside of the Razer Joro are four generously sized rubber feet.Michael Crider/Foundry

The Joro has four rubber feet on the underside, which generally prevent it from slipping on smooth surfaces, but are not adjustable. Like Apple’s Magic Keyboard, the Joro has a fixed angle—the same angle, in fact—that you can’t adjust without jacking up the rear feet with other objects. However, I personally found the angle very comfortable and didn’t feel the need to change it.




RGB lighting, on/off switch and USB-C port on the Razer Joro.Michael Crider/Foundry

The USB-C port for charging and wired operation is located on the back of the Joro—next to it is a switch for switching between wired operation and Bluetooth, or in other words: an on/off switch.

The keys on the Razer Joro are slightly smaller than those on a current MacBook, but still offer enough space for larger hands. They are made of plastic, are laser-engraved and therefore better protected against wear and tear. The key travel is a comfortable 1mm—ideal for fast typing without fatigue.

On the inside, classic scissor switches are used, as found in laptops—including the MacBook. Accordingly, the keystroke is very similar to that of a MacBook and feels precise and familiar.

The big difference lies in the sound: the Joro is noticeably quieter—much more restrained than Apple’s Magic Keyboard and also quieter than the MacBook keyboard itself.

The special feature, as mentioned above, is the double imprint, because the Razer Joro not only comes with Windows keys, but also with Mac keys—very pleasing. There is also optional RGB lighting, “Razer Chroma”, which you can configure in the Razer Synapse software—now also available in the version for macOS.

But be careful: the lighting draws so much power that the battery life suffers noticeably. I would therefore recommend only using it with a cable and not using it with a Bluetooth connection unless you are working or playing in complete darkness.




Razer Joro next to the compact Razer Basilisk Mobile, which Razer introduced at the same time.Michael Crider/Foundry

The Joro has a 75% layout, meaning no numeric keypad and a row of navigation keys—start, end, page up, page down—and the lock key vertically on the right edge. As is hardly surprising for a gaming keyboard, it also has arrow keys in full size instead of half size.

The reduced size of the right shift key is noticeable, but this did not have a negative impact in everyday use. Also unusual: the space bar is slightly shorter than usual, as Razer has integrated an additional Fn key on the right-hand side. This proves to be a well thought-out detail in practical use, as it allows functions such as play/pause, volume, mute or track change to be conveniently controlled with just one hand using the navigation buttons.

There is basically nothing to complain about the workmanship of the Joro, although the plastic base feels a little cheap in contrast to the aluminum plate on top. The Razer is incredibly stable and hardly gives way even under high pressure. The scope of delivery includes a very high-quality braided USB-C to USB-C cable, which is a little short at 1 meter in length, but supports charging currents of up to 60W—excessive for a keyboard, but very practical as a “cable for all occasions” when travelling.

Software & functions

As befits a gaming keyboard, the Joro comes with many functions that you don’t see in everyday keyboards, including N-key rollover and anti-ghosting. You can also activate the “Razer Snap Tap” function in the Razer Synapse software.

If you make two inputs at the same time, “Snap Tap” prioritizes the second one. This is particularly useful in games, as a character would normally refuse to move in this case. With “Snap Tap”, however, it continues to move as usual.

You can also activate the gaming mode in “Razer Synapse”, which deactivates certain Mac key combinations, such as Command Q (close programme), Command Tab (app switcher) and Command Spacebar (Spotlight), create macros and assign every single key completely differently than intended.

You can save every change you make to the keyboard functions directly on the keyboard in up to five profiles and switch back and forth between them in future using a key combination, even if “Synapse” is not even installed.

Apart from that, there are of course the usual suspects: Media control with Fn key combination, as mentioned above, all conceivable function keys in the F row, including Mission Control, display and keyboard brightness, etc. Touch ID is of course missing, as is the case with all other keyboards that do not come directly from Apple.

Speaking of software: Overall, it looks like Razer wants to take the Mac as a platform a little more seriously than before, because for the first time the company has released a Mac version of “Synapse”. Previously, if you wanted to make adjustments to Razer devices in order to use them on a Mac, you had to do this on a Windows device or in a virtual machine beforehand.




Razer

Connection & battery life

You can pair the Razer Joro with up to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth and seamlessly switch between them using the first three buttons. In the future, the Razer Joro will also be compatible with the Razer Hyperspeed USB receiver via a firmware update, which establishes a faster and more stable wireless connection, although it is not included in the scope of delivery.

Alternatively, you can also connect the Joro to your Mac using a USB-C cable, although, as mentioned above, the supplied cable is a little short at one metre in length. However, unless your Mac is in some far corner of your desk, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Razer is refreshingly transparent with the battery life of the Joro, although the company also initially advertises the highest possible energy savings and achieves a battery life of no less than 1,849 hours (77 days) in energy-saving mode.

However, there is also a small slider on the product page that allows you to set the (theoretical) brightness of the RGB lighting and see how this affects the battery life. To my positive surprise, the figures are very close to reality.

In standard mode and without lighting, for example, the Joro still lasts around 1,195 hours (just under 50 days). If you move the slider towards 100 per cent, you can see how much power such RGB lighting consumes: At 20 per cent, the Joro lasts 26 hours, at 50 per cent 11 hours and at 100 per cent only 5 hours.

So if you are travelling and don’t know exactly when you can charge the Joro, you should switch off the lighting. You can of course continue to use the Joro while charging. After all, it is not an Apple Magic Mouse.

Price & availability

At $139.99 / £129.99, the Razer Joro is no bargain, but we like it so much we think it’s worth your money, at least compared to keyboards from some other third-party providers. If you compare it with the Apple Magic Keyboard, it actually doesn’t look too bad: The Apple equivalent without Touch ID is $50 cheaper but has fewer keys and even fewer functions.

Should you buy the Razer Joro keyboard?

The Razer Joro is one of the best Mac keyboards I’ve ever tested. There’s no Touch ID and U.K. users will have to get used to the U.S. layout but as a classy alternative to the Apple Magic Keyboard, it has a lot going for it.